News
Volcanic eruptions in the distant past may have led to ocean current collapse
5+ hour, 32+ min ago (972+ words) The June 12, 1991, eruption column from Mount Pinatubo was taken from the east side of Clark Air Base. (CREDIT: U.S. Geological Survey / Dave Harlow) A massive volcanic eruption can cool the planet within months. What happens next may take centuries. Currently, this…...
Scientists reveal why gravity is weaker beneath Antarctica than elsewhere on Earth
2+ day, 7+ hour ago (1078+ words) A study traces Antarctica's gravity hollow to slow mantle motion, with timing that overlaps major shifts in Antarctic glaciation. (CREDIT: Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 4.0) Gravity feels steady. You drop a set of keys, and they fall the same way every time....
Earth’s core may hold 45 oceans worth of hydrogen, study finds
1+ week, 7+ hour ago (899+ words) New research suggests Earth's core may store up to 45 oceans' worth of hydrogen, reshaping theories of water's origin. (CREDIT: Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 4.0) Scientists have known for many years that pure iron could not account for the density of the Earth's…...
An important ice cap vanished in Greenland about 7,000 years ago
1+ week, 1+ day ago (1316+ words) Sediment drilled from beneath Greenland's Prudhoe Dome shows the ice cap vanished about 7,000 years ago, offering new clues about future melt. (CREDIT: Jason Briner/University at Buffalo) Deep under Greenland's ice, a thin layer of frozen dirt and rock has…...
Scientists create the first global map of rare, deep-mantle earthquakes
1+ week, 6+ day ago (958+ words) Stanford University researchers have pulled back a curtain on a hidden part of Earth that rarely makes headlines. Their new work maps a strange kind of earthquake that starts deep below the crust, inside the continental mantle. The team says…...
Deep magma oceans generate magnetic fields to protect planets and support life
4+ week, 7+ hour ago (1284+ words) Deep layers of molten rock inside some super-earths could generate powerful magnetic fields'potentially stronger than Earth's'and help shield these exoplanets from harmful radiation. (CREDIT: University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics illustration / Michael Franchot) In addition to shaping the interior…...
New map shows Antarctica’s buried landscape in unprecedented detail
4+ week, 2+ day ago (531+ words) Ice conceals a rugged landscape. A view over the Wilson Piedmont in Antarctica shows examples of the ice surface and what the buried topography may look like. (CREDIT: Irina Filina) That lack of detail matters. The Antarctic ice sheet holds…...
Tiny earthquakes reveal hidden faults where San Andreas meets Cascadia
1+ mon, 5+ hour ago (1150+ words) Tiny quakes help scientists map hidden faults where the San Andreas meets Cascadia, reshaping quake hazard estimates. (CREDIT: Kluft/Wikimedia) Northern California's coast keeps you on alert, even on quiet days. Offshore, three tectonic plates meet near Humboldt County at…...
Researchers discover massive hydrogen system beneath the Pacific Ocean
1+ mon, 1+ day ago (909+ words) Scientists uncover a vast hydrogen rich geological system deep beneath the Pacific Ocean seafloor. (CREDIT: AI-generated image / The Brighter Side of News) Far below the surface of the western Pacific Ocean, scientists have uncovered a geological system that reshapes how…...
Slow orbital wobbles drove drastic climate swings on Earth
1+ mon, 4+ day ago (915+ words) Climate can change fast, even when the planet looks stable. Earth has flipped into new patterns within decades in the past. During the last Ice Age, Greenland warmed by as much as 16C over short spans. The North Atlantic also saw…...