Phys.org: Earth science

Ocean currents are not just horizontal motions that flow from side to side. There are also vertical currents that act like deep-sea elevators, pushing heat and carbon down into the deep, while bringing up vital nutrients and dissolved gases to the surface.

Our novel artificial intelligence model can predict extreme storm surges with high accuracy, including under future climate conditions. Because the AI model runs much faster, it can help researchers and practitioners better assess coastal flood risk for adaptation planning.

The space industry is surging. In coming years, nearly 10,000 spacecraft are slated to launch into low-Earth orbit for a variety of purposes, such as global surveillance, space tourism, and satellite "megaconstellations" providing internet service.

A collaboration of scientists from NASA and Brazilian research institutions has produced a detailed picture of groundwater change across Brazil. The images reveal significant declines in some of the aquifers that are critical to one of the world's largest agricultural producers.

The last deglaciation (between 11,000 and 20,000 years ago) was a period of dramatic natural warming on Earth. During this time, North America experienced the most extensive ice-sheet melting on the planet, which profoundly reshaped its climate and water cycle. But when scientists look at oxygen isotopes in stalagmites—a key tool for reconstructing past climate—the signals from North America have been hard to interpret. A new study now provides a physical explanation for those puzzling patterns.

A new El Niño index that provides a more climate-robust measure of the strength of El Niño signals has been released by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). With the World Meteorological Organization's recent update indicating an 80% likelihood of an El Niño event during June–August 2026 and a 90% probability of this continuing until at least November, it is more important than ever to have accurate, reliable data.

Research led by the University of Alabama found that widespread wildfires during one of Earth's ancient environmental crises did not trigger an ocean collapse but were a consequence of it.

Earthquakes usually occur along fracture zones in Earth's crust, where large tectonic plates slide past one another and become locked. Stress builds up over long periods and is suddenly released in the form of an earthquake. In Southern California, the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults are among the most significant of these zones, accommodating most of the plate motion in the region.

A new study combining NASA satellite observations, ocean surveys and genetic testing of marine microorganisms found evidence that warming ocean waters may be limiting nutrient availability across much of the global ocean. The researchers report that this nutrient stress affects microscopic marine organisms and could influence marine ecosystems over time.

A new study published in Precambrian Research by Jawad Shabbir, a Ph.D. student at Peking University's School of Earth and Space Sciences under Professor Song Shuguang, addresses a critical yet poorly understood period in Earth history. The Archean–Proterozoic transition witnessed global tectonic evolution, cratonization, glaciation, banded iron formations and the Great Oxygenation Event—events linked to supercontinent formation. Focusing on the Yinshan Block within the North China Craton (NCC), the research challenges previous ambiguities by revealing two complete orogenic cycles driven by tectonic processes similar to those on modern Earth.

Scientists have shed light on a thermal process in magma that may help explain why similar volcanic systems can produce very different eruptive behaviors.

A part of the Atlantic Ocean, just south of Greenland and Iceland, has been cooling off while the rest of the world gets hotter. This enigmatic patch is often referred to as the "cold blob" and scientists have been trying to figure out the mechanisms behind its cooling. While some studies have blamed increased heat loss at the sea surface, others suggest weaker currents are bringing less heat to the area. Now, a new study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, provides additional support for the latter—now using reanalysis data based on direct weather observations instead of just modeling.

Thousands of small earthquakes, detected for the first time by a machine-learning process, reveal the distinct, razor-sharp edge of the Yakutat microplate as it subducts beneath the North American plate.

The plumbing systems of volcanoes are vast and complex. But they aren't consistent, even in the same volcano. A Cornell-led collaboration found very different mechanisms behind two historic eruptions of Mount Etna in Italy. Understanding these dynamics—combined with the techniques that revealed them—can help geologists assess the risk of future eruptions.

Large volcanic eruptions may have played a bigger role in triggering historical famines across China than previously understood, according to a new study that traced links between eruptions, climate disruption, and food shortages over more than four centuries.

The ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system has been rapidly expanding since its launch in 2021. Now, researchers at University of Washington affiliated Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) have finished all planned installations, bringing the two-state total to 569 seismic monitoring stations spread across Washington and Oregon.

Freshwater from melting Antarctic glaciers may be influencing the Southern Ocean in ways scientists have largely overlooked. New research, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, has found that glacial meltwater is not confined to the ocean's surface, as previously assumed, but can also be detected much deeper in coastal waters along the Western Antarctic Peninsula.

Storm Dave, which swept across northern Europe over the Easter weekend, is an example of what new research from the University of Gothenburg has revealed. Spring storms forming over the North Atlantic have become more common than they were 80 years ago, and this is due to climate change.

A new study led by Professor Mark Trimmer of Queen Mary University of London, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, explains how increases in natural methane emissions will be maximized under future climate warming.

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) have, for the first time, been able to record a debris flow over a distance of two kilometers at the Illgraben (VS). The study reveals where and how waves form within the flow and what happens when they pass over check dams.