Catastrophes of every ilk at the geophysics fest

At the annual meeting of the American Geophysics Union (AGU) in San Francisco on 7-11 December, catastrophes came in all sizes. On the molecular level, atmospheric chemists had news about the manmade compounds destroying the ozone shield-and for once the news was good. More earthshaking were signs of long-distance connections among earthquakes. And from farther afield came reports of odd-shaped debris from mini-planet collisions.