Phys.org: Earth science

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.

The rise in global mean sea level (GMSL) is a critical indicator of climate change. Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) researchers have utilized advanced space geodetic technologies to deliver the first precise 30-year (1993–2022) record of global ocean mass change (also known as barystatic sea level), revealing its dominant role in driving GMSL rise.

Natural hydrogen from deep underground could be an important building block for the sustainable energy system of the future, but it is currently still difficult to predict where and at what depth elevated concentrations are located. New study results from the Department of Geology at the University of Vienna could make such predictions easier in the future. So-called "fairy circles"—round patches with vegetation damage—could be helpful indicators. This is because these "fairy circles" subside due to the seepage of natural hydrogen.

One of the worst earthquakes in European history ripped through Portugal in 1755, causing a tsunami, fires and shaking that killed tens of thousands of people and caused widespread destruction. Another less well-documented earthquake occurred in the same region in 1356, and a more recent 7.9 magnitude earthquake occurred in 1969. The most recent event was recorded by seismic instruments and has been found to have originated from the flat Horseshoe Abyssal Plain, which is not near any known major tectonic faults.

In recent years, Pacific island nations have earned global credibility as champions of climate action. Pacific leaders view sea level rise as an existential threat.

A team of researchers from Monash University has made a discovery that could reshape our understanding of greenhouse gas emissions from coastal ecosystems. Published in Nature Geoscience, the study reveals sandy coastlines, which make up half the world's continental margins, are a previously overlooked source of methane.

Global climate change is making temperatures hotter, particularly in densely populated cities, which can adversely affect the health of residents. While mitigation efforts are urgent, it is hard for urban planners to identify exactly where to target as accurate, long-term climate records created over fine spatial scales have been unavailable.

The Operational Land Imager on Landsat 9 captured this image of Buccaneer Archipelago on June 11, 2025.