Geophysics News - SciTechDaily

Robotic Explorers Uncover Unexpected Ancient Origins of Strange Seafloor Formations

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute — Tue, 21 May 2024 13:00:35 +0000

Data from MBARI’s advanced underwater robots point to erosion during intermittent sediment flows as the mechanism maintaining these circular depressions for hundreds of thousands of...

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Uncovers Signs of an Earth-Like Environment on Ancient Mars

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Sat, 04 May 2024 08:16:52 +0000

Manganese-rich sandstones discovered by NASA’s Curiosity rover indicate there were once habitable conditions in the Gale Crater on Mars. A research team using the ChemCam...

Challenging Previous Theory: Mantle Heat Rejuvenated Earth’s Crust 3 Billion Years Ago

Rebecca Owen, American Geophysical Union — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 23:20:44 +0000

Information from igneous zircon molecules gives researchers new insight into the workings of the inner Earth. Little is known about the nature and evolution of...

Unleashing Earth’s Fury: How Next-Gen Geothermal Could Redefine Renewable Energy

Quaise Energy — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 09:44:18 +0000

Tapping into the heat below our feet as a form of renewable, clean energy has been attracting greater attention as the world moves toward alternatives...

The End of Nuclear Secrecy? Underground Weapon Tests “Now Detectable With 99% Accuracy”

Royal Astronomical Society — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 23:03:52 +0000

Thanks to a significant scientific breakthrough in detection methods, conducting secret underground nuclear tests could become obsolete. A team of Earth scientists and statisticians say...

Disrupted Cycles: The Hidden Climate Crisis in Our Rivers

American Association for the Advancement of Science — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 06:19:21 +0000

A recent study has found that climate change is impacting the timing of river flows, especially in the higher northern regions. River flow patterns, which...

Urgent Climate Red Flag: Global Warming Is Disrupting the Natural Flow of Rivers

University of Leeds — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 23:54:35 +0000

New research indicates that climate change is altering the seasonal river flows in the far northern regions of America, Russia, and Europe, presenting risks to...

Rethinking Earth’s Surface: Geoscientists Discover Hidden Faults of the Pacific Plate

University of Toronto — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 21:16:56 +0000

Research indicates that the Pacific Plate is being torn apart at undersea plateaus across the ocean, due to the weight of the oceanic plate subducting...

“A Total Surprise” – Geologists Uncover New Origin Story for Deadly Seattle Fault

American Geophysical Union — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 14:21:08 +0000

Magnetic evidence indicates that the dangerous Seattle fault zone may have originated from the continent’s edge splitting in half over 50 million years ago, offering...

Ancient Planetary Secrets Locked Beneath Earth’s Surface

Kim Baptista, Arizona State University — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 08:01:39 +0000

Recent research indicates that Earth’s mantle contains two large blobs, remnants of Theia, the ancient planet whose collision with Earth led to the moon’s creation....

Scientists Discover Anomalous Rocks on the Moon

University of Münster — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 13:40:44 +0000

A research group examines the interplay between dust and large rocks, uncovering potentially anomalous stones. The surface of our Moon is almost completely covered in...

Mars’ Hidden Molten Layer: A New Peek Beneath the Martian Mantle

Royal Observatory of Belgium — Sat, 09 Dec 2023 06:34:41 +0000

Recently, a team of scientists involved in NASA’s InSight mission completed an analysis of seismic data recorded on Mars after a meteorite impact that occurred...

Deep Earth’s Secret Puzzle: Bridgmanite and the Viscosity Jump Mystery

Technical University of Munich — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 19:52:47 +0000

Prof. Dr. Tomoo Katsura and his international research team at the Bavarian Research Institute of Experimental Geochemistry and Geophysics, University of Bayreuth, have discovered why...

Deep Earth Discovery: Fragments of Ancient Planet Found in Mantle

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:30:40 +0000

Scientists have found that Earth’s deep mantle may hold pieces of the ancient planet Theia, offering new insights into the Moon’s origin and Earth’s formative...

Life on Venus? Tectonic Clues Point to a Habitable Past

Brown University — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 23:40:30 +0000

Simulations produced by a Brown-led research team offer evidence that Venus once had plate tectonics — a finding that opens the door for the possibility...

Humans Have Increased the Concentration of Potentially Toxic Mercury in the Atmosphere by 7x

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences — Sun, 05 Nov 2023 23:16:18 +0000

Research establishes a natural baseline for mercury in the atmosphere by estimating emissions from volcanic eruptions. New research from the Harvard John A. Paulson School...

Continental Clash: The India–Asia Collision and the Rise of the Himalayas

China University of Geosciences — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 11:26:51 +0000

Compelling new evidence resolves discrepant interpretations and supports the large size of Greater India. Hundreds of millions of years ago, the surface of the Earth...

Violent Eruption: Mystery of Volcanic Tsunami Solved After 373 Years

Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 08:25:00 +0000

GEOMAR researchers reconstruct historic volcanic eruption using 3D seismics. The explosion of the underwater volcano Kolumbo in the Aegean Sea in 1650 triggered a destructive...

Red-Hot Secrets: Scientists Discover Molten Layer Covering Martian Core

University of Maryland — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 05:02:49 +0000

New NASA InSight research reveals a liquid silicate ‘blanket’ wrapped around Mars’ core, leading to new clues about the planet’s evolutionary history and the loss...

Earth’s Hidden Guests: Strange Blobs in Deep Mantle Are the Remains of an Ancient Planet

California Institute of Technology — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 02:51:12 +0000

A Caltech-led study suggests that two massive, iron-rich structures deep within Earth’s mantle are the remains of Theia, an ancient planet that collided with Earth,...

Permafrost Apocalypse: 93% Could Vanish by 2100, Warns Global Study

University of Alaska Fairbanks — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 10:34:26 +0000

Most of Earth’s near-surface permafrost could disappear by 2100, according to an international group of scientists. This prediction was made after analyzing current climate patterns...

Mars’ Seismic Secrets: Decoding the Red Planet’s Core Mystery

ETH Zurich — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 12:39:12 +0000

Mars’s liquid iron core is smaller and denser than previously thought. Not only is it smaller, but it is also surrounded by a layer of...

Hidden Martian Secrets: NASA’s InSight Lander Uncovers Mars’ Molten Mystery

Paris Institute of Globe Physics — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 15:00:31 +0000

Recent data challenges initial NASA InSight Mars Lander mission findings about Mars’ internal structure. Researchers have discovered a molten silicate layer at the Martian mantle’s...

Seismic Shock: Unraveling the Mystery of Mightiest-Ever Mars Quake

University of Oxford — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 08:34:16 +0000

A global collaboration led by the University of Oxford has determined that the largest-ever seismic event on Mars, known as S1222a, was not caused by...