Earth & Planetary Sciences
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Global warming likely to be amplified by slow changes to Earth systems
The sensitivity of Earth’s temperature to increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may be greater than has been expected on the basis of climate models.
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Three UCSC professors elected 2009 AAAS Fellows
Three professors at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have been awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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Pre-eruption earthquakes offer clues to volcano forecasters
Pre-eruption earthquakes give scientists an opportunity to study the tumult beneath a volcano and may help them improve the accuracy of eruption forecasts.
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Icy moons of Saturn and Jupiter may have conditions needed for life
Evidence from recent NASA missions suggests that conditions necessary for life may exist on the icy satellites of Saturn and Jupiter, according to planetary scientist Francis Nimmo.
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Researchers to study hidden lakes beneath West Antarctic ice sheet
UCSC researchers will drill through a half-mile of ice to penetrate subglacial Lake Whillans and study hidden processes that govern the dynamics of the West Antarctic ice sheet.
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Loma Prieta led to better assessments of earthquake hazards
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was a wakeup call to the Central Coast and San Francisco Bay Area, which had gone decades without a major earthquake. In the 20 years since then, increasingly sophisticated assessments of earthquake hazards have led to a better understanding of the seismic threat in the Bay Area and throughout California.
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MBARI president Marcia McNutt to be nominated as director of U.S. Geological Survey
Marcia McNutt, professor of Earth and planetary sciences at UCSC, will be nominated as director of the U.S. Geological Survey.
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U.S. research vessel enroute to Bering Sea for climate change investigations
Preparations are under way for an international marine research expedition to investigate the role of the Bering Sea in climate change.
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Undergrad chosen for prestigious research internship in Japan
UCSC undergraduate Dominic Papia has been selected for a prestigious summer internship at one of Japan’s premier research centers.


