Landslides News

May 2, 2026

Top Headlines

The “Big One” Might Not Come Alone: Double West Coast Earthquake Threat

May 2, 2026 Two of the most dangerous fault systems on the U.S. West Coast may be more connected than scientists once thought. New research suggests the Cascadia subduction zone and the San Andreas fault can “sync up,” triggering earthquakes within minutes ...

Earth Is Splitting Open Beneath the Pacific Northwest, Scientists Say

Apr. 29, 2026 For the first time, scientists have watched a subduction zone literally fall apart beneath the ocean floor. Using advanced seismic imaging, they found the Juan de Fuca plate splitting into fragments as it sinks beneath North America. Rather than ...

Scientists Just Found Where Airborne Microplastics Really Come From

Apr. 24, 2026 Microplastics are floating through the atmosphere and spreading across the globe, but their true origins have been misunderstood. New research shows land sources emit over 20 times more microplastic particles into the air than the ocean, challenging ...

Hundreds of Millions at Risk as River Deltas Sink Faster Than Rising Seas

Apr. 20, 2026 Many of the world’s largest river deltas—home to hundreds of millions of people—are sinking faster than rising seas, according to a sweeping global study. Using high-resolution satellite radar maps, researchers found that human activities like ...

Scientists Develop Dirt-powered Fuel Cell That Could Replace Batteries

Apr. 19, 2026 Scientists have developed a fuel cell that uses microbes in soil to produce electricity. The device can power underground sensors for tasks like monitoring moisture or detecting touch, without needing batteries or solar panels. It works in both dry ...

Scientists Finally Know Where the Colorado River’s Missing Water Is Going

Apr. 14, 2026 For years, water managers have been puzzled as the Colorado River kept delivering less water than expected—even when snowpack levels looked promising. New research reveals the missing piece: spring rain, or rather, the lack of it. Warmer, drier ...

A Massive Arctic Thaw Is Unleashing Carbon Frozen for Thousands of Years

Apr. 4, 2026 A sweeping new study reveals that as Arctic permafrost thaws, it is dramatically reshaping rivers and releasing vast amounts of ancient carbon that had been locked away for thousands of years. By analyzing decades of high-resolution data across ...

Freshwater Fish Populations Plunge 81% as River Migrations Collapse

Mar. 26, 2026 A sweeping global report finds that migratory freshwater fish are in steep decline, with populations down roughly 81% since 1970. These species depend on long, connected rivers, but dams and human pressures are cutting off their routes. Hundreds of ...

Microplastics Are Falling from the Sky and Polluting Forests

Mar. 23, 2026 Tiny plastic particles aren’t just choking oceans and cities—they’re quietly infiltrating forests too. Scientists discovered that most microplastics arrive through the air, settling onto treetops before being washed or dropped to the forest ...

Beavers Are Turning Rivers Into Powerful Carbon Sinks

Mar. 22, 2026 Beavers may be unlikely climate heroes, but new research suggests they could play a powerful role in fighting climate change. By building dams and transforming streams into wetlands, these industrious animals dramatically reshape how carbon moves ...

Climate Models May Be Missing Massive Carbon Emissions from Boreal Wildfires

Mar. 4, 2026 Northern wildfires may be more dangerous for the climate than they appear. Researchers found that fires in boreal forests can burn deep into peat soils, releasing ancient carbon stored for hundreds ...

Atacama Surprise: The World’s Driest Desert Is Teeming with Hidden Life

Mar. 2, 2026 Even in the ultra-dry Atacama Desert, tiny soil-dwelling nematodes are thriving in surprising diversity. Scientists found that biodiversity increases with moisture and altitude shapes which species survive. In the most extreme zones, many nematodes ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:59am EDT

Massive Asteroid Impact 6.3 Million Years Ago Left Giant Glass Field in Brazil

Mar. 1, 2026 For the first time ever, scientists have uncovered a vast field of tektites in Brazil — mysterious glassy fragments forged when a powerful ...

A Major Climate Hope in Antarctica Just Melted Away

Feb. 28, 2026 A popular climate theory suggested that melting Antarctic glaciers would release iron into the ocean, sparking algae blooms that pull carbon dioxide from the air. New field data from West Antarctica ...

Congo Basin Blackwater Lakes Are Releasing Ancient Carbon Into the Atmosphere

Feb. 24, 2026 Deep in the Congo Basin, vast peatlands quietly store enormous amounts of Earth’s carbon — but new research suggests this ancient vault may be ...

Space Lasers Reveal Oceans Rising Faster Than Ever

Feb. 24, 2026 A new 30-year analysis reveals that melting land ice is now the main force behind rising global sea levels. Researchers discovered that oceans rose about 90 millimeters since 1993, with most of the ...

A Simple Water Shift Could Turn Arctic Farmland Into a Carbon Sink

Feb. 22, 2026 Deep in the Arctic north, drained peatlands—once massive carbon vaults built over thousands of years—are quietly leaking greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. But new field research from northern ...

Scientists Just Mapped Mysterious Earthquakes Deep Inside Earth

Feb. 20, 2026 Scientists at Stanford have unveiled the first-ever global map of rare earthquakes that rumble deep within Earth’s mantle rather than its crust. Long debated and notoriously difficult to confirm, ...

Why This Rust-Like Mineral Is One of Earth’s Best Carbon Vaults

Feb. 9, 2026 A common iron mineral hiding in soil turns out to be far better at trapping carbon than scientists realized. Its surface isn’t uniform — it’s a nanoscale patchwork of positive and negative ...

Pumas Are Back in Patagonia and Penguins Are Paying the Price

Feb. 8, 2026 Pumas returning to Patagonia have begun hunting mainland penguins that evolved without land predators. Scientists estimate that more than 7,000 adult penguins were killed in just four years, many of ...

Scientists Trace Fertilizer Microplastics from Fields to Beaches

Jan. 19, 2026 Plastic-coated fertilizers used on farms are emerging as a major but hidden source of ocean microplastics. A new study found that only a tiny fraction reaches beaches through rivers, while direct ...

“Marine Darkwaves”: Hidden Ocean Blackouts Are Putting Sealife at Risk

Jan. 14, 2026 Scientists have identified a newly recognized threat lurking beneath the ocean’s surface: sudden episodes of underwater darkness that can last days or even months. Caused by storms, sediment ...

Scientists Stunned by a Massive Hydrothermal Field Off Greece

Dec. 30, 2025 Scientists have uncovered an extensive underwater vent system near Milos, Greece, hidden along active fault lines beneath the seafloor. These geological fractures act as pathways for hot, gas-rich ...

Hidden Seismic Signals Hint at a Tsunami Threat in Alaska

Dec. 21, 2025 Researchers studying a massive landslide in Alaska have detected strange seasonal seismic pulses caused by water freezing and thawing in rock cracks. These faint signals could become an important ...

The Mystery of Volcanoes That Don’t Explode Finally Has an Answer

Nov. 22, 2025 Scientists have uncovered a long-missing piece of the volcanic puzzle: rising magma doesn’t just form explosive gas bubbles when pressure drops—it can do so simply by being sheared and ...

Why Saving Microbes May Be the Most Important Conservation Effort Ever

Nov. 20, 2025 Researchers have launched the first coordinated plan to protect microbial biodiversity, calling attention to the “invisible 99% of life” that drives essential Earth systems. The IUCN has formally ...

Massive Hidden Structures Deep Inside Earth May Explain How Life Began

Nov. 20, 2025 Scientists may finally be closing in on the origins of two colossal, mysterious structures buried nearly 1,800 miles inside Earth—hidden formations that have puzzled researchers for decades. New ...

Scientists Warn Half the World’s Beaches Could Disappear

Nov. 27, 2025 Human development and climate-driven sea level rise are accelerating global beach erosion and undermining the natural processes that sustain coastal ecosystems. Studies reveal that urban activity on ...

Extreme Floods Are Slashing Global Rice Yields Faster Than Expected

Nov. 15, 2025 Scientists discovered that a week of full submergence is enough to kill most rice plants, making flooding a far greater threat than previously understood. Intensifying extreme rainfall events may ...

Scientists Find Coastal Seas Acidifying Shockingly Fast

Nov. 30, 2025 New findings show that some coastal regions will become far more acidic than scientists once thought, with upwelling systems pulling deep, CO2-rich waters to the surface and greatly intensifying ...

9,000-Year-Old Ice Melt Shows How Fast Antarctica Can Fall Apart

Nov. 9, 2025 Around 9,000 years ago, East Antarctica went through a dramatic meltdown that was anything but isolated. Scientists have discovered that warm deep ocean water surged beneath the region’s floating ...

Scientists Find Hidden Rainfall Pattern That Could Reshape Farming

Dec. 12, 2025 New research shows that crops are far more vulnerable when too much rainfall originates from land rather than the ocean. Land-sourced moisture leads to weaker, less reliable rainfall, heightening ...

Soil Microbes Remember Drought and Help Plants Survive

Nov. 2, 2025 Researchers discovered that soil microbes in Kansas carry drought “memories” that affect how plants grow and survive. Native plants showed stronger responses to these microbial legacies than ...

A “scary” New Spider Species Found Beneath California’s Beaches

Nov. 2, 2025 UC Davis scientists uncovered Aptostichus ramirezae, a new trapdoor spider species living under California’s dunes. Genetic analysis revealed it was distinct from its close relative, Aptostichus ...

Those Halloween Fireballs Might Be More Dangerous Than You Think

Oct. 31, 2025 The Taurid meteor shower, born from Comet Encke, delights skywatchers but may conceal hidden risks. Research led by Mark Boslough examines potential Taurid swarms that could increase impact danger in ...

Scientists Uncover the Secret Triggers of ‘impossible’ Earthquakes

Nov. 4, 2025 Once considered geologically impossible, earthquakes in stable regions like Utah and Groningen can actually occur due to long-inactive faults that slowly “heal” and strengthen over millions of ...

Before Plants or Animals, Fungi Conquered Earth’s Surface

Oct. 28, 2025 Fungi’s evolutionary roots stretch far deeper than once believed — up to 1.4 billion years ago, long before plants or animals appeared. Using advanced molecular dating and gene transfer analysis, ...

China’s Coastal Cities Are Sinking as Seas Rise at Record Speed

Oct. 23, 2025 Sea levels are rising faster than at any time in 4,000 years, scientists report, with China’s major coastal cities at particular risk. The rapid increase is driven by warming oceans and melting ...

Earth Is Splitting Open Beneath the Pacific Northwest

Oct. 25, 2025 For the first time, scientists have seen a subduction zone actively breaking apart beneath the Pacific Northwest. Seismic data show the oceanic plate tearing into fragments, forming microplates in a ...

Glaciers’ Secret Cooling Power Won’t Last Much Longer

Oct. 26, 2025 Scientists have uncovered that glaciers can temporarily cool the air around them, delaying some effects of global warming. This self-cooling, driven by katabatic winds, is nearing its peak and will ...

They’re Smaller Than Dust, but Crucial for Earth’s Climate

Oct. 10, 2025 Coccolithophores, tiny planktonic architects of Earth’s climate, capture carbon, produce oxygen, and leave behind geological records that chronicle our planet’s history. European scientists are ...

They Were Drilling Off Oregon. What They Found Could Shake All of California

Oct. 22, 2025 Scientists have uncovered evidence that megaquakes in the Pacific Northwest might trigger California’s San Andreas Fault. A research ship’s navigational error revealed paired sediment layers ...