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Urbanization and Air Pollution VOL. 96 NO. 1 15 JAN 2015 MagazineInaugural Issue Earth & Space Science News Then and Now Urbanization and Air Pollution Radioisotopic Geochronology and Astrochronology U.S. Interior Department Issues Revised Scientifi c Integrity Policy AGU Medalists Registration and Housing opening soon! Student Travel Grant Application Deadline: 26 January 2015 Earth & Space Science News Contents 15 JANUARY 2015 NEWS VOLUME 96, ISSUE 1 Satellites Show True Extent 3 of California Drought Since 2011, California’s water supply has lost 4 trillion gallons per year and the Sierra Nevada snowpack has hit record lows. MEETING REPORT 8 Climate, Land Use, and Conflict in Northern Africa How strong is the link between climate change and changes in land use in this vulnerable region? RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT 10 COVER 25 Urbanization and Air Pollution: Hillslopes Regulate Sediment Then and Now Supply to River Channels A new study rethinks the dynamics of Analysis of decades of mitigation efforts in Los Angeles demonstrates runoff-driven erosion in response to that air quality in the world’s megacities can be greatly improved. rainstorms. Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 1 Contents DEPARTMENTS Editor in Chief Barbara T. Richman: AGU, Washington, D. C., USA; eos_ [email protected] Editors Christina M. S. Cohen: Wendy S. Gordon: Carol A. Stein: California Institute Ecologia Consulting, Department of Earth and of Technology, Pasadena, Austin, Texas, USA; Environmental Sciences, Calif., USA; wendy@ecologiaconsulting University of Illinois at cohen@srl .caltech.edu .com Chicago, Chicago, Ill., USA; [email protected] José D. Fuentes: David Halpern: Department of Meteorology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pennsylvania State Pasadena, Calif., USA; University, University davidhalpern29@gmail Park, Pa., USA; .com [email protected] Editorial Advisory Board M. Lee Allison, Earth and Space Xin-Zhong Liang, Global Environmen- Science Informatics tal Change Lora S. Armstrong, Volcanology, Jian Lin, Tectonophysics Geochemistry, and Petrology Figen Mekik, Paleoceanography Michael A. Ellis, Earth and Planetary and Paleoclimatology Surface Processes Jerry L. Miller, Ocean Sciences Arlene M. Fiore, Atmospheric Sciences Michael A. Mischna, Planetary 36 Nicola J. Fox, Space Physics Sciences and Aeronomy Thomas H. Painter, Cryosphere Steve Frolking, Biogeosciences Sciences Edward J. Garnero, Study of the Roger A. Pielke Sr., Natural Hazards 16–24 AGU News Earth’s Deep Interior Michael Poland, Geodesy Michael N. Gooseff, Hydrology Eric M. Riggs, Education Citations for and responses from the Kristine C. Harper, History Adrian Tuck, Nonlinear Geophysics of Geophysics Sergio Vinciguerra, Mineral 2014 AGU medalists who were hon- Keith D. Koper, Seismology and Rock Physics ored at the Fall Meeting in December. Robert E. Kopp, Geomagnetism Earle Williams, Atmospheric and Paleomagnetism and Space Electricity John W. Lane, Near-Surface Geo- Mary Lou Zoback, Societal Impacts 25–27 Research Spotlight physics and Policy Sciences Staff Hillslopes Regulate Sediment Production: Faith A. Ishii, Program Manager; Liz Castenson, Editor’s Assistant; Supply to River Channels; Archean Valerie Bassett and Travis Frazier, Electronic Graphics Specialists Rocks in the Acasta Gneiss Com- Editorial: Randy Showstack, Senior Writer; Mohi Kumar, Science Writer/Editor; plex; Isotopes in Ancient Corals JoAnna Wendel, Writer; Offer a Record of Past Ocean Vari- Marketing: Angelo Bouselli and Mirelle Moscovitch, Marketing Analysts ability; Bubbles as a Possible Mech- Advertising: Christy Hanson, Manager; Tel: +1-202-777-7536; Email: advertising@ 26 anism Behind Magnetic Substorms; agu.org Southwest’s Four Corners Home to ©2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Material in this issue may Largest U.S. Methane Signal; Esti- 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 3–7 News mates of Anthropogenic Nitrogen in books and journals. For permission for any other uses, contact the AGU Publications the Ocean May Be High. Office. Satellites Show True Extent of Eos (ISSN 0096-3941) is published semi-monthly, on the 1st and 15th of the month ex- California Drought; Traces of cept the 1st of January 2015 by the American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Ave., 28–35 Positions Available NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA. Periodical Class postage paid at Washington, D. C., Glass-Eating Microbes Found in and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Member Ancient Lake Bed; Robot Explores Current job openings in the Earth Service Center, 2000 Florida Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA. Under-Ice Habitats in the Arctic; and space sciences. Member Service Center: 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Eastern time; Tel: +1-202-462-6900; Interior Department Issues Revised Fax: +1-202-328-0566; Tel. orders in U.S.: 1-800-966-2481; Email: [email protected]. Scientific Integrity Policy; Does War Use AGU’s Geophysical Electronic Manuscript Submissions system to submit a 36 Postcards from the Field manuscript: http://eos-submit.agu.org. Influence Forest Growth? Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect official positions of the Surface drifters in Kangerdlugssup American Geophysical Union unless expressly stated. 8–9 Meeting Reports Sermerssua fjord. Christine W. McEntee, Executive Director/CEO Climate, Land Use, and Conflict On the Cover in Northern Africa; Exploring Radioisotopic Geochronology and Smog over a densely populated city. Astrochronology. Photo: Thinkstock; Michal_Staniewski facebook.com/AmericanGeophysicalUnion @AGU_Eos linkedin.com/company/american-geophysical-union youtube.com/user/AGUvideos 2 // Eos 15 January 2015 NEWS Thomas Painter of JPL, who leads the ASO project, explained that early data from the Satellites Show True Extent airplane- based science lab revealed that 2014 snow levels had reached a near- record low, of California Drought the lowest since 1977. Now California’s pop- ulation is twice as large, putting significantly more strain on the state’s limited water, Painter said. The trend may be hard to recover from, Painter said, because the loss of snow expos- es darker mountain terrain, which absorbs more heat from the Sun and makes it harder for future snows to stick. The loss of snowpack is particularly wor- risome because it deprives California of the natural reservoir that usually helps the state make it through its regular dry spells, Painter told Eos. The mountain snows store up water from the heavy winter storms of California’s wet years and release it gradually as summer melt- water in dry years. Califor- nia’s manmade reservoirs aren’t big enough to take on this role. Even when full, they can only hold a season and a half of storm run- off, Painter said. “They’re not a great buffer against drought.” California Department of Water Resources Water Department of California This means that even if winter storms (left) California’s Lake Oroville reservoir was at 30% capacity in September 2014, approaching the 26% record low return in force this year or the next, Califor- of 1977. (right) California’s Lake Oroville in 2011. New data from NASA say that California needs 10 Lake Orovilles’ nia will be in trouble if the clouds drop their worth of water to recover from the current drought. moisture as rain rather than snow, which Painter said is increasingly likely as the cli- mate warms. Much of the runoff will simply mages of docks stranded above lake shore- California needs 11 trillion lines and of desiccated earth cracking and flow down to the sea and be lost. “We’ve turning into dust (e.g., http://bit .ly/ gallons of water to get out seen some of that, but nothing like where I we’re going with warming,” he said. 1JUhQeF) have become commonplace after three years of crippling drought in California. of its ongoing drought. Now a view from space offers a new perspec- GRACE in the Future tive on the severity of the water shortage. Scientists at the press conference ex- A new analysis of satellite data reveals pressed hope that the new detailed data about Calif. “And, no, the recent rains have not put that California needs 11 trillion gallons of available water resources from their space- an end to it, but they are certainly welcome.” water (42 cubic kilometers) to get out of its based and airborne observatories will aid pol- The data show that two-thirds of the ongoing drought, NASA scientists reported in icymakers who need to make hard decisions 11-trillion- gallon loss represents ground water a 16 December press conference at the 2014 about how to allocate water for current and depletion in California’s Central Valley. The AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif. future droughts. loss reflects unsustainable use of water re- NASA leadership has extended the original sources by state policymakers, Famiglietti said. Where Has All the Water Gone? 5-year GRACE mission and plans to launch In the past 5 decades, groundwater levels Since their launch in 2002, the twin satel- a new pair of satellites with enhanced tech- in the Central Valley have declined sharply lites of NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate nology in 2017, said Matt Rodell, chief of the during dry years and recovered only slightly Experiment (GRACE) mission have acted Hydrological Sciences Laboratory at NASA’s during wet years as water was diverted for like a space-based water meter, measuring Goddard Space Flight Center. However, “We agriculture and municipal use, he explained. month-to-month changes in the volume of don’t know if GRACE is going to last that “It’s the definition of unsustainable,” he said. water in Califor nia by detecting subtle varia- long,” Rodell told Eos. “Like a tennis ball bouncing down a flight of tions in Earth’s gravity. He explained that several of the sat- stairs, the ball always ends up at the bottom.” These data have allowed NASA scientists to ellites’ solar-charged batteries have al- calculate, for the first time, exactly how far Mapping Snow from the Air ready failed, forcing the team to power California’s water supply has fallen behind its Another major contributor to California’s the sensors down whenever the satellites seasonal norms.
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