Phys.org: Earth science

Billions upon billions of soot particles enter Earth's atmosphere each second, totaling about 5.8 million metric tons a year—posing a climate-warming impact previously estimated at almost one-third that of carbon dioxide.

Terrestrial ecosystems, vital for absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide to mitigate climate change, rely on Earth system models (ESMs) for estimating carbon uptake—a cornerstone of climate policy, carbon budgeting and land management strategies. Yet new research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) reveals critical flaws in how these models represent a key metric of carbon absorption, raising concerns about the reliability of long-term climate projections.

University of Toledo environmental researchers trooped through the woods and wetlands of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge for a week in early June. Their mission? To outfit an approximately 16-acre site with nearly 300 sensors that will constantly monitor a slew of metrics related to the soil, water and plants, including the flow of sap through trees.

For the last century, Émile Argand's theory on the formation and geological support system of the massive Himalayan mountain range has remained the predominant explanation widely accepted among geologists. This theory states that the ongoing collision of the Indian and Asian continental plates forced the crusts of the two plates to double in thickness and that this ultra-thick crust alone holds up the region's mountains, which were formed from these colliding structures.

For the first time, a study maps safe areas that can practically be used for underground carbon storage, and estimates that using them all would only cut warming by 0.7°C. The result is almost ten times lower than previous estimates of around 6°C, which considered the total global potential for geological storage, including in risky zones, where storing carbon could trigger earthquakes and contaminate drinking water supplies. The researchers say the study shows that geological storage is a scarce, finite resource, and warn that countries must use it in a highly targeted way.

A study from researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reveals that desert soils can emit powerful greenhouse gases within minutes of being wetted—even in the absence of microbial life.

A new study led by Professor Jonghun Kam's team at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) has uncovered a shocking forecast for Pakistan's future. Using a cutting-edge AI model, the research predicts that the country will face unprecedented "super floods" and "extreme droughts" on a periodic basis.

The world's methane emissions continue to rise steadily with no signs of slowing, as global trade contributes some 30% to the total amount of the greenhouse gas swirling around the planet, a new study reveals.

Rare rocks buried deep beneath central Australia have revealed the origins of one of the world's most promising new deposits of niobium—a metal vital for producing high-strength steel and clean energy technologies—and how it formed during the breakup of an ancient supercontinent.

A research team led by Prof. Chen Cheng from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has retrieved global aerosol and surface properties using advanced polarization data from China's GF-5(02) satellite.

Nearly 40 years after breaking off Antarctica, a colossal iceberg ranked among the oldest and largest ever recorded is finally crumbling apart in warmer waters, and could disappear within weeks.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is responsible for approximately 74.5% of the reduction in rainfall and 16.5% of the temperature increase in the biome during the dry season. For the first time, researchers have quantified the impact of vegetation loss and global climate change on the forest.

The Amazon is the world's largest tropical forest, home to unmatched biodiversity and one of the planet's longest rivers. Besides the Amazon River, the Amazon rainforest also features "flying rivers:" invisible streams of vapor that travel through the atmosphere, fueling rainfall both within the forest and far beyond its boundaries.

U.S. cities are facing a growing threat that goes beyond hot weather or hazy air. New research from the University of Oklahoma reveals that "compound events"—periods when heat wave conditions coincide with high air pollution levels—are becoming more frequent and intense in urban areas across the United States.

Along the coast, waves break with a familiar sound. The gentle swash of the surf on the seashore can lull us to sleep, while the pounding of storm surge warns us to seek shelter.

Measurements analyzed by an international research team led by ETH Zurich show that the global ocean absorbed significantly less CO₂ than anticipated during the unprecedented marine heat wave in 2023.

Air pollution from secondary organic aerosols (SOA) has now become a greater problem in Chinese cities since 2013 because regulations have successfully reduced fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emitted directly from, for example, vehicles and industries, according to a study led by Prof. Huang Rujin at the Institute of Earth Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Prof. Marianne Glasius at Aarhus University.

The death toll following the recent earthquake in Afghanistan continues to rise. Taliban-led health authorities now say at least 800 people have been killed and 2,000 injured.

Too little snowfall is now also shaking the foundations of some of the world's most resilient "water towers," a new study led by the Pellicciotti group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) shows. After establishing a monitoring network on a new benchmark glacier in central Tajikistan, the international team of researchers was able to model the entire catchment's behavior from 1999 to 2023.

The natural phenomenon of upwelling, which occurs annually in the Gulf of Panama, failed for the first time on record in 2025. A study led by scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) indicates that the weakening of the trade winds was the cause of this event. This finding highlights the climate's impact on fundamental oceanic processes and the coastal communities that depend on them.