Elaina Sutley of the University of Kansas is leading a three-year, $650,000 multidisciplinary study of managed retreat to determine besat practices for communities faced with relocation due to repeated climate-change disasters. 

The death of inhabitants of Pompeii during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79CE is mostly attributed to volcanic causes, such as falling ashes and hot gas. This, however, may not be the full picture. In a recent study, volcanologists, geologists, and anthropologists teamed up to refocus attention on the effects of earthquake-related events. Examining two newly discovered skeletons, they concluded that their deaths must have been caused by wall collapses triggered by earthquakes, which greatly contributed to the destruction of the ancient city.

The Volkswagen Foundation is funding a new tenure track professorship in Earth and Planetary Geodynamics at the University of Freiburg.

Comparative study of the ‘twin planets’ Earth and Venus will enhance our understanding of climate stability and planetary habitability.

The strategic initiative also includes the new ‘EaSySim’ simulation lab and a new master’s degree programme in Earth Sciences.

Where hidden water tables meet the Earth’s surface, life can thrive even in the driest locations. Offering refuge during times of drought, shallow groundwater aquifers act like water savings accounts that can support ecosystems with the moisture required to survive, even as precipitation dwindles. As climate change and human water use rapidly deplete groundwater levels around the world, scientists and policy makers need better data for where these groundwater-dependent ecosystems exist.

The Energy Division of the Geological Society of America is honoring Dr. Anne Raymond for her lifetime of research and her decades of effort in training fossil pollen experts, many of whom have pursued extensive careers in the petroleum industry.

How are rivers characterized? Traditional methods rely on plant forms and sedimentological techniques, focusing on deposits. Riccardo Maitan, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Padova, is developing a novel approach based on river hydrological behavior, emphasizing morphodynamics. His work aims to identify the signature of peak discharge variability—a key hydrological metric—in meandering rivers. This research spans over 15 years of USGS data and Google Earth image time series.