Geology News

June 11, 2025

Top Headlines

The Global Rule That Predicts Where Life Thrives—and Where It Fails

June 10, 2025 — What if all life on Earth followed a surprisingly simple pattern? New research shows that in every region, species tend to cluster in small hotspots and then gradually thin out. This universal rule applies across drastically different organisms and ...

Earth's Core Mystery Solved: How Solid Rock Flows 3,000 Kilometers Beneath Us

June 8, 2025 — Beneath Earth s surface, nearly 3,000 kilometers down, lies a mysterious layer where seismic waves speed up inexplicably. For decades, scientists puzzled over this D' layer. Now, groundbreaking ...

First Direct Observation of the Trapped Waves That Shook the World in 2023

June 3, 2025 — A new study has finally confirmed the theory that the cause of extraordinary global tremors in September -- October 2023 was indeed two mega tsunamis in Greenland that became trapped standing waves. Using a brand-new type of satellite altimetry, the ...

Thousands of Sensors Reveal 3D Structure of Earthquake-Triggered Sound Waves

May 29, 2025 — Earthquakes create ripple effects in Earth's upper atmosphere that can disrupt satellite communications and navigation systems we rely on. Scientists have now used Japan's extensive network of Global ...

Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History

May 29, 2025 — A new study reveals that the aerobic nitrogen cycle in the ocean may have occurred about 100 million years before oxygen began to significantly accumulate in the atmosphere, based on nitrogen isotope analysis from ancient South African rock cores. ...

Tapping Into the World's Largest Gold Reserves

May 22, 2025 — Earth's largest gold reserves are not kept inside Fort Knox, the United States Bullion Depository. In fact, they are hidden much deeper in the ground than one would expect. More than 99.999% of Earth's stores of gold and other precious metals lie ...

Scientists Define the Ingredients for Finding Natural Clean Hydrogen

May 13, 2025 — Researchers have detailed the geological ingredients required to find clean sources of natural hydrogen beneath our feet. The work details the requirements for natural hydrogen, produced by the Earth itself over geological time, to accumulate in the ...

Sharp Depletion in Soil Moisture Drives Land Water to Flow Into Oceans, Contributing to Sea Level Rise

May 14, 2025 — The increasing frequency of once-in-a-decade agricultural and ecological drought has underscored the urgency of studying hydrological changes. A research team has analyzed the estimated changes in ...

Tiny Gas Bubbles Reveal Secrets of Hawaiian Volcanoes

May 14, 2025 — Using advanced technology that analyzes tiny gas bubbles trapped in crystal, a team of scientists has precisely mapped how magma storage evolves as Hawaiian volcanoes ...

The Ripple Effect of Small Earthquakes Near Major Faults

May 14, 2025 — When we think of earthquakes, we imagine sudden, violent shaking. But deep beneath the Earth's surface, some faults move in near silence. These slow, shuffling slips and their accompanying hum -- called tremors -- don't shake buildings or make ...

Slickrock: Geologists Explore Why Utah's Wasatch Fault Is Vulnerable to Earthquakes

May 6, 2025 — Using rock samples collected from the Wasatch Fault, geoscientists combined experiments and analysis with examinations of fault rock textures. The team's research revealed significant clues about the ...

Western US Spring Runoff Is Older Than You Think

May 5, 2025 — Hydrologists show most streamflow out of the West's mountains is old snowmelt on a multi-year underground journey. New study finds that spring runoff is on average 5 years ...

Latest Headlines

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Flood Risk Increasing in Pacific Northwest

Apr. 28, 2025 — A powerful earthquake, combined with rising sea levels, could significantly increase flood risks in the Pacific Northwest, impacting thousands of residents and properties in northern California, ...

Scientists Discover Key to Taming Unrest at Italy's Campi Flegrei

May 2, 2025 — New research shows that elevation changes and earthquakes in Italy's Campi Flegrei volcanic area are caused by rising pressure in a geothermal reservoir -- not magma or its gases, as commonly ...

Eruption Loading: New Approaches to Earthquake Monitoring at Ontake Volcano, Japan

May 1, 2025 — A new study has investigated the use of a new monitoring technique for early warning of a volcanic eruption. The research team compared the ...

Rare Earth Element Extraction Bolstered by New Research

Apr. 30, 2025 — A more efficient and environmentally friendly approach to extracting rare earth elements that power everything from electric vehicle batteries to smartphones could increase domestic supply and ...

Lava Flow Jigsaw Puzzle Reveals the Secrets of Shifting Continents

May 1, 2025 — Analysing lava flows that solidified and then broke apart over a massive crack in the Earth's crust in Turkey has brought new insights into how continents move over time, improving our understanding ...

One of Earth's Ancient Volcanic Mysteries Solved

Apr. 30, 2025 — A new study traces a 120-million-year-old 'super-eruption' to its source, offering new insights into Earth's complex geological ...

Anatomy of a 'Zombie' Volcano: Investigating the Cause of Unrest Inside Uturuncu

Apr. 28, 2025 — Scientists have collaborated to analyze the inner workings of Bolivia's 'zombie' volcano, Uturuncu. By combining seismology, physics models and ...

Noto Quake 3D Model Adds Dimension to Understand Earthquake Dynamics

Apr. 28, 2025 — On Jan. 1, 2024, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in Japan, resulting in extensive damage in the region caused by uplift, when the land rises due to shifting tectonic plates. The ...

Geoengineering Technique Could Cool Planet Using Existing Aircraft

Apr. 28, 2025 — A technique to cool the planet, in which particles are added to the atmosphere to reflect sunlight, would not require developing special aircraft but could be achieved using existing large planes, ...

Billion-Year-Old Impact in Scotland Sparks Questions About Life on Land

Apr. 28, 2025 — New research has revealed that a massive meteorite struck northwestern Scotland about 200 million years later than previously thought, in a discovery that not only rewrites Scotland's geological ...

Melting Glaciers at the End of the Ice Age May Have Sped Up Continental Drift, Fueled Volcanic Eruptions

Apr. 23, 2025 — Scientists believe that the motion of Earth's continents through plate tectonics has been largely steady over millions of years. New research, however, suggests this drift can speed up or slow ...

How Activity in Earth's Mantle Led the Ancient Ancestors of Elephants, Giraffes, and Humans Into Asia and Africa

Apr. 21, 2025 — What roils beneath the Earth's surface may feel a world away, but the activity can help forge land masses that dictate ocean circulation, climate patterns, and even animal activity and ...

Lake Deposits Reveal Directional Shaking During Devastating 1976 Guatemala Earthquake

Apr. 18, 2025 — Sediment cores drawn from four lakes in Guatemala record the distinct direction that ground shaking traveled during a 1976 magnitude 7.5 earthquake that devastated the country, according to ...

Seismology: How Wide Are Faults?

Apr. 18, 2025 — Researchers posed a seemingly simple question: how wide are ...

Sunscreen, Clothes and Caves May Have Helped Homo Sapiens Survive 41,000 Years Ago

Apr. 16, 2025 — A study suggests that Homo sapiens may have benefited from the use of ochre and tailored clothing during a period of increased UV light 41,000 years ago, during the Laschamps ...

Inside Yellowstone's Fiery Heart: Researchers Map Volatile-Rich Cap, Offering Clues to Future Volcanic Activity

Apr. 16, 2025 — Beneath the steaming geysers and bubbling mud pots of Yellowstone National Park lies one of the world's most closely watched volcanic systems. Now a team of geoscientists has uncovered new ...

Scientists Find Evidence That Overturns Theories of the Origin of Water on Earth

Apr. 16, 2025 — Researchers have helped overturn the popular theory that water on Earth originated from asteroids bombarding its surface; Scientists have analyzed a meteorite analogous to the early Earth to ...

Seismologists Share Early Analyses of Myanmar Earthquake

Apr. 15, 2025 — The 28 March magnitude 7.7 Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar) earthquake caused widespread and severe damage in Myanmar and neighboring countries such as Thailand, with more than 5,000 casualties now ...

Crustal Brines at an Oceanic Transform Fault

Apr. 11, 2025 — A team presents new details of an oceanic transform fault at the Gofar fault in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The work reveals unexpected brine deposits beneath the seafloor near the fault, which could ...

Missing Nitrogen: A Dramatic Game of Cosmic Hide-and-Seek Deep Within Our Planet

Apr. 11, 2025 — Earth's rocky layers are mysteriously low in nitrogen compared with carbon and argon. A scientific team explored our planet's molten youth using advanced quantum mechanical simulations, ...

New Study on Natural Oil Seeps in the Deep Sea

Apr. 10, 2025 — What is the role of dissolved organic matter in the deep sea? In a study relating to this question, researchers have investigated the composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in detail. Their ...

Sink or Swim: The Fate of Sinking Tectonic Plates Depends on Their Ancient Tectonic Histories

Apr. 9, 2025 — New findings provide a greater understanding of plate subduction, or how tectonic plates slide beneath one another. This recycling of surface materials and volatile elements deep into the ...

Machine Learning Helps Construct an Evolutionary Timeline of Bacteria

Apr. 3, 2025 — Scientists have helped to construct a detailed timeline for bacterial evolution, suggesting some bacteria used oxygen long before evolving the ability to produce it through ...

Early Earth's First Crust Composition Discovery Rewrites Geological Timeline

Apr. 2, 2025 — Modern continental rocks carry chemical signatures from the very start of our planet's history, challenging current theories about plate ...

Global Patterns in Seed Plant Distribution Over Millions of Years

Mar. 28, 2025 — Why do some plants thrive in specific regions but not in others? A study explores the factors shaping plant distributions and how these patterns have changed over millions of years. Analyzing nearly ...

How Calcium May Have Unlocked the Origins of Life's Molecular Asymmetry

Mar. 27, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered a surprising role for calcium in shaping the building blocks of life. Their study reveals that calcium ions help determine the molecular 'handedness' (chirality) ...

Damaging Cluster of UK Winter Storms Driven by Swirling Polar Vortex Miles Above Earth

Mar. 27, 2025 — Powerful winter storms which led to deaths and power outages in the UK and Ireland were made more likely by an intense swirling vortex of winds miles above the Arctic, say ...

Earliest Days of Earth's Formation

Mar. 26, 2025 — New research sheds light on the earliest days of the earth's formation and potentially calls into question some earlier assumptions in planetary science about the early years of rocky planets. ...

Unknown Microorganisms Used Marble and Limestone as a Habitat

Mar. 19, 2025 — In the desert areas of Namibia, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, research work has revealed unusual structures that are probably due to the activity of an unknown microbiological life form. Unusually small ...

Violent Supernovae 'Triggered at Least Two Earth Extinctions'

Mar. 13, 2025 — At least two mass extinction events in Earth's history were likely caused by the 'devastating' effects of nearby supernova explosions, a new study suggests. Researchers say these ...