Phys.org: Earth science

The high-Andean wetlands of the Argentinean Puna region, called "vegas" by local inhabitants, although covering less than 1% of this arid mountain region, are important ecosystems as they support biodiversity and provide local people with fresh water and food for their livestock.

Imagine you had a crystal ball that revealed when a volcano would next erupt. For the hundreds of millions of people around the world who live near active volcanoes, it would be an extremely useful device.

This August, Japan and South Korea, particularly Japan, have experienced a dramatic surge in typhoon activity. From August 8 to August 13, within just six days, Typhoons Maria, Son-Tinh, Ampil, and Wukong consecutively formed over the waters east of Japan. Among them, Tropical Storm Maria caused record-breaking rainfall in parts of northern Japan, while just a few days later, Typhoon Ampil arrived during Japan's Obon holiday week, causing significant damage in Japan.

About 2,890 kilometers beneath our feet lies a gigantic ball of liquid metal: our planet's core. Scientists like me use the seismic waves created by earthquakes as a kind of ultrasound to "see" the shape and structure of the core.

Scientists have long been fascinated by the formation of gold nuggets, often found nestled within quartz veins. New research led by Monash University geologists suggests that the process might be even more electrifying than we previously thought—literally.

Particles in wildfire smoke can lower air quality and harm human health. Smoke aerosols can also influence weather and climate by modifying cloud formation and changing how much of the sun's energy is reflected or absorbed by the atmosphere. Compared to larger particles directly emitted from fires, the formation and presence of ultrafine particles (UFPs) have previously been overlooked, as it was thought that they were quickly "scavenged" by the larger particles.

An international team of ocean, Earth and marine scientists has found evidence supporting a theory that a certain oxygen isotope ratio in seawater has changed slowly over the past 540 million years. In their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group analyzed rocks from the Ordovician period.

Securing the world's water supply is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Research at Stockholm University is now presenting an alternative method for quantifying the global risk of water scarcity. Results indicate higher risks to water supply than previously expected if accounting for the environmental conditions and governability where rain is produced.

Even a single person in the snow can exert enough pressure on it to cause a buried weak layer of snow to collapse and the snow cover to slide away. In this case, experts speak of anticracks. The fundamental fracture properties that can lead to powerful slab avalanches are still largely unknown, but crucial in order to accurately predict when avalanches will occur.

Over the last three decades, California has seen increasing erosion after major wildfires—a phenomenon that not only endangers water resources and ecosystems, but is also likely to worsen with climate change, according to researchers.

What would happen if humans dried out the Mediterranean sea, turning it into a giant salt lake? Would its wildlife survive, and if so, how long would it take to recover?

A doughnut-shaped region thousands of kilometers beneath our feet within Earth's liquid core has been discovered by scientists from The Australian National University (ANU), providing new clues about the dynamics of our planet's magnetic field.

Natural disasters have threatened human beings and the ecosystem. Among the various natural disasters, drought is one of the most insidious and costliest, adversely affecting the global economy and livelihoods. Unlike sudden disasters such as earthquakes or hurricanes, drought is a slow-onset phenomenon that gradually intensifies. This prolonged nature of drought often results in the shortage of drinking water and the disruption of local economies.

Using data and numbers, a West Virginia University statistician is exploring new methods that could predict and model extreme patterns in weather events, financial turmoil and pollution levels.

The public could have days or months of warning about a major earthquake through identification of prior low-level tectonic unrest over large areas, according to research by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist who analyzed two major quakes in Alaska and California.

A new study paves the way to understanding biotic recovery after an ecological crisis in the Mediterranean Sea about 5.5 million years ago. An international team led by Konstantina Agiadi from the University of Vienna has now been able to quantify how marine biota was impacted by the salinization of the Mediterranean: Only 11% of the endemic species survived the crisis, and the biodiversity did not recover for at least another 1.7 million years.

Three studies conducted with the collaboration of the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology, an institute of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), show significant progress in monitoring mining areas.

Scientists have revealed how a "tag-team" between the oceans and continents millions of years ago devastated marine life—and altered the course of evolution on Earth.

Researchers investigating the historic stresses of the American West's water supply have identified a simple solution that could put parts of the Colorado River Basin on a more sustainable path.

More accurately predicting periods of increased hurricane activity weeks in advance may become possible due to new research published this month published in the journal Monthly Weather Review.