Phys.org: Earth science

For the first time, researchers have produced a detailed, high-resolution map of peatlands in the EU, showing that these areas emit twice as much greenhouse gases than previously thought. The research, led by eco-hydrologist Quint van Giersbergen of Radboud University, has been published in Nature Communications.

Atmospheric dust plays an important role in the way Earth absorbs and reflects sunlight, impacting the global climate, cloud formation, and precipitation. Much of this dust comes from the continuous reshaping of Earth's surface through the erosion of rocks and sediments, and understanding how this process has shaped landscapes can help us decipher our planet's history—and its future.

New England's a complicated place, especially when it comes to flooding.

A new study highlights how Indigenous leadership, science and business can unite to protect coastal ecosystems while building long-term environmental and cultural knowledge.

A recent study published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters is the first to directly link earthquakes to climate change-induced glacial melt. Scientists analyzed 15 years of seismic activity in the Grandes Jorasses—a peak that is part of the Mont Blanc massif between Italy and France—to better understand this association. This massif is one of the more seismologically active areas in the region, and examining how climate change may affect earthquakes there could prove useful in preparing for them.

New research shows how the combination of extreme climate events, sea-level rise and land subsidence could create larger and deeper floods in coastal cities in future.

A new study shows that during drought, it's not how hot or how dry it is that determines gas emissions from plants—but how quickly conditions change. This discovery reshapes our understanding of the relationship between drought, vegetation, and air pollution.

The Fertile Crescent, a boomerang-shaped region spanning modern-day Middle Eastern countries, is considered the cradle of civilization and where farming first emerged. But little is known about how climate change influenced early societies in this part of the world. Now, new research into ancient climate history is shedding light on how farming and civilization began. And the insights are coming from an analysis of a stalagmite in a cave in Kurdistan.

Researchers at University of Tsukuba and the Meteorological Research Institute have identified how atmosphere–ocean interactions in the midlatitudes reinforce the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM). During strong monsoon seasons, cold air outbreaks from the Eurasian continent cool the midlatitude western North Pacific (WNP). This oceanic cooling, in turn, alters atmospheric circulation in a manner that further intensifies the monsoon.

University of Alberta geochemists have discovered a missing piece to one of the great mysteries of science—the origin of life on Earth.

A new review has revealed that the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), the Southern Hemisphere's most influential climate driver, is now in its most positive state in more than 1,000 years. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, this positive state is projected to persist throughout the 21st century, with long-term implications for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.

Two new publications remap the understanding of reverse weathering in the scientific community. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab's Senior Marine Scientist, Dr. Jeffrey Krause, played a key role in both projects, which include several collaborating institutions.

Since 2020, the Barry Landslide in Alaska's Prince William Sound has been outfitted with instruments monitoring seismic signals from the area, as researchers hope to catch a destructive, tsunami-generating landslide before it starts.

When hurricanes or strong storms sweep up the United States' East Coast and meet the shores of the country's largest estuary, Chesapeake Bay, the familiar pattern of storm activity gets a little more complicated. A new study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, shows that water levels inside the bay can spike far more dramatically than along the open ocean, raising flood risks for coastal and inland communities.

Major storms are spreading industrial contaminants across entire neighborhoods, raising concerns about future well-being, especially in communities of color, according to new research from Rice University and the University of Alberta.

A new algorithmic framework that can predict flooding could help save lives and reduce the devastation as climate change drives more intense and unpredictable rainfall.

More than 900 people are dead, thousands more missing and millions affected by a band of cyclones and extreme monsoonal weather across southern Asia. Torrential rain has triggered the worst flooding in decades, accompanied by landslides. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia have been hit hardest. The death toll is likely to rise significantly.

A new study published in Scientific Reports reports the discovery of a remarkably extensive hydrothermal vent field on the shelf of Milos Island, Greece. The vents were identified during the METEOR expedition M192, where the research team used a combination of different methods, including underwater technologies such as autonomous and remotely operated vehicles, to survey the seafloor.

In a step toward better understanding how the ocean sequesters carbon, new findings from UC Santa Barbara researchers and collaborators challenge the current view of how carbon dioxide is "fixed" in the sunless ocean depths. UCSB microbial oceanographer Alyson Santoro and colleagues, publishing in the journal Nature Geoscience, present results that help to reconcile discrepancies in accounting for nitrogen supply and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) fixation at depth.

A new Tulane University study published in Science Advances sheds light on how floods influence the way rivers move, offering fresh insight into how changing flood patterns may reshape waterways and the communities that depend on them.