Geophysics News

1934 Drought was Driest, Most Widespread in Past Millennium, Scientists Find

A ‘black blizzard’ dust storm in South Dakota, 1934. Image credit: National Archives FDR Library Public Domain Photographs.
Oct 17, 2014 by News Staff

Using a reconstruction of North American drought history over the past millennium, a team of researchers from NASA and the Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory has found the Dust Bowl drought of 1934 was the worst – about 30 percent more severe than the runner-up drought (in 1580) and extended across 71.6 percent of western North America. A ‘black blizzard’ dust storm in South Dakota, 1934. Image credit: National Archives...

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Schematic illustration of Earth's magnetic field. Image credit: Peter Reid / University of Edinburgh.

Researchers Shed New Light on Earth’s Magnetic Field Reversal 786,000 Years Ago

Oct 16, 2014 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by Dr Leonardo Sagnotti of National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Rome, Italy, has found evidence that the most recent...

North Atlantic; red dots are earthquakes. Image credit: David Sandwell / SIO.

New Map of World’s Seafloor Exposes Thousands of Previously Unseen Undersea Mountains

Oct 3, 2014 by News Staff

Using data from NASA’s and European Space Agency’s satellites that measure variations in gravitational field, a multinational team of researchers...

Example wave model hindcast during the September 2012 storm in Arctic Ocean; the map is centered on the North Pole; the color scale indicates significant wave height from 0 to 5 m. Image credit: Jim Thomson / W. Erick Rogers.

Extreme Waves Recorded in Arctic Ocean

Jul 30, 2014 by News Staff

Five-meter-high waves have been detected in the middle of the Arctic Ocean by Dr Jim Thomson of the University of Washington and Dr Erick Rogers of the...

Aerial photograph of Mount Rainier taken on September 14, 2011. Image credit: Michael Arthur Hill / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Geophysicists Crack Secrets of Mount Rainier

Jul 19, 2014 by News Staff

A team of geophysicists led by Dr Stephane Rondenay from the University of Bergen has made a detailed picture of Mount Rainier’s deep volcanic plumbing. Aerial...

Distribution of the newly discovered ice structures (black color) in northern Greenland. Image credit: Robin E. Bell et al.

Giant Ice Structures Found under Greenland Ice Sheet

Jun 16, 2014 by News Staff

Geophysicists from the United States and Sweden have discovered ice blocks as tall as city skyscrapers at the very bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The...

High-Speed Solar Wind Triggers Lightning Strikes

May 17, 2014 by News Staff

How does lightning travel through the air? A new study led by Dr Chris Scott from the University of Reading, UK, suggests that high-energy particles accelerated...

A graphical representation of the size of the dinosaur-killing Chicxulub asteroid, and the crater it created, compared to an asteroid thought to have hit the Earth 3.26 billion years ago and the size of the crater it may have generated. Image credit: American Geophysical Union.

Researchers Reconstruct Giant Asteroid Impact 3.26 Billion Years Ago

Apr 10, 2014 by News Staff

A huge asteroid, up to five times larger than the rock thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs, crashed into Earth more than 3 billion years ago, say researchers...

Mount Erebus, the second highest volcano in Antarctica and the southernmost active volcano on our planet. Image credit: Steven Chown / Monash University.

Volcanoes May Have Helped Life Survive Ice Ages

Mar 11, 2014 by News Staff

New research, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that the steam and heat from volcanoes may have allowed many plant...

This satellite image shows internal waves in the Luzon Strait, the South China Sea. Image credit: NASA / Global Ocean Associates.

Scientists Solve Longstanding Mystery of Giant Underwater Waves

Jan 10, 2014 by News Staff

In a large-scale lab and field study, a multinational team of researchers has revealed the origins of huge underwater waves. This satellite image shows...

Earthquake lights from Tagish Lake, Yukon-Alaska border region, around the 1st of July, probably 1972 or 1973 (exact date unknown); estimated size – 1 m diameter; closest orbs slowly drifted up the mountain to join the more distant ones. Image credit: Jim Conacher, used with permission.

Earthquake Lights: Study Sheds Light on Mysterious Natural Phenomenon

Jan 4, 2014 by News Staff

Earthquake lights – a rare luminous phenomenon that appears in the sky during or before seismic activity or volcanic eruptions – are more likely...

This map shows the location (red circle) of the newly discovered volcano in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica.

Active Volcano Discovered Under Ice Sheet in West Antarctica

Nov 18, 2013 by News Staff

U.S. seismologists have made a surprising discovery near Mount Sidley in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica – an active volcano smoldering under 1.2 km...

This illustration shows how carbon dioxide and water can be used to flush residual oil from a subsurface rock formation between wells. Image credit: U.S. Department of Energy.

Underground Carbon Dioxide Injections Triggered Earthquakes in Texas in 2009-2011

Nov 6, 2013 by News Staff

A new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences correlates 93 small earthquakes near Snyder, Texas between 2009...

Haleakala Crater in East Maui Hawaii. Image credit: University of Wisconsin.

Hawaiian Islands Formed by Extrusive Volcanism, Scientists Find

Oct 8, 2013 by News Staff

New research, reported in the Geophysical Research Letters, changes our understanding of how the Hawaiian Islands formed. Haleakala Crater in East Maui...

High-level water vapor influences weather and climate, according to a new study. Image credit: NASA.

Water Vapor in Stratosphere Influences Climate on Earth, Study Says

Oct 7, 2013 by News Staff

According to new research reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, water vapor changes in the stratosphere contribute to warmer...

Subglacial topography and predicted flow routes for catchments of the Institute Ice Stream and the Möller Ice Stream. Image credit: Anne M. Le Brocq et al.

Antarctica: Researchers Find Huge Channels beneath Ice Shelf

Oct 7, 2013 by News Staff

In a new paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, British researchers have reported the discovery of giant ice channels beneath the floating Filchner-Ronne...

The world's largest recorded deep earthquake occurred on May 24, 2013, at a depth of 609 km in the subducting Pacific plate beneath the Sea of Okhotsk near Kamchatka, Russia, as shown on this map. Image credit: Ye et al / Science.

Largest Deep Earthquake Surprises Seismologists

Sep 20, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to a new study published in the journal Science, a magnitude 8.3 earthquake that struck 609 km beneath the Sea of Okhotsk near Kamchatka, Russia,...

Dr Livermore's team used a model of the Earth's core which was run on the giant super-computer Monte Rosa in Lugano, Switzerland. The scientists were able to simulate the Earth's core with accuracy about 100 times better than other models. Image credit: Philip W. Livermore et al.

Earth’s Inner Core ‘Superrotates’ in Eastward Direction, Scientists Say

Sep 17, 2013 by News Staff

British scientists have answered the question about which direction the centre of our planet spins. The inner core, made up of solid iron, superrotates...

3D map of the Tamu Massif formation (IODP).

Tamu Massif: Largest Volcano on Earth Discovered Beneath Pacific Ocean

Sep 9, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

Oceanographers led by Dr William Sager from the University of Houston have discovered what they say is the biggest single volcano yet documented on our...

Redoubt volcano as seen from Ninilchik, AK, on May 9, 2009 (© Brenda Cruickshank / Alaska Volcano Observatory)

Some Volcanoes Scream Before Eruption at High Frequencies, Scientists Say

Jul 15, 2013 by News Staff

Volcanologists analyzing data on a 2009 eruption sequence at Alaska’s Redoubt Volcano have detected unusually high frequencies of a signal called harmonic...

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