7,733 results
- Earth
An ancient earthquake changed the course of the Ganges River
Flooding from a similar earthquake today could threaten about 170 million people in India and Bangladesh who live in low-lying regions nearby.
- Climate
Canada’s Crawford Lake could mark the beginning of the Anthropocene
The mud of a Canadian lake holds an extremely precise record of humans’ influence on Earth. But the Anthropocene isn’t an official geologic epoch yet.
- Earth
Freshwater first appeared on Earth 4 billion years ago, ancient crystals hint
Oxygen ratios in ancient zircon crystals suggest that the planet’s water cycle got started hundreds of millions of years earlier than thought.
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- Planetary Science
Pluto’s heart-shaped basin might not hide an ocean after all
Planetary scientists propose an alternative theory to explain why Sputnik Planitia has stayed put across Pluto’s equator.
- Earth
In 2018, Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted like a stomp rocket
The stomp rocket–like mechanism is a newly observed type of eruption.
- Archaeology
A new study challenges the idea that Rapa Nui islanders caused an ‘ecocide’
Rapa Niu islanders farmed and fished enough to feed only a few thousand people, too few to decimate society before Europeans arrived, researchers contend.
- Earth
A hidden danger lurks beneath Yellowstone
A volcanic eruption at Yellowstone is unlikely anytime soon, but evidence is growing that a violent hydrothermal, or steam, explosion is possible.
- Earth
Geoscientists found the most dangerous part of a famous West Coast fault
Seismic data reveal that the Cascadia megathrust consists of at least four segments, the most dangerous of which may lurk offshore of Washington.
- Earth
50 years ago, mysterious glass hinted at Earth’s violent past
Like Hansel and Gretel followed a trail of breadcrumbs, scientists have followed tektites to the sites of major meteorite impacts.
- Paleontology
A rare 3-D tree fossil may be the earliest glimpse at a forest understory
The 350-million-year-old tree, which was wider than it was tall thanks to a mop-top crown of 3-meter-long leaves, would look at home in a Dr. Seuss book.
- Planetary Science
Giant polygon rock patterns may be buried deep below Mars’ surface
A Chinese rover used radar to reveal long-buried terrain that might hint that Mars’ equator was once much colder and wetter.
