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Earth Sciences news
Coastal hurricanes around the world are intensifying faster, new study finds
Hurricanes are among the world's most destructive natural hazards. Their ability to cause damage is shaped by their environment; conditions like warm ocean waters, guiding winds, and atmospheric moisture can all dictate storm ...
Earth Sciences
11 hours ago
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Wildfires in wet African forests have doubled in recent decades, large-scale analysis finds
A new study presents the first large-scale analysis of fire patterns in West and Central Africa's wet, tropical forests. The number of active fires there typically doubled over 18 years, particularly in the Congo Basin. The ...
Earth Sciences
11 hours ago
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A clock in the rocks: What cosmic rays tell us about Earth's changing surface and climate
How often do mountains collapse, volcanoes erupt or ice sheets melt?
Earth Sciences
13 hours ago
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Weak magnetic field may have supported diversification of life on Earth
An unusual reduction in the strength of Earth's magnetic field between 591 and 565 million years ago coincided with a significant increase in the oxygen levels in the atmosphere and oceans, according to a paper published ...
Earth Sciences
15 hours ago
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A look at the past suggests atmospheric rivers inundating California could get worse
A team of paleoclimatologists with the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA Ames Research Park, has found that atmospheric rivers in the past have dumped far more rain on California than those that have occurred over the past two ...
In the Jersey suburbs, a search for rocks to help fight climate change
In early spring, George Okoko was perched on a ledge 15 feet up a crumbly cliff, trying to whack off a basketball-size piece of rock with a hammer and chisel. The locale was suburban Berkeley Heights, N.J. The rock was basalt, ...
Earth Sciences
17 hours ago
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Climate is one culprit in growth and spread of dust in Middle East
Climate change is transforming dust storms—a natural phenomenon in the Middle East—into a more frequent and widespread threat to health and economies throughout the region, a new study shows.
Earth Sciences
17 hours ago
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Precipitation may brighten Colorado River's future, says modeling study
The Colorado River's future may be a little brighter than expected, according to a new modeling study from CIRES researchers. Warming temperatures, which deplete water in the river, have raised doubts the Colorado River could ...
Earth Sciences
May 1, 2024
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Mystery behind huge opening in Antarctic sea ice solved
Researchers have discovered the missing piece of the puzzle behind a rare opening in the sea ice around Antarctica, which was nearly twice the size of Wales and occurred during the winters of 2016 and 2017.
Earth Sciences
May 1, 2024
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Do earthquake hazard maps predict higher shaking than actually occurred? Research finds discrepancy
A new study by Northwestern University researchers and coworkers explains a puzzling problem with maps of future earthquake shaking used to design earthquake-resistant buildings. The research was published May 1 in the journal ...
Earth Sciences
May 1, 2024
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New computer algorithm supercharges climate models and could lead to better predictions of future climate change
Earth System Models—complex computer models that describe Earth processes and how they interact—are critical for predicting future climate change. By simulating the response of our land, oceans and atmosphere to manmade ...
Earth Sciences
May 1, 2024
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Scientists find five new hydrothermal vents in Pacific Ocean
The pace of discovery in the oceans leaped forward thanks to teamwork between a deep-sea robot and a human occupied submarine leading to the recent discovery of five new hydrothermal vents in the eastern Tropical Pacific ...
Earth Sciences
May 1, 2024
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Wondering what Australia might look like in a hotter world? Take a glimpse into the distant past
Current concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Earth's atmosphere are unprecedented in human history. But CO₂ levels today, and those that might occur in coming decades, did occur millions of years ago.
Earth Sciences
May 1, 2024
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Rock solid evidence: Angola geology reveals prehistoric split between South America and Africa
An SMU-led research team has found that ancient rocks and fossils from long-extinct marine reptiles in Angola clearly show a key part of Earth's past—the splitting of South America and Africa and the subsequent formation ...
Earth Sciences
May 1, 2024
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Taam Ja' Blue Hole in Mexico's Chetumal Bay found to be deepest in the world
A small team of oceanographers from several institutions in Mexico has found evidence that the Taam Ja' Blue Hole in Mexico's Chetumal Bay, on the eastern side of the Yucatán Peninsula, is the deepest in the world. In their ...
New climate study shows cloud cover is easier to affect than previously thought
A new analysis of cloud measurements from outside the coast of California, combined with global satellite measurements, reveals that even aerosol particles as small as 25–30 nanometers may contribute to cloud formation. ...
Earth Sciences
May 1, 2024
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New study looks at US Drought Monitor to see how it has reflected climate change since 2000
Every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) publishes a map of drought conditions across the United States. Established in 2000, the USDM combines measurements of physical variables like soil ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 30, 2024
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Study shows climate change and mercury pollution stressed plants for millions of years
The link between massive flood basalt volcanism and the end-Triassic (201 million years ago) mass extinction is commonly accepted. However, exactly how volcanism led to the collapse of ecosystems and the extinction of entire ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 30, 2024
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Atmospheric 'teleconnections' sustain warm blobs in the northeast Pacific Ocean
The past 10 years have seen a series of "warm blobs" in the northeast Pacific Ocean. These marine heat waves do widespread damage to ecosystems and marine life in the area, but the mechanisms by which they develop and are ...
How the plant world shapes the climate cycle
In order to understand the Earth's resilience, researchers at ETH Zurich are modeling climate changes from times long past. And they show that plants are not simply victims of circumstances, but have helped to shape climate ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 30, 2024
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More news
An AI dataset carves new paths to tornado detection
China's bid to decarbonize may have hidden costs
Study provides new global accounting of Earth's rivers
A new way to study and help prevent landslides
Managing meandering waterways in a changing world
Did climate chaos cultivate or constrain 2023's greenery?
A better way to predict Arctic riverbank erosion
Other news
New eco-friendly lubricant additives protect turbine equipment, waterways
Twisting and binding matter waves with photons in a cavity
New sugar-based catalyst could offer a potential solution for using captured carbon
Deeper understanding of malaria parasite sexual development unlocks opportunities to block disease spread
Modeling broader effects of wildfires in Siberia
Quakes do not kill people, bad buildings do
