Phys.org: Earth science

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), an ocean current system that transports heat from the tropics to the North Atlantic, plays a vital role in regulating the global climate. Most climate models project a decline in AMOC strength under anthropogenic greenhouse gas warming. However, it remains unclear whether the AMOC has slowed over the past century, and if so, when this slowdown began.

They power green energy, enhance defense systems, and drive the future of microelectronics. Known as critical minerals, elements like lithium, cobalt, and nickel are vital to national security and innovation. Yet the U.S. faces a growing challenge: securing stable, domestic supplies for critical minerals. Today, the nation remains heavily reliant on imports, often from geopolitically unstable or adversarial regions.

Berry Glacier, a tributary of the Getz Ice Shelf in West Antarctica, has deteriorated dramatically in the past three decades, according to researchers in the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine.

Climate change is accelerating continental rifting, the geological process where landmasses slowly pull apart. According to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, the East African Rift System (EARS) became more tectonically active after its major lakes shrank due to a drier climate 4,000 to 6,000 years ago. This could have caused more frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Dr. Peter Shi from Macquarie Business School explains how low-carbon supply chain finance helps businesses reduce emissions, unlock green funding and build resilient, profitable networks amid global climate challenges.

Earth scientists have discovered how continents are slowly peeled from beneath, fueling volcanic activity in an unexpected place: the oceans.

The way clusters of differently sized water droplet populations are distributed within clouds affects larger-scale cloud properties, such as how light is scattered and how quickly precipitation forms. Studying and simulating cloud droplet microphysical structure is difficult. But recent field observations have provided crucial, centimeter-scale data on cloud droplet size distributions in stratocumulus clouds, giving researchers an opportunity to better match their models to reality.

Mining is a controversial topic: On one hand, we need raw materials such as copper for the transition to climate-friendly technologies, but on the other hand, exploration and raw material extraction are primarily associated with environmental pollution and exploitation.

Climate change is leading to stronger flood disasters. TU Wien and Joanneum Research have developed a new model that shows how private and public protection measures interact.

No one knows when the next major earthquake will strike. In the meantime, researchers are working to understand how these events could disrupt access to health care in densely populated regions—and how best to prepare for them.

Lake Turkana in northern Kenya is often called the cradle of humankind. Home to some of the earliest hominids, its fossil-rich basin has helped scientists piece together the story of human evolution. Now, researchers from Syracuse University and the University of Auckland are revealing that the lake's geologic history may be just as significant as its anthropological one.

New Zealand—particularly the South Island/Te Waipounamu—is one of the most seismically active regions in the world. For this reason, the country has acknowledged the importance of building awareness and preparedness.

Online map reveals link between deforestation and rises in tropical temperatures Deforestation is leading to temperature increases of up to 5°C in some tropical regions, according to data revealed in a new interactive map created by researchers at the University of Leeds.

EU researchers are exploring how undersea communication cables can double-up as environmental and seismic sensors—a potential game-changer for early warning systems.

In the dense forests of northwestern Pennsylvania, hundreds of thousands of retired oil and gas wells—some dating back to the mid-1800s, long before modern construction standards—dot the landscape, according to geochemists in Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences who recently led a study in the region. Left uncapped and exposed to air and erosion, they break down, leaching harmful chemicals into the atmosphere and, the researchers reported, into the groundwater.

A team led by LMU researchers shows why CO₂ fluxes from land use are so difficult to quantify—and how they can be estimated more accurately in the future.

Satellite scatterometers play a crucial role in monitoring ocean surface winds, with their accuracy directly impacting weather forecasting and climate research. However, rainfall has consistently challenged precise wind measurements, as Ku-band radar signals are much affected by rain clouds.

Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica—often called the "Doomsday Glacier"—is one of the fastest-changing ice–ocean systems on Earth, and its future remains a major uncertainty in global sea-level rise projections. One of its floating extensions, the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf (TEIS), is partially confined and anchored by a pinning point at its northern terminus.

Ten years on from the landmark Paris Agreement, countries have taken big strides in limiting emissions and the clean energy transition is accelerating rapidly. But geopolitical headwinds are growing and the damage bill for climate pollution is rising. Climate action hangs in the balance.

A study has revealed that the substantial retreat of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) approximately 9,000 years ago was driven by a self-reinforcing feedback loop between ice melt and ocean circulation.