Another strong quake strikes Nepal

 Science News, May 2015

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake rattled eastern Nepal near Mount Everest on May 12, hitting just 17 days after one that killed more than 8,000 people in the region. The latest quake is the largest aftershock to date of the April 25 Nepal earthquake, which struck around 150 kilometers to the west, the U.S. Geological Survey reports.

Flood planners should not forget beavers

 Science News, May 2015

Busy beavers can curtail rising floodwaters, new research shows. The work suggests that beaver dams can provide natural flood protection and that officials should consider encouraging beaver construction projects as part of flood prevention plans, the researchers say.

Stronger quakes could strike other segments of Nepal fault

 Science News, April 2015

The April 25 earthquake that devastated Nepal, killing thousands, isn’t the end of seismic hazards in the region. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake relieved pent-up stress along just one segment of the tectonic plate boundary between India and the rest of Asia. Even larger quakes could strike to the west and in nearby Bhutan to the east, scientists warn.

Just 1 percent of Amazon’s trees hold half of its carbon

 Science News, April 2015

The Amazon rainforest holds more carbon than any other ecosystem, but only a handful of tree species do most of the work of keeping carbon out of the air. Surveying 530 areas throughout the rainforest, researchers found that roughly 1 percent of Amazonian tree species handle half of the forest’s carbon storage.