Phys.org: Earth science

Rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are known to raise temperatures in Earth's atmosphere. But slow feedback processes, including heat storage in the ocean and changes in the carbon cycle, mean that sometimes, such temperature changes don't manifest right away; it can take decades, or even millennia, for Earth to reach equilibrium.

A pioneering study led by researchers from the Interdisciplinary Center of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR) and the Marine and Environmental Sciences Center (MARE) identifies seaweed forests on the northern coast of Portugal as strategic allies in carbon capture and storage.

Warm water flowing into fjords and beneath ice shelves will continue to be a prime cause of glacial melting as global temperatures rise. This melting will, in turn, contribute to sea level rise and increasing inundation of coastal areas.

Rising temperatures of the world's oceans threaten to accelerate the melting and splintering of glaciers—thereby potentially increasing the number of icebergs and, with it, the need to better understand more about their movement and impact. Through a series of experiments, a team of scientists has pinpointed some of the factors that cause icebergs to capsize, offering insights into how climate change may affect Earth's waters.

Dinosaurs had such an immense impact on Earth that their sudden extinction led to wide-scale changes in landscapes—including the shape of rivers—and these changes are reflected in the geologic record, according to a University of Michigan study.

A massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami off Russia in late July tested an experimental detection system that had deployed a critical component just the day before.

On July 28, 170 researchers sent a letter to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Congress after NSF's 2026 budget request included plans to end its lease of a U.S. research vessel in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica.

Climate change is driving more frequent and more intense wildfires around the world, including in the United States. These huge blazes cause a range of problems that affect health, the environment, property and the economy. However, a new study reveals a surprising paradox: the heat from wildfires in the western U.S. may actually improve air quality in the eastern part of the country.

The 19th-century American naturalist Henry David Thoreau described the small freshwater lake at Walden as "Earth's eye"—a measure of the complexity of ecological interactions.

An "enormous" submerged mountain that rivals peaks in the Rockies has been mapped for the first time in a previously unexplored area of the western Pacific, according to NOAA Ocean Exploration.