The core isn’t a “boring blob of iron” after all. For over half a century, the scientific community thought that Earth’s inner core was a solid ball of compressed iron alloy surrounded by a liquid outer core. But new research, published Sept. 20 in the journal Physics of the EarthContinue Reading
It’s hanging out underwater near Madagascar. In 2018, the largest active underwater eruption ever recorded birthed a giant “baby”: a skyscraper-size underwater volcano, a new study finds. Scientists discovered the 2,690-foot-tall (820 meters) volcano in the western Indian Ocean, off Madagascar, following a puzzling spate of earthquakes that struck nearContinue Reading
Thawing permafrost driven by climate change could free trapped microbes and radioactive material. As climate change warms the Arctic, melting ice could release hazardous chemicals and radioactive material dating to the Cold War. Vanishing permafrost could also free viruses and bacteria that have slumbered beneath Arctic ice for tens ofContinue Reading
Nearly 60% of the world’s oil and methane gas reserves and 90% of its coal reserves must remain in the ground by 2050 in order to meet the climate goals set by the Paris Agreement, a new study finds. Leaving these fossil fuel reserves untouched would give the world aContinue Reading