A researcher lowers a fiber-optic cable 1,500 meters into the borehole in or-der to record signals from inside the ice stream continuously for 14 hours. Credit: ETH Zurich The great ice streams of the Antarctic and Greenland are like frozen rivers, carrying ice from the massive inland ice sheets to …
GIL 
Ancient climate reconstruction sheds light on future ocean dynamics
The Pliocene Bouse Formation in western Arizona contains the depositional records of former bodies of water. Reconstructing climate data from the Pliocene epoch could help scientists understand more about both past and future climate change. Credit: Jessica Tierney The Pliocene epoch, which lasted from 5.3 million to 2.6 million years …
How does the atmosphere affect ocean weather?
Swirling eddies: A new Rochester study of satellite imagery and high-resolution climate model data upends previous assumptions about how those surface winds and ocean weather patterns interact. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio photo New research reveals the surprising ways atmospheric winds influence ocean eddies, shaping the ocean’s …
First major chunk breaks off world’s biggest iceberg
The world’s largest iceberg has stayed largely intact as it has drifted through the ocean but scientists say a piece 19 kilometres (12 miles) long has now cleaved off. An enormous chunk has broken off the world’s largest iceberg, in a possible first sign the behemoth from Antarctica could be …
Groundwater in the Arctic is delivering more carbon into the ocean than was previously known
An aerial image of the study site in Kaktovik Lagoon of northern Alaska. Credit: Nathan Sonderman A relatively small amount of groundwater trickling through Alaska’s tundra is releasing huge quantities of carbon into the ocean, where it can contribute to climate change, according to new research out of The University …
Study highlights the role of mangrove systems in global biogeochemical cycles
Map of the study area showing sampling sites. Credit: Communications Earth & Environment (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01989-1 Mangrove forests along the Amazon coast release significant amounts of trace elements such as neodymium and hafnium. These elements and their isotopic compositions can serve to understand the inputs of micronutrients which are vital …
Hawai’i’s two most active volcanoes share a magma source, research reveals
“Two chambers” artwork by Aaron Pietruszka, depicts a connection between magma sources for Hawaiian volcanoes. Credit: Aaron Pietruszka Using a nearly 200-year record of lava chemistry from Kīlauea and Maunaloa, Earth scientists from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and colleagues revealed that Hawai’i’s two most active volcanoes share a …
Krill vertical migration may have smaller impact on carbon export than previously thought
The seafloor lander—or KOMBI (Krill Observational Mooring for Benthic Investigations)—developed at the Australian Antarctic Division, carries a range of instruments for observing krill and measuring water properties. The octopus was safely returned to the water after this instrument was retrieved. Credit: Neil Brown Antarctic krill swimming between the Southern Ocean’s …
‘White wall’ of ice drifts toward remote penguin haven
The A23a iceberg calved from the Antarctic ice shelf in 1986, but only started moving north away from the frozen continent more than 30 years later. The world’s largest iceberg—a behemoth more than twice the size of London—is drifting toward a remote island where scientists say it could run aground …
Aftershock analysis challenges world’s deepest earthquake claim
Overview of the study region. Credit: The Seismic Record (2025). DOI: 10.1785/0320240035 The magnitude 7.9 Bonin Islands earthquake sequence in May 2015, which ruptured deep within the earth near the base of the upper mantle, did not include an aftershock that extended to record depths into the lower mantle, according …
Melting temperature and phase stability of iron under core-like conditions shed light on Earth’s geodynamics
A laser-driven shock event in iron at the High Power Laser Facility (HPLF), where X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was used to determine the melting temperature and microscopic structure of iron at pressures relevant to Earth science. Credit: Jean-Alexis Hernandez, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Iron is one of the main elements …
Groundwater threatened by droughts and heavy rainfalls, long-term analyses find
Desiccation cracks in soil. Credit: R. Lehmann, Universität Jena Extreme climate events endanger groundwater quality and stability when rain water evades natural purification processes in the soil. This was demonstrated in long-term groundwater analyses using new analytical methods, as described in a recent study in Nature Communications. As billions of …
Study reveals native plants’ role in managing road salt pollution
Megan Rippy collects soil samples at a stormwater detention basin along Interstate 95 in Northern Virginia. Credit: Stanley Grant. Salt pollution in freshwater is a growing global concern. Excessive salt harms plants, degrades soil, and compromises water quality. In urban areas, road salts used for de-icing during winter often wash …
Study examines how climate change has shaped coastal forests over the last decade
Map of change between sampling intervals in forest area for low and mid elevation (crossed) counties derived from the FIA. Credit: PLOS Climate (2025). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000444 A new study finds that climate change may have a range of contrasting effects on coastal forests, both slowing and enabling growth in areas …
Destroyed Nord Stream pipelines spread methane across southern Baltic Sea, research reveals
Map over the maximum concentration of methane in the southern Baltic. Credit: Martin Mohrmann/VOTO Methane from the destroyed Nord Stream pipelines spread over a large part of the southern Baltic Sea and remained for several months. This is according to a study by researchers from the University of Gothenburg and …
Modeling the long and short of subduction zones
(a) The coseismic surface displacement, ux, along a profile perpendicular to the trench for cases with different rupture length scales L∼. (b) The coseismic slip U in the shear zone versus the depth z for the same cases. (c) Coseismic displacement near the trench in representative events with different values …
Lack of air conditioning elevates emergency visits amid wildfire smoke
Credit: Environmental Research: Health (2024). DOI: 10.1088/2752-5309/ad976d People who have limited access to air conditioning may be at higher risk of seeking emergency care for health problems following exposure to wildfire smoke, according to a new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH). Posted online ahead of …
Estimating the impact of the EPA’s changing power plant greenhouse gas standards
Credit: Frans van Heerden from Pexels A large team of renewable energy researchers, natural resource analysts and energy specialists affiliated with a large number of institutions across the U.S. has attempted to assess the impact of the latest and final standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as …
Warm seawater encroaches on major Antarctic ice shelf, raising sea level concerns
Overview map of the Filchner Trough region in the eastern part of the southern continental shelf in the Weddell Sea. Credit: Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2023JC020700 The vast Antarctic Ice Sheet holds more than half of Earth’s freshwater. In several places around the continent, the ice extends …
Risk perception and hurricane preparedness in Florida
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain When I first delved into the study on hurricane preparedness among communities in Florida, I was struck by a paradox. Here we have a group of individuals living in one of the most hurricane-prone regions of the United States, yet their preparedness often leaves much to …
