Geology
Scientists Discover Ghost of Ancient Mega-Plate That Disappeared 20 Million Years Ago
A long-lost tectonic plate dubbed “Pontus” that was a quarter of the size of the Pacific Ocean was discovered by chance by scientists in Borneo
Geology34 articles archived since 1845
Geology
Dead Trees and a Mysterious Cosmic Explosion Reveal Bigger Quake Risk for Seattle
Washington State’s Puget Sound could face previously unknown earthquake risks, according to a new study that has pinned down the date of an ancient earthquake using tree rings and the radiation left by a mysterious cosmic force...
Geology
Pink Diamonds Erupted to Earth’s Surface after Early Supercontinent’s Breakup
Western Australia’s Argyle Mine is famous for its rare pink diamonds, and scientists now think they know how these formed: a tectonic collision followed by the breakup of a supercontinent...
Geology
Fountains of Diamonds Erupt as Supercontinents Break Up
Researchers have discovered a pattern where diamonds spew from deep beneath Earth’s surface in huge, explosive volcanic eruptions
Geology
Subtle Movements That Precede Earthquakes Raise Questions about Predicting Disaster
Researchers have found a subtle signal that occurs two hours before major quakes, hinting that earthquake prediction is inching closer to possibility
Geology
Can Scientists Forecast Volcanic Eruptions?
Satellites and other technologies are spurring a new revolution in volcanic activity monitoring
Geology
Giant ‘Gravity Hole’ in the Ocean May Be the Ghost of an Ancient Sea
A vast expanse of the Indian Ocean is a staggering 100 meters lower than the global average sea level because of a major dip in Earth’s gravity. Scientists now think they know the cause...
Geology
The Most Intense Lightning Storm Ever Recorded Was Sparked by the Hunga Tonga Eruption
The January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcano generated a thunderstorm with more than 192,000 lightning flashes, including 2,600 flashes per minute at its peak...
Geology
New York City Is Sinking under Its Own Weight
The weight of New York City’s 1.1 million buildings is making the city slowly sink
Geology
Yellowstone Supervolcano Eruptions Were Even More Explosive Than We Knew
The last caldera-forming eruption at Yellowstone “was much more complex than previously thought,” according to the annual report about activity at the supervolcano
Geology
Strange Tremors Rattle Danish Island—But It Wasn't an Earthquake
Dozens of people reported tremors on the island of Bornholm, but seismologists say there was no earthquake
Geology
Earth’s Inner Core May Have an Inner Core
Echoes from earthquakes suggest that Earth’s solid inner core has its own core
Geology
Why Earth’s Inner Core May Be Slowing Down
The planet’s solid inner core might rotate at a different rate than the rest of the planet, and that rate might be changing
Geology
How Water Made Fire in an Indonesian Volcano
Heavy rains may have set off an outpouring of ash and gases from Indonesia’s volcano Semeru “like uncorking a soda bottle”
Geology
Why Mauna Loa and Other Hawaiian Volcanoes Are Different from Most
The magma that is fueling the first eruption of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano in nearly 40 years is less likely to cause explosive effusions than magma at other volcanoes
Geology
Mauna Loa, Earth’s Largest Active Volcano, Just Woke Up after 38 Years
Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on Earth, erupted for the first time in nearly 40 years. Its eruptions tend to be shorter-lived than those of the other Big Island volcanoes, and its lava is more liquid and flows faster...
Geology
Hidden ‘Paleo Valleys’ Could Help California Survive Droughts
“Paleo valleys,” carved by ice age rivers and now underground, could provide spaces to recharge California’s depleted groundwater
Geology
The Milky Way’s Spiral Arms May Have Carved Earth’s Continents
A controversial new theory suggests the Milky Way galaxy’s arms sent comets hurtling toward early Earth, where impacts built new continental crust
Planetary Science
Extra Hard Space Diamonds May Have Formed in an Ancient Cosmic Collision
A new formation method for rare “lonsdaleite” diamonds may illuminate a better way to produce them on Earth
Geology
Ultra Rare Diamond Suggests Earth’s Mantle Has an Ocean’s Worth of Water
A diamond contains the only known sample of a mineral from Earth’s mantle—and hints at oceans’ worth of water hidden deep within our planet
