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#spatiotemporal — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #spatiotemporal, aggregated by home.social.

  1. To Predict Tree Death, Scientists Tapped Gamma Rays To Peer Underground
    (Airborne radiation sensors could help forecast and prevent drought-driven tree mortality_
    --
    science.org/content/article/pr <-- shared technical article
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2026GL122182 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @hannah Richter
    “Over an 18-month period starting in 2023, the dense forests of Western Australia [WA] experienced a record-setting drought. Jarrah trees towering 35 metres high died off in patchy brown splotches, turning 400 square kilometres - 3% of the forest - into brittle, fire-prone stands. The event led researchers to wonder whether there was a better way to predict where such die-offs might occur both there and in other forests, a problem that has long been tricky to solve because important factors such as soil depth are hidden underground…
    Now, those same researchers have unveiled a surprising new tool for predicting tree mortality: gamma rays [link above.] Resulting from the natural decay of the potassium-40 isotope from granite-rich bedrock, the radiation acts as a proxy for soil depth, which in turn signals how much water a tree can access during drought. The new method could be applied to other highly weathered soils, which cover one-third of Earth’s ice-free land...”
    --
    "... PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: During a record-breaking drought and heat event in 2023–2024, forests in southwestern Australia experienced widespread, patchy die-off. While we know that extreme weather triggers these events, it is often a hidden factor, the thickness of soil and the depth to underlying bedrock, that determines which trees live or die. Trees growing in shallow soil over solid rock are highly vulnerable due to limited water storage. Here, [they] show how to map these hidden zones from the air using gamma rays that are naturally emitted by potassium in the ground. Like southwestern Australia, many parts of the world have highly weathered soils where potassium has been washed out of the upper layers of soil. However, [they] showed that higher potassium areas signal that potassium-rich bedrock is closer to the surface and this is sensitive for tens of meters. By comparing gamma ray maps with ground-based geophysical surveys and satellite data, [they] showed that these potassium hotspots accurately predict where forests are most likely to experience die-off during a drought. These types of soils cover about one-third of the Earth's land, so the method provides a powerful new tool for managers to identify and protect vulnerable forests from future, hotter droughts…”
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #Australia #WesternAustralia #WA #forests #vegetation #bush #jarrah #karri #drought #heat #extremedrought #extremeweather #climatechange #water #waterresources #dieoff #soil #weathering #erosion #moisture #nutrients #airborne #gammarays #GRS #granite #gneiss #bedrock #geology #potassium40 #potassium #K #remotesensing #earthobservation #groundwater #interstitial #subsurface #waterstorage #electricalresistivitytomography

  2. To Predict Tree Death, Scientists Tapped Gamma Rays To Peer Underground
    (Airborne radiation sensors could help forecast and prevent drought-driven tree mortality_
    --
    science.org/content/article/pr <-- shared technical article
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2026GL122182 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @hannah Richter
    “Over an 18-month period starting in 2023, the dense forests of Western Australia [WA] experienced a record-setting drought. Jarrah trees towering 35 metres high died off in patchy brown splotches, turning 400 square kilometres - 3% of the forest - into brittle, fire-prone stands. The event led researchers to wonder whether there was a better way to predict where such die-offs might occur both there and in other forests, a problem that has long been tricky to solve because important factors such as soil depth are hidden underground…
    Now, those same researchers have unveiled a surprising new tool for predicting tree mortality: gamma rays [link above.] Resulting from the natural decay of the potassium-40 isotope from granite-rich bedrock, the radiation acts as a proxy for soil depth, which in turn signals how much water a tree can access during drought. The new method could be applied to other highly weathered soils, which cover one-third of Earth’s ice-free land...”
    --
    "... PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: During a record-breaking drought and heat event in 2023–2024, forests in southwestern Australia experienced widespread, patchy die-off. While we know that extreme weather triggers these events, it is often a hidden factor, the thickness of soil and the depth to underlying bedrock, that determines which trees live or die. Trees growing in shallow soil over solid rock are highly vulnerable due to limited water storage. Here, [they] show how to map these hidden zones from the air using gamma rays that are naturally emitted by potassium in the ground. Like southwestern Australia, many parts of the world have highly weathered soils where potassium has been washed out of the upper layers of soil. However, [they] showed that higher potassium areas signal that potassium-rich bedrock is closer to the surface and this is sensitive for tens of meters. By comparing gamma ray maps with ground-based geophysical surveys and satellite data, [they] showed that these potassium hotspots accurately predict where forests are most likely to experience die-off during a drought. These types of soils cover about one-third of the Earth's land, so the method provides a powerful new tool for managers to identify and protect vulnerable forests from future, hotter droughts…”
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #Australia #WesternAustralia #WA #forests #vegetation #bush #jarrah #karri #drought #heat #extremedrought #extremeweather #climatechange #water #waterresources #dieoff #soil #weathering #erosion #moisture #nutrients #airborne #gammarays #GRS #granite #gneiss #bedrock #geology #potassium40 #potassium #K #remotesensing #earthobservation #groundwater #interstitial #subsurface #waterstorage #electricalresistivitytomography

  3. To Predict Tree Death, Scientists Tapped Gamma Rays To Peer Underground
    (Airborne radiation sensors could help forecast and prevent drought-driven tree mortality_
    --
    science.org/content/article/pr <-- shared technical article
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2026GL122182 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @hannah Richter
    “Over an 18-month period starting in 2023, the dense forests of Western Australia [WA] experienced a record-setting drought. Jarrah trees towering 35 metres high died off in patchy brown splotches, turning 400 square kilometres - 3% of the forest - into brittle, fire-prone stands. The event led researchers to wonder whether there was a better way to predict where such die-offs might occur both there and in other forests, a problem that has long been tricky to solve because important factors such as soil depth are hidden underground…
    Now, those same researchers have unveiled a surprising new tool for predicting tree mortality: gamma rays [link above.] Resulting from the natural decay of the potassium-40 isotope from granite-rich bedrock, the radiation acts as a proxy for soil depth, which in turn signals how much water a tree can access during drought. The new method could be applied to other highly weathered soils, which cover one-third of Earth’s ice-free land...”
    --
    "... PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: During a record-breaking drought and heat event in 2023–2024, forests in southwestern Australia experienced widespread, patchy die-off. While we know that extreme weather triggers these events, it is often a hidden factor, the thickness of soil and the depth to underlying bedrock, that determines which trees live or die. Trees growing in shallow soil over solid rock are highly vulnerable due to limited water storage. Here, [they] show how to map these hidden zones from the air using gamma rays that are naturally emitted by potassium in the ground. Like southwestern Australia, many parts of the world have highly weathered soils where potassium has been washed out of the upper layers of soil. However, [they] showed that higher potassium areas signal that potassium-rich bedrock is closer to the surface and this is sensitive for tens of meters. By comparing gamma ray maps with ground-based geophysical surveys and satellite data, [they] showed that these potassium hotspots accurately predict where forests are most likely to experience die-off during a drought. These types of soils cover about one-third of the Earth's land, so the method provides a powerful new tool for managers to identify and protect vulnerable forests from future, hotter droughts…”
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #Australia #WesternAustralia #WA #forests #vegetation #bush #jarrah #karri #drought #heat #extremedrought #extremeweather #climatechange #water #waterresources #dieoff #soil #weathering #erosion #moisture #nutrients #airborne #gammarays #GRS #granite #gneiss #bedrock #geology #potassium40 #potassium #K #remotesensing #earthobservation #groundwater #interstitial #subsurface #waterstorage #electricalresistivitytomography

  4. To Predict Tree Death, Scientists Tapped Gamma Rays To Peer Underground
    (Airborne radiation sensors could help forecast and prevent drought-driven tree mortality_
    --
    science.org/content/article/pr <-- shared technical article
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2026GL122182 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @hannah Richter
    “Over an 18-month period starting in 2023, the dense forests of Western Australia [WA] experienced a record-setting drought. Jarrah trees towering 35 metres high died off in patchy brown splotches, turning 400 square kilometres - 3% of the forest - into brittle, fire-prone stands. The event led researchers to wonder whether there was a better way to predict where such die-offs might occur both there and in other forests, a problem that has long been tricky to solve because important factors such as soil depth are hidden underground…
    Now, those same researchers have unveiled a surprising new tool for predicting tree mortality: gamma rays [link above.] Resulting from the natural decay of the potassium-40 isotope from granite-rich bedrock, the radiation acts as a proxy for soil depth, which in turn signals how much water a tree can access during drought. The new method could be applied to other highly weathered soils, which cover one-third of Earth’s ice-free land...”
    --
    "... PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: During a record-breaking drought and heat event in 2023–2024, forests in southwestern Australia experienced widespread, patchy die-off. While we know that extreme weather triggers these events, it is often a hidden factor, the thickness of soil and the depth to underlying bedrock, that determines which trees live or die. Trees growing in shallow soil over solid rock are highly vulnerable due to limited water storage. Here, [they] show how to map these hidden zones from the air using gamma rays that are naturally emitted by potassium in the ground. Like southwestern Australia, many parts of the world have highly weathered soils where potassium has been washed out of the upper layers of soil. However, [they] showed that higher potassium areas signal that potassium-rich bedrock is closer to the surface and this is sensitive for tens of meters. By comparing gamma ray maps with ground-based geophysical surveys and satellite data, [they] showed that these potassium hotspots accurately predict where forests are most likely to experience die-off during a drought. These types of soils cover about one-third of the Earth's land, so the method provides a powerful new tool for managers to identify and protect vulnerable forests from future, hotter droughts…”

  5. To Predict Tree Death, Scientists Tapped Gamma Rays To Peer Underground
    (Airborne radiation sensors could help forecast and prevent drought-driven tree mortality_
    --
    science.org/content/article/pr <-- shared technical article
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2026GL122182 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @hannah Richter
    “Over an 18-month period starting in 2023, the dense forests of Western Australia [WA] experienced a record-setting drought. Jarrah trees towering 35 metres high died off in patchy brown splotches, turning 400 square kilometres - 3% of the forest - into brittle, fire-prone stands. The event led researchers to wonder whether there was a better way to predict where such die-offs might occur both there and in other forests, a problem that has long been tricky to solve because important factors such as soil depth are hidden underground…
    Now, those same researchers have unveiled a surprising new tool for predicting tree mortality: gamma rays [link above.] Resulting from the natural decay of the potassium-40 isotope from granite-rich bedrock, the radiation acts as a proxy for soil depth, which in turn signals how much water a tree can access during drought. The new method could be applied to other highly weathered soils, which cover one-third of Earth’s ice-free land...”
    --
    "... PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: During a record-breaking drought and heat event in 2023–2024, forests in southwestern Australia experienced widespread, patchy die-off. While we know that extreme weather triggers these events, it is often a hidden factor, the thickness of soil and the depth to underlying bedrock, that determines which trees live or die. Trees growing in shallow soil over solid rock are highly vulnerable due to limited water storage. Here, [they] show how to map these hidden zones from the air using gamma rays that are naturally emitted by potassium in the ground. Like southwestern Australia, many parts of the world have highly weathered soils where potassium has been washed out of the upper layers of soil. However, [they] showed that higher potassium areas signal that potassium-rich bedrock is closer to the surface and this is sensitive for tens of meters. By comparing gamma ray maps with ground-based geophysical surveys and satellite data, [they] showed that these potassium hotspots accurately predict where forests are most likely to experience die-off during a drought. These types of soils cover about one-third of the Earth's land, so the method provides a powerful new tool for managers to identify and protect vulnerable forests from future, hotter droughts…”
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #Australia #WesternAustralia #WA #forests #vegetation #bush #jarrah #karri #drought #heat #extremedrought #extremeweather #climatechange #water #waterresources #dieoff #soil #weathering #erosion #moisture #nutrients #airborne #gammarays #GRS #granite #gneiss #bedrock #geology #potassium40 #potassium #K #remotesensing #earthobservation #groundwater #interstitial #subsurface #waterstorage #electricalresistivitytomography

  6. Rising Waters Swamp Lake Naivasha [Kenya] [earth observation]
    --
    science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-o <-- shared NASA 2026 technical article
    --
    africasacountry.com/2026/04/th <-- shared 2026 technical article
    --
    carrzee.org/wp-content/uploads <-- shared technical report
    --
    earth.gsfc.nasa.gov/gwm/lake/91 <-- shared charting, lake water levels
    --
    doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.201806 <-- shared 2018 paper, ‘An Assessment of the Role of Water Hyacinth in the Water Level Changes of Lake Naivasha Using GIS and Remote Sensing’
    --
    apnews.com/article/kenya-water <-- shared 2025 media article, ‘How the invasive water hyacinth is threatening fishermen’s livelihoods on … Kenyan [Lake Naivasha]…’
    --
    apnews.com/article/kenya-risin <-- shared 2025 media article
    --
    sei.org/features/revisiting-th <-- shared 2023 technical article
    --
    theguardian.com/world/2022/mar <-- shared 2022 media rticle
    --
    “Kenya's Lake Naivasha has long been a place of change and reinvention…
    Now the lake faces another major change: rapidly fluctuating water levels. The name Naivasha comes from a Maasai word meaning "that which heaves," an apt description of the freshwater lake over the past 25 years. Satellite altimetry measurements of the lake's depth indicate an increase of about 7 metres (23 feet) since 2010, roughly the height of a two-story building. Over the same period, Landsat observed a roughly 40 percent increase in the lake's area, adding 50 kilometres² (19 miles²) of water, equivalent to roughly 15 Central Parks.
    The human and economic toll of the rising water levels is considerable..”
    #Kenya #LakeNaivasha #Africa #water #hydrology #hydrography #risingwater #waterlevels #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #humanimpacts #farming #agriculture #infrastructure #damage #community #satellite #altimetry #economy #cost #impact #change #flood #flooding #innundation
    @nasa

  7. Rising Waters Swamp Lake Naivasha [Kenya] [earth observation]
    --
    science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-o <-- shared NASA 2026 technical article
    --
    africasacountry.com/2026/04/th <-- shared 2026 technical article
    --
    carrzee.org/wp-content/uploads <-- shared technical report
    --
    earth.gsfc.nasa.gov/gwm/lake/91 <-- shared charting, lake water levels
    --
    doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.201806 <-- shared 2018 paper, ‘An Assessment of the Role of Water Hyacinth in the Water Level Changes of Lake Naivasha Using GIS and Remote Sensing’
    --
    apnews.com/article/kenya-water <-- shared 2025 media article, ‘How the invasive water hyacinth is threatening fishermen’s livelihoods on … Kenyan [Lake Naivasha]…’
    --
    apnews.com/article/kenya-risin <-- shared 2025 media article
    --
    sei.org/features/revisiting-th <-- shared 2023 technical article
    --
    theguardian.com/world/2022/mar <-- shared 2022 media rticle
    --
    “Kenya's Lake Naivasha has long been a place of change and reinvention…
    Now the lake faces another major change: rapidly fluctuating water levels. The name Naivasha comes from a Maasai word meaning "that which heaves," an apt description of the freshwater lake over the past 25 years. Satellite altimetry measurements of the lake's depth indicate an increase of about 7 metres (23 feet) since 2010, roughly the height of a two-story building. Over the same period, Landsat observed a roughly 40 percent increase in the lake's area, adding 50 kilometres² (19 miles²) of water, equivalent to roughly 15 Central Parks.
    The human and economic toll of the rising water levels is considerable..”
    #Kenya #LakeNaivasha #Africa #water #hydrology #hydrography #risingwater #waterlevels #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #humanimpacts #farming #agriculture #infrastructure #damage #community #satellite #altimetry #economy #cost #impact #change #flood #flooding #innundation
    @nasa

  8. Rising Waters Swamp Lake Naivasha [Kenya] [earth observation]
    --
    science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-o <-- shared NASA 2026 technical article
    --
    africasacountry.com/2026/04/th <-- shared 2026 technical article
    --
    carrzee.org/wp-content/uploads <-- shared technical report
    --
    earth.gsfc.nasa.gov/gwm/lake/91 <-- shared charting, lake water levels
    --
    doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.201806 <-- shared 2018 paper, ‘An Assessment of the Role of Water Hyacinth in the Water Level Changes of Lake Naivasha Using GIS and Remote Sensing’
    --
    apnews.com/article/kenya-water <-- shared 2025 media article, ‘How the invasive water hyacinth is threatening fishermen’s livelihoods on … Kenyan [Lake Naivasha]…’
    --
    apnews.com/article/kenya-risin <-- shared 2025 media article
    --
    sei.org/features/revisiting-th <-- shared 2023 technical article
    --
    theguardian.com/world/2022/mar <-- shared 2022 media rticle
    --
    “Kenya's Lake Naivasha has long been a place of change and reinvention…
    Now the lake faces another major change: rapidly fluctuating water levels. The name Naivasha comes from a Maasai word meaning "that which heaves," an apt description of the freshwater lake over the past 25 years. Satellite altimetry measurements of the lake's depth indicate an increase of about 7 metres (23 feet) since 2010, roughly the height of a two-story building. Over the same period, Landsat observed a roughly 40 percent increase in the lake's area, adding 50 kilometres² (19 miles²) of water, equivalent to roughly 15 Central Parks.
    The human and economic toll of the rising water levels is considerable..”
    #Kenya #LakeNaivasha #Africa #water #hydrology #hydrography #risingwater #waterlevels #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #humanimpacts #farming #agriculture #infrastructure #damage #community #satellite #altimetry #economy #cost #impact #change #flood #flooding #innundation
    @nasa

  9. Rising Waters Swamp Lake Naivasha [Kenya] [earth observation]
    --
    science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-o <-- shared NASA 2026 technical article
    --
    africasacountry.com/2026/04/th <-- shared 2026 technical article
    --
    carrzee.org/wp-content/uploads <-- shared technical report
    --
    earth.gsfc.nasa.gov/gwm/lake/91 <-- shared charting, lake water levels
    --
    doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.201806 <-- shared 2018 paper, ‘An Assessment of the Role of Water Hyacinth in the Water Level Changes of Lake Naivasha Using GIS and Remote Sensing’
    --
    apnews.com/article/kenya-water <-- shared 2025 media article, ‘How the invasive water hyacinth is threatening fishermen’s livelihoods on … Kenyan [Lake Naivasha]…’
    --
    apnews.com/article/kenya-risin <-- shared 2025 media article
    --
    sei.org/features/revisiting-th <-- shared 2023 technical article
    --
    theguardian.com/world/2022/mar <-- shared 2022 media rticle
    --
    “Kenya's Lake Naivasha has long been a place of change and reinvention…
    Now the lake faces another major change: rapidly fluctuating water levels. The name Naivasha comes from a Maasai word meaning "that which heaves," an apt description of the freshwater lake over the past 25 years. Satellite altimetry measurements of the lake's depth indicate an increase of about 7 metres (23 feet) since 2010, roughly the height of a two-story building. Over the same period, Landsat observed a roughly 40 percent increase in the lake's area, adding 50 kilometres² (19 miles²) of water, equivalent to roughly 15 Central Parks.
    The human and economic toll of the rising water levels is considerable..”
    #Kenya #LakeNaivasha #Africa #water #hydrology #hydrography #risingwater #waterlevels #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #humanimpacts #farming #agriculture #infrastructure #damage #community #satellite #altimetry #economy #cost #impact #change #flood #flooding #innundation
    @nasa

  10. Rising Waters Swamp Lake Naivasha [Kenya] [earth observation]
    --
    science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-o <-- shared NASA 2026 technical article
    --
    africasacountry.com/2026/04/th <-- shared 2026 technical article
    --
    carrzee.org/wp-content/uploads <-- shared technical report
    --
    earth.gsfc.nasa.gov/gwm/lake/91 <-- shared charting, lake water levels
    --
    doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.201806 <-- shared 2018 paper, ‘An Assessment of the Role of Water Hyacinth in the Water Level Changes of Lake Naivasha Using GIS and Remote Sensing’
    --
    apnews.com/article/kenya-water <-- shared 2025 media article, ‘How the invasive water hyacinth is threatening fishermen’s livelihoods on … Kenyan [Lake Naivasha]…’
    --
    apnews.com/article/kenya-risin <-- shared 2025 media article
    --
    sei.org/features/revisiting-th <-- shared 2023 technical article
    --
    theguardian.com/world/2022/mar <-- shared 2022 media rticle
    --
    “Kenya's Lake Naivasha has long been a place of change and reinvention…
    Now the lake faces another major change: rapidly fluctuating water levels. The name Naivasha comes from a Maasai word meaning "that which heaves," an apt description of the freshwater lake over the past 25 years. Satellite altimetry measurements of the lake's depth indicate an increase of about 7 metres (23 feet) since 2010, roughly the height of a two-story building. Over the same period, Landsat observed a roughly 40 percent increase in the lake's area, adding 50 kilometres² (19 miles²) of water, equivalent to roughly 15 Central Parks.
    The human and economic toll of the rising water levels is considerable..”

    @nasa

  11. Mapping Flood Agents In The Northern Pantanal Wetland Using Multiple Spatio-Temporal GIS And Remote Sensing Techniques
    --
    doi.org/10.1007/s13157-026-020 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @renato Gatto de Morais | Geógrafo | Mestre em Recursos Hídricos | Doutorando em Geografia
    “Combining MODIS data, TRMM, river discharge, a digital terrain model, and multinomial logistic regression, [the authors] identified three predominant classes of flood origin: local rainfall, bank overflow, and mixed areas. The model achieved a Nagelkerke Pseudo-R² of 0.63 and a classification accuracy of up to 81.2% (10-fold cross-validation). To the best of [their] knowledge, this is the first explicit approach to mapping flood agents for this wetland, a component that has historically remained unmapped despite its recognized influence on habitats and biodiversity…”
    --
    “The mapping of functional hydrologic units is crucial for enhancing our understanding of flooding and hydroecological processes in large wetlands. These units are typically defined by flooding frequency, duration, and magnitude, but another important hydrologic characteristic is the origin of flooding, known as the flood agent. This study presents an empirical framework utilizing remote sensing and GIS procedures for modeling flood agents in the northern Pantanal wetland. Eleven spatial data layers were derived from multi-year MODIS flood maps, daily rainfall estimates from the TRMM 3B42 grid, in situ discharge data, the BEST Digital Terrain Model, and a hydrographic network layer. These layers were tested for their predictive power in a multinomial logistic regression mapping model. Model performance metrics, along with qualitative validation of mapping outcomes using in situ flooding measurements, and vegetation and soil data from field test sites, support the plausibility of the proposed mapping scheme. However, they also highlight the challenges of flood agent mapping in large tropical wetlands…”
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #MODIS #TRMM #riverdischarge #digitalterrainmodel #multinomiallogisticregression #geostatistics #Pantanal #Cuiaba #Brazil #water #hydrology #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #remotesensing #earthobservation #flood #flooding #source #type #floodagent #tropical #wetland #habitat #biodiversity #ecosystem #hydrologicunit #hydroecology #model #modeling #rainfall #precipitation #weather #climate #discharge #network #metrics

  12. WeatherNext – [An] AI Model Achieves Breakthrough In Forecasting Cyclones
    --
    deepmind.google/blog/weatherne <-- shared technical Google DeepMind blog post
    --
    doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-109 <-- shared paper
    --
    deepmind.google/science/weathe <-- shared data
    --
    github.com/google-deepmind/wea <-- shared GitHub repository
    --
    H/T @juliet Rothenberg | Product Director of Earth & Resilience AI at Google
    [this post should not be considered an endorsement of a particular organisation or their approach]
    “[The Google WeatherNext AI team] are showing how the WeatherNext AI model from Google DeepMind and Google Research has achieved state-of-the-art accuracy in predicting a cyclone's track, intensity, and wind structure. On average, the WeatherNext Cyclones model gives forecasters an extra day’s worth of predictive accuracy- delivering an advance equivalent to roughly a decade of historical meteorological progress 🌀
    Here is how WeatherNext is transforming cyclone forecasting:
    • Gaining an Extra Day of Advanced Warning: WN 3-day forecasts are as good as what prior models were able to provide for 2-day forecasts, giving critical time for emergency response.
    • Overcoming Traditional Trade-offs: WN bridges the gap between massive global atmospheric currents (which steer a cyclone's path) and fine-grained thermodynamic processes around its core (which drive its intensity) into a single AI model.
    • Unprecedented Ensemble Scale: Using Functional Generative Networks (FGNs), WN now generates 1,000-member ensembles in less than a minute on a TPU to capture rare, consequential tail-risks like sudden rapid intensification – which means forecasters can see a broader range of possible scenarios.
    • Real-World Impact: During the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, the WN model helped the National Hurricane Center (NHC) make a historic forecast for Hurricane Melissa by predicting rapid intensification and landfall five days in advance.
    [The] teams are open sourcing the operationalized models (WeatherNext Cyclones and WeatherNext 2), alongside a compact version (WeatherNext 2-mini) that can run on a single TPU in a free public Colab notebook – all with a goal of empowering local organizations worldwide.
    Weather affects everyone. By combining advanced AI with the real-world expertise of human forecasters, we can build a collaborative ecosystem that saves lives and helps communities adapt to a changing climate…”
    #Google #DeepMind #GoogleResearch #AI #ensembles #FunctionalGenerativeNetworks #WeatherNext #cyclone #operationalised #model #modeling #forecasting #spatialanalyis #spatiotemporal #track #intensity #windstructure #hurricane #weather #climate #metrology #cyclonetrack #risk #hazard #emergencyresponse #planning #tool #earlywarning #scale #magnitude #path #track #thermodynamic #scenarios #opensource #impacts #tropicalcyclones #WeatherNextCyclones #weathermodel #atmospheric #predictions #mitigation #warning #robust #publicsafety #infrastructure
    @Google | @WeatherNext

  13. Spatiotemporal Distribution, Climatic Factors, And Seasonal Precipitation Patterns Characterizing 66 Years Of Widespread Shallow Landslide Events In Piedmont (Northwestern Italy)
    --
    doi.org/10.3389/feart.2026.188 <-- shared paper
    --
    “Widespread shallow landslide events constitute one of the primary drivers of recurrent societal and economic losses in mountain regions. Although the influence of climate variability on landslide frequency and magnitude has been widely recognized, long-term, event-level analyses linking spatiotemporal landslide patterns to precipitation climatology at the regional scale remain scarce. This study presents a statistical analysis of 128 widespread shallow landslide events recorded in Piedmont, northwestern Italy, over the 66-year period 1960–2025, cross-referenced against the regional precipitation climatology. Events were characterized by season, primary physiographic unit, provincial coverage, and an ordinal magnitude index (scale 1–7) encoding combined spatial extent and estimated landslide count. Results indicate that no statistically significant monotonic trend in event frequency was detected over the study period (mean rate: 1.97 events yr⁻1); however, a moderate positive correlation was established between event magnitude and the number of provinces affected (R2 = 0.51, p < 0.00), validating the magnitude index as a proxy for spatial footprint. Mean event magnitude reached its highest value in the 2010s (3.71), while all five events of magnitude ≥ 6 occurred in autumn. The summer fraction of the catalogue increased markedly, from 6% in the 1960s to 31% in the 2000s and 25% in the 2020s, concurrent with stable or declining summer mean precipitation totals, consistent with Clausius–Clapeyron amplification of convective intensity under documented regional warming. Cross-analysis with regional records identifies three tiers of rainfall–landslide coupling: a stationary direct seasonal coupling; a non-stationary, strengthening intensity-mediated summer coupling; and a structural susceptibility-mediated spatial decoupling whereby the driest provinces generate the highest landslide occurrence frequencies due to the lower triggering thresholds characteristic of Tertiary Piedmont Basin sedimentary environments. A post-hoc assessment of the triggering thresholds used for regional shallow landslide early warning system demonstrates superior detection performance for high-magnitude autumn events (hit rate up to 89% for the 2000–2025 sub-period) and identifies sub-daily convective accumulation windows in summer as the primary domain requiring threshold recalibration…”
    #massmovement #landslide #engineeringgeology #Italy #Piedmont #NorthernItaly #weather #rainfall #precipitation #climate #risk #hazard #corrleation #relationship #earlywarningsystems #damage #loss #community #infrastructure #mountain #spatiotemporal #mapping #spatialanalysis #statistics #geostatistics #climatology #regional #scale #weatherpatterns #physiography #geomorphology #water #hydrology #hydrogeomorphology #geology #soils

  14. Widespread Landslide Activity in an Extreme Wet Season and Implications for Regional Sediment Management, Eastern San Francisco Bay Area, California
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2026EA005227 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @amy East, Ph.D., P.G. | Researcher integrating geoscience and climate-change preparedness
    “[This paper (link above) is] a collaboration with [the H/T’s] colleagues from [the] USGS Landslide Hazards Program, who mapped over 8,900 landslides in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area during an extreme wet winter.
    How much sediment does such an extreme winter produce, from landslides or in stream discharge? How does that compare with long-term sediment production and landscape denudation rates?
    [They] f[o]nd that landslide sediment mobilization is comparable to long-term denudation rates, emphasizing the role of extreme events in long-term sediment production. However, one extreme wet year has a negligible effect toward counteracting ongoing problems of sediment deficit in San Francisco Bay: to keep pace with sea-level rise, extreme wet conditions would need to occur in 50 out of the next 75 years…”
    --
    "PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Watersheds will likely produce more sediment in a warmer future with more extreme rain, primarily through landslides in steep terrain. This study examines how an extremely wet season affected sediment production and transport in the eastern San Francisco Bay area, California. By mapping and measuring 8,928 landslides, [they] found that rare, extreme rain conditions are likely responsible for the vast majority of long-term hillslope erosion rates in this region. However, due to long residence times for sediment on hillslopes and in stream channels, a maximum of 1%–2% of that newly mobilized landslide material could have potentially contributed to sediment carried by streams into the Bay that year. Even extremely wet years cannot provide enough sediment for Bay wetlands and shorelines to keep pace with rising sea levels. To meet the demand for sediment in the Bay, such extreme rain and sediment production would need to occur in most years, which is not realistic. To restore wetlands and protect shorelines, managers likely will need to supplement the coastal system with repurposed dredged material…”
    #massmovement #soil #water #hydrology #hydrography #geology #soils #geomorphometry #hydrogeomorphology #geomorphology #landslide #masswasting #climatechange #extremeweather #precipitation #rainfall #weather #climate #mapping #engineeringgeology #mapping #SanFrancisco #BayArea #USA #California #fedscience #fedservice #oublicgood #sediment #stream #discharge #extremewinter #sealevelrise #SLR #hillslope #erosion #sedimentation #tidal #wetlands #coast #coastline #shoreline #GIS #spatial #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #watershed
    #USGS | #USGSLandslideHazardsProgram

  15. Impact Of Urbanization Driven Land Use And Land Cover Change On Ecological Environmental Quality In Rupandehi Nepal Assessed Using The Remote Sensing Ecological Index
    --
    doi.org/10.1007/s44288-026-006 <-- shared paper
    --
    kathmandupost.com/money/2026/0 <-- shared media article
    --
    H/T@ Gaurav Parajulim
    “[The authors] studied how the ecological quality of Nepal's Rupandehi District has changed over three decades (1993–2023), using satellite imagery and the Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) to track the health of the landscape year by year and to understand how urbanization-driven land use change has reshaped it.
    What [they] found tells a nuanced story: as Butwal and Bhairahawa grew and built-up land expanded, ecological quality shifted in ways that a single number can't capture, some areas recovered, others declined, and the patterns rarely moved in a straight line…”
    --
    “Rapid urbanization and population growth are major drivers of land use and land cover (LULC) change and can substantially alter ecological environmental quality (EEQ). This study assessed the spatiotemporal dynamics of LULC and their effect on EEQ in Rupandehi District, Nepal, over a 30-year period (1993–2023). Four ecological indicators representing greenness, wetness, dryness, and heat were derived from Landsat imagery in Google Earth Engine (GEE), and LULC was classified using a Support Vector Machine (SVM). The Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) was then constructed from these indicators using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in ArcGIS Pro, and its spatial structure was examined using global and local spatial autocorrelation. The mean RSEI followed a non-linear trajectory, rising from 0.59 in 1993 to 0.635 in 2004, declining to 0.55 in 2013, and recovering to 0.67 in 2023, indicating an overall improvement in EEQ with a temporary mid-period decline. Over the same period, built-up areas expanded substantially and agricultural land declined, whereas forest cover fluctuated but showed a slight net increase by 2023, and barren land decreased markedly. Higher EEQ was concentrated in the forested northern hills, while lower values occurred in the urban centers of Butwal and Bhairahawa, closely matching the spatial pattern of LULC change. The results indicate that ecological quality reflects the combined influence of all land cover classes rather than any single class. This study provides a transferable and reproducible workflow for long-term ecological assessment based on openly available Landsat data, with the analysis code shared in a public repository, offering practical guidance for sustainable land management and environmentally responsible urban development...”
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #RemoteSensing #GIS #RSEI #EnvironmentalMonitoring #Nepal #Research #GoogleEarthEngine #ArcGIS #EcologicalQuality #spatialautocorrelation #ecology #environment #earthobservation #RemoteSensingEcologicalIndex #landscape #urbanisation #urban #development #landuse #change #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal

  16. Geospatial Analysis of Carbon Offset Projects - A Broader Scientific Outlook
    --
    eldhollow.com/blogs/geospatial <-- shared technical blog
    --
    [this post should not be considered an endorsement of a particular organisation, rather scrutinising the spatial use case & technical approach]
    H/T @kyle Arvisais | Forest Carbon Scientist
    “Geospatial analysis is at the core of [the H/T’s company’s] project quality assessments, and [the author is] constantly finding ways to make the pipeline better and ways to use it. [They are] obviously not the only one who uses these types of tools, but to be perfectly honest, the quality of models [they have] seen over the years has been all over the place.
    This blog makes a casual introduction to [their] pipeline while talking about the field at large…”
    --
    “The world has committed to protecting and restoring nature at an unprecedented scale. Whether that commitment delivers what it promises comes down project execution on the ground. Local socioeconomics and forest ecology intertwine to create complex challenges for projects to overcome during implementation, and at the end of the day, projects boil all of these complexities down to one single unit: the carbon credit. So the question becomes: can we actually measure what is happening to a forest, accurately and honestly, and everywhere at once?
    For a long time, the honest answer has been no. Historically, many forest carbon projects overstated their impact. Usually it was because the baseline was too generous, or because the measurements underneath were flawed. For anyone with a stake in nature markets, that uncertainty is one of the core risks.
    Robust geospatial analysis can help mitigate that risk. If you treat a carbon credit as what it really is, a scientific claim, then we can hold it to that standard and assess it objectively. [Their] geospatial pipeline turns satellite data and ground truth data into models about how much forest is standing, how it is changing, and what might put it at risk in the future. The pipeline does this anywhere on Earth…”
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #usecase #carbonoffset #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #qualityassessment #objectivity #projectpipeline #model #modeling #application #nature #environment #ecosystems #ecology #local #regional #factors #socioeconomics #forestecology #vegetation #forest #tree #carboncredit #climatechange #climatecrisis #forestcarbonprojects #global

  17. Classification And Conceptualization Of Karst Recharge Processes Through Spectral And Change Point Analysis Of Drip Water Dynamics
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2025WR042816 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @ Danyang Sun | UNSW-PhD student
    “… [The authors] analysed one year of drip water monitoring data from 46 monitoring sites across six karst regions in southeastern Australia. By integrating fast Fourier analysis, cross-wavelet transform and change point analysis, [they] identified five characteristic recharge behaviours and developed a conceptual framework linking temporal drip dynamics with recharge mechanisms. [They] hope this framework will contribute to a better understanding of recharge heterogeneity in karst systems and support future groundwater research under a changing climate…”
    #karst #Australia #water #hydrology #underground #subsurface #recharge #dynamics #spectral #changepoint #cave #dripwater #analysis #spatiotemporal #groundwater #research #climatechange #extremeweather #flow #storage #vadose #epikarst #watertable #aquifer #percolation #rainfall #precipitation #climate #lithology #geology #spatialanalysis

  18. Coastal Flooding At Predictable Hours
    --
    doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-757 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @bruna Alves | Nature Communications | Editor
    “When do coastal floods happen? ⏱️🌊
    A new study [link above] shows that, in many tide-dominated coastal regions, flooding tends to occur at specific and recurring times of day. Rather than being completely random, flood events often cluster around predictable hours driven by local tidal patterns.
    By analysing coastal flood observations from the UK and the US, [the authors] show[ed] that the timing of flood events can be highly structured, with some locations experiencing floods disproportionately during certain parts of the day.
    This adds a temporal dimension to coastal flood risk. We often focus on how frequently floods occur, how severe they are, and where they happen. This study highlights that when they occur may also matter, particularly as rising sea levels increase the frequency of coastal flooding.
    The findings provide a useful perspective for coastal adaptation, risk communication, and emergency planning…”
    --
    “Flooding is typically perceived as a sudden and unpredictable hazard. Here, [they] show that recurrent flooding can occur at highly predictable times in tidally dominated coastal systems. This predictability stems from phase-locking of tidal constituents and constituent pairs with the solar day, causing peak tides to recur at consistent local times set by regional tidal propagation. Using tide-gauge records from the United States and the United Kingdom, [they] quantif[ied] the intraday timing of coastal flood events and show strong clustering at specific hours, particularly where semidiurnal or mixed tides dominate. For example, floods in Boston cluster around noon and midnight, whereas in southern California they occur in the morning. Sites with stronger non-tidal variability show weaker clustering. This temporal predictability extends beyond nuisance flooding to larger consequential events involving inundation, road closures and infrastructural damage, highlighting opportunities for anticipatory risk communication, emergency planning and time-sensitive coastal adaptation…”
    #coast #coastal #flood #flooding #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #time #statistics #geostatistics #tide #tidal #timing #temporal #floodrisk #risk #hazard #sealevel #sealevelrise #climatechange #emergency #planning #tideguage #UK #USA #innundation #infrastructure #transportation #riskcommunication

  19. Using Geospatial Analysis and Explainable Machine Learning to Examine Risk Factors of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Survival Outcome
    --
    openscholar.uga.edu/record/269 <-- shared technical publication / dissertation
    --
    aag.org/award-grant/william-l- <-- shared @AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography
    --
    [again, way outside any expertise I might have, but fascinating spatial analysis use case…]
    H/T @Jielu Zhang | Postdoctoral Researcher @ Harvard University
    “[The authors] Ph.D. dissertation "Using Geospatial Analysis and Explainable Machine Learning to Examine Risk Factors of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Survival Outcome" [1st link above] has received the 2026 biennial William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography from the American Association of Geographers… [2nd link above.]
    In [their] research, [they] develop[ed] Explainable GeoAI and Causal GeoAI methods that combine geographic data and artificial intelligence to expose and ameliorate health disparities by delivering models that not only predict risks but also illuminate how and where to intervene. While [their] dissertation focused on cardiovascular disease, these approaches are broadly applicable to public health, medicine, urban planning, environmental exposure, and resilience research…”
    #explainable #causal #AI #model #modeling #PublicHealth #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #AAG2026 #AAG #Award #geostatistics #Georgia #health #risk #hazard #cardiacarrest #cardiovacscular #usecase #metrics #midocine #urbanplanning #resilience #survival #OutofHospital #PhD #Dissertation #CardiacArrest #AutomatedExternalDefibrillator #SpatialOptimization #GeographicallyExplainableArtificialIntelligence #GeoAI #GeoXAI #SpatiallyAwareCausalInference #OverlayedSpatioTemporalOptimization #healthcare #medical #intervention #GIS #spatial #mappingt #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #heart #heartattack #AED #survival #survivaloutcomes #machinelearning #AI #publichealth #healthgeographers #counterfactual #explainable #deeplearning #model #modeling

  20. Unraveling The Drivers Of Water Shortage Across Spatial Scales And Sectors In Colorado's West Slope River Basins
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2026EF008137 <-- shared paper
    --
    ['sorry' about your Kentucky Bluegrass, almonds, etc... /s]
    H/T Sai Veena Sunkara | Postdoctoral Associate
    “…Colorado’s West Slope basins provide nearly 70% of the inflows to Lake Powell and are also essential to communities, agriculture, industry, hydropower, and downstream Colorado River users.
    To examine the wide range of possible futures, [they] simulated 2.1 million years, defining 20,000 plausible scenarios applying changes to streamflow, snowmelt timing, drought persistence, and agricultural, municipal, and industrial water demand.
    A key finding is that there is 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀. The most influential drivers vary by basin, sector, and water user. In some areas, shortages are driven primarily by persistent low-flow conditions or changing snowmelt timing. In others, increasing municipal, industrial, or irrigation demand plays a larger role. This suggests that adaptation strategies must be tailored to specific basins and users rather than relying on a single, system-wide solution. Other major findings are
    • West Slope deliveries to Lake Powell could fall more than 50% below the current median baseline
    • Storage in major West Slope reservoirs could decline 40–55% below historical medians
    These results underscore the need for water-planning approaches that account for deep uncertainty, persistent drought, shifting snowmelt patterns, and sector-specific demand…”
    #Colorado #waterallocation #StateMod #USWest #USA #WesternSlope #waterresources #watersecurity #watershortage #drought #snowmelt #rainfall #precipitation #riverbasin #water #hydrography #hydrology #reasons #agriculture #industry #hydropower #streamflow #surfacewater #municipal #irrigation #adaptationstrategies #planning #policy #mitigation #ColoradoRiver #basins #climatechange #extremeweather #populationpressure #waterdemand #waterrights #model #modeling #HiddenMarkovModel #stochastic #projecteddemand #ColoradoRiverBasin #wateruse #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #strategy

  21. Global Performance of #RemoteSensing Based and Reanalysis-Driven Models to Estimate Open Water Evaporation
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2025WR042363
    --
    “ABSTRACT: Evaporation plays an essential role in the water cycle, influencing local and regional climates while directly impacting water availability in lakes. However, directly measuring evaporation over water bodies remains challenging due to the high costs of installing and maintaining the required in situ instrumentation. Although several remote sensing algorithms have been providing evaporation estimates, the lack of a global validation hinders our understanding of their relative uncertainties and performances across different regions. Here, [they] analyze[d] the performance of a suite of models that leverage satellite data and meteorological reanalysis to estimate evaporation over lakes worldwide. [They] compare[d] three remote sensing-based models, one reanalysis-driven model and one ensemble approach, using in situ observations from 27 lakes representing a diverse range of geographic and climatic regions. [Their] results demonstrate that, overall, the ensemble outperformed any individual model in terms of accuracy, with a RMSE and a bias of 1.3 and 0.3 mm/day, respectively. These findings highlight the benefits of using an ensemble approach to estimate open water evaporation with satellite-based models at the global scale, leveraging the unique strengths of each model. For the individual models, differences in the representation of heat storage changes and advection effects led to lower values of RMSE and bias, depending on the location and depth of the lakes. This study sets the path for future improvement of open water evaporation algorithms globally, while remote sensing techniques are proven satisfactory to monitoring of water loss in lakes globally, an essential step toward effective large-scale water resources management.
    PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Water loss through evaporation in lakes and reservoirs directly affects water availability, which highlights the need to monitor these losses. However, measuring evaporation in situ is challenging and expensive. An alternative is to estimate evaporation using remote-sensing models and compare these estimates with in-situ data to verify their accuracy. Here, [they] evaluated four models and their ensemble (the models' mean value) using measurements from 27 lakes and reservoirs worldwide. [They] found that the ensemble presented higher accuracy and consistency than any individual model because it benefits from the strengths of each model. This approach can guide future improvements in estimating open-water evaporation, which is essential for large-scale water-resource management…”
    #global #mapping #earthobservation #GIS #spatial #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #model #modeling #water #hydrology #surfacewater #waterbody #lake #reservoir #evaporation #evapotranspiration #watercycle #weather #meteorology #usecase #waterresources #watermanagement #waterloss #regional #estimate #policy #planning #instrumentation #comparasion

  22. Refined Modeling of Arctic Circumpolar Building Stock Increases Estimated Mid-Century Permafrost Degradation Damages
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2026EF008578 <-- shared paper
    --
    thearcticinstitute.org/climate | thearcticinstitute.org/dwindli <-- shared technical articles
    --
    theguardian.com/cities/2016/oc <-- shared media article
    --
    news.grida.no/new-map-shows-ex <-- shared technical article
    --
    H/T @elias Manos
    “Why the increase?
    Our understanding of climate risk is only as good as our understanding of our exposure to hazards. The better we can account for what is at risk, the better we can measure risk in a changing world.
    In this new study [link above], [they] investigate[d] how damage to the building stock across the Arctic, a key impact of permafrost degradation, is underestimated because of underdeveloped exposure information. With National Science Foundation (NSF) supercomputers and 400 TB of Vantor satellite imagery, [they] detected building footprints across the Arctic and classified their use types using deep learning models. Then, using Polar Geospatial Center's ArcticDEM digital surface model, [they] estimated the total floor space of each residential building. This move from 2D to 3D representation of the building stock was the largest contributor to increased building damage.
    Properly estimating this consequence is necessary for understanding the near future of the Arctic economy. Knowing the magnitude of damages is critical for sustaining the communities and livelihoods of more than 5 million people that call the Arctic home. There are also much broader implications. With the Arctic continuing to emerge as a strategic centerpiece in global affairs and the global economy, accurately quantifying the physical shocks to its built environment will allow researchers to more effectively represent the Arctic in global climate economic models. More precise international policymaking will also be enabled by these improvements.
    Ultimately, this research highlights a similar challenge in completely different regions of the world (e.g., Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa) where exposure is constantly evolving alongside rapid population growth and urbanization. Building stock information can quickly become outdated as these changes occur; satellite remote sensing and AI are key players in keeping up with these changes and supporting data-driven disaster risk management…”
    #arctic #circumpolar #permafrost #model #modeling #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #GIS #spatial #mapping #melting #degradation #damage #cost #economics #risk #hazard #climaterisk #climatechange #remotesensing #HPC #earthobservation #ArcticDEM #buildingfootprint #LLM #AI #machinelearning #engineering #economy #buildingstock #community #policy #planning #geopolitics #risk #management @UConn Research

  23. Beyond The 100-Year Flood - Probabilistic Flood Hazard Assessment For King And Pierce Counties Under Future Climate Scenarios
    --
    doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-3231- <-- shared #openacess paper
    --
    [part of my old stomping ground as an engineering geologist]
    H/T @Kees Nederhoff
    “Flood maps are usually built from a single design storm. For King and Pierce Counties in the Pacific Northwest (USA), [the authors] tried the opposite - simulate 82 years of actual coastal and river conditions (plus 18 synthetic years) with SFINCS and let the statistics fall out cell by cell. That took about 5,400 yearly simulations and 194,000 CPU hours on USGS's Hovenweep HPC. Worth it!
    The design-event shortcut turns out to hide a real hazard. A deterministic 10-year event underestimated flood depths by up to half a meter compared to the continuous runs.
    The bigger surprise [to the authors] was how one-sided the climate signal is. One metre of sea level rise takes King County's expected annual flooded area from 161 --> 787 hectares, almost a factor of five. Changes in storminess over the same horizon barely register. And somewhere between 100 and 150 cm of SLR, land that never floods today starts flooding fast. If you plan adaptation in Puget Sound, that threshold matters more than any single return-period map.
    [They] also propose Expected Annual Flooded Area (EAFA) as a probability-weighted alternative to the binary "inside or outside the 100-year zone" label…”
    #USGS #supercomputing #Hovenweep #HPC #coast #coastal #PNW #Seattle #PacificNorthwest #risk #hazard #riskmanagement #model #modeling #CFRM #deterministic #probabilistic #climatechange #extremeweather #fedscience #WA #KingCounty #PierceCounty #WashingtonState #USA #flood #flooding #compoundflooding #floodmaps #SFINCS #storm #weather #climate #climatechange #rainfall #precipitation #sealevel #sealevelrise #SLR #100yearflood #floodhazardmapping #returnperiods #pluvial #fluvial #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #remotesensing #streamgage #history #historicflooding #projections #predictions
    #USGS

  24. Mapping Deforestation Probability And Understanding The Forest Dynamics In Gazipur, Bangladesh
    --
    doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2026.10 <-- shared paper
    --
    "ABSTRACT: Deforestation is a spiralling environmental catastrophe with impervious results for biodiversity, climate change, and human livelihoods, specifically in tropical regions. Being a tropical country, Bangladesh has experienced approximately 40% loss of its forest cover, at Gazipur since 1930, which contains about 86% of the country's Sal (Shorea robusta) forest, ranging approximately 4,300 hectares per year (2001–2010) to over 19,500 hectares per year (2011–2020), exemplifying an intensification of nearly 353%. The objective of this study is to map deforestation probability at the Gazipur district of Dhaka Division, Bangladesh, by utilising machine learning algorithms along with multi-source geospatial data, with the purpose of identifying high-risk zones and facilitating evidence-based forest governance, land-use development, and prioritizing conservation areas. This study integrated twelve conditioning factors, including biophysical, landscape, and anthropogenic. To identify susceptible zones the study trained and assessed five machine learning algorithms; RF, XGBoost, ANN, NB, and MLP and validating the result through different metrics like sensitivity, specificity, precision, accuracy, F1-score, AUC. The performance of the models was evaluated using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and marginal response curves (MRC) were used to understand factor contributions. In the result, RF achieved highest performance with accuracy of 84% and AUC of 0.93, followed by XGBoost at 83% accuracy and 0.92 AUC. Rainfall and population density were most dominant conditioning factors among models. Pairwise statistical testing resulted that ensemble-based algorithms (RF, XGBoost) generated statistically comparable and significantly higher predictions compared to NB and MLP. Spatial probability maps indicate areas of high and very high risk in the south-western and north-eastern upazilas. The results can be applicable for forest management authorities, urban planners, and policymakers, and correspond with SDG Indicator 15. An inclusive governance framework containing land zoning, ecological area identification, and compliance with industrial EIA is proposed to persuade probability maps into adaptive forest management strategies…”
    #deforestation #probability #machinelearning #algorithms #AI #Gazipur #Bangladesh #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #rainfall #precipitation #humanimpacts #populationpressure #risk #prediction #RandomForest #conservation #restoration #environment #biodiversity, #climatechange #human #livelihood #tropical #forestcover #sal #forest #vegetation #tree #upazila #spatialprobability #geostatistics #forestmanagement #planning #policy #urbanplanners #governance #zoning #ecology #habitat

  25. Mapping Multifunctionality In Remote Patagonian Forest Landscapes Reveals High-Value Ecosystems Beyond Protected Areas
    --
    doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-035 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @Peter Potapov | Researcher at the World Resources Institute (WRI)
    “This paper is] a strong example of multifunctionality analysis applied to conservation planning. The study mapped six ecosystem functions, including carbon storage, nutrient availability, water regulation, erosion control, habitat quality, and ecological connectivity. [The author] combined satellite data, field soil sampling, and spatial modeling for this comprehensive analysis.
    Two findings stand out.
    1. Old-growth forests had the highest multifunctionality index of any land cover type.
    2. 78.5% of the top multifunctionality hotspots fall outside the region's protected areas, even though PAs already cover more than 54% of the territory.
    Together, these results make a clear case for expanding conservation of the remaining Intact Forest Landscapes and primary forests in Patagonia and elsewhere…”
    --
    “Remote forest landscapes provide critical references for understanding ecosystem functions (EFs) under low anthropogenic pressure, yet their capacity to sustain multiple EFs simultaneously remains poorly understood. [They] assessed landscape multifunctionality in western Patagonia by integrating satellite indicators, field data, and spatial modeling. Six EFs (carbon storage, nutrient availability, water regulation, erosion control, habitat quality, and ecological connectivity) were mapped, and their spatial relationships and hotspot distribution within and outside protected areas (PAs) were analyzed. Old-growth and secondary forests showed the highest functional performance. Strong synergies (ρ ≥ 0.6) between carbon storage and nutrient availability covered >50% of the landscape, whereas strong trade-offs (ρ ≤ –0.6) were spatially limited ( < 6%). Notably, 78% of multifunctionality hotspots occurred outside PAs, indicating that high-functional-value areas extend beyond formal conservation boundaries. These findings reveal spatial mismatches between multifunctionality and protection status and provide a replicable framework for integrating multifunctionality into conservation planning under global change…”
    #Patagonia #chile #aysen #coyhaique #landcover #mapping #spatial #spatialpatterns #spatiotemporal #spatialanalysis #forest #vegetation #oldgrowth #secondgrowth #shrubland #grassland #steppe #ecosystem #habitat #nutrients #water #hydrology #erosion #multifunctionality #multifunctionalityanalysis #protectedareas #landuse #conservationplanning #conservation #ecology #carbonstorage #nutrientavailability #waterregulation #erosioncontrol #habitatquality #ecologicalconnectivity #remotesensing #satellite #earthobservation #modeling

  26. On July 1, 2026, The Company Once Known As Maxar Began Selling 3D Maps Of Earth It Can Refresh Within A Day Or Sharpen To 15 Centimeters, Built Less For People To Study Than For The Autonomous Drones And Weapons That Navigate By Matching Their Cameras Against The Terrain
    (Vantor, the American Earth-observation company… is now rebuilding chosen stretches of the planet as three-dimensional models and delivering them within a day of imaging — a commercial first…)
    --
    spacedaily.com/sd-on-july-1-20 <-- shared technical media article
    --
    [this post should – most specifically – NOT be considered an endorsement of a particular organisation or product]
    • “Built for GPS-denied warfare…
    • The 3D twist changes the risk calculus…”
    “Vantor, the American Earth-observation company…., is now rebuilding chosen stretches of the planet as three-dimensional models and delivering them within a day of imaging — a commercial first, the company says, and one aimed as much at autonomous machines as at the analysts and militaries who have always been its customers.
    The service, called WorldView 3D, went live on July 1. It draws on a fleet of 10 satellites imaging Earth’s surface at 12-inch (30-centimeter) resolution, according to Space.com. The 3D views are constructed by combining multiple images taken from different orbital angles, then refreshed on a daily cadence — a speed the company says is impossible to match with aircraft or drones over remote or contested territory.
    According to the company’s launch announcement… the service would enable rapid updates of remote and contested areas, calling it the future of spatial intelligence….
    The product comes in two tiers…:
    • Standard resolution delivers 20-inch (50 cm) imagery with 13-foot (4-meter) accuracy in all directions.
    • The HD tier tightens that to 6-inch (15 cm) resolution with 10-foot (3-meter) positional accuracy in three dimensions.
    Those numbers matter for a specific reason. Traditional 3D mapping — the kind used by autonomous vehicle companies and defense contractors — has historically relied on aircraft flights, drone surveys, or LiDAR passes. Those methods produce excellent detail. They also require physical access to the airspace above the target.
    Vantor’s pitch is that satellites remove the access problem. A constellation in low Earth orbit passes over hostile territory as freely as it passes over Kansas…”
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #military #geoint #geointelligence #remotesensing #LiDAR #elevation #drones #weapons #warfare #conflict #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #imagery #3DModel #earthobservation #satellite #AI #machinelearning #GPS #hostileterritory #risk #hazard #WorldView3D #highresolution #changedetection #spatialintelligence

  27. Mapping Sleeping Bees within Their Nest: Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Worker Honey Bee Sleep
    --
    pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/ <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T Dimitrios A. Karras
    “Bees are not only very important for all ecosystems... They are very cute too....
    However, bee societies are very complex and different sleep patterns exist for the other kinds of bees in the hierarchy..
    In general, bees actually sleep, and many species spend around 5-8 hours resting each day, usually at night when they're not foraging.
    Some solitary bees have been photographed sleeping inside flowers, where they cling onto the petals or stamens with their tiny legs and sometimes even their jaws.
    One of the cutest parts is that tired bees can look almost like they've fallen asleep at work, curled up inside a flower with pollen still covering their bodies…”
    --
    “Patterns of behavior within societies have long been visualized and interpreted using maps. Mapping the occurrence of sleep across individuals within a society could offer clues as to functional aspects of sleep. In spite of this, a detailed spatial analysis of sleep has never been conducted on an invertebrate society. [The authors] introduce the concept of mapping sleep across an insect society, and provide an empirical example, mapping sleep patterns within colonies of European honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). Honey bees face variables such as temperature and position of resources within their colony's nest that may impact their sleep. [They] mapped sleep behavior and temperature of worker bees and produced maps of their nest's comb contents as the colony grew and contents changed. By following marked bees, [they] discovered that individuals slept in many locations, but bees of different worker castes slept in different areas of the nest relative to position of the brood and surrounding temperature. Older worker bees generally slept outside cells, closer to the perimeter of the nest, in colder regions, and away from uncapped brood. Younger worker bees generally slept inside cells and closer to the center of the nest, and spent more time asleep than awake when surrounded by uncapped brood. The average surface temperature of sleeping foragers was lower than the surface temperature of their surroundings, offering a possible indicator of sleep for this caste. [They] propose mechanisms that could generate caste-dependent sleep patterns and discuss functional significance of these patterns…”
    #bee #insect #hive #sleeping #sleep #patterns #monitoring #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #spatial #mapping #sleeppatterns #behaviour #society #community #honeybees #ecosystem #colony #infrared #remotesensing #temperature #instrumentation

  28. Compound Hydrogeomorphic Cascades And Rapid Upstream To Downstream Hazard Coupling In The Eastern Himalaya
    --
    doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-529 <-- shared paper
    --
    doi.org/10.1007/s11600-022-009 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @Kuldeep Dutta | Geology-Earth Science
    “… In hilly regions transitioning rapidly to low gradient alluvial plains, localized hydrometeorological triggers can instantly scale into devastating basin wide disasters. This study dissects the September 2020 cascading hazard in parts of the Arunachal Pradesh-Assam corridor to quantify the rapid coupling between upstream hillslopes and downstream floodplains.
    Check out the [attached graphical abstract figure] for an integrated visual workflow of the entire disaster continuum from hillslope failure to floodplain transformation...”
    --
    “Extreme precipitation in the Eastern Himalaya is increasingly associated with coupled hillslope-floodplain hazards. This study examines the 17th-18th September 2020 rainfall event in Arunachal Pradesh initiating landslides and its downstream impacts in Assam, India, using multi-sensor satellite data and long-term rainfall records. Sentinel-2 imagery was used to map landslides and debris flows, Sentinel-1 SAR data to delineate flood extent, and IMD gridded rainfall (1996–2020) to analyse rainfall spell characteristics. The event triggered widespread slope failures, localized landslide damming, and a subsequent breach, generating sediment-laden flows that inundated ~ 100 km² of the Dhemaji floodplain. A backscatter-derived Relative Flood Volume Index (RFVI) indicates spatial variability in inundation intensity, although it does not represent absolute flood volume. Rainfall analysis suggests that antecedent wetness from preceding spells preconditioned slopes, while peak daily rainfall (> 170 mm day−1) initiated landsliding. Power-law scaling shows negligible dependence of intensity on duration (R2 ≈ 0.0004), whereas cumulative rainfall exhibits a stronger relationship with duration (R2 ≈ 0.54). These results indicate distinct roles of rainfall intensity and accumulation in controlling landslide initiation and downstream flooding, respectively, highlighting the importance of compound rainfall forcing in rapid hydrogeomorphic cascades…”
    #EarthScience #RemoteSensing #Himalayas #NaturalHazards #ClimateChange #ScientificReports #GeospatialAnalysis #DisasterMitigation #Landslide #trigger #Flooding #massmovement #extremeweather #engineeringgeology #floodplain #innundation #hillslope #fluvial #pluvial #alluvial #sediment #sedimentation #hydrometeorology #ArunachalPradesh #Assam #India #Brahmaputra #risk #hazard #geology #engineeringgeology #remotesensing #earthobservation #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #disaster #hydrogeomorphology #workflow

  29. A Century Of Landslide Records In Calabria, Southern Italy, Looking For Changes And Trends Through A Dynamic Analysis
    --
    doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-3077- <-- shared paper / brief communication
    --
    doi.org/10.5194/nhess-15-2313- <-- shared 2015 paper that this communication updates/adds-to
    --
    doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-108 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @StefanoLuigiGariano
    “This study updates an article published in NHESS journal in 2015 [link above] and investigates long-term changes in landslide-triggering rainfall conditions in Calabria (southern Italy) over 1921–2020. A catalogue of 3,006 rainfall events associated with landslides (RELs) was reconstructed using 9,530 landslide records and daily rainfall measurements from 318 gauges. Rainfall thresholds were calculated for 15 30-year moving windows to investigate the triggering conditions of the RELs. Results show a marked increase in the number of RELs after 2009, shifts in seasonal occurrence, and decreasing rainfall duration and cumulative amounts. Triggering rainfall shows an overall decreasing trend over the years…”
    #Calabria #Italy #massmovement #records #landslides #geology #engineeringgeology #spatiotemporal #spatialanalysis #rainfall #precipitation #extremeweather #trigger #monitoring

  30. Geospatial Data As Bioethical Evidence
    --
    doi.org/10.4401/jgsg-111 <-- shared paper
    --
    theconversation.com/gaza-we-an <-- shared technical article
    --
    scientificamerican.com/article <-- shared 2023 technical article
    --
    “Satellite imagery now documents systematic patterns of infrastructure destruction at spatial resolutions and temporal cadences that were unavailable during the atrocities of the twentieth century. Whether and how such data may enter bioethical deliberation, however, remains under-theorized. Quantitative remote sensing produces damage percentages, not normative claims, and bridging the two without committing an is-ought fallacy requires an explicit epistemological procedure. The contribution developed here is normative and epistemological rather than empirical. A six-component admissibility framework integrates, for the first time, geospatial evidence, population-level bioethical principlism, and the coherentist verification epistemology of political fact-checking into a single reproducible procedure for the bioethical use of satellite imagery. The first component specifies evidence admissibility criteria tailored to bioethical rather than strictly legal use. The second requires coherentist triangulation across methodologically independent remote sensing studies. The third operates as a bioethical relevance filter mapping infrastructure categories onto population-level social determinants of health. The fourth operationalizes principlism by translating health justice, accountability, solidarity, and sustainability into measurable geospatial observables. The fifth establishes ethical representation safeguards against voyeuristic or dehumanizing uses of destruction imagery. The sixth demands explicit epistemic humility regarding uncertainty, data missingness, and attribution limits. The Gaza conflict provides the case in point. Two independently produced geospatial studies, one based on SAR coherent change detection and one on very-high-resolution optical analysis, converge on extensive damage to civilian healthcare, water, sanitation, and educational infrastructure, and thereby satisfy the coherentist triangulation requirement of the framework. The resulting inference licenses bioethical claims of systematic survival infrastructure degradation while preserving transparent boundaries between what satellite evidence can and cannot establish about genocidal intent…”
    #geoethics #GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #earthobservation #imagery #satellite #opendata #conflict #war #military #destruction #infrastructure #spatiotemporal #bioethical #evidence #damagepercentages #spatialanalysis #change #quantitative #metrics #normative #epistemological #admissibility #framework #factchecking #controlled #publicsafety #publichealth #healthjustice #geospatialobservables #observation #uncertainty #controls #boundaries #changedetection #coherentisttriangulation #example #gaza

  31. Advancing Detailed Flood Hazard Identification in Alberta, Canada - Insights from Two Recent Flood Studies
    --
    doi.org/10.3390/w18131592 <-- shared paper
    --
    “The increasing frequency of floods and the severity of their consequences for public safety, infrastructure, and the economy demand improved methods for flood hazard identification. Flood studies that include flood hazard mapping are critical tools for informing emergency response and flood recovery, as well as for land use and mitigation planning. The methodology for such flood studies has evolved, and access to more powerful computational resources and high-resolution base data has contributed to the increased use of two-dimensional hydraulic modelling, where one-dimensional modelling previously was the default. However, local-scale flood studies face real-world constraints, including sparse data, challenging hydrologic conditions, and budget limitations, which can hinder the application of advanced techniques. This study addresses these challenges through innovative, practice-driven solutions in two case studies in Alberta, Canada: a small, partly channelised prairie stream network (Wolf Creek, Lacombe) and a laterally dynamic river on a distributary delta (Swan River, Kinuso). Three core components of flood hazard studies are described: field survey data collection, regional hydrology assessment, and hydraulic modelling. Key findings include demonstrating that LiDAR-derived terrain models alone cannot capture channel conveyance, the importance of low-flow calibration in the absence of high-water marks, the selection of a modelling methodology based on bathymetric and topographic features within a study area, and the development of inflow hydrographs for unsteady-state simulation in flat floodplains…”
    #FloodMapping #FloodRisk #Hydrology #HydraulicModeling #HECRAS #WaterResources #Alberta #Resilience #RiverSurvey #spatialanlaysis #spatiotemporal #floodhazardmapping #HECRAS #model #modeling #remotesensing #LiDAR #bathymetry #floodfrequencyanalysis #unsteadysimulation #FHIMP #FHIP #WoldCreek #Lacombe #SwanRiver #Kinuso #Alberta #Canada #localscale #provincialfloodstudy # prairie #stream #river #flood #flooding #water #hydrology #risk #hazard #watershed #publicsafety #cost #damage #economics #infrastructure #use #practicedriven #floodhazard #survey #hydraulic #terrainmodels #hydrogeomorphology #topography #elevation #floodplain
    @Alberta Environment and Protected Areas | @Government of Alberta | @Barr Engineering

  32. Remote Sensing And The New Global River Science
    --
    doi.org/10.1038/s44221-026-006 <-- shared paper
    --
    “Rivers impact the well-being of humans and the environment. As they increasingly face planetary-scale stressors, it is critically important to monitor and understand rivers at the global scale. As the only synoptic resource for global primary data on rivers, satellite remote sensing has recently begun to provide unprecedented opportunities for the monitoring, understanding, and prediction of global river behaviour. Despite these advances, the role of satellite remote sensing in global river science has still not been fully explored. New satellite systems and algorithms will enable substantial improvements in river measurements, provide new answers to long-standing or newly emerging scientific questions, and eventually update basic knowledge of rivers to advance global river science. In this [paper they] explore how remote sensing has been used to study the world’s rivers, examine challenges and opportunities for further advancing our understanding of rivers using existing and upcoming sensors, and identify possible solutions and future research directions…”
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #water #hydrology #satellite #remotsesensing #earthobservation #hydrography #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #physicalgeography #change #river #global #model #modeling #research #hydrogeomorphology #geomorphometry #riverine #humanimpacts #waterquality #waterresources #watermanagement #infrastructure #lake #reservoir #dam #impoundment #canals #avulsion #overbank #flood #flooding #erosion #sedimentation #morphology #network #downstream

  33. Remote Sensing, Real Impact - Technology-Driven Conservation At The Jane Goodall Institute
    (How the Jane Goodall Institute [JGI] is using satellite imagery and spatial technology to help people and animals thrive.)
    --
    geoweeknews.com/news/conservat <-- shared technical article
    --
    iceye.com/blog/government/solu <-- shared technical article
    --
    [this post should not be seen as endorsement of a particular provider and/or approach]
    “Dr. Jane Goodall’s groundbreaking research at Gombe National Park in Tanzania began in 1960, and transformed our understanding of chimpanzees and redefined the relationship between humans and animals. Dr. Goodall dedicated her life to conservation and community empowerment. Her recent passing marks the end of an extraordinary career in ethology and conservation science. Yet her legacy lives on powerfully through the Jane Goodall Institute [JGI] and the countless individuals and communities she inspired worldwide. Her pioneering work revealed that chimpanzees make and use tools, have complex social structures, and possess individual personalities; discoveries that fundamentally challenged our understanding of what it means to be human, for the better…
    The institute's current work embodies Dr. Goodall's profound philosophy: that humanity can only reach its full potential "when our clever brains and our compassionate hearts are connected."
    This principle guides every aspect of JGI's conservation science strategy, from analyzing satellite data to providing local communities with the tools they need to strengthen their environment. Dr. Goodall's vision that conservation must be rooted in compassion, scientific rigor, and respect for local communities continues to shape the institute's innovative approach to using technology for conservation action.
    As time has gone on, geospatial technologies have become increasingly indispensable to this mission, enabling JGI to monitor forest health in real-time, map critical chimpanzee habitats and migration corridors, and measure the tangible impact of community-led conservation initiatives. But perhaps most importantly, these technologies help the communities understand that the lives of people, animals and their shared environment are all interconnected…”
    #ConservationTechnology #illegal #Deforestation #hunting #mining #GombeNationalPark #remotesensing #radar #earthobservation #chimpanzee #conservation #communityempowerment #JaneGoodallInstitute #JGI #satellite #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #GIS #spatial #mapping #habitat #destruction #migration #corridors #monitoring #conservationscience #strategy #resource #cloudcover #alerts #foresthealth #protection #SAR #vegetation #ecosystems #rainforest #greatape #disease #foodsecurity #DRC #Tanzania #CongoBasin #nationalpark #ranger #parkranger #security #safety #alerts #wildlifetrafficking
    @JaneGoodallInstitute @iceeye

  34. How Space Weather Could Bust The AI Boom
    --
    spacenews.com/how-space-weathe <-- shared technical article
    --
    futurism.com/artificial-intell <-- shared technical article, “AI Data Centers Pushing Electric Grid Into Meltdown”
    --
    doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth- <-- shared 2026 paper, “Magnetic Storms and Geoelectric Hazards”
    --
    #AI #datcenters #infrastructure #impacts #solarstorms #spaceweather #risk #hazards #overloading #electricity #energy #powersupply #energygrid #vulnerable #transmission #energy #demand #consumers #geoelectrical #geomagnetism #blackout #damage #cost #economics #equipment #transformers #carringtonevent #NERC #grid #reliability #electricaldemand #utilities #magneticstorm #electromagneticinduction #extremeevent #historicalevent #hazardanalysis #spaceweather #history #Carrington #geoelectric #humanimpacts #risk #hazard #monitoring #network #geology #geomagnetism #impedance #rock #soil #utilities #electricaltransmission #powerlines #magnetotelluric #sensor #blackout #brownout #energy #geoelectrichazard #geoelectric #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #model #modeling #geomagnetism #geomagneticstorm #telecommunication #electronics #hardened #geography #mitigation #preparedness #geomorphology #geomorphometry #surfacegeology #cost #economics #disaster #impacts #technology #InternetOfThings #internet #USA #review #CONUS #numericalmodeling #realtimemonitoring #AIBoom #Bust
    @North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)

  35. Compound Hydrogeomorphic Cascades And Rapid Upstream To Downstream Hazard Coupling In The Eastern Himalaya
    --
    doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-529 <-- shared paper
    --
    doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-1281- <-- shared paper
    --
    doi.org/10.1007/s11069-025-077 <-- shared paper
    --
    [I recognise that the photo is instead for the floods, etc in Lubra, Nepal - but felt it better showed the hydrogeomorphical setting (sic) for the 'casual' post viewer...]
    H/T @Kuldeep Dutta
    “In hilly regions transitioning rapidly to low gradient alluvial plains, localized hydrometeorological triggers can instantly scale into devastating basin wide disasters. This study dissects the September 2020 cascading hazard in parts of the Arunachal Pradesh-Assam corridor to quantify the rapid coupling between upstream hillslopes and downstream floodplains…”
    --
    “Extreme precipitation in the Eastern Himalaya is increasingly associated with coupled hillslope-floodplain hazards. This study examines the 17th-18th September 2020 rainfall event in Arunachal Pradesh initiating landslides and its downstream impacts in Assam, India, using multi-sensor satellite data and long-term rainfall records. Sentinel-2 imagery was used to map landslides and debris flows, Sentinel-1 SAR data to delineate flood extent, and IMD gridded rainfall (1996–2020) to analyse rainfall spell characteristics. The event triggered widespread slope failures, localized landslide damming, and a subsequent breach, generating sediment-laden flows that inundated ~ 100 km2 of the Dhemaji floodplain. A backscatter-derived Relative Flood Volume Index (RFVI) indicates spatial variability in inundation intensity, although it does not represent absolute flood volume. Rainfall analysis suggests that antecedent wetness from preceding spells preconditioned slopes, while peak daily rainfall (> 170 mm/day/) initiated landsliding. Power-law scaling shows negligible dependence of intensity on duration (R² ≈ 0.0004), whereas cumulative rainfall exhibits a stronger relationship with duration (R² ≈ 0.54). These results indicate distinct roles of rainfall intensity and accumulation in controlling landslide initiation and downstream flooding, respectively, highlighting the importance of compound rainfall forcing in rapid hydrogeomorphic cascades...”
    #EarthScience #RemoteSensing #Himalayas #NaturalHazards #ClimateChange #ScientificReports #GeospatialAnalysis #DisasterMitigation #Landslide #Flooding #alluvial #fluvial #water #hydrology #hydrography #flood #flooding #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #mountain #plain #hydrometeorological #hydrogeomorphology #ArunachalPradesh #Assam #India #hillslope #floodplain #rainfall #precipitation #extremeweather #engineeringgeology #massmovement #landslide #debrisflow #risk #hazard #monitoring #GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #satellite #Sentinel #sedimentation #humanimpacts #infrastructure #damage #cost #economics #public #safety #model #modeling #downstream

  36. 🚨 FEMA’s Hazus v7.2 Is Here — A Major Upgrade For Disaster Risk Modeling
    --
    fema.gov/flood-maps/products-t <-- shared link to FEMA HAZUS download, documentation, use case, etc
    --
    [I used to work some with Hazus back in the back, but my career changed path; I still appreciate its strength and unity of purpose (sic) #alldataisspatial]
    H/T @Laban "L.J." Johnson | Founder, LJ Learn & Concordia Initiative | Crisis Support · Leadership Development · Community Resilience | Bridging worlds to help people rise
    “FEMA’s Hazus GIS platform has been updated with a new ArcGIS Pro–based version, bringing faster, more powerful tools for estimating losses from floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural hazards.
    Key updates in Hazus 7.2 include:
    • Streamlined workflows for flood and hurricane modeling
    • New Earthquake ShakeMap integration using USGS data
    • Expanded and improved results exports and reporting (including geodatabase outputs)
    • Stronger security with known vulnerabilities addressed
    • Performance improvements and optimized installation process
    • [Significantly enhanced and comprehensive summary reports for flood and earthquake are now available for download.]
    • Full integration with ArcGIS Pro (3.4–3.6) for a modern GIS experience
    This release represents a significant step forward in how hazard planners, emergency managers, and GIS professionals analyze and prepare for disaster impacts…”
    --
    “FEMA’s Hazus program provides software, data, methods, and guidance for estimating risk from natural hazards. Hazus can estimate building damages, economic losses, displaced households, casualties, debris generation and more resulting from a natural hazard event and can be used in all phases of emergency management…”
    #HAZUS #fedservice #fedscience #oublicgood #publicsafety #emergencyresponse #software #spatialdata #GIS #spatial #mapping #risk #hazard #riskassessment #naturalhazard #humanimpacts #earthquake #wildfire #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #flood #flooding #cost #damage #economic #publicsafety #publichealth #emergencymanagement #opensource #opendata #tsunami #tornado #hurricane #ShakeMap #infrastructure #planning #policy #preparedness #impacts #geology #engineeringgeology #remotesensing #earthobservation
    @FEMA

  37. [G]lobal Decline In Endorheic Basin Water Storages
    --
    doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-026 <-- shared paper
    --
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorhei <-- shared Wikipedia page
    --
    “Endorheic (hydrologically landlocked) basins spatially concur with arid/semi-arid climates. Given limited precipitation but high potential evaporation, their water storage is vulnerable to subtle flux perturbations, which are exacerbated by global warming and human activities. Increasing regional evidence suggests a probably recent net decline in endorheic water storage, but this remains unquantified at a global scale. By integrating satellite observations and hydrological modelling, [they] reveal[ed] that during 2002–2016 the global endorheic system experienced a widespread water loss of about 106.3 Gt/yr, attributed to comparable losses in surface water, soil moisture and groundwater. This decadal decline, disparate from water storage fluctuations in exorheic basins, appears less sensitive to El Niño–Southern Oscillation-driven climate variability, which implies a possible response to longer-term climate conditions and human water management. In the mass-conserved hydrosphere, such an endorheic water loss not only exacerbates local water stress, but also imposes excess water on exorheic basins, leading to a potential sea level rise that matches the contribution of nearly half of the land glacier retreat (excluding Greenland and Antarctica). Given these dual ramifications, [they] suggest the necessity for long-term monitoring of water storage variation in the global endorheic system and the inclusion of its net contribution to future sea level budgeting…”
    #water #hydrology #hydrography #global #waterresources #waterstorage #Endorheic #Basin #watersecurity #arid #semiarid #rainfall #precipitation #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #globalwarming #climatechange #humanimpacts #anthropogenic #regional #remotesensing #GIS #spatial #mapping #earthobservation #surfacewater #groundwater #soilmoisture #exorheic #watermanagement #hydrosphere #waterstress #SLR #sealevelrise #monitoring #waterbudgets

  38. Decoupling Of Surface Water Storage From Precipitation In Global Drylands Due To Anthropogenic Activity
    --
    doi.org/10.1038/s44221-024-003 <-- shared paper
    --
    “The availability of surface water in global drylands is essential for both human society and ecosystems. However, the long-term drivers of change in surface water storage, particularly those related to anthropogenic activities, remain unclear. Here [they] use[d] multi-mission remote sensing data to construct monthly time series of water storage changes from 1985 to 2020 for 105,400 lakes and reservoirs in global drylands. An increase of 2.20 km³ per year in surface water storage is found primarily due to the construction of new reservoirs. For lakes and old reservoirs (constructed before 1983), conversely, the trend in storage is minor when aggregated globally, but they dominate surface water storage trends in 91% of individual global dryland basins. Further analysis reveals that long-term storage changes in these water bodies are primarily linked to anthropogenic factors - including human-induced warming and water-management practices - rather than to precipitation changes, as previously thought. These findings reveal a decoupling of surface water storage from precipitation in global drylands, raising concerns about societal and ecosystem sustainability…”
    #water #hydrology #hydrography #waterstorage #waterresources #surfacewater #global #drylands #precipitation #rainfall #watersecurity #ecosystems #habitat #publichealth #anthropogenic #GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #earthobservation #spatiotemporal #spatialanalysis #monitoring #geostatistics #engineering #reservoirs #infrastructure #lakes #waterbodies #globalwarming #climatechange #sustainability #planning #baseline

  39. Sea Levels Rising Dramatically In Some Areas Due To Land Subsidence [global]
    --
    phys.org/news/2026-05-sea-area <-- shared technical article
    --
    doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-722 <-- shared paper
    --
    [#VLM = vertical land motion; #ASL = absolute sea-level; #RSL = relative sea-level; #GIA = (global) Glacial Isostatic Adjustment; #inSAR = Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar; #GNSS = Global Navigation Satellite System (~GPS); #OE24 = paper, doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-013, interpolated VLM reconstruction based on the joint analysis of GNSS, tide gauges (TGs), and satellite altimetry]
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #earthobservation #sealevel #verticallandmotion #absolutesealevel #relativesealevel #GlacialIsostaticAdjustment #geomorphometry #SLR #sealevelrise #coast #coastal #flood #flooding #subsidence #landmass #landsubsidence #global #globalsealevelrise #climatechange #city #urban #farmlands #population #demographics #cities #planning #community #elevation #monitoring #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #altimetry