Category: Earth
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How MIT Geologists Are Mapping Earth’s Hidden Layers
The fissures and pores running through rocks, from the Earth’s crust to the liquid mantle, are like channels and cavities through which sound can resonate. MIT scientists find the sounds beneath our feet are fingerprints of rock stability. If you could sink through the Earth’s crust, you might hear, with a carefully tuned ear, a…
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Between Volcanic Eruptions and Destructive Earthquakes: San Salvador’s Fiery Saga
Captured on February 24, 2023, this satellite image shows El Salvador’s capital, San Salvador, which sits amidst a volcanic chain on Central America’s Pacific coastline. Its geology boasts 20 volcanoes active in the past 10,000 years, and its history is marked by significant eruptions and earthquakes. The city, established as the capital in 1839, is…
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Largest Lake in the Middle East Shrivels Into Salt Flat
Lake Urmia in northwest Iran, once the Middle East’s largest lake, has mostly turned into a dry salt flat by autumn 2023. While it experienced a resurgence in 2020 due to unusual rainfall, historical trends show it has been drying since 1995, losing nearly 90% of its area. A few years after a fresh influx…
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Are We Running Out of Water? Scientists Unravel the Global Impact of Droughts and Heatwaves on Water Use
Researchers from Utrecht University have uncovered that heatwaves have a more pronounced effect on sectoral water usage compared to droughts. By analyzing data from the last 30 years, they found significant variations in water consumption patterns across sectors and regions in response to extreme weather events. These findings underscore the need for more detailed water…
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First-of-Its-Kind Global Smoke Pollution Study Uncovers Alarming Results
A study, the first of its kind, analyzed the global rise in pollution from landscape fires over two decades and discovered that over 2 billion people experience at least one day of health-related environmental risks yearly, with this figure growing by 6.8% in the last decade. The research found increased exposure rates, especially in low-income…
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What phytoplankton physiology has to do with global climate
Marine phytoplankton of the diatom group: The plant organisms that make up phytoplankton can only be seen under a microscope. Credit: Annegret Stuhr/GEOMAR Phytoplankton, tiny photosynthetic organisms in the ocean, play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle and influence Earth’s climate. A new study reveals how variations in the physiology of phytoplankton, particularly…
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Scientists use drones to land sensors onto ‘unreachable’ glaciers threatened by climate change
Drone drops global warming-monitoring sensor onto Icelandic glacier. Credit: University of Southampton Scientist have unveiled a new climate change-monitoring sensor which can be airlifted onto icy glaciers using drones to measure the impact of global warming. The device, built by experts from the University of Southampton, can be flown for miles and land directly onto…
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Study investigates impact of extreme weather events on ocean circulation in tropical Pacific
ASV change, sea surface temperature, and mixed layer depth. a Mixed layer depth (MLD) difference (percent) between GW-ASVCTL and GW (GW-ASVCTL minus GW). The ASV kinetic energy (KE) difference is represented in black contour. The average GW MLD (m) is represented in red contour. b Sea surface temperature (SST) difference (°C) between GW-ASVCTL and GW.…
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Research reveal large swings in past ocean oxygen
Researchers prepare a rosette sampler for deployment as part of the GEOTRACES program to study cobalt and other trace elements in the ocean. Credit: Bill Schmoker, PolarTREC. As the climate warms, there is major concern that Earth’s ocean will lose oxygen. A study published in Geophysical Research Letters by oceanographers at the University of Hawai’i…
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New study reveals the influence of natural climate drivers on extreme monsoons in Pakistan
Satellite image of flooding in Pakistan in August 2022. Credit: Moetasim Ashfaq A new study by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory looks at some of the influences that could be driving the increasingly severe weather over Pakistan. Published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, the study analyzed more than 40…