Open forest in New South Wales, Australia. Photograph by Manuel Delgado Baquerizo. Credit: Manuel Delgado Baquerizo An international study led by the Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville (IRNAS-CSIC), of the Spanish National Research Council (CISC), has shown that as the number of global change factors increases, terrestrial ecosystems become more sensitive to…
Category: Earth
Algorithm raises new questions about Cascadia earthquake record
A figure comparing the results of earlier turbidite correlation research to results calculated by an algorithm developed at The University of Texas at Austin. Black dashed lines indicate similar research results. Red dashed lines are different results. Credit: Zoltan Sylvester The Cascadia subduction zone in the Pacific Northwest has a history of producing powerful and…
Study reveals devastating power and colossal extent of a giant underwater avalanche off the Moroccan coast
Overview map of North West African Margin showing the pathway of the event and its erosional marks on the seafloor. Credit: University of Liverpool New research by the University of Liverpool has revealed how an underwater avalanche grew more than 100 times in size, causing a huge trail of destruction as it traveled 2,000km across…
Cuts in air pollution increased pollution at ground level, research reveals
Spatial distribution and trends of total reactive nitrogen and NH4T deposition. Credit: Nature Geoscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01455-9 The U.S. has slashed smog-causing pollutants like airborne sulfur dioxide in the past 20 years, but the cuts have unintentionally increased ground and water pollution in some local areas, according to research from Princeton and Colorado State University….
Researchers discover dual epicenters in New Year's Day Noto earthquake
Illustration of the initial rupture sequence of the 2024 Noto earthquake, showing the distribution of high-frequency seismic energy and subsequent aftershocks across the fault system. Credit: University of California, Los Angeles The first seven months of 2024 have been so eventful, it’s easy to forget that the year started off with a magnitude 7.5 earthquake…
Ocean spray is relatively lifeless: Sea spray study helps predict climate impact
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain When waves break on the open ocean, they throw particles called sea spray aerosols into the atmosphere. These particles can be lifted kilometers into the air, where they may affect how clouds form and therefore Earth’s radiative balance. This balance between the amount of radiant energy Earth’s surface and atmosphere emit,…
Locked in a glacier: Virus adaptations to extreme weather provide climate change insights
Glacier ice sampling. Credit: Nature Geoscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01508-z Ancient viruses preserved in glacial ice hold valuable information about changes in Earth’s climate, a new study suggests. For decades, the Guliya Glacier, located above 20,000 feet in the far northwestern Tibetan Plateau, has been one of the richest archives available to scientists to investigate large-scale…
Uncovering the role of oxygen concentration in the formation of early Earth magma ocean
The melting temperatures of deep mantle rocks decrease with an increase in mantle oxygen concentration, suggesting the need for re-evaluation of current Earth core formation and thermal evolution models. Credit: Takayuki Ishii from Okayama University It is widely accepted that the early Earth largely consisted of molten magma, forming a global ocean of magma. This…
Lithospheric oddities may be sculpting continental interiors
The Finke River in central Australia cuts through the Tjoritja (West MacDonnell) Ranges before flowing 800 kilometers to Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, 15 meters below sea level. Uplift may have steepened the river and incised the gorge. Credit: M. Sandiford Interactions between neighboring tectonic plates can push parts of Earth’s surface up or down to form…
Fighting coastal erosion with electricity
An artistic impression of how electricity could be used to strengthen coastlines. Credit: Northwestern University New research from Northwestern University has systematically proven that a mild zap of electricity can strengthen a marine coastline for generations—greatly reducing the threat of erosion in the face of climate change and rising sea levels. In the new study,…