Geophysics News

NASA’s Endurance Mission Measures Earth’s Ambipolar Electric Field for First Time

Collinson et al. report the existence of a +0.55 ± 0.09 V electric potential drop between 250 km and 768 km from a planetary electrostatic field generated exclusively by the outward pressure of ionospheric electrons; they experimentally demonstrate that the ambipolar field of Earth controls the structure of the polar ionosphere, boosting the scale height by 271%. Image credit: NASA.
Aug 28, 2024 by News Staff

First hypothesized more than 60 years ago, the ambipolar electric field is a key driver of the polar wind, a steady outflow of charged particles into space that occurs above Earth’s poles. This electric field lifts charged particles in our upper atmosphere to greater heights than they would otherwise reach and may have shaped our planet’s evolution in ways yet to be explored. Collinson et al. report the existence of a +0.55 ± 0.09 V electric...

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Air pollution is increasing the severity of summertime thunderstorms. Image credit: ELG21.

Air Pollution Can Increase Severity of Summertime Thunderstorms, Study Says

Aug 20, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists from James Madison University have performed a multi-variable investigation of thunderstorm environments in two distinct geographic regions:...

Hadean Earth. Image credit: Alec Brenner.

New Study Refutes Leading Theory of Continent Formation

Aug 5, 2024 by News Staff

In the new study, Dr. David Hernández Uribe from the University of Illinois Chicago used computer models to study the formation of magmas thought to hold...

Zhu et al. uncovered a nonlinear and boomerang-shape relationship between Saharan dust and tropical cyclone rainfall. Image credit: Enrique.

Study Shows Previously Unknown Link between Saharan Dust Plumes and Tropical Cyclone Rainfall

Jul 25, 2024 by News Staff

According to new research, giant plumes of Saharan dust, transported across the Atlantic Ocean by trade winds, can suppress hurricane formation over the...

Wang et al. demonstrate that the inner core of Earth gradually super-rotated from 2003 to 2008, and then from 2008 to 2023 sub-rotated two to three times more slowly back through the same path. Image credit: USC Graphic / Edward Sotelo.

Inner Core of Earth Began to Decrease Its Speed around 2010, Study Suggests

Jun 14, 2024 by News Staff

Movement of the inner core of our planet has been debated by the scientific community for two decades, with some research indicating that the inner core...

Collins et al. estimated flow through 3 million river segments, identifying locations around the world marked by intense human water use, including parts of the Colorado, Amazon, Orange, and Murray-Darling river basins, shown as gray here. Image credit: NASA.

New Study Provides Estimates of How Much Water Courses through Earth’s Rivers

Apr 30, 2024 by News Staff

Accurate assessment of global river flows and stores is critical for informing water management practices, but current estimates of global river flows...

Earth’s magnetic field lines. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Earliest Evidence of Earth’s Magnetic Field Found in Greenland

Apr 25, 2024 by News Staff

Recovering ancient records of Earth’s magnetic field is challenging because the magnetization in rocks is often reset by heating during tectonic burial...

Toffoli et al. report direct observations of surface waves from a stereo camera system along with concurrent measurements of wind speed during an expedition across the Southern Ocean in the austral winter aboard the South African icebreaker S.A. Agulhas II. Image credit: Alessandro Toffoli.

Strong Winds Drive Formation of Colossal Rogue Waves, Scientists Say

Apr 16, 2024 by News Staff

A rogue wave is a single swell that is much higher than nearby waves, which can damage ships or coastal infrastructure. Ocean waves are among the most...

This image from Mars Express’ High Resolution Stereo Camera shows the globe of Mars set against a dark background. The disk of the planet features yellow, orange, blue and green patches, all with an overall muted grey hue, representing the varying composition of the surface. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / G. Michael / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

Mars Drives Deep-Ocean Circulation in Earth’s Oceans, Study Suggests

Mar 13, 2024 by News Staff

Geoscientists from Australia and France have used the geological record of Earth’s deep oceans to discover a connection between the orbits of our home...

This ancient brick from the Slemani Museum dates to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (ca. 604 to 562 BCE) based on the interpretation of the inscription; this object was looted from its original context before being acquired by the Slemani Museum and stored in that museum with agreement from the central government. Image credit: Howland et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2313361120.

Cuneiform-Inscribed Bricks Unveil Strength of Ancient Geomagnetic Field in Mesopotamia

Dec 19, 2023 by News Staff

Reconstructing the behavior of Earth’s magnetic field during archaeological periods is crucial for both achieving a better understanding of the field...

Winter in Finland. Image credit: Andreas.

New Seismic Phenomenon Discovered: Frostquakes

Dec 12, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Frostquakes are seismic events with frequencies of about 10-20 Hz and waveforms like those of tectonic events. They potentially can damage infrastructures...

Equipped with a specialized event-based camera, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen managed to capture this picture of a red sprite in October 2023. Image credit: ESA / DTU / A. Mogensen.

ESA Astronaut Captures Stunning Images of Rare Thunder Phenomenon

Dec 1, 2023 by News Staff

As part of the Thor-Davis experiment on the International Space Station (ISS), ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen has captured images of a phenomenon called...

3D seismic imaging and ocean drilling at the Hikurangi margin reveal a widespread and previously unknown fluid reservoir within the extensively hydrated (up to 47 vol % water) volcanic upper crust of the subducting Hikurangi Plateau large igneous province. Image credit: Gase et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adh0150.

Geoscientists Discover Massive Undersea Water Reservoir Off New Zealand’s Coast

Oct 4, 2023 by News Staff

Revealed by 3D seismic imaging, the newly-discovered water reservoir lies 3.2 km (2 miles) under the ocean floor off the coast of New Zealand, where it...

Plate tectonic reconstructions showing the position of Argyle within the McArthur-Yanliao Gulf. Image credit: Olierook et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40904-8.

Australian Pink Diamonds Were Formed when Supercontinent Nuna Was Breaking Up into Fragments

Sep 20, 2023 by News Staff

While it is known that for diamonds to form there needs to be carbon deep in the Earth, and for these diamonds to turn pink they must be subjected to forces...

An artist’s impression of the early Earth. Image credit: NASA.

Earth’s Day was a Constant 19.5 Hours for Almost 1.5 Billion Years, Study Says

Jul 13, 2023 by News Staff

New research from the University of Toronto shows that from approximately 2 billion until 600 million years ago, an atmospheric tide driven by the Sun...

Boulila et al. highlight a common, correlatable 36-million-year cycle in the diversity of marine genera as well as in tectonic, sea-level, and macrostratigraphic data over the past 250 million years of Earth history. Image credit: James St. John / CC BY 2.0.

36-Million-Year Geological Cycle Drives Marine Biodiversity, Scientists Say

Jul 11, 2023 by News Staff

The evolution of life on Earth has changed dramatically at tens of million-year time scales. However, the causal mechanisms of these changes remain unclear....

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption captured at December 30, 2021. Image credit: Tonga Geological Services.

Giant Eruption Plume from Tonga’s Volcano Produced Most Intense Lightning Rates Ever Detected

Jun 21, 2023 by Natali Anderson

On January 15, 2022, Hunga Volcano in Tonga produced the most violent eruption in the modern satellite era, sending a water-rich plume at least 58 km (36...

This image, taken with the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument onboard NOAA’s GOES-18 weather satellite, shows the western hemisphere of Earth. Image credit: NOAA.

Drift of Earth’s Pole Confirms Groundwater Withdrawal as Contributor to Sea Level Rise

Jun 15, 2023 by News Staff

Earth’s rotational pole has drifted toward 64.16°E at a speed of 4.36 cm per year during 1993-2010 due to groundwater depletion and resulting sea level...

Inexpensive and easy to build, data collecting balloons capture infrasound signals in the Earth’s stratosphere. Image credit: NASA.

Enigmatic Infrasound Signals Detected in Earth’s Stratosphere

May 12, 2023 by News Staff

Low frequency sounds can travel vast distances across our planet, carrying information about the events that generated them as well as the medium through...

The New Port Richey fulgurite images and microscopy. Image credit: Bindi et al., doi: 10.1038/s43247-023-00736-2.

Study: Lightning Strikes Can Create Phosphites on Earth’s Surface

Apr 11, 2023 by News Staff

Phosphate minerals such as those in the apatite group tend to be the dominant forms of phosphorus in minerals on the Earth’s surface. Phosphates can...

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