Phys.org: Earth science

Mountain permafrost is warming and thawing worldwide due to climate change, with ground temperature being a key control of its mechanical stability. Heat conduction is the dominant mode of heat transfer in frozen ground, and thermal diffusivity governs the rate at which temperature changes propagate through the subsurface. Despite its relevance, there are few field-based estimates of thermal diffusivity.

An international assessment report has been released to provide definitive statements on the atmospheric impacts from a huge volcanic eruption in 2022.

An international research expedition involving Cornell has uncovered new details as to why a 2011 earthquake northeast of Japan behaved so unusually as it lifted the seafloor and produced a tsunami that devastated coastal communities along with the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

New findings about ocean processes in the Antarctic show melting ice shelves and changes to sea ice could have catastrophic implications for the global climate.

Wildfires on Alaska's North Slope were more active this past century than at any time in the past 3,000 years, according to a study published in the journal Biogeosciences.

British policymakers planning for climate change now have detailed worst-case scenarios at their disposal, filling a gap that left the UK unprepared for extreme outcomes.

Just when we thought we had described all the possible marine environmental recipients of plastic pollution, new research comes in to overturn the picture.

Stanford researchers have uncovered evidence that deep underwater earthquakes can spur the growth of massive phytoplankton blooms at the ocean surface.

Wildfires can benefit forests by clearing old debris, leaving behind fertilizer, and more. For over a century, the United States has poured billions of dollars into fire suppression tactics to keep people, homes and critical environments safe, but suppression can deprive landscapes of necessary burns and increase potential fuel for large fires in the future.

Groundwater is a critical resource in Southern California, where long-term drought and climate change place increasing pressure on local aquifers. Some regions, like the Hollywood Basin (a small region in and around the West Hollywood neighborhood), are increasing their reliance on these aquifers in order to reduce the amount of water imported from elsewhere. A new Caltech-led study provides the most detailed picture to date of how the Hollywood Basin responds to groundwater usage, revealing that current estimates of sustainable groundwater yield may be too high.

A July 2025 report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) claims that U.S. tide gauge measurements "in aggregate show no obvious acceleration in sea level rise beyond the historical average rate." However, a new study by Chris Piecuch, a physical oceanographer with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), reaches a dramatically different conclusion.

Rising global emissions of hydrogen over the past three decades have added to the planet's warming temperatures and amplified the impact of methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, according to new research published in Nature.

New research reveals how ocean warming triggered the large-scale retreat of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS)—offering vital clues for understanding its modern-day vulnerability.

New research from Northern Arizona University shows detailed CO2 emissions for the United States from 2010 to 2022.

Dams in the United States may be in worse condition than previously understood. More than 16,700 dams across the country are classified as high hazard potential as of 2024, according to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials.

The Arctic landscape is changing at an unprecedented rate. In addition to rising temperatures, climate change is causing episodes of extreme melting, which occurs when ice losses that previously took weeks or months occur over just a few days.

Many so-called low-carbon projects promoted by major oil and gas companies—including hydrogen, biofuels, carbon capture and storage, and carbon offsetting—operate as false solutions that not only fail to effectively reduce emissions, but also prolong the lifespan of fossil fuel infrastructures, entrench environmental injustices, and reinforce the political and economic power of the very industry responsible for the climate crisis.

The oceanic conditions that churn up the very strongest of hurricanes and typhoons are heating up in the North Atlantic and Western Pacific, fueled by warm water that extends well below the surface. Human-caused climate change may be responsible for up to 70% of the growth of storm-brewing hotspots there, according to new research.

Salt marshes, those critical habitats that protect coastal towns from flooding, store massive amounts of blue carbon, support fisheries and play a key role in ecological resilience, are struggling to survive as oceans rise due to climate change.

Across the western U.S., wildfires and the dangerous smoke that results have increased in frequency and intensity since the 1990s—that much is clear. Surprisingly less clear are the exact reasons why: While greenhouse gas-related global warming is often cited as a culprit, to what extent can this claim be quantified?