VOL. 102 | NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2021 The Career Issue Let these scientists inspire you to forge a unique path to a rewarding profession.

Thirsty Data Centers

Iceberg Initiated Landslides

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Editor in Chief Heather Goss, [email protected]

Charting the Paths​ AGU Staff Vice President, Communications, to a Scientific Career Marketing, and Media Relations Amy Storey Editorial small business owner, a former U.S. Navy captain, and Managing Editor Caryl-Sue Micalizio Senior Science Editor Timothy Oleson “the New York Times volcano guy” are just a few of the Associate Editor Alexandra Scammell A scientists whose stories you’ll find in this issue. The News and Features Writer Kimberly M. S. Cartier pathways to a scientific career are numerous, branching in News and Features Writer Jenessa Duncombe many different directions from the most well-known road Production & Design leading to an academic institution. Assistant Director, Operations Faith A. Ishii Our special September issue highlights 17 of these pathways Production and Analytics Specialist Anaise Aristide in our feature on page 24. Fushcia-​­Ann Hoover is that small Assistant Director, Design & Branding Beth Bagley Senior Graphic Designer Valerie Friedman business owner who took her education in science and Senior Graphic Designer J. Henry Pereira engineer­ing and her passion as a “maker” and used them to Graphic Design Intern Claudia Morris launch an organization that offers consultation to communi- Marketing ties on urban green infrastructure. Zdenka Willis, our military Assistant Director, Marketing & Advertising Liz Zipse veteran, loved the challenge of transitioning the Navy to dig- ital charts and went on to become the president of an international society that brings busi- Advertising nesses, policymakers, educators, and others together to advance marine technologies. Display Advertising Steve West Some of these scientists followed whatever path would connect them with the outdoors. As [email protected] a child; Kristel Chanard dreamed of Himalayan expeditions. Today she’s checked off the Hima- Recruitment Advertising [email protected] layas, the French Alps, and so many more summits to conduct her work as a research geo- physicist for an institute in Paris. Darcy L. Peter wanted to stay closer to her Gwich’in Atha- Science Advisers bascan home. As an environmental scientist, she’s most proud of her ability to build Geodesy Surendra Adhikari relationships that connect Western science with Indigenous Knowledges. Meanwhile, Robin Geomagnetism, Paleomagnetism, and Electromagnetism Nicholas Swanson-Hysell George Andrews traveled to the volcanoes of New Zealand to get his Ph.D. but found a better Natural Hazards Paula R. Buchanan home for his passion in writing, becoming the ­go-to science reporter for some of the world’s GeoHealth Helena Chapman biggest publications. Atmospheric and Space Electricity Kenneth L. Cummins Cryosphere Ellyn Enderlin Why follow a system when you can help create a better one? That’s what Aisha Morris asked Space Physics and Aeronomy Jingnan Guo herself before leaving academia and joining the National Science Foundation, where she gets History of Geophysics Kristine C. Harper to play a tangible role in creating a more diverse scientific community. Karen Layou, a geosci- Planetary Sciences Sarah M. Hörst Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology Emily R. Johnson entist and professor at Reynolds Community College, is part of a movement to broaden par- Societal Impacts and Policy Sciences Christine Kirchhoff ticipation in the sciences by highlighting the ­2-year college pathway. And of course, there’s Seismology Ved Lekic the system, and then there’s The System. Ashlee Wilkins’s passion for astronomy led her first Tectonophysics Jian Lin Near-Surface Geophysics Juan Lorenzo to NASA and then to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she’s a professional staff mem- Earth and Space Science Informatics Kirk Martinez ber for the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. Ocean Sciences Jerry L. Miller Before you head over to read about these inspiring pathways, flip first to the opinion on Study of the Earth’s Deep Interior Rita Parai Education Eric M. Riggs page 20, where the authors deftly describe this approach to modern career pathways as a Global Environmental Change Hansi Singh “braided river,” eschewing the old model of a pipeline. Our lives are increasingly complicated, Hydrology Kerstin Stahl and the challenges we face as a society are increasingly complex. We all benefit from scientific Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology Kaustubh Thirumalai Nonlinear Geophysics Adrian Tuck workforce development that is designed with flexibility and compassion. Biogeosciences Merritt Turetsky We hope you enjoy this issue and are inspired by the wide world of opportunities these sci- Hydrology Adam S. Ward entists prove are available to everyone. Diversity and Inclusion Lisa D. White Earth and Planetary Surface Processes Andrew C. Wilcox

©2021. AGU. All Rights Reserved. Material in this issue may be photocopied by individual scientists for research or classroom use. Permission is also granted to use short quotes, figures, and tables for publication in scientific books and journals. For permission for any other uses, contact the AGU Publications Office. Eos (ISSN 0096-3941) is published monthly except December by AGU, 2000 Florida Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA. Periodical Class postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Heather Goss, Editor in Chief Member Service Center, 2000 Florida Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA Member Service Center: 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Eastern time; Tel: +1-202-462-6900; Fax: +1-202-328-0566; Tel. orders in U.S.: 1-800-966-2481; [email protected]. Submit your article proposal or suggest a news story to Eos at bit.ly/Eos-proposal. Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect official positions of AGU unless expressly stated. Randy Fiser, Executive Director/CEO

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Features

24 Choose Your Own Adventure There’s no one way to be a scientist. Meet a group of 17 professionals who discovered that their route wasn’t limited to the well-lit avenue.

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8 16

10 42

Columns

From the Editor Research Spotlight 1 Charting the Paths to a Scientific Career 40 The Wildfire One-Two: First the Burn,​ Then the Landslides News 41 Monitoring the Agulhas Current Through Maritime Traffic | How Much Carbon Will Peatlands Lose​ 4 An Iceberg May Have Initiated a Submarine Landslide as Permafrost Thaws? 5 Tiny Kinks Record Ancient Quakes 42 Particles at the Ocean Surface and Seafloor​ 6 Where Do a Volcano’s Metals Go? Aren’t So Different | Establishing a Link Between Air 8 A Remarkably Constant History of Meteorite Strikes Pollution and Dementia 9 U.S. Data Centers Rely on Water from Stressed Basins 43 Gulf Stream Intrusions Feed Diatom Hot Spots 10 Getting to the Bottom of Trawling’s Carbon Emissions 44 Magma Pockets Lie Stacked Beneath Juan de Fuca 12 Dyes and Isotopes Track Groundwater from Sink​ Ridge to Spring 13 Food Security Lessons from the Vikings Editors’ Highlights 15 Astronomers for Planet Earth 45 Saturn’s Dynamo Illuminates Its Interior | 16 Cyclone Tauktae Documents a Climate Trend​ Understanding How Himalayan Water Towers Fill​ in the Tropics and Drain Opinion Positions Available 17 Higher Education During the Pandemic:​​ 46 Current job openings in the Earth and space sciences Truths and Takeaways 20 Reimagining STEM Workforce Development​ as a Braided River Postcards from the Field 49 A pair of geophysicists ride their fat-tire bikes into the sunset to dig baseline trenches across ice wedge polygon troughs in the Canadian High Arctic.

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An Iceberg May Have Initiated a Submarine Landslide

For further evidence that the iceberg initi- ated the landslide, the researchers went back to the core samples they had collected in 2018 near the landslide but before it occurred. By analyzing the sediment composition and the slope of the seafloor, they found that the sediment in the area was stable under gravitational load, but the estimated load of the iceberg would have been enough to ini- tiate the slide. Morelia Urlaub, a marine geoscientist at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany who wasn’t involved in the study, is researching ways to monitor the seafloor and identify new landslides. She said that when studying submarine land- slides, researchers must be in the right place The CCGS Hudson sails in front of an iceberg that scientists later found had initiated a submarine landslide in at the right time. “That’s what I found fasci- Southwind Fjord, Baffin Island. Credit: Alex Normandeau nating about this iceberg study. They basi- cally caught one,” Urlaub said. “The study is important because it brings up a new mech- anism and because the observation is as good n August 2018, Alexandre Normandeau was within a short time window and determine as it gets.” on a research cruise in the Southwind Fjord what might have caused it. Iof Canada’s Baffin Island, attempting to Because no earthquakes had occurred Iceberg Impacts Run Deep study landslides on the seafloor. Norman- within 300 kilometers of Southwind Fjord, the After discovering the landslide in Southwind deau, a research scientist at the Bedford researchers looked for other mechanisms. By Fjord, the researchers explored maps of the Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, comparing the bathymetry data from their seafloor in other locations. They found several N. S., was aboard the CCGS Hudson collecting two visits to the fjord, they found an intrigu- other iceberg pits at landslide head scarps. bathymetry data and core samples of the sea- ing piece of evidence. They noticed a charac- “The most surprising result was off the con- floor when the crew spotted an iceberg. “We teristic pit left when an iceberg strikes the tinental slope of Nova Scotia,” Normandeau took a bunch of photos and didn’t think any- seafloor—right at the initiation point of the said. “They’re much bigger [landslides] than thing of it at the time,” Normandeau remem- landslide—known as a head scarp. Using sat- what we see in the fjords.” Normandeau bered. ellite images from Se­ ntinel-2, they realized hypothesized that when there was an ice A year later, Normandeau and his col- sheet in the region around 20,000 years ago, leagues determined that that same iceberg big icebergs broke off and struck the seabed, may have initiated a new submarine land- causing landslides. He’s hoping to address slide. Scientists had never shown before that “We were hoping for this hypothesis in future research. icebergs could cause landslides. Their find- As climate change causes more icebergs to ings were published in Nature Geoscience (­bit​ something like this. But to break off existing ice sheets, understanding .­ly/​­iceberg​-­landslides). see it happen? It was a lot the risks that icebergs pose could mitigate damage to new infrastructure projects. In An Iceberg Aground of luck.” Canada, there is a push to connect northern Submarine landslides can threaten sea life, communities with subsea Internet cables, cause tsunamis, and damage infrastructure which would be especially at risk. But ice- such as subsea Internet cables. bergs can also travel thousands of kilome- Despite these risks, scientists don’t fully that the iceberg they saw the year before ters, potentially causing landslides far from understand the causes of submarine land- eventually ran aground. A few days later, it the Arctic. “It’s important to be aware of the slides. In some cases, earthquakes are the capsized and slammed into the ocean floor, triggering mechanisms when we’re planning culprits. But because most of the ocean floor regrounding several meters away. seafloor infrastructure,” Normandeau said. is irregularly mapped, it is difficult to know “We interpret that it’s that impact that cre- The gouges left when icebergs collide with when landslides occur and to link them with ated the landslide, because when you look at the seafloor might be only the tip of the a causal event. where the iceberg regrounded, that’s exactly problem. When the researchers returned to South- where the landslide head scarp is,” said Nor- wind Fjord in 2019, they learned that a new mandeau. “We were hoping for something landslide had occurred since their previous like this. But to see it happen? It was a lot of By Andrew Chapman (@andrew7chapman), visit, providing a rare opportunity to look luck.” Science Writer

4 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 NEWS

Tiny Kinks Record Ancient Quakes

very so often, somewhere beneath our Micas—sheetlike minerals that can stack thin section), Anderson and his colleagues feet, rocks rupture and an earthquake together in individual crystals that often pro- compared kink bands from two locations in Ebegins. With big enough ruptures, we vide the sparkle in kitchen countertops—can Maine, both more than 300 million years old. might feel an earthquake as seismic waves preserve deformation features that look like The first location is rife with telltale signs of radiate to or along Earth’s surface. However, microscopic chevrons. On geology’s mac­ a dynamically deformed former seismogenic a mere 15%–20% of the energy needed to roscale, chevrons form in layered strata. In zone, like shattered garnets and pseudo- break rocks in the first place translates into minuscule sheaves of mica, petrologists tachylyte. The second location exposes rocks seismicity, scientists suspect. observe similar pointy folds because the that changed slowly, under relatively static The remaining energy can dissipate as fric- structure of the mica leaves it prone to kink- conditions. tional heat, leaving behind planes of glassy ing, rather than to buckling or folding, said rock called pseudotachylyte. The leftover Frans Aben, a rock physicist at University energy may also fracture, pulverize, or deform College London. rocks that surround the rupture as it rushes In a new article in Earth and Planetary Sci- With micas, once they’re through the crust, said Erik Anderson, a doc- ence Letters, Anderson and his colleagues toral student at the University of Maine. argue that these microstructures—called kinked, they will remain Because these processes occur kilometers kink bands—often mark bygone earthquake kinked, preserving records below Earth’s surface, scientists cannot ruptures and might outlast other indicators directly observe them when modern earth- of seismicity (­bit​.­ly/​kink​-­bands). of ancient earthquakes in quakes strike. Shear zones millions of years the hearts of mountains. old that now reside at the surface can provide Ancient Kink Bands, windows into the rocks around ancient rup- Explosive Explanation tures. However, although seismogenically To observe kinked micas, scientists must altered rocks remain at depth, heat and pres- carefully cut rocks into slivers thinner than sure can erase clues of past quakes, said the width of a typical human hair and affix Comparing the geometry of the kink bands Anderson. “We need some other proxy when each rock slice to a piece of glass. By using from these sites, the researchers observed we’re looking for evidence of earthquakes in ­high-​­powered microscopes to examine this differences in the thicknesses and symme- the rock record.” rock and glass combination (aptly called a tries of their microstructures. In particular, samples from the dynamically deformed location displayed thin-sided, asymmetric kinks. The more statically deformed samples showcased equally proportioned points with thicker limbs. Kink bands, said Aben, can be added to a growing list of indicators of seismic activity in otherwise cryptic shear zones. The data, he said, “speak for themselves.” Aben was not involved in this study. To further cement the link between earth- quakes and kink band geometry, Anderson and colleagues analyzed 1960s era studies largely driven by the development of nuclear weapons. During that time, scientists strove to understand how shock waves emanated from sites of sudden, rapid, massive pertur- bations like those produced at nuclear test sites or meteor impact craters. Micas devel- oped kink bands at such sites, as well as in complementary laboratory experiments, said Anderson, and they mimic the geometric ­patterns produced by dynamic strain rate events—like earthquakes. “[Kink band] geometry,” Anderson said, “is directly linked to the mode of deformation.”

Stressing Rocks, Kinking Micas A kinked muscovite grain embedded within a fine-­ ​­grained, highly deformed matrix of other minerals displays In addition to exploring whether kinked mica asymmetric kink bands. Credit: Erik Anderson geometry could fingerprint relics of earth-

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quake ruptures, Anderson and his colleagues estimated the magnitude of localized, tran- Where Do a Volcano’s Metals Go? sient stress their samples experienced as an earthquake’s rupture front propagated awaii’s Kılauea volcano is very large, like cerium, remain for much longer. “It was through the rocks, he said. In other words, he very active, and very disruptive. Its quite striking to see that there is such a large asked, might the geometry of kinked micas Hrecent activity belched tons of sulfur difference,” said Ilyinskaya. “That’s some- scale with the magnitude of momentary dioxide into the air each day. But aside from thing we didn’t really expect.” stress that kinked the micas in the first place? gases, eruptions from basaltic volcanoes like Kılauea release metals and metalloids, includ- ing ones considered pollutants, like copper, zinc, arsenic, and lead. These metal pollut- “Kīlauea is a wonderful ants have been found in the ground, water, The stresses experienced rain, snow, and plants near vents posterup- natural laboratory for by these rocks…were about tion, as well as in the air downwind. studying volcanism and But how these volcanic metals are trans- 9 times the pressure at the ported from active eruptions, their longevity particularly that type of in the environment, and how much and basaltic volcanism.” Mariana Trench. where they end up settling were open ques- tions until recently. “We know that volcanoes are a huge natural source of these metals, which are environmentally very important,” By extrapolating data from previously pub- said Evgenia Ilyinskaya, an associate profes- The researchers think that metal deposi- lished laboratory experiments, Anderson sor at Leeds University in the United King- tion may be very sensitive to atmospheric estimated that pulverizing rocks at the deep- dom. “But there’s just not very much known conditions like wind, rain, and humidity. Dif- est depths at which earthquakes can nucleate about what happens to them after emission— ferent environments could mean different requires up to 2 gigapascals of stress. how long do they stay in the atmosphere, and patterns of volcanic metal dispersal and pol- Although stress doesn’t directly correspond where do they go?” lution. For example, drier and colder environ- to pressure, 2 gigapascals is equivalent to ments, like Iceland, may have patterns dif- more than 7,200 times the pressure inside a Sampling the Wind ferent than hot and humid environments like car tire inflated to 40 pounds per square inch. To better understand how concentrations of Hawaii. For reference, the unimaginably crushing metals change as a plume travels downwind pressure in the deepest part of the ocean— during an active ongoing eruption, Ilyinskaya the Mariana Trench—is only about 400 times and fellow researcher and University of Cam- the pressure in that same tire. bridge doctoral student Emily Mason set up By the same conversion, kinking micas sampling stations around the Big Island of requires stresses 8–30 times the water pres- Hawaii. Intermittently over the course of sure in the deepest ocean. Because Anderson almost a year, they collected samples as close found pulverized garnets proximal to kinked as possible to Kılauea’s eruptive vent and at micas at the fault-filled field site, he and his another six sites around the island. The far- colleagues inferred that the stresses momen- thest site was more than 200 kilometers dis- tarily experienced by these rocks as an earth- tant, and all were in the path of the trade quake’s rupture tore through the shear zone wind. They also collected samples 300 meters were about 1 gigapascal, or 9 times the pres- above the plume using a drone. sure at the Mariana Trench. “Kılauea is a wonderful natural laboratory Aben described this transient stress esti- for studying volcanism and particularly that mate for earthquakes as speculative, but he type of basaltic volcanism,” said Mason. “It’s said the new study’s focus on earthquake-­ ​ a ­well-​­understood system, and that makes it ­induced deformation fills a gap in research a very appealing target.” between very slow rock deformation that Their research, published in Communica- builds mountains and extremely rapid defor- tions Earth and Environment, is the biggest mation that occurs during nuclear weap- study of volcano metal emissions ever done ons testing and meteor impacts. And with (­bit​.­ly/​­volcano​-­metal​-­emissions). micas, he said, “once they’re kinked, they Ilyinskaya, Mason, and their colleagues will remain kinked,” preserving records of found an enormous difference between pol- ancient earthquakes in the hearts of moun- lutant levels during and after the eruption— tains. up to 3 times higher than periods without vol- canic activity. They discovered that different pollutants fall out at different rates: Some A researcher wearing protective gear walks toward By Alka Tripathy-Lang (@DrAlkaTrip), Science pollutants, like cadmium, remain in the a laze plume created by Kīlauea’s lava entering the Writer plume for only a few hours, whereas others, ocean. Credit: Evgenia Ilyinskaya/USGS

6 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 NEWS

Researchers working at Kīlauea’s still-active fissure 8, located on the volcano’s lower East Rift Zone. Credit: Emma Liu/USGS

Laze Plumes and Copper fact that copper emissions could be compa- living close to the volcano,” she said. “On the Mason also studied laze plumes, created when rable between the laze plume and the mag- other hand, it may be lessening the impact on the heat of lava very quickly evaporates sea- matic plume is definitely surprising to me,” the communities further away.” water, by taking samples where the lava said Mason. Volcanic pollutants have been linked to entered the ocean. The phenomenon is rela- Volcanologist and geochemist Tobias health problems like thyroid cancer, multiple tively rare, as there aren’t that many basaltic Fischer of the University of New Mexico, who sclerosis, and respiratory diseases. One goal volcanoes near sea level where lava can reach was not involved in either study, said this of studies like Ilyinskaya’s and Mason’s is to the ocean. But laze plumes are worth study- research is “a really nice approach and really create a pollution map that models where the ing, said Mason, because historically there advances our understanding of not only the plume will go, the concentrations of metals, have been much larger basaltic eruptions that quantity of metal emissions but also their life and the atmospheric conditions, to help com- created large igneous provinces, like the Dec- cycle in a volcanic plume like this one.” munities avoid exposure. Fischer said a pol- can Traps. These eruptions may have released lution map would be a wonderful contribu- tons of metals and metalloids into the sur- Health Risks tion. “Then you can probably make some rounding environment. “It’s possible that At some point during the 3 hours the plume pretty good predictions of where you get high laze plumes are a slightly underestimated took to reach the closest sampling station, concentrations of metal deposition and what force in those events,” said Mason. its metals were radically depleted. The kinds of metals,” he said. The amount of copper being released by researchers hypothesized that the heavy-­ ​ More research needs to be done on how laze plumes is surprising, said Mason. Sea- ­metal pollutants may have formed a very metals are stratified within a plume and also water is rich in chlorine, and she thinks it water soluble chemical species that fell out their long-term accumulations in water and enables more copper to de-gas. Laze plumes in rain close to the eruption site. Ilyinskaya is plants, said Mason. “Volcanic metals are an could even release more copper into the envi- collecting samples from Iceland’s Fagradals- insidious threat in terms of the way that they ronment than large magmatic plumes, she fjall volcano to learn more about what hap- build up in the environment,” said Mason. said. This copper would also be released pens in those first 3 hours of a plume’s life- directly into the ocean and could affect time. marine environments, by either worsening “If this process is really happening, then it By Danielle Beurteaux (@daniellebeurt), ocean acidification or adding nutrients. “The could be disproportionately impacting people Science­ Writer

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A Remarkably Constant History of Meteorite Strikes

housands of tons of extraterrestrial material pummel Earth’s surface each Tyear. The vast majority of it is too small to see with the naked eye, but even bits of cosmic dust can reveal secrets. By poring over more than 2,800 grains from micrometeorites, researchers have found that the amount of extraterrestrial material falling to Earth has remained remarkably stable over millions of years. That’s a surprise, the team suggested, because it’s long been believed that random collisions of asteroids in the asteroid belt periodically send showers of meteoroids toward Earth.

Astronomy by Looking Down When asteroids collide, Earth doesn’t always experience an uptick in meteorite strikes. Credit: iStock­ ​.­com/​ Birger Schmitz, a geologist at Lund University ­dottedhippo in Sweden, remembers the first time he looked at sediments to trace something that had come from space. It was the 1980s, and he was studying the Chicxulub impact crater. impressive, said Terfelt, who recalled black meteorites. But of the 15 of these titanic tus- “It was the first insight that we could get smoke filling their laboratory’s fume hood. sles involving ­chromite-​­bearing asteroids astronomical information by looking down “The reaction between pyrite and nitric acid that occurred over the past 500 million years, instead of looking up,” said Schmitz. is quite spectacular.” that was the case only once, Schmitz and Ter- Inspired by that experience, Schmitz and The chemical barrage left behind grains of felt showed. “Only one appears to have led his Lund University colleague Fredrik Terfelt, chromite, an extremely hardy mineral that to an increase in the flux of meteorites to a research engineer, have spent the past composes about 0.25% by weight of some Earth,” said Schmitz. 8 years collecting more than 8,000 kilograms meteorites. These grains are like a corpse’s Perhaps asteroid collisions need to occur in of sedimentary limestone. They’re not inter- gold tooth, said Schmitz. “They survive.” a specific place for their refuse to actually ested in the rock itself, which was once part Schmitz and Terfelt found that more than make it to our planet, the researchers propose of the ancient seafloor, but rather in what it 99% of the chromite grains they recovered in the Proceedings of the National Academy of contains: micrometeorites that fell to Earth came from a stony meteorite known as an Sciences of the United States of America (­bit​.­ly/​ over the past 500 million years. ordinary chondrite. That’s perplexing, the ­asteroid​-­collisions). So-called Kirkwood researchers suggested, because asteroids of gaps—areas within the asteroid belt where this type are rare in the asteroid belt, the the orbital periods of an asteroid and the source of most meteorites. “Ordinary chon- planet Jupiter constitute a ratio of integers Some of the reactions that dritic asteroids don’t even appear to be com- (e.g., 3:1 or 5:2)—are conspicuously empty. mon in the asteroid belt,” Schmitz told Eos. Thanks to gravitational interactions that ensued were impressive, An implication of this finding is that most asteroids experience in these regions said Terfelt, who recalled of Earth’s roughly 200 known impact struc- of space, they tend to get flung out of those tures were likely formed from ordinary chon- orbits, said Philipp Heck, a meteorist at the black smoke filling their drites striking the planet. “The general view Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago laboratory’s fume hood. has been that comets and all types of aster- not involved in the research. “Those objects oids were responsible,” said Schmitz. tend to become ­Earth-​­crossing relatively When Schmitz and Terfelt sorted by age the quickly.” 2,828 chromite grains they recovered, the We’re gaining a better understanding of mystery deepened. The distribution they the solar system by studying the relics of Dissolving Rocks found was remarkably flat except for one peak asteroids, its oldest constituents, said Heck. Schmitz and Terfelt used a series of strong roughly 460 million years ago. We were sur- But this analysis should be extended to other chemicals in a specially designed laboratory prised, said Schmitz. “Everyone was telling types of meteorites that don’t contain chro- to isolate the extraterrestrial material. They us [we would] find several peaks.” mite grains, he said. “This method only looks immersed their samples of limestone—rep- at certain types of meteorites. It’s far from a resenting 15 different time windows spanning Making It to Earth complete picture.” the Late Cambrian to the early Paleogene—in Sporadic collisions between asteroids in the successive baths of hydrochloric, hydroflu- asteroid belt produce a plethora of debris, and oric, sulfuric, and nitric acid, to dissolve the it’s logical to assume that some of that cos- By Katherine Kornei (@KatherineKornei), rock. Some of the reactions that ensued were mic shrapnel will reach Earth in the form of Science­ Writer

8 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 NEWS

U.S. Data Centers Rely on Water from Stressed Basins

hanks to our ever increasing reliance Connecting Water Consumption Agency and the U.S. Energy Information on the Internet, the amount of data to Data Centers Association, and data from previous academic Tonline is skyrocketing. The global data The researchers identified more than 100,000 studies, the researchers matched the data volume is expected to grow sixfold from 2018 data centers using previously collected infor- centers with their most likely sources of elec- to 2025. It might seem like that information mation from the Lawrence Berkeley National tricity and water. Then they estimated the is swirling in the cloudy sky, but it’s actually Laboratory and the websites of commercial data centers’ annual energy, direct water, and stored in physical data centers. data centers. While most of the data centers indirect water consumption based on their Landon Marston, an assistant professor at are small operations run by individual com- energy and cooling requirements. By piecing Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Uni- panies, the majority of servers in the United all this information together, “we can have a versity, recently noticed news articles States are housed in fewer than 2,500 “colo- spatially explicit representation of the envi- addressing the growing energy requirements cation” and “hyperscale” data centers, which ronmental footprints associated with each of of the data center industry. As an expert in store data for many companies and the public the data centers,” said Marston. water resources engineering, he wondered simultaneously. Hyperscale data centers are They mapped the U.S. data center indus- how those energy requirements translated the biggest type of data center, typically try’s carbon footprint, water footprint, and into water consumption. “We know data cen- housing more than 5,000 servers, but are water scarcity footprint. The latter calculates ters use a lot of energy, and energy uses a lot designed to be more energy efficient by using the pressure that water consumption puts on of water. So how much water is being used?” ­cutting-​­edge cooling methods and servers. a region based on local water availability and said Marston. “We suspected that there could All data centers consume water directly to needs. be large impacts at a very local scale, but there cool the electronics at the site and indirectly, hadn’t really been a spatially detailed analy- through electricity generation at the power Hot, Dry, and Hydroelectric sis looking at the environmental impact of plants that service the sites. Using records The results revealed that data centers use data centers.” from the U.S. Environmental Protection water from 90% of watersheds in the United In a study recently published in Environ- States. The water consumption of individual mental Research Letters, Marston and col- data centers varies dramatically depending leagues attempted to map how and where on where they are located and their electric- data centers in the United States consume “We know data centers use ity source. For example, data centers in the energy and water (bit.­ ly/­ data​­ -​ center­ -​ energy).­ Southwest rely on water-­ ​­heavy hydroelec- The results showed that it takes a large a lot of energy, and energy tric power, and the hot climate there leads to amount of water to support the cloud and uses a lot of water. So how more evaporation compared with other that the water often comes from ­water-​ regions in the country. Data centers in the ­stressed basins. much water is being used?” cooler, wetter climates of the East Coast also tend to use more solar and wind energy, which require less water. Of the total water footprint attributed to data centers, 75% was from indirect water use at power plants and 25% was from on-site water use. “This is important, because most [data center] operators don’t really look at their power consumption as part of the over- all water footprint,” said David Mytton, a researcher at Imperial College London and a member of the Data Center Sustainability Research Team at the Uptime Institute. Myt- ton was not involved in the new study. A. B. Siddik, a graduate student at Virginia Tech and the study’s lead author, explained that on-site water consumption has a bigger impact on the water scarcity footprint, indi- cating that many data centers are in water- stressed regions. “Most often they are in the middle of a desert, or in the Southwest, like California, Nevada, and Arizona,” said Siddik. “Those are hubs of data centers.” The overall water scarcity footprint was more than double the water footprint, suggesting that data cen- ters in the United States disproportionately A Google data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Credit: Chad Davis, CC-BY-2.0 (­bit​.­ly/​­ccby2-0) consume water from ­water-stressed​­ regions.

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Planning for the Digital Future As the demand for data storage grows, so Getting to the Bottom of Trawling’s will the need for hyperscale data centers. Although these buildings are more efficient Carbon Emissions than smaller data centers, concentrating the energy and water demands in fewer locations could tax the local environment. Further innovations in energy-efficient technology and investments in renewable energy will help curb energy and water usage, but Marston also recommended building new data centers in regions with smaller carbon and ­water-​­scarcity footprints. “Simple real estate decisions could potentially be the solu- tion here,” he said. Technology companies have already tried extreme locations for data centers. For exam- ple, Google converted an old mill in frigid

“Simple real estate decisions could potentially be the solution here.”

Trawling nets like these disturb delicate ocean floor ecosystems and inadvertently release stored carbon. Credit: Alex Proimos, CC BY 2.0 (­bit​.­ly/​­ccby2-0) northern Finland into a data center, and Mic- rosoft experimented with putting data cen- ters in the ocean. But according to the study, locations such as New York and southern ottom trawling, a controversial fish- tizing the creation of marine protected areas Florida that have an abundance of water and ing practice in which industrial to restore ocean biodiversity and maximize renewable energy sources would have a lower Bboats drag weighted nets through the carbon storage and ecosystem services (­bit.​­ly/​ environmental impact. water and along the ocean floor, can unin- ­framework​-­mpa). Mytton agreed that it’s important to con- tentionally dig up seafloor ecosystems and sider the locations of future data centers, release carbon sequestered within the sedi- adding that climate change complicates these ments. For the first time, researchers have decisions because places that are not water attempted to estimate globally how this stressed now might become drier and hotter fishing technique may be remineraliz- “The ocean is one of our over time. Plus, many other factors contribute ing stored carbon that, as the seabed is tilled, biggest carbon sinks, so to where data centers are built, such as the ends up back in the water column and pos- local taxes, regulations, and workforce. Stra- sibly the atmosphere, where it would con- when we put in more tegically placing data centers based on water tribute to climate change. human-induced CO2 resources is also an important economic con- “The ocean is one of our biggest carbon sideration for the industry, Marston said, sinks,” said Trisha Atwood, who researches emissions…we’re because ­water-​­stressed regions are prone to aquatic ecology at Utah State University. “So weakening that sink.” electricity blackouts and brownouts, which when we put in more human-­ ​­induced CO2 are detrimental to the operation of data cen- emissions, whether that’s directly dumping ters. CO2 into deep waters or whether that’s trawl- “Data [are] so critical to the way our society ing and enhancing remineralization of this functions, and data centers underpin all carbon, we’re weakening that sink.” Estimating Carbon Loss that,” Marston said. “It’s not just about the Atwood helped build a model that shows from the Ocean Floor environmental footprint. It’s also a potential that bottom trawling may be releasing as To create the model, Atwood and her coau- risk for these data centers. much as 1.5 billion metric tons of aqueous thors first needed to figure out how much of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, equal to what the ocean floor is dredged by trawlers. They is released on land through farming. Her work turned to data from the nonprofit Global By Andrew Chapman (@andrew7chapman), was part of a paper recently published in Fishing Watch, which recently began tracking Science Writer Nature that presents a framework for priori- fishing activity around the world, and com-

10 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 NEWS

piled data on industrial trawlers and dredg- ers from 2016 to 2019. The next step was to find data on how much carbon is stored in the world’s ocean sediments. Because that information was not readily available, Atwood and colleagues built a data set by analyzing thousands of sedi- ment cores that had been collected over the decades. Last, they dug through the scientific liter- ature, looking at studies that examined whether disturbances to the soil in coastal ecosystems, such as seagrasses, mangroves, and salt marshes, exposed carbon that was once deep in marine sediments and enhanced carbon production in the ocean. “We lean really heavily on that literature,” said Atwood. “We used a lot of the equations [in previous papers] to build our model and extend it into the seabeds in these more open ocean locations. And from there, we were able to come up with this first estimate.”

“We in no way intended A group of twin-rigged shrimp boats trawl the northern Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. The trawlers are our model to be the end-all trailed by plumes of sediment, suggesting that their nets are scraping the seafloor. Credit: SkyTruth Galleries, in the trawling CC ­BY-NC-SA 2.0 (­bit​.­ly/​­ccbyncsa2-0) conversation. We hope that many more studies will Existing Trawling Data pointed to several studies, including one she come along that help May Be Too Scant was a part of that showed loss of organic car- Not everyone, however, is convinced that bon through erosion. produce more localized Atwood and Sala’s model on bottom trawling “I want to emphasize that [the authors] results.” and loss of carbon sequestration in marine address a very important issue regarding how sediments is accurate. Sarah Paradis, who is bottom trawling, a ubiquitous and very ­poorly studying the effects of bottom trawling on regulated anthropogenic activity, is affecting the seafloor for her Ph.D. at the Institute of the seafloor,” she wrote. “But the values they Environmental Science and Technology in propose are far from being credible.” Their investigation did not attempt to Barcelona, is skeptical. Atwood disagreed. “We don’t need lots of determine whether sequestered carbon that In an email to Eos, Paradis noted that since studies on the effects of trawling because we has been released by bottom trawling remains the 1980s, fewer than 40 studies have built our model using decades of carbon in the water column or is released into the addressed the impacts that bottom trawling cycling research,” she wrote in an email to atmosphere, although they noted potential has on sedimentary organic carbon. These Eos. “Trawling is simply a perturbation that problems either way. In the paper, the few studies are not enough to build a model mixes and ­re-suspends​­ sediments, leading to authors note that it is likely to increase ocean on, she said, and in addition, the studies increases in carbon availability. All we needed acidification, limit the ocean’s buffering reached different conclusions. Some studies to know about trawling to apply a carbon capacity, and even add to the buildup of observed that bottom trawling decreased model to it is where trawling occurs and how atmospheric CO2. organic carbon content of the seafloor, deep in the sediment the trawls go.” Atwood and the lead author of the paper, whereas others showed that it increased In addition, Atwood said, “We in no way Enric Sala, a conservation ecologist who is organic carbon. intended our model to be the end-all in the also a National Geographic ­Explorer-​­in-​ In addition, Paradis wrote that less organic trawling conversation. We hope that many ­Residence, are working with Tim DeVries, carbon on the seafloor does not necessarily more studies will come along that help pro- who studies ocean biogeochemistry at the mean its remineralization to CO2. Rather, it duce more localized results.” University of California, Santa Barbara, and could simply mean loss of organic carbon scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight through erosion, which means that the car- Center to build atmospheric models to try to bon moves to another area of the seabed but By Nancy Averett (@nancyaverett), Science figure out where the released carbon goes. very little is remineralized into CO2. She Writer

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 11 NEWS

Dyes and Isotopes Track Groundwater from Sink to Spring

published in Groundwater (­bit​.ly/­ ​­sinkhole​ -­spring). But when studying sinkholes, he said, scientists have to consider surface water flows, too. In 2010, two sinkholes appeared at the edge of Lake Miccosukee in north central Florida, and in 2018 Ye and his colleagues used a tech- nique called dye tracing to detect water flows from sinkhole to spring. Dye tracing requires guesswork, Ye said. It’s “like hunting a treasure.” Florida Geological Survey technicians poured lime-green fluorescein dye into the sinkholes, then placed monitors at likely out- flow sites downslope. None detected the diluted dye. The researchers also placed cheaper charcoal packets at less likely loca- tions. One of those sites, Natural Bridge Spring, 32 kilometers away, turned up evi- dence of the dye.

The method would remove the guesswork of dumping dye into a sinkhole and expand the understanding of the karst aquifer at lower cost and effort. Tom Greenhalgh introduces tracer dye into a sinkhole at Lake Miccosukee. Credit: Ming Ye

eneath Florida’s cities and swamps lies understanding is important to populations Heavy Signatures a complex network of karst conduits. outside Florida: Karst aquifers provide drink- Connecting the dots with dye was only step BThe same chemical weathering that ing water for 25% of people on Earth. one. The team next explored whether iso- carves ­truck-​­sized tunnels through the cal- Isotope analysis helps hydrogeologists topes could also establish the hydraulic con- cium carbonate rock also leads to sinkholes trace water origins, but the technique’s use nection. at the surface. For Florida insurance agents, generally has been limited to sinkhole lakes Isotope signatures are a common method sinkholes are a headache. But for the state’s and springs no more than 4 kilometers apart. for assessing groundwater origins. A small hydrogeologists, every sinkhole is an oppor- Recently, however, a team in Florida used iso- percentage of oxygen molecules are 18O, tunity to understand the aquifer below. tope ratios to connect points 32 kilometers “heavy isotopes” that evaporate less readily Sinkholes allow surface water, as well as apart. It’s the farthest hydraulic connection than common 16O isotopes, giving lake signa- contaminants, to flood into an aquifer. By between a sinkhole and a spring yet docu- tures a substantially higher proportion of 18O mapping the network of entry points and exit mented and the first connection involving a than groundwater or rainfall. Knowing the springs, hydrogeologists can better under- ­first-magni​­ tude spring (a spring discharging isotope signatures of the sinkhole, spring, stand the underground system and better an average of 100 cubic feet—2.8 cubic and groundwater, the researchers determined protect drinking water at its source. That meters—of water per second). that roughly 8.5% of Natural Bridge Spring water originated at Lake Miccosukee. “Dyeing” to Know That mixing fraction was based on pairs of “Normally, for hydrogeology, we only care water samples. Using weekly water samples, u Read the latest news about subsurface water flows,” explained the researchers compared isotopes from Nat- at Eos.org Ming Ye, a hydrogeologist at Florida State ural Bridge Spring to isotopes collected earlier University and a coauthor of the research, at Lake Miccosukee. They found that the dye

12 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 NEWS

reached the spring 18 days after application at Lake Miccosukee, and the presence of the Food Security Lessons dye at Natural Bridge Spring peaked at day 34. Removing the effects of rainfall, the from the Vikings isotope ratios at both sites were perfectly cor- related 35 days apart, demonstrating a hydraulic connection and validating the expected transit time.

Connecting Dots Underground The researchers now plan to reverse the pro- cess, tying a spring back to its source and using isotopes as a primary confirmation method. By collecting regular water samples from area springs and sinkhole lakes, researchers can look for isotope ratio trends over time. Possible connections can be confirmed with dye tracing. The method would remove the guesswork of dumping dye into a sinkhole and expand the understanding of the karst aquifer at lower cost and effort, researchers said. “What they’re exposing here is a very sound method to backtrack type of infiltra- tion,” said Joanna Doummar, an assistant professor of hydrogeology at American Uni- versity of Beirut who was not involved in the research. Using isotopes to connect the dots allows hydrogeologists a wider window of sampling and evidence. “[Dye] tracing is very import- Viking and ­pre-​­Viking agricultural practices (as presented here in the living history of Fotevikens Museum in Swe- ant, but it’s very static,” said Doummar. “It den) were influenced by climate and may help modern communities adjust to climate change. Credit: Fährten- doesn’t tell you how this is varying through leser/Wikimedia time.” Ultimately, knowledge of the subsurface system will help water managers protect spring water at its upslope entry point. arming practices of the Vikings and “Our findings Knowing the transit time and the mixing their ancestors could provide inspira- fraction will also help managers gauge Ftion for resilient food systems today. demonstrate that climate threats, as contaminants may decay or dilute This is thanks to a study exploring how Scan- already changed in the while traveling through the aquifer. dinavian societies adapted their agricultural “It’s really important, given the heteroge- activities in a period of European history past—it is not something neity of this infiltration, to detect all these marked by stark climate fluctuations. new—and societies had to areas and identify all the transit times,” The Viking Age kicked off around 800 CE as Doummar said. “With the assumptions that societies in Scandinavia expanded, partly as adapt to it already 1,500 [Ye and his team] have taken, which are very a result of a rise in temperature that allowed years ago.” legitimate, they have exposed a method to agriculture to flourish. Historians believe that backtrack the percentage of water coming a growth in population and the pressure it from the sinkhole.” placed on available farmland were reasons Until the system is developed, Ye and his Vikings began venturing beyond their home- collaborators will continue treasure hunting. lands. Less is known about farming practices in A 1,618-­ ​­hectare Florida lake completely In popular culture today, a lot of focus is ­pre-​­Viking societies, those existing in an era drained into a sinkhole in early June, offering placed on Viking raids and attacks on reli- known as the Dark Ages Cold Period. During another chance to explore the aquifer with gious sites, partly because many firsthand this half millennium between 300 and 800 bags of organic dye. accounts were written by besieged Christian CE, northern Europe experienced cold cli- scholars. But archaeological evidence sug- mates driven by volcanoes spewing gases and gests that above all else, Vikings were agri- dust into the atmosphere, which reduced the culturalists who cultivated crops and reared amount of solar radiation reaching Earth’s By J. Besl (@J_Besl), Science Writer livestock, often on ­self-​­sufficient farms. surface.

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 13 NEWS

more biotic activity in the lake, which resulted in a greater accumulation of calcium carbon- ate deposits on the lake bed. The key finding was that warmer phases were dominated by the cultivation of crops, whereas cooler phases were dominated by livestock farming. Manon’s team, as well as archaeologists working at Rakni’s mound, suggested that it is not surprising that farm- ers would rely more on animals during colder periods (when crop yields are reduced) and are reexamining archaeological evidence to support this theory. Pollen grains in the core revealed the types and extents of staple crops, which included Constructed between the 5th and 6th centuries, Rakni’s mound is one of the largest barrows in northern Europe rye, wheat, and barley. Overall, cold periods and near the site of new research into the farming practices of pre-Viking societies. Credit: Øyvind Holmstad/ corresponded to reduced crop yields, with Wikimedia, CC ­BY-SA 3.0 (­bit​.­ly/​­ccbysa3-0) barley being the most affected by climate shifts. Animal grazing near the lake was inferred from the core’s quantity of Sordaria, fungi that Digging in the Mud ern Europe. Previous archaeological studies thrive on animal feces. Small quantities of Near Rakni’s Mound have dated the mound’s construction to the DNA recovered from the core also revealed The new research finds evidence that a com- ­mid-6th century and found extensive evi- the presence of cows, pigs, and sheep. munity in Norway responded to this climate dence of farming and food preparation activ- turbulence by regularly adapting its cereal ities in the area. Strategic Farmers production and animal husbandry practices. Bajard and her colleagues steered a raft Bajard said Viking ancestors may have stra- It is one of the first studies from a multidis- to Ljøgottjern’s deepest section, where lake tegically prioritized the best land close to the ciplinary project called Volcanic Eruptions community for crops. During warmer periods and their Impacts on Climate, Environment, when harvests were more robust, animals and Viking Society in 500–1250 CE (VIKINGS). were relocated to areas less suitable for crops, “Our findings demonstrate that climate perhaps land that was still forested. already changed in the past, it is not some- “Later, during the Viking Age and Middle thing new, and societies had to adapt to it Ages, both activities were occurring at the already 1,500 years ago. This shows that we same time, but it was much warmer then, also have to adapt to the rapid climate change so the cultivation area could have been extended,” Bajard said. To build a more complete picture of how farming practices evolved, Bajard’s team will try to collect more DNA samples from near “Over generations, hard- the lake to start quantifying how the mix of won experience taught a animal types varied over time. Mud cores from Lake Ljøgottjern contain sediments Peter Hambro Mikkelsen, an environmen- farmer what works and dating back to the last glacial retreat. Credit: tal archaeologist at Aarhus University in Den- [that] experiments could be VIKINGS project/University of Oslo mark not involved in the VIKINGS research, said that food producers today might learn fatal.” from this community’s ability to diversify. “Over generations, hard-won experience bed sediments are least affected by lateral taught a farmer what works and [that] exper- flows. By lowering a weighted tube, they iments could be fatal. As opposed to modern retrieved a 6-meter sediment core. Muds farming where specialization is the key to we observe today in order to maintain and have been accumulating at Lake Ljøgottjern large-scale production, traditional agricul- improve our food production,” said Manon since the last glacial retreat more than ture knows that when weather fails, livestock Bajard of the University of Oslo, who pre- 10,000 years ago, so the sediments contain can perish—and the enemy can be at the sented the research in April at the European clues about the area’s history. gates of one’s village.” Geosciences Union General Assembly 2021. To analyze the core, Bajard’s group used Bajard’s team analyzed sediments from ­carbon-14 dating to identify the section cor- Lake Ljøgottjern in southeastern Norway. responding to 300–800 CE. Past temperature Lake Ljøgottjern is located next to Rakni’s fluctuations were reconstructed from calcium By James Dacey (@JamesDacey), Science mound, one of the largest barrows in north- deposits: During warmer periods, there was Writer

14 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 NEWS

Astronomers for Planet Earth

ing the public, ‘Look, we really need to make a change,’ and the next moment I’m jump- ing on a plane for Chile [to use the tele- scopes],” said Leonard Burtscher, a staff astronomer at Leiden University in the Netherlands. “That’s a recipe for disaster in terms of communication.” On average, an astronomer’s ­work-related​­ greenhouse gas emissions are about twice as high as those of an average citizen in a devel- oped country. The emissions per person are many times above the goal set by the Paris Agreement to limit the global increase in average temperature to less than 1.5°C rela- tive to preindustrial levels. At a recent virtual conference of the Euro- NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg enjoys a view of Earth from the windows of the International Space Station in pean Astronomical Society, hosted by Leiden 2013. Credit: NASA University, A4E organized a session in which astronomers and climate crisis experts dis- cussed the measures that would help reduce the carbon footprint of astronomy. Observa- here is no escaping the reality of the United States and the other from Europe, tories and institutes are moving toward a climate crisis: There is no Planet B. A decided to join forces. Today the network greater reliance on renewable energy, and Tgroup of astronomers, united under the numbers over a thousand astronomers, stu- plans for future facilities take carbon assess- name Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E), are dents, and astronomy educators from 78 coun- ment into account. ready to use their unique astronomical per- tries. “We’re still trying to get ourselves Perhaps the most contentious topic of dis- spective to reinforce that important message. together,” said Adrienne Cool, a professor at cussion in academia is air travel. One solu- A good number of exoplanets may poten- San Francisco State University. “It’s a volun- tion is to hold fewer ­in-​­person conferences, tially be habitable, but humans cannot simply teer organization that’s grown rapidly.” as studies have shown that moving confer- cross the vast distances required to get there. Astronomy, its practitioners note, has a ences to a virtual setting dramatically And other planets of the solar system, surprisingly wide earthly reach. “We teach reduces the carbon footprint. “Good things although accessible, are all inhospitable. “Like astronomy courses that are taken by, just in [come] out of virtual meetings,” said it or not, for the moment the Earth is where the U.S., a quarter million students every Burtscher. “Better inclusivity, lower costs, we make our stand,” Carl Sagan famously year,” said Cool. “That’s a lot of students that often a higher legacy value, recordings of wrote in his 1994 book Pale Blue Dot. The we reach.” talks and discussions.” On the other hand, book’s title is based on the eponymous image And their influence goes way beyond stu- proponents of face-to-face meetings argue showing Earth as small, fragile, and isolated. dents. Each year about 150 million people visit that a virtual setting impedes the fruitful Sagan’s reflection on the image shows that planetariums around the world. Astronomers collaborations and networking that are espe- astronomers can have a powerful voice in the also organize countless stargazing nights and cially important for young scientists. In the climate debate. public lectures. Perhaps more than any other end, the community will likely have to make discipline, some researchers think, astronomy a compromise. has the opportunity to address masses of peo- The impetus for change is strong. More ple of all ages and occupations. than 2,700 astronomers signed an open let- “Let’s get real, and let’s ter released on Earth Day 2021 in which they Toward Sustainable Science recognized the urgency of the climate crisis figure out how to make There is no guide for how best to incorporate and called for all astronomical institutions climate science into an astronomy lecture. to adopt sustainability as a primary goal (­bit​ sustainability the key part A4E works as a hub of knowledge and expe- .­ly/​­astronomer​-­letter). But this is just the of what our institutions do rience where astronomers can exchange beginning, and the time for action is ticking teaching and outreach material. Members away. “So let’s get real, and let’s figure out in addition to astronomy.” also learn about climate science and sustain- how to make sustainability the key part of ability from regularly organized webinars. what our institutions do in addition to However, although astronomers are astronomy,” said Cool. spreading their message, they also acknowl- Astronomy, a Field with a Reach edge the need to address the elephant in the The beginnings of A4E go back to 2019 when room: Astronomy can leave a significant car- two groups of astronomers, one from the bon footprint. “I don’t feel comfortable tell- By Jure Japelj (@JureJapelj), Science Writer

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 15 NEWS

Cyclone Tauktae Documents a Climate Trend in the Tropics

ing,” he said. “We have [also] observed that where temperatures are permanently above the intensity and frequency of cyclones in the 28°C. Cyclones draw their energy from the Arabian Sea [are] increasing.” heat and moisture supplied by the warm In fact, according to data from the India ocean waters below. Meteorological Department, Cyclone Tauktae Previous research by Koll noted how the marked the first time in 40 years that pre- western Indian Ocean has been warming for monsoon (April–June) cyclones appeared for more than a century, at a rate faster than any four consecutive years (2018–2021) in the other region of the tropical oceans. Arabian Sea. In addition, “recent cyclones in the Arabian Assessing and Strengthening Sea are exhibiting rapid intensification, India’s Preparedness where they intensify from a weak cyclone to India is reeling under the ­COVID-19 pan- a severe cyclone in a short time,” said Koll. demic; as Cyclone Tauktae struck, the country An intensification of 55 kilometers per hour recorded 259,551 new cases and more than in less than 24 hours is defined as rapid inten- 4,200 deaths. Despite these immense chal- sification. lenges, India did a good job dealing with “Cyclone Tauktae underwent rapid inten- Cyclone Tauktae, Koll said. He pointed to how Cyclone Tauktae was the strongest cyclone to hit sification—[it] intensified by 45 knots weather and ocean agencies forecast the the Indian state of Gujarat in more than 20 years. [83 kilometers per hour] in the 24 hours,” cyclone’s impacts well in advance and how Credit: NASA Singh explained. He noted that in addition to disaster response teams and local adminis- sea surface temperatures being 1.5°C–2°C trations worked together to evacuate people higher than normal prior to the genesis of in time. Cyclone Tauktae, “the ocean heat content, As for what India should prepare for in the n 18 May, Cyclone Tauktae hit the which is a proxy of the surface and subsurface future, Koll said that “there is a heightened coast of Gujarat, a state in western combined ocean energy, also was very high.” risk on the west coast that we need to assess OIndia, with peak wind speeds of about Singh is the lead author of two papers— and work on in terms of adaptation and mit- 220 kilometers per hour. Other western states one based on Cyclone Fani (­bit.​­ly/­fani-​ ­study) igation. What we need to do first is a risk like Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Ker- and another on Cyclone Ockhi (­bit​.­ly/​­ockhi​ assessment that can demarcate the regions ala and the union territory of Lakshadweep -­study)—that show how warm ocean surface where the risks of cyclones and other severe also witnessed heavy rains and storm surges. and subsurface conditions are fueling the weather events are largest. Based on that, we As of late May, the death toll stood at more rapid intensification of cyclones in the north- need to ­disaster-​­proof these regions, using than 90. ern Indian Ocean. both natural and artificial defenses and Cyclone Tauktae documented a startling methods.” climate trend, given that the Arabian Sea, Coastal mangroves, for instance, are a nat- with its cooler temperatures, was once con- ural form of floodwater defense in India. sidered to be calm relative to the warm and According to a 2005 study that analyzed storm stormy Bay of Bengal on India’s eastern “We need to disaster-proof protection functions of the Bhitarkanika coast. these regions, using both mangrove ecosystem in the eastern Indian “Unlike Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea state of Odisha, villages that were located was not entirely a warm pool until recently. natural and artificial behind mangroves during the 1999 Odisha Hence, while Bay of Bengal had two to three defenses and methods.” cyclone suffered less damage than those cyclones a year, the Arabian Sea had almost that did not have mangrove wetlands (­bit​.ly/­ ​ none or barely one. Now that is changing due mangrove-­storms). to the rapid warming,” said Roxy Mathew Gujarat, the state hardest hit by Cyclone Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute Tauktae, has one of the largest areas of of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and author of Warm Ocean Pools coastal wetlands in the country, and several several reports released by the Intergovern- According to IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, organizations are developing mangrove res- mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). oceans have absorbed more than 93% of toration programs to help mitigate damage excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions from cyclones and other effects of climate Rapid Intensification since the 1970s. “This is causing ocean tem- change. Vineet Kumar Singh, a research fellow at peratures to rise,” the report stated. IITM, agreed. “We have observed that the Such warm temperatures provide condi- Arabian Sea has warmed up by around 1.4°C tions conducive to the formation of tropical in the last 40 years in the premonsoon sea- cyclones. Koll explained how tropical cyclones By Rishika Pardikar (@rishpardikar), Science son, which can be attributed to global warm- generally form over warm pools in the ocean, Writer

16 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 OPINION

Higher Education During the Pandemic:​ Truths and Takeaways

he changes to teaching and learning at colleges and universities that many of Tus thought would last a few weeks in the spring of 2020 have turned into more than a year’s worth of disruptions. For both students and instructors, these disruptions have interrupted, set back, and, in some cases, irrevocably altered personal and pro- fessional lives and relationships, and they have severely strained mental—if not also physical—health. The forced adaptations have also exposed unresolved and problematic realities in aca- demia that long predate the pandemic, lead- ing to difficult discussions but also creating welcome space for fresh perspective and growth. We reflect here on some of the neg- ative and positive outcomes we’ve seen over the past year, as informed by our own expe- riences with students and colleagues.

Displaced and Disrupted Pandemic disruptions to teaching, learning, and life took many forms. When colleges and universities instituted social distancing measures and turned to remote instruction, undergraduate students were rushed off campus. Many returned to family homes, where they were isolated from friends and lost the autonomy they had been cultivating while living independently. Subjected once When colleges and viduals had to adapt ­in-​­person course mate- again to household rules set by parents or rials, teaching styles, and mentoring duties other guardians, these students were essen- universities turned to to fully remote environments, on the fly. tially infantilized during the pandemic. Yet remote instruction, many They had to reconfigure research programs to their institutions expected them to be account for pandemic restrictions. And many mature adults and to keep to academic undergraduate students faced the added complexity of maintaining schedules as if nothing had changed. Many professional responsibilities while caring of our students relayed to us that they felt returned to family homes, full-​­time for loved ones also displaced from untethered, overwhelmed, and unable to sift where they lost the their usual routines. We, like many of our col- through endless directions and FAQ pages leagues, often reminded ourselves of the from the schools about rapidly evolving pan- autonomy they had been phrase “I am not working at home because of demic protocols. cultivating. the pandemic; I’m at home due to the pan- Meanwhile, graduate students lost access demic—trying to work.” to facilities integral to their research, from Remote teaching brought important offices to laboratory analytical equipment to changes to student-­ ​­teacher relationships. field sites. They were expected to teach and Prior to the pandemic, we took for granted the learn online skillfully and to adjust without up to 20% are international students. These simple joys of greeting students when they complaint. Their support networks became students’ lives were suddenly and dispropor- arrived at class, helping facilitate discussions frayed as colleagues and mentors dispersed tionately upended by displacement, underre- around our course content, and getting to from campus. sourcing, isolation, and, in some cases, repa- know students—their career aspirations, For some students, the burdens of these triation. their challenges, and their interests. During changes were especially acute. As educators At the same time that students were doing the pandemic, we have still held classes and we both work at large public institutions, their best to adjust to the new landscape of office hours, conducted research, and men- where up to one quarter of our students are higher education, so too were faculty and tored students—but all virtually. Although

recep- ​­ bg.jpgiStock.com/ the first in their family to attend college and instructors. Among other challenges, indi- Zoom and other such tools are amazing tech-

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 17 OPINION OPINION

nological innovations that have enabled us to Health Association, 2019]. In the past academic promotions—will fall disproportionately on perform our work, they tend to dull the emo- year, the trends in mental health have dras- these groups and will affect academia for tional and personal connections that ­face-to-​­ ​ tically worsened [NASEM, 2021a] as students years to come. ­face contact builds. were deprived of the ability to engage with others; to participate in educational extracur- Lights in the Tunnel Emotional Tolls ricular activities and travel; and to pursue Despite the disruptions and added affective Although we hope the vaccines developed many professional and personal opportuni- burdens placed on students and faculty to protect against ­COVID-​­19 will enable a ties such as internships, fieldwork, and throughout the pandemic, there have been full return to prepandemic life, the experi- spring break. Moreover, many of our students some positive outcomes to emerge. We speak ences we have shared with students and have contracted ­COVID-​­19, including stu- here not about the learned benefits of tech- colleagues throughout the pandemic will dents in our research groups and in all of the nology or of asynchronous learning and other remain with us, with some hanging as courses we teach, and those who have not pedagogical adaptations but, rather, of the shadows over the coming years of social and tested positive themselves have still had to emotional rewards we experienced during economic recovery. Of course, these expe- deal with the virus affecting friends and fam- this time. riences have also been influenced strongly ily. Students and faculty bonded like team- by events not directly related to the pan- Faculty, who have long faced tremendous mates in spring 2020. We struggled with the demic, such as the attack on the U.S. Capi- dysfunction in career expectations and technology needed for remote instruction, tol and the murders of George Floyd and ­work-life​­ balance—especially ­those who are our students struggled with the technology, early-​­career, women, and people of color— and we all learned it together. When pets, are also depressed, stressed, and burned out children, and spouses made visits to our [NASEM, 2021b]. As of last fall, almost 9 out of 10 faculty surveyed agreed (33%) or We put ourselves through strongly agreed (54%) that our jobs had secondary trauma in become more difficult, 40% reported consid- ering leaving the profession, and 48% of that The door to richer teaching supporting our students, number were early-­ ​­career faculty (bit.ly/­ and learning experiences colleagues, family, and difficult-​­jobs). These stark figures partly reflect the emotional toll of taking on roles has been opened during friends while trying to carry as informal, mostly untrained, and often the pandemic. on ourselves and maintain poorly equipped mental health counselors to our students, which left faculty and students our own well-­ being.​­ at risk. Faculty became critical elements in the support networks for many of our students, home offices, our students loved seeing us get requiring us to share additional empathy and rattled, because it reminded them of our to develop new ways to connect, in virtual humanity. They started sharing their pets on others as well as the large-­ ​­scale demon- environments, with students suffering emo- screen, and everyone enjoyed getting to know strations in support of racial justice. Among tionally and physically. We also became crit- more about one another. Students also shared other effects, these events have brought ical conduits for sharing university-­ ​­wide the stresses of their family situations. We heightened attention to systemic racism information, from academic schedule made as many adjustments as we could to and injustice in many institutions, includ- changes and new grading modalities to rent help them get through each semester, includ- ing our own, and have added substantially relief options in the community and plans for ing changing deadlines, amending or cancel- to the emotional and physical stress of the packing up dorms and apartments. This role ing assignments, and just simply listening to pandemic for many in academia, particu- required keeping up to date with frequently them. larly people of color. changing policies and information so we Not surprisingly, the camaraderie waned Against this backdrop, the pandemic has could share it clearly and quickly. as the pandemic progressed, and by the end forced academia to grapple with declining Make no mistake: This emotional work, of the spring 2021 semester, many students mental health among students and faculty, a called affective labor, is difficult—and it is were exhausted from remote learning and the trend that began well before 2020 [National labor indeed. Affective labor is the work asso- loss of the college environment. This transi- Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medi- ciated with managing your own feelings when tion only increased the emotional workload cine (NASEM), 2021a], particularly in science. things are going to pieces around you—when for faculty and led to increased frustration Research has shown that in many cases, stu- others are upset, frightened, or angry. We put and fatigue. dent learning and grades have improved ourselves through secondary trauma in sup- Nonetheless, the door to richer teaching during the pandemic, although these suc- porting our students, colleagues, family, and and learning experiences has been opened cesses came with emotional costs. friends while trying to carry on ourselves and during the pandemic. Faculty have opportu- In spring 2019, prior to ­COVID-​­19, three maintain our own ­well-​­being. nities to embrace the role we play in helping out of five college students reported experi- Because this care work has been borne students transition to adulthood and to rec- encing extreme anxiety, and two out of five mostly by women faculty and faculty of color, ognize that course content is not the only reported debilitating depression sometime in resulting impacts on careers—such as currency of value to our students. It human- the preceding 12 months [American College decreased research productivity and delayed izes us, and our students, when we take the

18 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 OPINION

time to get to know them, to open up our- The affective selves, and to admit to the stresses, emo- labor of connect- tions, and frustrations with which we strug- ing more deeply gle. with students and Faculty in science, technology, engineer- colleagues takes ing, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines time and energy— have historically taken a pass on doing this but it matters. It can make a big dif- ference in help- ing STEM faculty and their students It can make a big difference recover from the in helping STEM faculty and myriad disrup- tions of the pan- their students recover from demic and reshape the myriad disruptions of what postsecond- ary teaching and the pandemic and reshape learning look like. what postsecondary References teaching and learning look American College Health Association (2019), American College Health like. ­Association–​­National College Health Assess- ment II: Spring 2019 ref- erence group executive summary, 19 pp., Silver Spring, Md., https://­www​ sort of emotional work. In our classrooms, we .acha​.org/­documents/­ ncha/­NCHA-­II_SPRING​ traffic in content—observations, calcula- _2019​_US​_REFERENCE​ tions, and hypotheses—not in personal sto- _GROUP​_EXECUTIVE​ _SUMMARY​.pdf. ries and cultural issues. We have often told National Academies of ourselves, “Science doesn’t see color or gen- Sciences, Engineering, der,” “I couldn’t possibly deal with racism and Medicine (NASEM) (2021a), Mental Health, because I teach science,” and “Science is not Substance Use, and driven by society,” although in each case Wellbeing in Higher Education: Supporting the there is much evidence to the contrary. If we Whole Student, 212 pp., have learned nothing else from the pandemic, Natl. Acad. Press, Wash- ington, D.C., https://doi​ we have seen that both we and our students .org/­10.​17226/­26015. value a more personal approach to instruc- National Academies of Sci- tion. ences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) (2021b), Outside the classroom as well, there are Impact of COVID-­ 19​­ on many things that faculty can do to help them- the Careers of Women in Academic Sciences, Engi- selves and each other: foster, renew, and neering, and Medicine, make new connections with mentors, advis- 194 pp., Natl. Acad. Press, Washington, D.C., https://­ ers, colleagues, friends, and family; and doi.org/​ 10­ .17226/26061.​ develop or continue activities that provide a sense of community among instructors. At the University of Michigan, for example, fac- ulty have set up monthly teaching circles— By Tanya Furman held virtually during the pandemic—at both (tfl3​@psu​.edu), departmental and college levels. Teaching has Pennsylvania State often been a lonely endeavor and not the topic University, Univer- of hallway discussions at research universi- sity Park; and Mark ties, so these regular opportunities to meet Moldwin, Univer- have enabled needed support networks and sity of Michigan, Ann chances to learn and grow professionally. Arbor AGU’s Education section also provides resources and a venue in which to find, con- u Read the nect with, and support other Earth and space article at bit.ly/ science faculty, both professionally as col- Eos-pandemic​ leagues and personally as friends. -education

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 19 OPINION REIMAGINING STEM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT​ AS ABRAIDED RIVER

areer prospects for trainees in science, technology, engineering, and mathemat- ics (STEM) are growing, but today’s opportunities are not always like the tradi- Ctional science careers of the past. Individuals move in and out of roles and positions in which they consult, start businesses, and hold jobs across disciplines and sectors. People take many paths through school and weave careers around an assortment of circumstances, such as rearing families, serving in the military or volunteer corps, fulfilling caregiving responsibilities, or reengaging with formal education. These experi- ences bring new ideas that are more creative, practical, and interdisciplinary solutions to science. The traditional “pipeline” model of workforce development—whereby an individual follows a fairly linear, predictable, and structured path through K­ -​­12, undergraduate, and graduate education into ­career-length​­ government or academic positions—no lon- ger captures the reality of a modern STEM career. Nor does it represent the broad range of interdisciplinary and innovative opportunities that STEM professions now offer across a wide range of industries, nonprofits, and other organizations. The pipeline model has also contributed to the historical exclusion of individuals from minoritized ethnic, racial, sexual and gender identity, disability, and service status communities [e.g., Bernard and Cooperdock, 2018]. It is time for us to dismantle the pipeline. Instead, let’s take inspiration from the nat- ural world we study and envision a new model that captures the opportunity, variability,

A braided river in New Zealand. Credit: Findley Watt, stock.adobe.com

Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 20 OPINION

and responsiveness of a modern STEM career; sive and supportive environment. Scientists for the discovery of this exciting discipline that embraces the diversity and experiences from all backgrounds and identities can thrive that can lead to a rewarding profession. of the people who engage in it; that recog- in an environment that values their contri- Colleges and universities can work with nizes the many on-­ ​­ramps, pathways, and butions, works with rather than against their local schools to raise awareness of geoscience career pivots that real life induces; and that lived experiences, and is responsive to future careers. Partnerships between community provides a framework in which there is a opportunities. colleges and ­research-​­intensive universities place in STEM for everyone. This is the How might the braided river model look in can help build bridges through aligned pre- braided river model. practice? At each stage of development, we requisites, transfer support, and extracur­ draw from the now extensive knowledge of ricular opportunities. Research internships, A New Analogy for a Modern​ diversity and inclusion in STEM [e.g., National such as those offered by the Research Expe- Career Path Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medi- riences for Undergraduates (REU) program, A braided river is a wide, shallow system cine, 2011, 2016, 2019, 2020]. We consider not offer learners the opportunity to apply their comprising numerous interwoven and just whom to reach and where they might skill sets to geoscience research, while changeable channels separated by small enter the field, but how we are making sure ­community-​­based participatory research islands. Braided rivers usually originate in that each individual is engaged and supported programs and crowdsourced science projects steep, mountainous regions and contain along their journey. can connect geoscience concepts with com- varying amounts of water and river substrate, munity needs. Apprenticeships can be devel- with the riverbed constantly changing and oped that demonstrate how geoscience skills adapting to flow and sediment load. The are used in industry and offer students the water’s movement shapes landscapes, trans- opportunity to observe and learn from pro- ports nutrients, and supports life. The braided A braided river is a wide, fessional geoscientists, and professional river provides an ideal analogy for inclusive, shallow system comprising organizations can develop resources that help responsive, and modern career development. students understand the pathways to geosci- Using the braided river as a model for numerous interwoven and ence careers. STEM, and specifically for geoscience work- changeable channels What about people who begin in ­non-STEM­​ force career development, challenges us to professions or disciplines but become think holistically about learning ecosystems, separated by small islands. inspired to change career paths? We can facil- as illustrated in Figure 1. This model allows us itate their transition into the geosciences by to perceive varied pathways into and within recognizing and encouraging them to capital- STEM careers and to better appreciate unusual ize on the diverse skill sets they’ll bring with entry points, evolving occupational goals, and Accommodate Many Water Sources them. Employers should facilitate this entry opportunities for lifelong continuing educa- A pipeline has one main entry point. If you by offering tailored training programs or cer- tion. In this way we normalize the idea of miss that entry, you might be left out of the tificates, short continuing education courses, individuals changing pace and direction as pipe permanently, or, if you’re fortunate or career mentorship programs, and more circumstances and opportunities arise, and ambitious enough, you might be able to inclusive recruiting that would help create we can create support structures that accom- painstakingly plumb in your own entry point. easily traversable channels from one stream modate and empower people to stay in the The braided river model allows people to flow to another. field. The model allows us to recognize that from multiple points into a STEM career. We must also recognize that so much geo- barriers present different degrees of chal- While we strive to inspire and encourage science knowledge lies within communities lenges for each person, and in response we students to pursue an interest in the geosci- and outside of formal education institutions. can create flexible and adaptable solutions ences throughout their precollege schooling, The pathways of our river do not solely rep- and assign real value to the skills, tenacity, we know that opportunities to engage in the resent careers—they also represent the rela- and insights brought to our science when geosciences in school are highly variable and tionships we make to enrich our scientific these challenges are overcome. often not equitable. Fostering robust partner- work. We must become better at weaving our Fostering a system in which many paths ships with community organizations that can knowledge with that of Indigenous and local can meet and diverge requires us to envision engage young minds with Earth science top- communities who have historical connec- scientific knowledge and training as part of ics through informal learning, especially in tions with the land we study. It should be a an ecosystem. Rather than the solitary path disadvantaged communities, and working natural part of our research to create partner- down a pipeline, we acknowledge that STEM with teachers to bring geoscience content ships with the communities whose lives and work benefits from partnerships with non- to their classrooms can gently direct more livelihoods are affected by the challenges we scientific experts and industries, policymak- potential scientists to a river they otherwise are working to solve. Similarly, we should ers, and communities, which together help us might not have known existed. more openly engage with industry and non- to understand and address the changes in our For students who make their way to col- governmental organizations that have the physical and human landscape—and to ele- lege, many discover through electives that resources, networks, and infrastructure that vate the value of STEM skills across a wide their love of the geosciences offers a career could be better used to serve our planet with range of professions. path—a ­so-called​­ “discovery major.” Yet few direct access to our scientific research. By intentionally working to structure pro- community colleges and minority-­ ​­serving fessional and career development to embrace institutions offer geoscience classes, so many Support Braided Pathways the wide, varied, and inclusive pathways that students don’t discover the discipline at all. Once we’ve guided someone to one of the careers in STEM offer, we create a more inclu- Let’s expand to more students opportunities many entry points to a geoscience career, we

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 21 OPINION

We can move toward this model by working consciously to know and share the varied opportunities that a modern geoscience career encompasses; by profiling careers that serve our communities, protect our environ- ment, and engage across all sectors; and by recognizing these contributions in our teach- ing and professional development offerings. Students and their families will see meaning- ful, ­well-​­paying jobs that expand the vision of what “being a geoscientist” might be. We’ll recruit or retain midcareer profession- als. We want people from all backgrounds and identities to thrive and to tackle the pressing challenges facing our planet.

Acknowledgments We thank members of the Earth Science Women’s Network for many meaningful con- versations that helped to shape this concept, and Jennifer Matthews at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, for turning the vision into a graph- ical reality. This work was supported in Fig. 1. A braided river system illustrates a new, holistic STEM workforce career development model. Credit: Jennifer part by NOAA Cooperative Agreement Matthews NA17OAR4320101 with the Cooperative Insti- tute for Research in Environmental Sciences.

References must keep in mind the individualized path- among peers. Let’s normalize the idea of hav- Bernard, R. E., and E. H. G. Cooperdock (2018), No progress on diversity in 40 years, Nat. Geosci., 11, 292–­ 295,​­ https://doi­ .org/​ ­ ways they will take throughout that career. ing multiple mentors, sponsors, cohorts, and 10.1038/​ s41561-­ 018-​­ 0116-​­ 6.​­ Embracing the braided river system as a other professional support to reduce depen- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine model means creating ways to support, dence on a single gatekeeper, diversify our (2011), Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads, retain, and, as necessary, reengage science knowledge of our colleagues’ experiences, 286 pp., Natl. Acad. Press, Washington, D.C., https://­doi.org/​ 10­ ​ professionals, whatever their route, wherever and enhance our overall feeling of belonging .17226/12984.­ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine they join, and whatever the speed of their to this rewarding professional community. (2016), Developing a National STEM Workforce Strategy: A journey. Finally, we cannot make progress in build- Workshop Summary, 160 pp., Natl. Acad. Press, Washington, D.C., https://doi­ .org/​ 10­ .17226/​ 21900.­ A new system, however, requires systemic ing a more flexible career model if we do not National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine changes. Educational and scientific institu- recognize and value the work of broadening (2019), The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM, 306 pp., tions need to rethink graduation, promotion, participation, in practice and in reward struc- Natl. Acad. Press, Washington, D.C., https://doi­ .org/​ 10­ ​.17226/­ 25568. and tenure requirements to account for more tures, and if we do not acknowledge that National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine varied pathways and timetables. Interdisci- mentoring, true collaboration, and commu- (2020), Re-envisioning​­ Promotion and Advancement for STEM Faculty: Proceedings of a Workshop—In Brief, 8 pp., Natl. Acad. plinary learning tracks can lead to degrees nity partnerships take time to develop. Suc- Press, Washington, D.C., https://doi­ .org/​ 10­ .17226/​ 25742.­ that connect social and physical sciences, or cess in science should be measured not just in offer supplemental education that can be citations but also in broader positive impacts. pursued while working in industry or non- profit sectors. If the scientific community Dismantling the Pipeline By Rebecca L. Batchelor (rebecca​.batchelor​ wants to include large swaths of people who As our climate changes and technology @colorado.edu), Cooperative Institute for deal with even basic life events, employers evolves, we need more people with excep- Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), must provide reasonable parental leave and tional science skills and the creativity that University of Colorado Boulder; Hendratta realistic ­part-​­time opportunities, and create comes from diverse teams with different Ali, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kan.; clear pathways for reentry into the commu- experiences to solve the quandaries of our Kathryn G. Gardner-­ ​­Vandy, Oklahoma State nity, such as funding opportunities specifi- time. The pipeline career model no longer University, Stillwater; Anne U. Gold, CIRES, cally for midcareer scientists who return after works to characterize the array of educational University of Colorado Boulder; Jennifer A. other life ventures. and career pathways into and within STEM, MacKinnon, Scripps Institution of Oceanogra- Rather than mentoring programs directed nor does it meet our need for developing a phy, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla; at supporting only young scientists, we diverse, engaged, and supported workforce. and Pranoti M. Asher, AGU, Washington, D.C. should promote mentor relationships at all The braided river illustrates the larger eco- career levels and stages, across disciplines system that scientific professions—and the u Read the article at bit.ly/​Eos​-­braided​ and ­industry-academia​­ boundaries, and even institutions that support them—are a part of. -river­

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SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 23 24 Eos today. livelihood astheir sue science only one available tothosewho wanttopur- rewarding path, butitisnot nearly the a is this many, For discoveries? with your literatureof body scientific the to enrich intoanacademicinstitution and, finally, your towinnow Ph.D. program specialty, a by followed major, science undergraduate worldworksthatleadsyoutoan way the wide-eyeda curiosity theabout start with A IN CAREER TO SCIENCE? ONE IS THERE A SINGLE PATH THAT LEADS discovered that their route wasn’t limited to the well-lit avenue. There’s no one way to be ascientist. Read on to meet agroup of professionals who ADVENTURE Choose YourChoose // SEPTEMBER 2021 Do you veterans, policy wonks and journalists, and historians,business owners and military success. and professional journey that has led them to both personal these scientistsforgivingusaglimpseofthe the main road. Weare grateful toeach of off wandering in fear real felt Many headed! were they where exactly know always didn’t careers.They exciting tofind of pathways entists who have traversed awidearray Featured here aremuseumofficialsand In the following pages,you’ll meet 17 sci- Own scientists in this special in scientists careersissue. thetravels enjoy please way, ofour featured anewadventure for tofind it yourself. Either orevenuse ofdiscovery aheadtoacareer ing curious youngsters inyour life who arelook- thewide-eyed, with yousharethis hope availablethe worldofscience toall of us.We of map acaptivating create they’ve forged their scientific expertise. Together, the paths haveenriched our communityglobal with yes,researchers—allacademic whomof —The Editors

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25 Chanard (third from right) on the “Roof of the World” in Nepal, where she helped install a GNSS station with Bharat Koirala (second from left), Thomas Ader (second from right) and John Galetzka (far right) and their por- ters. Credit: Kristel Chanard KRISTEL CHANARD Trekking and Tracking Mountains

Jennifer Arrigo stands in front of underwater AS A CHILD, KRISTEL CHANARD loved reading books about mountaineering adventures. She gliders used in a global ocean observing sys- often imagined herself going on expeditions through the Himalayas. But at home in the sub- tem at the OceanSITES meeting at the urbs of Paris, she was a tinkerer—like her father, who enjoyed taking things apart to show his National Oceanography Center in Southhamp- daughter how they worked. ton, U.K. in 2016. Credit: Jennifer Arrigo Chanard spent her first 2 years at university studying math and science, with an eye toward becoming an engineer and building satellites. Then she realized that the students studying geology and ­Earth-​­related problems got to spend significant parts of their studies outside. “Geology is what got me out into the field,” she said. Chanard switched her focus to the geosciences, and within a month she was hiking the French Alps, exhausted but loving every minute of the fieldwork. Soon she was even working on data JOY from the Himalayas, after she landed an internship at the California Institute of Technology investigating the Asian monsoon cycle with ­Jean-​­Philippe Avouac. When she completed her bachelor’s in physics at École Normale Supérieure in Paris, Chanard planned to take some time off. Avouac, however, needed a field engineer in Nepal. Chanard SANTIAGO spent a year trekking through the Himalayas—by plane, by horse, and on foot—installing GPS stations to track the movement of tectonic plates. Charting Safety Through Then Chanard returned to Paris to pursue her master’s and switched her focus from obser- Mapmaking vational fieldwork to experimental work, creating earthquakes in the lab. She realized that to do the kind of research she was interested in—understanding how the solid Earth and climate interact—she would need both approaches. “To understand some of the questions that we have in Earth science, you need to see it with JOY SANTIAGO settled into the field of geog- different perspectives,” she said. raphy because of the fascinating way it con- Now Chanard is a research scientist in geophysics and geodesy at the Institut de Physique du nected far-­ ​­reaching topics in ecology, com- Globe de Paris and the Institut Géographique National in Paris. She spends her free time in the munications, technology, and sociology. mountains, hiking and climbing, drawing inspiration for the research questions she wants to “Geography is kind of a jack-of-all-trades,” ask next, and thinking about how to answer Santiago said. She became particularly inter- them. “I have the coolest job,” she said. ested in urban planning and the use of geo- Keep up with Chanard’s research and graphic information systems (GIS) to make “Geology is what got me adventures by following her website maps. After graduating from the University of (­kristelchanard.​ ­weebly.​ ­com) and her tweets the Philippines with her bachelor’s degree, she out into the field.” (@KristelChanard). got a job providing technical assistance to —Kate Wheeling users of mapping software.

26 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 JENNIFER ARRIGO Seeking Clean Water for Everyone

JENNIFER ARRIGO was going to be a writer. (­CUAHSI). After three summers of research As an English major at Boston University, she and mentoring students with CUAHSI,­ an took an environmental science class to fulfill “I feel like a trusted opportunity arose for Arrigo to join the orga- an elective requirement. It ended up changing nization full-time. As a program director and the course of her career. partner to the academic later deputy director, she helped the organi- Arrigo grew up around Adirondack Park in community.” zation advocate for the water science com- New York, a region where acid rain and indus- munity, running conferences, fellowship trial pollution left hundreds of lakes and programs, and working groups. ponds devoid of life and the Hudson River “It felt like being in grad school because I sediment laced with toxic polychlorinated was expanding my knowledge base of water biphenyls (PCBs). She came of age in a town divided over whether science, all the different disciplines it sits in, and all the different places dredging the river would make existing water quality issues better or that it becomes relevant,” she said. worse. ­CUAHSI also gave Arrigo a window into the next phase of her career So Arrigo was always keenly aware of the kinds of environmental issues at federal science agencies. She had stints at NOAA and the U.S. Global that closely affect peoples’ lives, and the class opened her eyes to solu- Change Research Program before landing at the Department of Energy tions. “I started to understand the science of why [water quality issues] (DOE), where she uses her scientific expertise to solicit and evaluate were happening and how you could decide whether one course of action research proposals and boost collaborations among researchers as a or the other was the right one,” she said. “That’s when I started think- program manager with DOE’s Terrestrial Ecosystem Science program. ing this would be a really interesting way to spend my career.” “I feel like a trusted partner to the academic community,” she said. After school, Arrigo worked for a citizen’s water quality monitoring “One of the hardest things for me was figuring out that I wanted network that partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Envi- something different than academia but not knowing exactly what that ronmental Protection Agency to collect data used for regulatory require- was and not knowing how to find the resources and the networks to do ments. Hooked on fieldwork, she headed back to Boston for a Ph.D. in that,” she said. “Now when people ask me about my career path, I can geography. tell a nice story, and it sounds like a path, but at the time it was really Though hydrology was still her focus, Arrigo became increasingly trial and error.” interested in how water and climate interact. As an assistant professor You can follow Arrigo on Twitter (@wxwaterjen) or keep up with her at East Carolina University, Arrigo sought out interdisciplinary oppor- work through DOE’s Environmental System Science program (­ess​ tunities and found what she was looking for in a fellowship at the Con- .­science​.­energy​.­gov/). sortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science Inc. —Kate Wheeling

Santiago has moved up through the ranks, first to a supervisory role and then to her “I have the satisfaction current position as a chief scientific research specialist. She and her colleagues of helping the Filipino work with local governments, performing hazard simulations and risk assessments. people.” As a registered environmental planner, Santiago uses this information to guide local officials on development and land use. “I have the satisfaction of helping the Fil- Two years later, an opportunity arose for her ipino people,” she said. to enter academia, and Santiago became a The NOAH team interacts directly with researcher at Project NOAH (Nationwide Oper- local communities, including helping people ational Assessment of Hazards), the flagship understand hazards in their neighborhoods. program of the Philippines for disaster risk “We’ll have tabletop activities where they reduction, later institutionalized as the Uni- draw parts of their community, and then versity of the Philippines (UP) NOAH Center, afterwards we’ll present the hazard maps,” which is the core component of the UP Resil- said Santiago. In one instance, Santiago and Santiago is currently pursuing a master’s ience Institute. The Resilience Institute is ded- her coworker Jake Mendoza volunteered degree and hopes to pursue a doctorate to icated to “providing Filipinos with innovative with an AGU Thriving Earth Exchange project secure her voice in the academic community. information vital to lifesaving climate change involving island communities in Manila Santiago encourages audiences to learn actions and disaster risk reduction efforts” Bay. Santiago created maps to help the more about the Resilience Institute’s and is a multidisciplinary hub for science, communities assess potential impacts of a activities on Facebook or Twitter. technology, arts, and humanities. proposed airport development. —Jack Lee

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 27 COOPER ELSWORTH Cycling‑Inspired Science

COOPER ELSWORTH can trace many of his hours he had spent biking, hiking, and kaya- career decisions back to his long-standing king with his family that inspired him to turn obsession with cycling. From a young age, he to the geosciences. was amazed by the mechanics of the bikes As Elsworth thought about how to apply his that carried him along the roads and trails of theoretical skills in fluid dynamics to applied rural Pennsylvania, where he grew up. science, studying ice sheets seemed a natural He was always interested in understanding transition. “The ice sheets are really just very, how things worked. That interest fueled his very slow moving fluids,” he said. “Even undergraduate and master’s degrees in engi- more than that, I was excited about working neering, during which he worked on numer- on something climate related. The response ical methods to study fluid dynamics. When of the ice sheets to climate change is one of it came time to pursue a Ph.D., it was the the biggest unknowns in our projections of Credit: Cooper Elsworth

ZDENKA WILLIS In the military, “you’re always being challenged Sailing into a High-Tech Future with new ideas and new tasks, and that makes it exciting. You certainly don’t get bored in your job.” ZDENKA WILLIS always loved the ocean. Every summer, her family trekked from Indiana to South Carolina, where Willis and her sisters combed the beaches for sharks’ teeth, watched the dolphins swim, and wondered what other marvels were out there, just out of view. with new ideas and new tasks, and that makes it exciting,” she said. When it came time for college, Willis returned to the Eastern Sea- “You certainly don’t get bored in your job.” board to study marine science at the University of South Carolina. Willis retired from the Navy as a captain in 2006 and went to work Encouraged by her father, who had emigrated from Czechoslovakia and for NOAA. There, she became the founding director of the agency’s U.S. joined the Army Reserves after settling in the United States, Willis Integrated Ocean Observing System office, which aims to connect data, applied for a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps scholarship. When she tools, and people all along the nation’s coasts. It was her broadest mis- graduated in 1981, she became a U.S. Navy oceanographer. sion yet. Willis had spent her Navy career thinking about how what she Willis’s first assignment at sea was aboard a 122-meter hydrographic was learning about the ocean might affect naval operations and war- research vessel, where she led a small boat crew mapping the ocean fare, whereas “at NOAA, I had to care about everything from microbes floor off the coast of Haiti. In those days, Navy ships were still using to whales and everything in between,” she said. paper charts, but as technology evolved and Willis’s responsibilities Willis currently serves as president of the Marine Technology Soci- expanded, she helped the Navy transition to digital charts and adopt ety, an international organization that “brings together businesses, new weapons systems. Willis loved both the challenges and the oppor- institutions, professionals, academics, and students who are ocean tunities presented by a military career. “You’re always being challenged engineers, technologists, policymakers, and educators” in the advance- ment and application of marine technologies. Willis is working to make both the organi- zation and the field of marine science in gen- eral more equitable and inclusive, adding programs and positions to support young professionals and promote women leaders. She is committed to providing young profes- sionals the same kind of opportunities and support she received in the Navy, where ship- mates take care of each other. “The Navy gives you responsibility, expects you to per- form, but is a very supporting environment.” To learn more about the Marine Technology Society and its programs, Willis encourages people to follow the society on Twitter (@MTSociety) or through its website Willis (seated, third from left) with students at Rutgers University and a model of RU 29, an autonomous underwa- (mtsociety​.­org/). ter vehicle that was part of the Challenger mission in the Indian Ocean. Credit: Zdenka Willis —Kate Wheeling

28 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 planned to stay in academia. That began to tainability start-up Descartes Labs, where he change with the 2016 U.S. presidential elec- leads the production of sustainability tools “It’s really valuable, tion. He watched the results come in from that use remote sensing to track things like Antarctica, where he was studying how sub- carbon emissions from agricultural and con- especially in sustainability research, glacial meltwater influences the large-scale sumer goods supply chains. to break down those silos and ice flow, and afterward he grew increasingly Now he tells students stressing about life troubled by the environmental deregulation decisions after grad school that academia, to realize that we’re all moving and climate inaction of the Trump adminis- private industry, and the public sector aren’t tration. as siloed as they seem, nor should they be: toward a common goal.” “We’ve had climate science saying this is “It’s really valuable, especially in sustainabil- something we need to act on for decades,” ity research, to break down those silos and to Elsworth said. He became increasingly inter- realize that we’re all moving toward a com- ested in how to take that basic climate science mon goal and we’re trying to solve a common sea level rise, so it seemed like a really and turn it into climate action. Now a Ph.D. problem.” impactful area of research to go into.” candidate in geophysics at Stanford Univer- Elsworth encourages people to reach him Initially, Elsworth felt empowered by basic sity, he turned his professional interest to the through LinkedIn (­linkedin.​ ­com/in/​­ coopere/)​­ science research and the opportunity to help private sector. or his personal website (­cooperelsworth​ answer outstanding questions about the cli- Elsworth became an applied scientist and, .­com). mate system. Like most grad students, he more recently, a program manager at the sus- —Kate Wheeling

RICK JONES Finding the High School Spirit

IN THE EARLY 1980S, when Rick Jones was studying geology as an undergraduate at the University of Wyoming, the U.S. oil business Rick Jones personalizes a Tropical was booming. He anticipated a Atmosphere Ocean array buoy with the ­well-​­paid position following Billings Senior High School mascot graduation and a stable during a Teacher at Sea cruise in 2010. career as a geologist. Credit: Rick Jones Then the oil industry “I realized that I really went bust. “[The economy] need to make sure that changed my trajec- students, so that they can tory,” said Jones. I give an opportunity to my definitely go wherever He was able to find they want to go.” work at companies students, so that they can A family circumstance “Science is a verb—it’s a process, that did groundwa- definitely go wherever they led Jones and his wife to a way of knowing. If science is just ter monitoring, and return to the mainland, to in the ­mid-​­1980s, want to go.” Billings, Mont. There, Jones a noun, just…facts in the book, well, Jones found himself was a middle and high school people aren’t going to be interested overseas, working with a teacher for nearly 2 decades, nongovernmental organiza- teaching everything from Earth sci- in being science people, right? tion installing water utilities in ence to biology to physics. It’s all about the discovery.” refugee camps. He became involved in sani- “The thing that you’re most proud about tation education and quickly saw how “a little when you’re teaching,” Jones said, “is when bit of education can go a long way.” When he somebody that you really didn’t think that came back to the United States, Jones decided you connected with comes back and says, ‘It’s to go back to school, getting a second bache- because of you that I am a success.’” the National Earth Science Teachers Associa- lor’s degree in science education as well as a Jones has continued to pursue his passion tion, where he aims to instill a love of learning master’s in natural sciences at the University for teaching and learning, both inside and in the next generation of science teachers. of Wyoming. outside academia. He twice participated in Find out more about Jones on Twitter His first job after graduation was as a mid- the NOAA Teacher at Sea program and (@​mtzennmaster), where you can follow his dle school science teacher in Lihue, Hawaii. obtained a doctorate in education from Mon- science advocacy as well as see his quilt The experience was eye-­ ​­opening: “I got to tana State University. designs and updates about his 55-year-old realize really quicky that I had it pretty easy,” Jones has since moved back to Hawaii and Volkswagen convertible, or at his website (bit​ Jones said. “I realized that I really need to is now a geoscience educator at the University .ly/​career​-­Jones). make sure that I give an opportunity to my of Hawai‘i–­ West​­ O‘ahu. He is also president of —Jack Lee

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 29 Astronomer Munazza Alam researched at Las ­Campanas Observatory in Chile’s ­Atacama ­Desert while studying for her ­bachelor’s degree. Credit: Munazza Alam MUNAZZA ALAM Searching for New Worlds

FOR MUNAZZA ALAM, pondering the stars Honors College at Hunter College, City Uni- is part of being human. “Everyone, at some versity of New York. This selective program point, has looked up at the sky and contem- covers its students’ tuition, which allowed “In my childhood, I plated the cosmos,” she said. Alam to attend college without going into remember always asking Yet as a New Yorker, Alam grew up debt. without truly seeing the stars, because of Alam knew she wanted to major in my parents, ‘Why?’” light pollution. It took a couple of pivotal physics, but her scheduling adviser told her mentors and a trip to Arizona to bend her she needed to choose a specific research trajectory toward the Ph.D. in astronomy direction. Try astronomy, her adviser that she recently earned from Harvard Uni- suggested. versity. At age 19, a year into her career as an it will one day reveal whether life exists out- “I was always a curious child,” astronomy researcher, Alam trav- side our solar system. Alam said. In high school, eled to Kitt Peak National Although Alam loved her work, she ini- she channeled this curi- Observatory in Arizona. For tially found graduate school exhausting. One osity into physics class, the first time in her life, of the most valuable lessons she learned is where she was capti- For the first time in the Milky Way stretched that it’s OK to take breaks. vated by the way her her life, the Milky Way before her, without As Alam begins a postdoctoral position at teacher, Betty Jen- interference from the Carnegie Science Earth and Planets sen, unveiled the stretched before her, streetlights and Laboratory, she says she’s most proud of the inner workings of apartment buildings. network of mentors she’s built. She the universe. Jen- without interference from Alam was starstruck. described her Ph.D. thesis adviser, Mercedes sen was also the “It’s just etched in ­López-​­Morales, as “an absolute phenom,” first woman Alam streetlights and apartment my brain,” she said. and she’s also formed lasting connections met who’d earned a buildings. Alam was The trip solidified her with other faculty, staff, and students. To Ph.D. in physics. decision to become an round out the crew, Alam still keeps in touch Because of her, Alam starstruck. astronomer. with her high school physics teacher, who started wondering Alam chose Harvard Uni- attended Alam’s Ph.D. defense this past whether academics could be versity for her graduate work spring. her path too. because she found the astronomy Alam welcomes messages through her Alam wanted to stay in New York City department exciting and innovative. Her website, https://bit­ .ly/​ career­ -Alam.­ after high school, so she joined the Macaulay work focused on exoplanets, and she hopes —Saima Sidik

30 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 Network, share and engage with your comm unity on AGU Connect.

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SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 31 MORGAN REHNBERG The Making of a Museum Chief Whether it’s astronomy, climate MORGAN REHNBERG described his decision to pursue a job outside the traditional aca- change, paleontology, demic career track like choosing to step off a or the ways in which science cliff. “You’ve got to be really sure that there’s Morgan Rehnberg, at the Fort Worth Museum of Sci- going to be something out there to catch you,” influences our lives, his job is all ence and History in Texas, where he is chief scien- he said. With the fast pace of academic tist. Credit: Fort Worth Museum of Science and His- research and the fact that many ­early-​­career about showcasing science to tory fellowships disappear a few years after a thousands of museum researcher gets a Ph.D., he feared that “there’s no going back 5 years down the road visitors. and saying, ‘Oops, actually I think I’d like to promise of getting to do more of that was go back to being a postdoc or something.’” worth taking what felt to me like a pretty In some ways, Rehnberg’s decision was big career risk at the time,” he said. not about whether to take that leap, but with that, the leap to try something outside After graduate school, Rehnberg landed which cliff to leap from. He was on track to of academia didn’t seem like that much in his current role as chief scientist at the finish his Ph.D. studying Saturn’s rings at more of a risk.” Fort Worth Museum of Science and History the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder in Rehnberg used the relative security that in Texas, where he’s been for the past May 2017, just 4 months before NASA’s Cas- graduate school afforded him to explore his 4 years. Whether it’s astronomy, climate sini mission would take its fatal plunge into career options. He started an astronomy change, paleontology, or the ways in which Saturn’s atmosphere. He knew that the in blog and earned paid science writing gigs; science influences our lives, his job is all situ data he needed for his research would he volunteered at CU Boulder’s planetar- about showcasing science to thousands of soon dry up without an active satellite mis- ium, gave science talks to the public, and museum visitors. Part of his job is designing sion. “It wasn’t just that I was going to have helped start a space news podcast. He soon new exhibits, like the museum’s tribute to to change missions. I was going to have to found himself enjoying his outreach work Apollo 12 astronaut and Fort Worth native find a new [sub]field,” he said. “Balanced just as much as his academic research. “The Alan Bean for the fiftieth anniversary of the KAREN LAYOU A Wider 2-Year Track

KAREN LAYOU started her college career as a versity of Cincinnati before working for chemical engineering major. But after a year what is now the Texas Commission on and a half, she realized she hated it. One day Environmental Quality. While she she stumbled upon a small museum on the learned a lot, she wasn’t satisfied. Penn State campus, tucked away in the geol- “I decided that, no, I need to go back ogy building. and get [a] Ph.D. to fulfill that promise I “It was like being reunited with old made to myself, to get myself back out to friends,” Layou said. She’d collected rocks as landscapes I love,” Layou said. She earned a a child and even categorized them for a ­third-​ ­grade science fair project. The mineral sam- ples and fossils in the museum’s collection reawakened her childhood interests, includ- ing a passion for paleontology sparked by a “Success is how you define it, family road trip to the Grand Canyon when and it’s most likely going to be Ph.D. in geology at the University of Georgia she was in high school. and then obtained a position at the College of At the museum Layou decided to go this squiggly trajectory…[and] it William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., as a upstairs to the geology office and ended up sabbatical replacement. She found that she speaking with the dean, and changed her may even loop back on itself.” enjoyed teaching and “cobbled together” a major that day. Layou graduated and went on career by working as an adjunct professor at to complete a master’s program at the Uni- several schools. In 2013, she became a profes-

32 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 “We’re trying to communicate AISHA MORRIS with people the ways in which Opening the Door to Science the scientific endeavor is AISHA MORRIS’S interest in geology runs deep. Growing up, she collected and cleaned rocks, working to improve their lives… and then sold them to the kids around her suburban Minnesota neighborhood. But despite and the ways in which we can this early financial success, it wasn’t until college that she seriously considered geology as a career path. all participate in that endeavor, Morris was hooked as an undergrad- uate at Duke University, after Jeff Karson even if we’re not practicing (now at Syracuse University) offered her a research opportunity studying mid- research scientists.” ocean rifts. “It was a challenge, because I was learning how to do research and ask questions,” Morris said, “but it was also very empowering to create knowl- Moon landing in 2019. The exhibit incorpo- edge as an undergrad.” rated interactive technologies and historical The project culminated in a senior artifacts from Bean’s training and space- thesis and a chance to dive in the Alvin flight to connect Fort Worth residents with submersible. With Alvin, she was able to their piece of moonshot history. With that see directly the rift she had been study- exhibit and more since, “I’m proud of how ing, through a porthole instead of on a much work we’ve done to expand the reach screen. of the ways in which the people can interact Later, as a grad student at the Univer- with science,” he said. sity of Hawai‘i, Morris was wary of In grad school, “if I had known that this work–life imbalances and the lack of was the thing I was going to stumble into, I diversity in academia. She found a post- Aisha Morris in the Alvin submersible in 1999. Credit: would have run off the cliff looking for it.” doc position with Karson that allowed Aisha Morris Rehnberg (@MorganRehnberg on Twit- her to work on both research and broad- ter) encourages audiences to visit the Fort ening participation activities among Worth Museum of Science and History underrepresented groups. (@​fwmsh). She quickly learned that the work she was doing to create and support a more diverse sci- —Kimberly M. S. Cartier entific community was more fulfilling than the research. So Morris left academia in 2013 to further pursue that community building, first at ­UNAVCO and then at the National Science Foundation (NSF), where she is now a program director for Education and Human Resources. sor of geology at Reynolds Community Col- lege in Richmond, Va. Since then, Layou has been involved in Sup- porting and Advancing Geoscience Education at ­Two-Year​­ Colleges, or SAGE 2YC. The proj- “Sometimes you have to create your own pathway. ect aims to broaden participation in the geo- sciences, clarify transfer and workforce path- Who knows what kind of path you’re opening up ways for students at 2-­ ​­year colleges, and emphasize best teaching practices for faculty. for others in your forging ahead?” Layou especially loves sharing science with nonscience majors and “spreading the love— the geo love.” SAGE 2YC has also been able to provide mentoring for students and send them to the Not everyone understood Morris’s decision to leave the academic path. “Sometimes you annual Virginia Geological Field Conference. have to create your own pathway,” she said. “Who knows what kind of path you’re opening “We were able to bring ­2-​­year college stu- up for others in your forging ahead?” dents to mix with professional geologists and At NSF, Morris is working to bring previously excluded groups into the geosciences through just talk about a day in the life of their jobs,” programs like the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) initiative. IUSE funds Layou said. She will also continue to further projects for precollege, undergraduate, and graduate students with a focus on service learn- geoscience education as the incoming presi- ing and outreach to historically excluded groups and from nongeoscience degree programs. dent of the Geo2YC division of the National Success in the sciences doesn’t look like a ­tenure-tr​­ ack professorship at an R1 institution Association of Geoscience Teachers. for everyone, she said. For Morris, the ultimate success would be to work herself out of a job Layou encourages audiences to learn more by creating a community so welcoming it no longer needed the kind of broadening partici- about SAGE 2YC and also to check out the free pation initiatives to which she’s dedicated her career. online textbook she’s been working on (bit​ To keep up with Morris’s work, follow her on Twitter (@volcanogirl17) or the Education .ly/­Historical​-Geology). and Human Resources portal at NSF’s Division of Earth Sciences. —Jack Lee —Kate Wheeling

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 33 FUSHCIA-​­ANN HOOVER The Business​ of Environmental Justice

BY HER BEDSIDE, ­Fushcia-Ann Hoover still has the iron table lamp she welded as a ­13-year-​­ old​­ in her junior high Darcy Peter demonstrates water sampling to environmental science stu- industrial technol- dents at the Polaris Project’s field site near Bethel, Alaska. Credit: Darcy L. ogy class. “I like Peter working with my hands,” Hoover said. Now an assistant pro- fessor of environmental planning at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, DARCY L. PETER her passion as a “maker” drew her not only to engineering but also to business. In 2020, she founded EcoGreenQueen LLC to help people Harnessing Alaska’s Native Knowledge better integrate environmental justice into their work. Hoover began her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota in 2005. During a summer A GWICH’IN SCIENTIST from Beaver, Alaska, Darcy L. Peter spent abroad course in Germany studying renewable energies and her her childhood on the land around her Alaska Native village hunt- research on ethynyl as a McNair Scholar, she thought she’d found her ing, fishing, and trapping. Now she studies the Arctic tundra with calling. But when she graduated from college at the height of the Great the Woodwell Climate Research Center, where she investigates Recession, the environmental engineering jobs she wanted required climate change while building bridges between Indigenous com- either a master’s degree or substantial work experience. munities and research scientists. Instead, she took a job as a tutor in her hometown at Saint Paul Pub- Peter majored in environmental biology at Fort Lewis College in lic Schools while researching graduate schools. “I used that time to Durango, Colo. After graduating, she returned to Alaska for a really try and focus on where and what to study,” she said. Working ­1-month Arctic research program with the Polaris Project. as a tutor had a lasting impact on her career: Hoover noticed that her That summer shaped Peter’s career in two pivotal ways: One, students, many of whom were people of color, faced challenges both she fell in love with field research, and two, she found a workplace inside and outside the classroom that made it difficult for them to that valued her ideas. She pointed out an opportunity for Polaris excel. She had a realization that would serve as a guiding principle in to connect with the local people near their field site, so the project her master’s and doctoral work in ecological science and engineering leaders invited her back the next two summers. It was “really cool at Purdue University 2 years later. “Whatever it was that I was going as an Indigenous young career person to have my voice be valued to do, if it wasn’t going to somehow make [the students’] lives better, and heard.” then I wasn’t interested in doing it.” For the next 2 years, Peter took jobs at several Alaskan Native Hoover embarked on transdisciplinary research at Purdue, work nonprofits working with Alaska Native communities on issues that would pave the way to consulting in her specialty of urban green such as permafrost erosion and contamination cleanup. She began infrastructure. In her dissertation, she not only conducted an analysis volunteering on half a dozen boards that control the state’s fish- of watersheds but also interviewed Black residents in Chicago’s South ing and river regulations to increase Indigenous participation. Side and city planners about Chicago’s green infrastructure practices. Peter started graduate studies in wildlife biology at the Univer- She sees a dire need for geoscientists to include communities in proj- sity of Alaska Fairbanks 2 years after graduating college but quickly ects and critically examine power structures. felt stifled. She had to pass up job offers, like an executive director During her second postdoc, Hoover founded her consulting com- position at an Alaska Native organization, and was already famil- pany to assist professionals, researchers, and government officials iar with the communities she was now reading about in papers. looking to incorporate environmental justice or interdisciplinary She left after 3 months and soon landed her “dream job” back methods into their business, scholarship, or city plans. where she’d started her career: the Polaris Project at Woodwell Looking back at her career, she’s proudest of how she’s upheld her Climate. values. “I don’t have to leave out race or leave out water,” she said. “I “I am trained to be a scientist, but the ­cutting-edge​­ science that get to bring everything in and say, ‘No, this is all important…and we’re is being done is not what I’m most proud of. It’s definitely the rela- going to talk about it.’” tionship building, making sure that the science is communicated,

—Jenessa Duncombe making sure the science is ethical, making sure that we’re incor- Right: XXXX Top XXXXXX; This Page: Opposite Page:

34 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 ROBIN GEORGE ANDREWS “The New York Times Volcano Guy”

SCIENCE JOURNALIST ROBIN GEORGE ANDREWS remembers first seeing a vol- cano—albeit an imaginary one—in The Leg- end of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The ominous Death Mountain had sentient lava and mon- sters prowling its ­hollowed-​­out insides. “It was all very fantastical,” Andrews said, and as a ­10-y​­ ear-old​­ growing up in the United Kingdom, Death Mountain set him on a quest to visit ­real-​­life volcanoes around the world as a scientist. Now Andrews writes about vol- canoes for National Geographic, the New York Times, the Atlantic, and other publications. “There’s a community Andrews started out on a typical academic “I actually prefer telling of people building a bridge track. After earning strong grades in high school and encouragement from geography these stories of science much between researchers and teachers, he attended a special program at Imperial College London. The program allows more than doing it.” Indigenous People so secondary students to earn a master’s degree in geology in just 4 years, bypassing a bache- that they can have the lor’s degree. His next stop, after a year of rest, took resources that they need.” Andrews to the ­volcano-r​­ idden islands of New Zealand, where he studied at the University of Otago for his Ph.D. and helped create laboratory experiments that modeled volcanic eruptions. Although his work took him around the world, living in a quiet university town left the highly extroverted Andrews feeling isolated. Academia was losing its sheen too: Chasing funding frustrated him, and porating Traditional Knowledge into our he didn’t like the prospect of leaving friends and family every few years for new posts. science...that is the most rewarding Andrews started writing blog posts for Nature’s Scitable, the Earth Touch News Network, Dis- work.” cover, and Forbes—and found he actually preferred telling stories of science to doing it. ­White-​­dominated spaces, including Andrews didn’t know any journalists, let alone science journalists, but after he graduated, he academia and workplaces, can be taxing emailed an editor he admired at Gizmodo and scored a gig writing articles for her. From there, he on the mental health of scientists cold-­ ​­pitched National Geographic, Scientific American, and the New York Times, landing articles in of color, particularly women of color, publications he thought would take years to break into. “I put so much work into getting to that Peter said. But at Polaris, Peter is point,” Andrews said, bypassing sleep for almost a year and a half to build his reputation as “the encouraged to think creatively, and New York Times volcano guy.” His own stubbornness and the emotional when she presents an idea, her supervi- support from his partner and parents helped him make the jump sor often tells her to “run with it.” Case from science to journalism. in point: Peter wrote a guide for equita- Now Andrews freelances ­full-​­time and writes for a dozen ble research in the Arctic. “That’s some- publications. “Most science journalists have a beat of some thing I’m pretty proud of because The Legend of Zelda’s sort, and my beat is generally things that explode in space it’s gotten a lot of traction in the sci- or on Earth.” His first book, Super Volcanoes: What They ence world,” she said. Death Mountain set Robin Reveal About Earth and the Worlds Beyond, comes out this Peter encourages people to fol- November. In it, readers can learn about strange volcanoes low her on Twitter (@darcypeter1) George Andrews on a quest across the cosmos, like Tharsis on Mars, which tipped the and familiarize themselves with the to visit real-­ life​­ volcanoes entire planet 20 degrees. “To me, it sounds like magic sor- Woodwell Climate Research Cen- cery”—or perhaps something out of a video game, he said. ter’s guiding principles for working in around the world. Andrews welcomes messages from those interested in sci- local northern communities (bit​.ly/­ ence writing through his website (robingeorgeandrews.com) Woodwell­-principles). or on Twitter (@SquigglyVolcano).

Opposite Page: XXXXXX; This Page: Top Right: XXXX Top XXXXXX; This Page: Opposite Page: —Jenessa Duncombe —Jenessa Duncombe

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 35 Navakanesh M Batmanathan mapped faults in Sabah, Malaysia, in April 2017. Credit: Eric Chiang Hinn Yuen

NAVAKANESH M BATMANATHAN Customizing Hazard Outreach

IN JUNE 2015, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake his colleagues also taught schoolchildren in struck Sabah, a state of Malaysia in the north- Sabah. ern part of the island of Borneo. M Batmanathan is now a Ph.D. student at “It was a big surprise in Malaysia because, the National University of Malaysia and con- “It’s a good time for actually, we never experienced a magnitude 6 tinues to study earthquakes—but from a [earthquake] in that region,” said Navakanesh slightly different perspective. He’s exploring young geoscientists… M Batmanathan. The seismic event was potential connections between tectonics and to investigate and try to identify located away from active plate boundaries. sea level rise, not only in East Malaysia, where M Batmanathan was in the perfect position to Borneo is located, but in peninsular Malaysia what are the main causes investigate what happened. He’d been fasci- as well. He’s also a research assistant at the nated with rocks ever since he was a child and, Southeast Asia Disaster Prevention Research for earthquakes.” at the time, was pursuing a master’s degree in Initiative. geophysics and seismology at Curtin Univer- M Batmanathan has done outreach on a sity in Malaysia. His adviser encouraged him range of science topics and attributes at least to focus on the Sabah earthquake, given its some of his success to tailoring content to surprising nature. different audiences, depending on their nitely need more groups to work on this,” he M Batmanathan mapped faults that con- immediate concerns: He spoke about earth- said. tributed to the quake by using a combination quakes with kids from Sabah, for instance, M Batmanathan recently presented his of satellite data and ­on-​­the-​­ground field but focused on climate change and sea level work on the earthquake geology of Borneo at measurements. These methods also allowed rise with children from coastal communities a webinar from the ­U-​­INSPIRE Alliance, an him the opportunity to engage with residents in peninsular Malaysia. Determining the alliance of youth, young scientists, and young in Sabah. He learned not only about how the emphasis of ­community-​­focused outreach professionals working in science, engineer- event affected people living in the area but “depends on the region,” he said. ing, technology, and innovation to support also that there was a lack of awareness about In the future, M Batmanathan hopes to disaster risk reduction and resilience build- earthquake hazards in the region. continue educating people in Malaysia and, ing, in line with the U.N. Sustainable Devel- As the recipient of a National Geographic someday, Southeast Asia more broadly. The opment Goals and the Sendai Framework for Young Explorer grant, M Batmanathan helped region is one of the most geologically active Disaster Risk Reduction. He also regularly to produce a short documentary that com- in the world—in addition to earthquakes, it posts about earthquakes on Instagram bined locals’ stories with educational infor- is home to volcanoes, tsunamis, and land- (@navakanesh). mation about the Sabah earthquake. He and slides. “Southeast Asia is huge—we defi- —Jack Lee

36 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 TM

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SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 37 ASHLEY LINDALÍA WALKER Leading a Celebration of Black Scientists

ASHLEY LINDALÍA WALKER’S academic ect, which quickly became her primary interests started close to home and have research focus. While still studying forensic traveled millions of kilometers. “I’m a non- chemistry, she interned at Harvard Univer- traditional student,” said the Chicago native. sity researching ­planet-forming​­ disks and at “I started off in community college” in 2015, Johns Hopkins University studying aerosol she said, studying forensic chemistry. “I hazes in the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon really wanted to help understand what was Titan. happening and solve some of Chicago’s Many community college students earn crime and things of that nature. But [then] I their associate’s degree within 2 years and received a scholarship at my now alma then complete their bachelor’s degree in mater, Chicago State University (CSU), the another 2 years, she explained. “However, it Ashley Walker during a trip to the Green Bank only Black ­4-​­year college in Illinois.” took me a little bit longer.” After graduating Observatory in West Virginia as an undergraduate Once at CSU, Walker took an opportunity from CSU in 2020 as the first astrochemist at Chicago State University. Credit: Ashley Walker to participate in an astronomy research proj- in the university’s history, she became a

REBECCA CHARBONNEAU The Future of Scientific History

REBECCA CHARBONNEAU is a Cuban Amer- Library at Cambridge’s Department of History ican historian who recently earned a Ph.D. and Philosophy of Science, as well as at NASA’s from the University of Cambridge researching History Office. Since last fall, she has been at the history and philosophy of science. She is the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astro- also a Gates Scholar who has studied, among physics as their ­historian-​­in-​­residence. other things, settler and colonialist science, the “I was incredibly intimidated when I started search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and entering spaces like Oxford, Cambridge, Soviet and Cold War rocket and space science. NASA,” Charbonneau said. “There are pieces helping me see that I could attain this. And this Before she earned her master of science of dust in there that are older than me and have was especially valuable because my field of his- from the University of Oxford, however, Char- seen more of history that I have even studied.… tory of science, especially history of physics bonneau was an astronomy major at Mount I think that we build up these places as larger and astronomy, is really male dominated.” Holyoke College in Massachusetts. After leav- than life, and that prevents us from seeing how Her identity as a Cuban American helped ing Mount Holyoke for personal reasons, she we belong in those places.… If I had managed contextualize Charbonneau’s academic inter- ended up at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., to learn that earlier, I might have gotten to the ests. In particular, she is interested in “giving to be near family. There Charbonneau double place that I am more quickly.” voices to people in history who haven’t had majored in art history and critical media and Charbonneau identified two mentors who their voices acknowledged. I mean communi- cultural studies (“like sociology, but with helped her overcome some initial intimidation. ties that have been affected by colonialism, but applied elements”) and double minored in sex- “Two people from Rollins were incredibly I also mean people who have not been able to uality, women’s, and gender studies and influential to me: Kim Dennis and Mackenzie enter the historical record for a variety of rea- English. Moon Ryan. Having women professors and sons.” Charbonneau said that having a varied academic role models was really valuable in “I’m actually really proud of the work I’ve undergraduate background in liberal arts is done in Russia, for example. Because of the something she brought to her graduate studies Putin administration’s crackdown on access to of science: “A lot of the contemporary chal- records, it’s really, really hard to do history of lenges that exist in the sciences, especially the “I think that we build up Soviet science. And because of that, there’s space sciences today, have historical roots.” this image that there weren’t a lot of contribu- “Scientific fields tend to take objectivity for these places as larger than tions from the Soviet astronomers, the Russian granted,” she said, explaining that “[scien- astronomers. Part of what I’ve done is a lot of tists] often don’t realize how they have inher- life, and that prevents us oral history interviews where I’ve gone over ited a lot of their ways of thinking.” Charbon- from seeing how we belong and I’ve spoken to people and tried to record neau has continued to unpack these ways of their stories. It’s really a beautiful thing for me thinking with stops at the National Radio in those places.” to be able to preserve these people’s voices.” Astronomy Observatory and the Whipple —Camilo Garzón

38 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 postbaccalaureate researcher at NASA God- dard Space Flight Center investigating Titan’s atmospheric chemistry. “Most people don’t understand their learning style​ For the past few years, Walker has also focused on science communication, especially when they’re going into a Ph.D.… Luckily for me, I learned​ highlighting the experiences and amplifying mine a little bit prior to that, and now that I’m going​ the voices of Black scientists. As calls for racial justice increased during 2020, Walker into graduate school, it makes it a little bit easier.” founded and organized the first Black In Astro week on social media and ­co-organized​­ Black in X events in other disciplines. “I wanted to show some of the issues that through our lens. This year we’re focusing on ard University starting this fall. Walker we face as Black astronomers, aerospace a celebration versus trauma. Now that we told (@​That_Astro_Chic) encourages everyone engineers, space policy people, and so on,” our story and people know our story, we want to join in celebrating and amplifying Black Walker said. “I really wanted to show last to focus on celebrating us and how can we experiences in ­space-related​­ fields with Black year: This is what’s happened to us. There’s retain us and continuously recruit more of In Astro (@​BlackInAstro) during the annual not many of us in the field or within these us.” #BlackInAstro events on social media and all spaces. How can you all make us feel better? She plans to continue her work as a sci­ year round. How can you all make us feel comfortable? ence communicator as she pursues a doc- —Kimberly M. S. Cartier This is what we see through our eyes and toral degree in atmospheric science at How-

Wilkins’s shift toward a policy ASHLEE WILKINS focus was ushered along with her A Space Scientist Goes to Washington election to student government in graduate school. ASHLEE WILKINS “As a graduate realized that she student there are a might not want to “I had long been interested in lot of opportuni- be an academic ties to get involved researcher before politics separately from science, at very high levels she started gradu- but I had not really seen how of the university,” ate school. she said. More- Wilkins was an science policy was a whole field over, living so intern at NASA’s close to the Jet Propulsion Lab- in and of itself.” nation’s capital Ashlee Wilkins focuses on space and aeronautics as oratory in Pasa- offered her the staff of the House Committee on Science, Space, and dena, Calif., in the chance to attend Technology. Credit: Architect of the Capitol summers before and after her senior undergraduate year at Cornell hearings and see University in Ithaca, N.Y. She was working with the deputy project science policy in scientist of the ­Wide-​­field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission action. After grad- just before its launch in late 2009, and that same scientist was already uate school, she became the John Bahcall Public Policy Fellow at the planning for the telescope’s postmission life, named NEOWISE. It gave American Astronomical Society, which is “specifically designed to take Wilkins the chance to see the final stages before a mission launches a Ph.D. scientist and provide them with the opportunity to learn… as well as the first stages as a new idea takes hold. about the world of science and space policy.” “I was learning a lot about…prioritizing the right time to do what “I was lucky in the timing because it was in my second year of the kind of mission, or how you decide on big-picture science questions fellowship when the Democrats took the House in and fitting missions into a larger strategy,” Wilkins said. “That was 2018,” she said. The results of the election meant just really exciting to me.” that the former minority party would soon be hiring staff for the com- The desire to learn about mission planning influenced her decision mittees they would run, and it just so happened that a position opened to attend graduate school at the University of Maryland (UMD) in Col- up in the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. “I had the expe- lege Park, not far from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Green- rience of the fellowship behind me—and I had interacted with the belt, where Wilkins worked for a time. In addition to her graduate person who was my future boss through my work as the Bahcall Fel- research about exoplanets, she helped start and lead an initiative low.” called ­GRAD-​­MAP, which connects UMD graduate students with Out of 35 or so staffers in the majority office of the House Science undergraduates from ­minority-​­serving institutions in the ­mid-​ Committee, Wilkins is one of three who focus on space topics. You can ­Atlantic region. The program “continued this evolution of my interest follow Wilkins on Twitter (@​ashleeeeew) and the subcommittee for in how we do the science, and who gets to do the science, and the strat- updates on science and space policy. egy for science, and not just the actual research itself.” —Kimberly M. S. Cartier

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 39 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

The Wildfire One-Two: First the Burn, Then the Landslides

Debris flows from heavy rain after the 2009 Station Fire damaged part of the Angeles Crest Highway in Southern California. Credit: Jason Kean/ U.S. Geological Survey

fter the record-​­breaking 2020 wild- In a new study, Thomas et al. combined ing criteria. In addition, they suggest that fire season in California, the charred satellite data and hydrologic modeling to rainfall patterns, soil grain size, and root A landscapes throughout the state develop a predictive framework for land- reinforcement could be critical factors in faced elevated risks of landslides and other slides. The framework uses inputs, including determining the probability of debris flows as postfire hazards. Wildfires burn away the vegetation reflectance and soil texture, burned landscapes recover. plant canopy and leaf litter on the ground, among others, and ­physics-​­based simula- The results suggest that the model could leaving behind soil stripped of much of its tion of water infiltration into the soil to sim- track soil hydraulic conditions following a fire capacity to absorb moisture. As a result, even ulate the hydrologic triggering conditions for using widely available rainfall, vegetation, modest rains pose a risk for substantial sur- landslides. The output offers thresholds to and soil data. Such simulations could even- face runoff in the state’s mountainous ter- monitor the probability of landslides in the tually support warning criteria for debris rain. years after a burn. flows. The simulation framework, the authors California has a history of fatal landslides, The researchers tested their model against note, could be beneficial for regions that have and the steep, burned hillsides are suscepti- postwildfire soil moisture and debris flow not historically experienced frequent fires ble to flash flooding and debris flows. ­Fire-​ observations from the San Gabriel Mountains and lack monitoring infrastructure. ( Journal ­prone regions in the state rely on rainfall in Southern California and found that their of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, https:// thresholds to anticipate the conditions under results were consistent with recent debris doi.org/10.1029/2021JF006091, 2021) —Aaron which postfire debris flows are more likely. flow events and previously established warn- Sidder, Science Writer

40 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Monitoring the Agulhas Current Through Maritime Traffic

s Earth’s climate changes, so too will its oceans. Water temperatures are A climbing, sea levels are rising, and ocean currents are shifting. To study the ocean surface, researchers typically use radar altimeters, which send microwave pulses toward the ocean and measure the time they take to rebound, but the usefulness of altim- etry data is limited to large areas and long temporal scales. In a new study, Le Goff et al. turn to maritime data to create a more precise picture of ocean currents. Historically, data on ocean surface currents were based on ships’ logs, which tracked how intense currents affected a vessel’s course or speed. But today’s ships are equipped with much more precise geopositioning technol- A world map shows relative commercial shipping density. Credit: B. S. Halpern (derived from T. Hengl and ogies. Merchant ships continually transmit D. Groll)/Wikimedia, CC ­BY-​­SA 3.0 (bit​.ly/­ccbysa3-0) their position, bearing, and speed through the Automatic Identification System (AIS), pro- viding mountains of data that are more pre- cise than ever. Previous studies have shown through a region with heavy maritime traffic. According to the authors, the methods that surface current velocities from AIS data Using AIS data from vessels in transit through could be applied to other regions with heavy match well with those predicted by high-­ ​ the region in 2016 and mathematical model- maritime traffic, such as the Mediterranean ­frequency radar measurements. ing, the team reconstructed the surface cur- Sea. Monitoring ocean currents is critical The research team focused on the northern rent. The authors used surface current esti- because shifting currents will lead to changes reaches of the Agulhas Current, a strong cur- mates collected by satellites and drifting in sea surface temperature and salinity that rent that roughly follows the continental buoys to validate the ­AIS-based​­ observations. will ripple throughout marine ecosystems. shelf break off the eastern coast of South The study shows how AIS data could be a crit- ( Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, Africa. The current, which has surface veloc- ical part of a more comprehensive current https://doi­ ​.org/10­ ​.1029/2021JC017228,­ 2021) ities of up to 2 meters per second, passes monitoring system. —Kate Wheeling, Science Writer

How Much Carbon Will Peatlands Lose​ as Permafrost Thaws?

ust as your freezer keeps food from going bad, Arctic permafrost Before peat is preserved stably in permafrost, it spends time in an protects frozen organic material from decay. As the climate active layer that freezes and thaws seasonally. Unfrozen peat continues Jwarms, however, previously frozen landscapes such as peatlands to decay, so by the time it is permanently frozen, peat might be highly are beginning to thaw. But how much fresh carbon will be released into degraded. When such frozen peat ultimately thaws, limited further the atmosphere when peat leaves the deep freeze of permafrost? decomposition is possible, so the carbon loss is much slower than might In a new study, Treat et al. used a process-­ based​­ model to explore how be expected. Therefore, most of the carbon that peat will release escapes different factors may affect the carbon balance in peatlands by the end before it ever enters the permafrost. Accordingly, in simulations of future of this century. The scientists simulated more than 8,000 years of peat- years, the upper active layer, not deeper or newly thawed peat, continued land history to ensure accuracy, and they examined six peatland sites to release the most carbon. in Canada to cover a gradient from spottier southern permafrost zones Previous field studies showed a range of carbon balance outcomes as to continuous permafrost sites north of the Arctic tree line. permafrost thaws, from the release of large amounts of carbon to the Their results reveal great variation, depending on each site’s history. storage of additional carbon. This simulation helps explain that varia- According to the simulations, some areas will release carbon as perma- tion, linking carbon balance results to specific variables such as site his- frost thaws or disappears altogether. Others will accumulate and store tory and active layer depth. Future models could continue to refine the carbon at greater rates as vegetation responds to warmer temperatures picture by incorporating new variables, such as ice melt and vegetation and longer growing seasons. Overall, little carbon—less than 5%—will productivity. ( Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, https://doi­ ​ escape by 2100 compared with how much will remain stored. .org/­10​.1029/­2020JG005872, 2021) —Elizabeth Thompson, Science Writer

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 41 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Particles at the Ocean Surface and Seafloor ​ Aren’t So Different

lthough scientists often assume that random variations in scientific data fit symmetrical, ­bell-​­shaped normal distribu- A tions, nature isn’t always so tidy. In some cases, a skewed dis- tribution, like the lognormal probability distribution, provides a better fit. Researchers previously found that primary production by ocean phytoplankton and carbon export via particles sinking from the surface are consistent with lognormal distributions. In a new study, Cael et al. discovered that fluxes at the seafloor also fit lognormal distributions. The researchers analyzed data from ­deep-​ ­sea sediment traps at six different sites, representing diverse nutrient and oxygen statuses. They found that the lognormal distribution didn’t just fit organic carbon flux; it provided a simple scaling relationship for calcium carbonate and opal fluxes as well. Uncovering the lognormal distribution enabled the researchers to tackle a long-standing question: Do nutrients reach the benthos—life at the seafloor—via irregular pulses or a constant rain of particles? The team examined the shape of the distribution and found that the high- est 29% of the measurements accounted for 71% of the organic carbon flux at the seafloor, which is less imbalanced than the 80:20 benchmark specified by the Pareto principle. Thus, although ­high-flux​­ pulses likely do provide nutrients to the benthos, they aren’t the dominant source. The findings will provide a simple way for researchers to explore additional links between net primary production at the ocean surface An Oceanic Flux Program time series sediment trap deployed at 3,200-­ ​­meter and ­deep-sea​­ flux. (Geophysical Research Letters, https://­doi.org/​ ­10.1029/­ depth comes on board R/V Atlantic Explorer. Credit: J. C. Weber 2021GL092895, 2021) —Jack Lee, Science Writer

Establishing a Link Between Air Pollution and Dementia

ore people around the world are fall- by others through secondhand smoke. When occurences of dementia worldwide and ing ill and dying from dementia now these pollutants enter the body, they can around 600,000 deaths. The countries most Mthan in the past. Between 2000 and affect the central nervous system and lead to affected were China, India, Japan, and the 2019, the diagnosis rate of dementia increased cognitive disorders. United States. What is more, Africa, Asia, by 86% and deaths from the cognitive disor- The study’s findings indicate that in 2015, and the Middle East face increasing burdens der more than doubled. Longer life spans and air pollution caused approximately 2 million from the disease as living standards and pol- aging populations in much of the world partly lution climb. The analysis concludes that air explain these trends. However, evidence sug- pollution causes roughly 15% of premature gests that lifestyle and environmental causes, deaths and 7% of disability-­ ​­adjusted life namely, air pollution, excessive alcohol con- years (which accounts for mortality and sumption, and traumatic brain injury, may morbidity) associated with dementia, with also play a role. estimated economic costs of around $26 bil- In new research, Ru et al. explored the role lion. of air pollution in the rising number of The study establishes air pollution as a dementia cases. The authors perused existing potentially significant risk factor for demen- literature to find links between dementia and tia. It suggests that reducing air pollution may fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5)—defined help prevent dementia in older populations. as particulates having a diameter less than or However, the researchers note high uncer- equal to 2.5 micrometers. PM2.5 arises from Environmental activist Sumaira Abdulali measures tainty in the relationship. Future work that both anthropogenic and natural sources, like particulate matter emitted by a burning roadside focuses on ­high-​­exposure regions will be burning gas for vehicles and wildfires. In garbage dump near Mumbai, India. Credit: Sumaira necessary to clarify the link. (GeoHealth, addition, cigarettes produce fine particulate Abdulali, Wikimedia Commons, ccbysa4-0, (bit.ly/ https://doi­ ​.org/10­ ​.1029/2020GH000356,­ matter, which is inhaled by the smoker and bysa4-0) 2021) —Aaron Sidder, Science Writer

42 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Gulf Stream Intrusions Feed Diatom Hot Spots

he Gulf Stream, which has reliably The hot spots had chlorophyll levels channeled warm water from the tropics higher than those typically seen in the Tnorthward along the East Coast of slope region and were packed with a diverse North America for thousands of years, is load of diatoms, a class of sin­ gle-​­celled changing. Recent research shows that it may algae. Studying images of the hot spots, the be slowing down, and more and more often, team found that the colon­ y-f​­ orming diatom the current is meandering into the Mid-​ Thalassiosira diporocyclus was abundant in ­Atlantic Bight—a region on the continental the hot spots. shelf stretching from North Carolina to Mas- The researchers used a model that com- sachusetts and one of the most productive bined upper ocean and biogeochemical marine ecosystems in the world. dynamics to support the idea that the upwell- Previous studies have suggested that this New research identifies diatom hot spots associated ing of Gulf Stream water moving northward intrusion of Gulf Stream water, which is com- with Gulf Stream intrusions and dominated by a into the ­Mid-​­Atlantic Bight could cause the paratively low in nutrients at the surface, diverse assemblage of diatoms, pictured here, simi- hot spots to form. The study demonstrates could hamper productivity. But in a new lar to Thalassiosira diporocyclus. Credit: Oliver et al., how Gulf Stream nutrients could influence study, Oliver et al. found that intrusions of 2021, https://doi​.org/­10.1029/­2020GL091943 subsurface summer productivity in the region deeper, ­nutrient-​­rich Gulf Stream water can and that such hot spots should be taken into also feed hot spots of primary productivity. account when researchers investigate how By analyzing data collected by R/V Thomas climate change will reshape circulation pat- G. Thompson in July 2019, the team spotted a side of the Gulf Stream current and was push- terns in the North Atlantic. (Geophysical series of hot spots about 50 meters below the ing westward toward the continental shelf, Research Letters, https://­doi​.org/­10.1029/­ surface, just east of a large eddy known as a drawing cool water into the slope region off 2020GL091943, 2021) —Kate Wheeling, Science ­warm-core​­ ring. This ring had formed off the the edge of the shelf. Writer

SCIENCE NEWS BY AGU // Eos.org 43 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Magma Pockets Lie Stacked Beneath Juan de Fuca Ridge

Lava that erupted from the Juan de Fuca Ridge formed these pillow and sheet flow basaltic rocks on the seafloor off the coast of Oregon. Credit: University of Washington/­ NSF–​­Ocean Observatories Initiative/Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility ROPOS 0142

ff the coast of the U.S. Pacific North- Recent evidence suggests that some sea- The new imaging data reveal several west, at the Juan de Fuca Ridge, two floor spreading sites around the world contain stacked magma chambers in the crystal mush Otectonic plates are pulling apart at a additional magma chambers beneath the zone at each of the surveyed sites. These speed of about 5.6 centimeters per year. As axial melt lens. These additional chambers chambers extend along the length of the ridge they spread, periodic eruptions of molten are stacked one above another in the “crystal for about ­1-​­8 kilometers, and the shallowest rock give rise to new oceanic crust. Seismic mush zone,” an area of the actively forming chambers lie about ­100-​­1,200 meters below images captured by Carbotte et al. now provide oceanic crust that contains a low ratio of the axial melt lens. new insights into the dynamics of magma melted rock to crystallized rock. These findings, combined with other geo- chambers that feed these eruptions. Beneath the Axial Seamount portion of logical and geophysical observations, suggest The new research builds on earlier investi- the Juan de Fuca Ridge (the site of an ­on-​ that these stacked chambers are ­short-​­lived gations into magma chambers that underlie ­axis hot spot, which is a different tectonic and may arise during periods when the crys- the Juan de Fuca Ridge as well as other sites setting compared with the rest of the ridge), tal mush zone undergoes compaction and of seafloor spreading. Sites of fast and inter- a 2020 investigation showed evidence of magma is replenished from the mantle mediate spreading are typically fed by a thin, stacked magma chambers in the crystal below. The chambers do not cool and crystal- narrow reservoir of molten magma—the axial mush zone beneath the large magma reser- lize in place but instead are tapped and con- melt lens—that extends along the ridge at an voir that underlies this ­on-​­axis hot spot tribute magma to eruptions and other ­crust-​ intermediate depth in the oceanic crust, still (bit.ly/­stacked-​­magma-­​chambers). The ­building processes. well above the mantle. researchers applied multichannel seismic Further research could help confirm and imaging data collected aboard R/V Maurice clarify the role played by these stacked cham- Ewing and found geophysical evidence for bers in the dynamics of seafloor spreading. u Read the latest news these stacked chambers along normal por- ( Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, at Eos.org tions of the ridge not influenced by the hot https://­doi​.org/­10​.1029/­2020JB021434, 2021) spot. —Sarah Stanley, Science Writer

44 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 AGU ADVANCES EDITORS PRESENT THE LATEST RESEARCH // EDITORS’ HIGHLIGHTS

Understanding How Himalayan Water Towers​ Fill and Drain

he Nepal Himalayas supply essential water drains through a mountain ground- assessment of freshwater resources and to water resources to a large part of the water reservoir. Understanding how the making predictions for the future with Tpopulation of South Asia. Most of this reservoir fills and drains is crucial to the respect to global climate change. However, observing groundwater processes is chal- lenging due to limited access to the subsur- face, particularly in steep mountain land- scapes. Illien et al. used ambient seismic noise— namely, ground vibrations continuously recorded by seismometers—to monitor groundwater dynamics within a Himalayan valley. Their findings shed new light on the mechanisms governing the water towers of the Himalayas. In particular, the researchers demonstrate key roles played by the thick- ness and properties of the soil and regolith Evolution of Himalayan groundwater reservoirs during the monsoon season. The arrows indicate the fluxes that layer, which is a gatekeeper to the fractured control groundwater and subsurface moisture storage (T = transpiration, P = precipitation, Q = discharge). The crystalline bedrock in which the groundwater colorbar indicates the scale for subsurface moisture storage where θc is the characteristic field capacity reservoir is primarily located. (https://d­ oi​. required to connect the precipitation input and the transpiration outtake to the groundwater. Tree colors indicate org/10​ .1029/­2021AV000398, 2021) the evolving vegetation activity during one complete seasonal cycle. Credit: Illien et al., 2021 —Alberto Montanari

Saturn’s Dynamo Illuminates Its Interior

Left: The surface magnetic field for the preferred model developed by Yan and Stanley, with a stably stratified layer and enhanced polar cooling. The field is very symmetri- cal, as is observed for Saturn. Right: The model with no stable layer and with uniform cooling results in a less symmetric field than is observed. Credit: Yan and Stanley, 2021

ASA’s Cassini spacecraft was able to carefully map Saturn’s A stably stratified layer on Saturn was expected based on theoreti- magnetic field during its final mission stages. The field is cal arguments about helium ­rain-out,​­ so this paper strengthens those Namazingly symmetrical, much more so than the fields of any arguments. A remaining puzzle is what mechanism could be causing other known planetary body. Although the reasons for this symmetry the thermal winds posited in this model. (https://doi.org/­10​ are unknown, it must arise from Saturn’s internal structure. .1029/­2020AV000318, 2021) —Francis Nimmo Yan and Stanley suggest that the field’s characteristics result from two factors. The first is the presence of a thick, stably stratified layer above the planet’s convecting dynamo region; this layer damps out ­short-­wa​ velength field characteristics. The second is stronger cooling u Sign up for the AGU Advances digest: of the stable layer at the poles, which induces thermal winds and pro- agu.org/advances-digest duces a better match to the magnetic power spectrum.

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48 Eos // SEPTEMBER 2021 POSTCARDS FROM THE FIELD

Top of the day, AGU fans! Earth and Space Exploration, and A. Mark Jellinek of the University of British Columbia. Anna and Shannon were also joined by Antero Kukko Taking you to the Canadian High Arctic are Anna Grau Galofre (@KukkoAntero), Chimira Andres (@RocksNRockets), and Etienne (@agraugal), an Exploration Fellow at Arizona State University, and Godin. Shannon Hibbard (@Shann0nMars), a Ph.D. candidate at Western Uni- versity. Anna and Shannon are riding off into the sunset on their fat- Enjoy! tire bikes to dig some baseline trenches across ice wedge polygon troughs on the eastern side of Axel Heiberg Island in Nunavut, Canada. —Shawn Chartrand (@smchartrand), Simon Fraser University, Burn- aby, B.C., Canada Anna and Shannon are geophysicists who use Arctic landscapes as ana- logue environments for places like Mars. Together the two have spent six field seasons in the Canadian High Arctic pursuing their research on topics like distinguishing subglacial channels from fluvial ones, and the region’s crenellated so-called brain terrain. The trip was led by Gordon View more postcards at bit.ly/Eos-postcard Oz Osinski (@drcrater), director of Western University’s Institute for 62103 Ammo1nia I ,Gas Concentrati1on Analyzer

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