Phys.org: Earth science

Daily travel plans and early warnings for extreme weather all rely on traditional numerical weather prediction. However, both traditional numerical weather prediction and AI forecasting large models have long suffered from systematic biases, which compromise forecast accuracy.

The world's oceans may be quietly amplifying climate change in ways scientists are only beginning to understand. In a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Rochester scientists—including Thomas Weber, an associate professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and graduate student Shengyu Wang and postdoctoral research associate Hairong Xu in Weber's lab—uncovered a key mechanism behind methane production in the open ocean. Their research indicates that this mechanism could intensify as the planet warms, providing an alarming feedback loop for global warming.

Deadly heat wave events are occurring at temperatures and humidity levels previously thought to be survivable, according to a new paper by a team of international researchers, including from The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Sydney. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.

When tectonic plates move, they rarely do so smoothly. Sometimes they slide almost imperceptibly; at other times, stress is suddenly released—resulting in an earthquake. What exactly governs this behavior remains one of the key open questions in earthquake research.

A global study by the University of Basel, Switzerland, reveals a surprising picture: While 42% of treelines worldwide are shifting upslope, 25% are retreating. This seemingly contradictory trend involves more than just warming. Climate change and human land use are interacting.

A shutdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could trigger a substantial release of stored ocean carbon into the atmosphere over hundreds of years, according to a new study that simulated such a collapse under stable climate conditions. This would add 0.2°C of extra global warming. The new paper from researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), published in Communications Earth & Environment, highlights the AMOC's role as a key regulator of the global climate.

A 93-strong international expedition team has been exploring the northwestern Weddell Sea in the Antarctic on board the Alfred Wegener Institute's icebreaker Polarstern since February 8, 2026. In this key region for global ocean currents, the focus has been on the outflow of ice and water from the Larsen Ice Shelf and the astonishing sea ice retreat of recent years. When the research work had to be interrupted due to rough weather conditions in order to seek shelter in the lee of Joinville Island, the scientists and ship's crew were surprised by the sudden appearance of an island that had previously only been marked as a danger zone on the available nautical charts.

A new study reveals that most fatal landslides occur in human-transformed environments. Conducted by an international team of researchers from the University of Vienna, Ankara University, Istanbul Technical University, Bursa Uludag University, and the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, the study provides a global overview of how human pressure modulates landslide occurrences. The paper is published in the journal Science Advances.

Glaciers in High Mountain Asia—a region encompassing the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding mountain ranges—are shrinking rapidly, endangering water resources for millions of people, suggests a new study. Using satellite data from NASA's GRACE missions, results show that these extensive glacier systems, often called the "water towers of Asia," experienced significant losses in mass between 2002 and 2023. These findings reveal that if the extreme conditions that led to this decline continue, enhanced glacier melt could intensify short-term flood risks and substantially reduce long-term meltwater availability. The researchers say the findings underscore the need for reduced greenhouse gas emissions to stave off glacier melt and preserve a larger fraction of the region's cryospheric water storage.

Summer weather is arriving earlier, lasting longer and packing more heat than it used to—and it's happening faster than scientists had previously measured. A new study by UBC researchers has found that between 1990 and 2023, the average summer between the tropics and the polar circles grew about six days longer per decade. That's up from roughly four days per decade found in past research investigations up until the early 2010s.

New research from Adelaide University has revealed that geological processes dating back billions of years are critical to locating the rare earth elements needed for modern technologies and the global clean energy transition. Published in Science Advances, the study shows a strong global link between ancient subduction zones—where tectonic plates collide—and the formation of rare earth element (REE) deposits and carbonatites, a type of hot molten rock called magma, known to host these valuable resources.

A new study published in Science Advances reveals that sinking land—not just rising oceans alone—will be the main cause of future coastal flooding along Indonesia's densely populated Java Island, putting millions at risk sooner than expected.

Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a new way to measure how traffic contributes to rising urban temperatures, revealing that everyday vehicle use can play a measurable role in making cities warmer. The researchers created a new physics-based module that allows heat produced by urban traffic to be represented directly within the Community Earth System Model (CESM)—one of the world's most widely used global climate models for predicting how Earth's climate behaves.

Take a tour through volcanic history on the edge of the Sierra Nevada near Mammoth Lakes, California. Between the tall granite peaks to the west and the Basin and Range province to the east, overlapping volcanic complexes imprint the landscape with a collection of craters, cones, and calderas.

Surface volatiles—chemical substances that easily become gases or fluids at relatively low temperatures and pressures—are transported into Earth through subduction zones, with some being transported into the deep mantle and others to shallower depths. According to conventional models, halogens such as fluorine (F) and chlorine (Cl) are largely released at shallow depths when hydrous minerals break down, making it difficult for them to reach the deep mantle. However, a new study has identified high-density saline inclusions in deep diamonds and fluorine enrichment in mantle minerals, indicating that some halogens survive transport to great depths.

In their current state, climate policies around the world could leave a significant chunk of the global population exposed to simultaneous extreme heat and drought over five times more often by the end of this century than during the mid-to-late 20th century.

In Puerto Rico, drought doesn't always arrive slowly. Sometimes, it appears in days. That speed can leave producers scrambling, reservoirs dropping, and communities facing water restrictions before they can react. In a place often associated with heavy rain and hurricanes, drought is often overlooked, but very much a reality. New research from Virginia Tech is helping explain why.

It transports far more than 100 times as much water as all of the Earth's rivers combined: The Antarctic Circumpolar Current rushes around the southern continent unhindered by land masses and is therefore a fundamental component of the climate system. In a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a research team led by the Alfred Wegener Institute describes how and when this mighty ring current developed in Earth's history.

Scientists have found a new way to detect subtle chemical signatures in seawater, revealing previously invisible details about the ocean's chemistry from data continuously collected by thousands of autonomous robotic floats drifting across the seas.

Mangrove forests are natural wonders that protect coastal areas, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. They are able to dissipate wave energy and limit flooding, which can even mitigate tsunamis and coastal inundations during tropical cyclones. For this reason, mangroves are attracting attention as Nature-based Solutions, or NbS: natural infrastructure with the potential to enhance coastal resilience in an environmentally friendly way.