Phys.org: Earth science

When volcanoes are preparing to erupt, scientists rely on typical signs to warn people living nearby: deformation of the ground and earthquakes, caused by underground chambers filling up with magma and volcanic gas. But some volcanoes, called "stealthy" volcanoes, don't give obvious warning signs. Now scientists studying Veniaminof, Alaska, have developed a model which could explain and predict stealthy eruptions.

As the global climate continues to warm, fire seasons have intensified, and large-scale wildfires have become more frequent in many parts of the world. Factors such as vegetation type, land use patterns, and human activity all affect the likelihood of ignition, but wildfire proliferation ultimately depends on two factors: climate and fuel availability.

History has a way of repeating itself. But unlike science, built on general principles and testable theories about the natural world, history examines past events and human actions using evidence and interpretation. This delineation is critical when predicting earthquakes and tsunami waves for Canada's west coast, as researchers just don't have the scientific data required to make communities safe—at least not yet—so current calculations are informed by historic natural disasters in faraway places like Japan and Indonesia.

Mud is messy. For some, it's a plaything. To many, it can mean real hardship. Mud, though, is often overlooked, particularly when it lies out of sight. Deep down at the bottom of the sea, it is one of the most important natural archives of Earth's past—holding clues of shifting climates, coastlines, ocean conditions and carbon storage.

New research led by IIASA reveals a surprising link between two major climate-tipping elements: the Southern Amazon rainforest and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). While the study finds that a weakening AMOC may buffer dry season rainfall loss in the Amazon, it also highlights the urgent need to reduce emissions as broader climate risks continue to escalate.

Data that has been lost in the weeds—or more accurately the turfgrass—could help improve estimates of carbon dioxide emissions from urban areas, according to a team led by scientists at Penn State.

Tsunamis pose a risk to the entire California coast. But should a major one strike, how bad could it be?

With careful planning and a little luck, researchers found a surprising upside to hurricanes after a Category 4 storm disrupted their expedition off the coast of Mexico.

Methane emissions from Canada's non-producing oil and gas wells appear to be seven times higher than government estimates, according to a new study led by researchers at McGill University. The findings spotlight a major gap in the country's official greenhouse gas inventory and raise urgent questions about how methane leaks are monitored, reported and managed.

Antarctica could see a doubling of extreme weather events—such as atmospheric rivers—by 2100, with implications for future sea level rise.

Deep sea sediments contain treasure troves of information about marine ecosystems and past climate scenarios, yet remain understudied clues into Earth's environmental future, according to researchers.

Researchers have developed a laboratory earthquake model that connects the microscopic real contact area between fault surfaces to the possibility of earthquake occurrences. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this breakthrough demonstrates the connection between microscopic friction and earthquakes, offering new insights into earthquake mechanics and potential prediction.

Dust particles thrown up from deserts such as the Sahara and Gobi are playing a previously unknown role in air pollution, a new study has found.

Climate change is reshaping the global water cycle, disrupting rainfall patterns and putting growing pressure on cities and ecosystems. Some regions are grappling with heavier rainfall and flooding, while others face prolonged droughts that threaten public health, disrupt economies and increase the risk of political instability. In one recent example, a years-long drought between 2015 and 2020 brought Cape Town, South Africa, to the brink of running out of water—a moment officials dubbed "Day Zero."

Heat waves, droughts and forest fires are some of the extreme climate-related events that are expected not only to become more frequent but also to increasingly strike at the same time. This finding emerges from a new study led by Uppsala University, in which researchers have mapped the impact of climate change in different regions of the world.

The "Big Five" mass extinctions of the Phanerozoic Eon have long attracted significant attention from the geoscience community and the public. Among them, the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction (LOME) is the earliest of the Phanerozoic, and questions about its causes and dynamics have been a central focus in Earth sciences over the past century.

Scientists have uncovered new evidence to suggest that Earth is leaking gases from deep inside its mantle—even in regions without any volcanic activity.

As the planet's oceans are gradually warmed by the effects of climate change, a huge area in the North Atlantic stands out as an unusual zone of relative cooling.

Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, shifting tectonic plates—these are all signs that our planet is alive. But what is revealed deep inside Earth surprises laymen and scientists alike: Almost 3000 kilometers below Earth's surface, solid rock is flowing that is neither liquid, like lava, nor brittle, like solid rock.

Heat waves and cold spells are part of life on the Great Lakes. But new research from the University of Michigan shows that is true today in a fundamentally different way than it was even 30 years ago.