Disproportionate Extinction of South American Mammals When Americas Collided
When the Isthmus of Panama rose from the sea to connect North and South America millions of years ago, mammals could cross the bridge in both directions.
Geoscientists Discovers Causes of Sudden Volcanic Eruptions
Tiny crystals, ten thousand times thinner than a human hair, can cause explosive volcanic eruptions.
Dust May Have Controlled Ancient Human Civilization
When early humans began to travel out of Africa and spread into Eurasia over a hundred thousand years ago, a fertile region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea called the Levant served as a critical gateway between northern Africa and Eurasia.
Rebirth of a Volcano
Volcanoes are born and die - and then grow again on their own remains. The decay of a volcano in particular is often accompanied by catastrophic consequences, as was the most recent case for Anak Krakatau in 2018.
The Age of the Earth’s Inner Core Revised
By creating conditions akin to the center of the Earth inside a laboratory chamber, researchers have improved the estimate of the age of our planet's solid inner core, putting it at 1 billion to 1.3 billion years old.
Study Rewrites the Recent History of Productive Cascade Arc Volcanoes
Volcanic eruptions in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest over the last 2.6 million years are more numerous and closely connected to subsurface signatures of currently active magma than commonly thought, according to newly published research.
Rare ‘Boomerang’ Earthquake Observed Along Atlantic Ocean Fault Line
Scientists have tracked a 'boomerang' earthquake in the ocean for the first time, providing clues about how they could cause devastation on land.
Plate Tectonics Goes Global
Today, the entire globe is broken up into tectonic plates that are shifting past each other, causing the continents to drift slowly but steadily. But this has not always been the case.
Optical Seismometer Survives “Hellish” Summit of Caribbean Volcano
The heights of La Soufrière de Guadeloupe volcano can be hellish, sweltering at more than 48 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) and swathed in billows of acidic gas.
Geologists Publish New Findings on Carbonate Melts in Earth’s Mantle
Geologists from Florida State University's Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science have discovered how carbon-rich molten rock in the Earth's upper mantle might affect the movement of seismic waves.
Volcanic Eruptions Responsible for Cooling of Earth Around 13,000 Years Ago
Ancient sediment found in a central Texas cave appears to solve the mystery of why the Earth cooled suddenly about 13,000 years ago, according to a research study co-authored by a Texas A&M University professor.
Scientists Reveal an Explosive Secret Hidden Beneath Seemingly Trustworthy Volcanoes
An international team of volcanologists working on remote islands in the Galápagos Archipelago has found that volcanoes which reliably produce small basaltic lava eruptions hide chemically diverse magmas in their underground plumbing systems - including some with the potential to generate explosive activity.
A New Idea on How Earth’s Outer Shell First Broke into Tectonic Plates
The activity of the solid Earth - for example, volcanoes in Java, earthquakes in Japan, etc - is well understood within the context of the ~50-year-old theory of plate tectonics.
South Atlantic Anomalies Existed 8 – 11 Million Years Ago
Research by the University of Liverpool has revealed that strange behaviour of the magnetic field in the South Atlantic region existed as far back as eight to 11 million years ago, suggesting that today's South Atlantic Anomaly is a recurring feature and unlikely to represent an impending reversal of the Earth's magnetic field.
Arizona Rock Core Sheds Light on Triassic Dark Ages
A rock core from Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, has given scientists a powerful new tool to understand how catastrophic events shaped Earth's ecosystems before the rise of the dinosaurs.
