Knowing Earth’s energy imbalance is critical in preventing global warming, study finds
The imbalance of energy on Earth is the most important metric in order to gauge the size and effects of climate change, according to a new study published today in the first issue of Environmental Research: Climate, a new open access journal. Distinguished scholar at the National Center of Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and highly cited […]
Arecibo observatory scientists help unravel surprise asteroid mystery
When asteroid 2019 OK suddenly appeared barreling toward Earth on July 25, 2019, Luisa Fernanda Zambrano-Marin and the team at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico jumped into action. After getting an alert, the radar scientists zoned in on the asteroid, which was coming from Earth’s blind spot — solar opposition. Zambrano-Marin and the team […]
Emissions tied to the international trade of agricultural goods are rising
Earth system scientists at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions have drawn the clearest line yet connecting consumers of agricultural produce in wealthier countries in Asia, Europe and North America with a growth in greenhouse gas emissions in less-developed nations, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. In a paper published today in Science, the […]
Sampling the deep graveyard of Earth’s earliest crust
In an international collaboration, Earth scientists at the University of Cologne and Freie Universität Berlin discovered that some magmas on Earth, which made their way through the deep terrestrial mantle and erupted at Earth’s surface, originate from mantle portions that contain remnants of Earth’s earliest crust. This ancient material must have been buried in a […]
Differences between the Moon’s near and far sides linked to colossal ancient impact
The face that the Moon shows to Earth looks far different from the one it hides on its far side. The nearside is dominated by the lunar mare — the vast, dark-colored remnants of ancient lava flows. The crater-pocked far side, on the other hand, is virtually devoid of large-scale mare features. Why the two […]
Discovery of ancient underwater landslide could help Middle Eastern nations realize tsunami hazards: 500-year-old landslide and a sizable tsunami
An earth scientist from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science discovered evidence of an ancient underwater landslide and associated tsunami in the Gulf of Aqaba, a subsidiary of the Red Sea, that should serve as a warning for many nations in the Middle East. Sam Purkis, professor and chair of […]
Earth’s interior is cooling faster than expected
The evolution of our Earth is the story of its cooling: 4.5 billion years ago, extreme temperatures prevailed on the surface of the young Earth, and it was covered by a deep ocean of magma. Over millions of years, the planet’s surface cooled to form a brittle crust. However, the enormous thermal energy emanating from […]
Possible chemical leftovers from early Earth sit near the core
Let’s take a journey into the depths of the Earth, down through the crust and mantle nearly to the core. We’ll use seismic waves to show the way, since they echo through the planet following an earthquake and reveal its internal structure like radar waves. Down near the core, there are zones where seismic waves […]
Strong winds power electric fields in the upper atmosphere
What happens on Earth doesn’t stay on Earth. Using observations from NASA’s ICON mission, scientists presented the first direct measurements of Earth’s long-theorized dynamo on the edge of space: a wind-driven electrical generator that spans the globe 60-plus miles above our heads. The dynamo churns in the ionosphere, the electrically charged boundary between Earth and […]
Process leading to supernova explosions and cosmic radio bursts unearthed
A promising method for producing and observing on Earth a process important to black holes, supernova explosions and other extreme cosmic events has been proposed by scientists at Princeton University’s Department of Astrophysical Sciences, SLAC National Acceleraor Laboratory, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The process, called quantum electrodynamic […]