https://phys.org/earth-news/ en-us Earth science research, climate change, and global warming. The latest news and updates from Phys.org The processes that capture carbon from the atmosphere and store it on the seabed are crucial for climate balance. However, assessing these mechanisms is often complicated because it requires measurements ranging from the surface to the deep ocean. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mechanical-shortcut-rapidly-particles-deep.html Earth Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 19:40:01 EDT news704992802 Why is recycling waste or switching off the lights sometimes perceived as more effective for the climate than giving up air travel? A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) surveyed nearly 3,000 people and identified key psychological mechanisms underlying these misperceptions. Their findings pave the way for more effective communication strategies that encourage behaviors with the greatest potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The study is published in Nature Sustainability. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-overestimate-positive-impact-actions-climate.html Environment Mon, 03 Aug 2026 17:10:02 EDT news704993762 Cyanobacterial blooms, like the ones that occur in Lake Geneva, are rapid, dense growths of photosynthetic bacteria in fresh and marine waters that can threaten the health of swimmers and their pets. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nanopore-method-cyanobacteria-toxins-lake.html Environment Mon, 03 Aug 2026 15:00:02 EDT news704981582 While Earth's core consists mostly of iron, its density implies that lighter elements are also mixed in. Because hydrogen is abundant in the universe and can mix with iron under certain conditions, scientists suspect it makes up part of the lighter-element composition. Data from earthquakes suggest the inner part of the core also changes with depth, but scientists aren't sure exactly how this occurs. Now, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that hydrogen likely exists in a gradient within the inner and outer core that arises from thermodynamic equilibrium. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-exotic-phase-hydrogen-earth-core.html Earth Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 13:20:01 EDT news704977583 Earth's oceans repeatedly lost oxygen and produced metal deposits during the planet's deepest ice ages. An international team of researchers analyzed manganese and other chemical signatures preserved in more than 27,000 ancient seafloor samples collected from six continents. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-metal-deposits-reveal-ice-ages.html Earth Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 12:40:03 EDT news704977622 For decades, scientists have asserted that the leakage of warm, salty Indian Ocean water south of South Africa into the Atlantic is a major contributor to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a component of the global ocean conveyor system. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-geological-evidence-role-agulhas-leakage.html Earth Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 12:00:06 EDT news704975282 More than 100 shallow lakes stretching over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) along the Atlantic coast of southern Brazil and Uruguay could become one of the world's most important natural laboratories for understanding how climate change and human activities reshape freshwater ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-south-american-lakes-climate-early.html Earth Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 09:20:07 EDT news704967182 Along the three coasts of the contiguous United States, a silent race unfolds. Fueled by climate change, sea levels rise faster than at any time in recent geologic history. Meanwhile, coastal wetlands cling to a slim lead, lifted on newly accumulated sediments or moving inland as encroaching tides nip at their heels. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-seas-inundating-coastal-wetlands-track.html Earth Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 09:00:06 EDT news704707261 The small mountain streams that feed many of the West's rivers may face a much drier future. A new study led by NAU researchers found that groundwater-fed streamflow, known as base flow, has been steadily declining across headwater watersheds in the western United States since 1950 and could decrease by 45% to 65% by the end of this century if current climate trends continue. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-climate-west-headwaters.html Environment Sun, 02 Aug 2026 14:40:01 EDT news704719021 A brewing "super" El Nino cycle is poised to unleash heat waves, floods and drought worldwide, with the effects amplified by long-term human-caused climate change. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-pacific-cloud-brightening-weaken-el.html Earth Sciences Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:50:02 EDT news702791160 A team of Brazilian researchers discovered the first direct evidence that goethite—the mineral responsible for the brown color of soils—can withstand extreme pressures and temperatures all the way to the planet's interior inside a diamond just 3 millimeters (0.1 inch) long, within a microscopic impurity. Goethite forms in soil and on the ocean floor from iron-rich minerals in the presence of water. It incorporates some of these water molecules into its mineral structure. The study suggests that goethite may transport and release water into a region known as the lower mantle. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ancient-diamond-evidence-mineral-deep.html Earth Sciences Sat, 01 Aug 2026 07:20:01 EDT news704769346 An international team of volcanologists working on Carlingford Mountain has found that liquid "magma chambers" do not always exist beneath volcanoes. The team instead demonstrated that magma "plumbing systems" beneath Earth's surface can fluctuate between solid- and liquid-dominated states, providing an improved view of how active volcanoes evolve through time. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ancient-irish-volcano-clues-modern.html Earth Sciences Fri, 31 Jul 2026 13:00:03 EDT news704712061 The rapid intensification of a hurricane ranks among the most dangerous weather events on Earth. Storms such as Hurricane Michael, which crashed ashore in the Florida Panhandle with winds of 160 mph (about 257 km/h), and Hurricane Otis, the costliest hurricane to strike Mexico's Pacific coast, caught communities unawares when they intensified at a rate that computer models failed to anticipate. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-method-flags-hurricane-rapid-intensification.html Earth Sciences Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:00:01 EDT news704711402 Permafrost in the Arctic stores large quantities of organic carbon. When frozen ground thaws or coastal sections erode, this carbon can enter the sea, where microorganisms can break it down and convert it into climate-damaging greenhouse gases. The extent to which this carbon actually enters the atmosphere, however, and how much remains in the ocean have hardly been quantified to date. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-arctic-ocean-permafrost-carbon-firmly.html Earth Sciences Fri, 31 Jul 2026 05:00:03 EDT news704553542 Two of the world's most fire-prone regions have followed strikingly different wildfire trajectories despite both experiencing a warming climate. Burned forest area has surged across the U.S. Southwest, while eastern Australia has not seen the same increase. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-pacific-ocean-pattern-diverging-wildfire.html Earth Sciences Thu, 30 Jul 2026 19:00:02 EDT news704644382 Summer days featuring conditions that promote wildfire ignition, intensity and spread have more than doubled across large parts of the Iberian Peninsula, France, Italy and Greece since 1981, according to a study in Scientific Reports. The findings suggest that hotter, drier weather is increasing wildfire risk across Southern Europe, despite fewer fires occurring in the region since the 1980s. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-likelihood-wildfires-southern-europe-80s.html Earth Sciences Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:50:01 EDT news704648941 When catastrophic wildfires capture global headlines, such as the unprecedented blazes sweeping through southern Europe this summer or the devastating 2019–20 "Black Summer" in Australia, they are almost always preceded by severe drought. Dry vegetation and parched landscapes are necessary ingredients for infernos. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-droughts-alarming-amounts-moisture-landscape.html Earth Sciences Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:20:02 EDT news704642641 A 113-million-year-old marine murder mystery may finally be solved. Using chemical clues locked inside microscopic fossils, Northwestern University scientists found evidence that ocean acidification drove one of the largest extinction events in the history of planktic foraminifera—tiny shell-building organisms that help regulate Earth's carbon cycle. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tiny-fossils-cretaceous-cold-case.html Earth Sciences Thu, 30 Jul 2026 14:00:12 EDT news704476501 Before rain falls, the moisture that forms it may have traveled anywhere from just a few kilometers to hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away. It usually begins as water that evaporated from oceans, lakes, forests or fields. According to a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, rain in parts of the United States is increasingly arriving from farther away. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rainfall.html Earth Sciences Thu, 30 Jul 2026 14:00:06 EDT news704633163 For around 12,000 years, the Earth has been in the Holocene epoch, a warmer period following a glacial period. During this epoch, however, there have been around 22 abrupt cold phases, each lasting up to several centuries and leading to the expansion of glaciers. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-volcanic-eruptions-pacific-cooled-earth.html Earth Sciences Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:20:06 EDT news704629981 New UC Berkeley-led research indicates that continued climate change could severely increase wildfire above natural levels in Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Lassen Volcanic national parks. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-climate-wildfire-yosemite-national.html Environment Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:00:01 EDT news704629622 Everyday shower habits, such as applying shampoo or pausing the water while washing, are driving up water waste, argues a new study from the University of Surrey. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-shampoo-routine-household.html Environment Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:40:04 EDT news704622331 Assessing how climate change will affect different regions usually requires running a complex chain of models. While this approach provides valuable insights, it is expensive and can cover only a limited set of scenarios and model runs. Together with partners, IIASA researchers have developed a faster alternative that uses available projections from Earth system or climate impact models to generate new regional climate and impact projections while capturing the uncertainty essential for understanding climate risk. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-possibilities-tool-climate.html Earth Sciences Thu, 30 Jul 2026 02:00:01 EDT news704539704 In August 2023, the German research vessel METEOR set sail on Expedition M192 to the Greek island of Milos with Dr. Solveig Bühring as chief scientist. The mission was to locate and investigate previously unknown hydrothermal systems. Now, three years later, a new study highlights the surprising discoveries resulting from this expedition. At a newly discovered hydrothermal system at intermediate water depths of 100 to 250 meters (328 to 820 feet), researchers demonstrated how different intensities of hydrothermal fluid flow shape microbial communities and control mineral formation on the ocean floor. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-hydrothermal-microbes-seafloor-minerals-newly.html Earth Sciences Wed, 29 Jul 2026 19:20:01 EDT news704555221 For lakes across the Northern Hemisphere, winter ice is more than a frozen surface. It is a seasonal regulator that shapes underwater ecosystems and energy balance. But as the planet warms, this frozen season is disappearing faster than expected. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-lake-ice-loss-winter-temperatures.html Environment Wed, 29 Jul 2026 19:00:03 EDT news704554921 Deploying ocean iron fertilization—a strategy for carbon dioxide capture—in higher latitudes rather than near the equator could reduce environmental impacts while still achieving removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, according to a modeling study published in Nature. The findings offer insight into best practices for maximizing carbon dioxide removal while reducing potential ecological trade-offs typically associated with iron fertilization. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-oceans-australia-fertilize-carbon-dioxide.html Earth Sciences Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:00:02 EDT news704550541 Scientists have discovered a new way to determine how big an earthquake may become just seconds after it begins. In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Cal Poly Humboldt used signals picked up by fiber-optic cables—the same ones that deliver high-speed internet—to accurately estimate when a moderate to large earthquake is underway using data from the first four seconds of seismic wave arrivals. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-seconds-fiber-optic-cables-earthquake.html Earth Sciences Wed, 29 Jul 2026 12:20:04 EDT news704539710 Winters in Antarctica's Ross Sea have become stormier in recent decades, affecting sea-ice conditions and field operations, new University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka research shows. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-antarctic-storms-frequent-intense-affecting.html Earth Sciences Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:20:01 EDT news704538961 When the Palisades Fire tore through Los Angeles in January 2025, it didn't only destroy homes. It took the Will Rogers Ranch House—a beloved California landmark—with it. Six months later, the Dragon Bravo wildfire burned through Grand Canyon National Park and destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge, originally built in 1927. Whether either landmark will ever be meaningfully restored remains uncertain. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-thousands-america-historic-landmarks-significant.html Environment Tue, 28 Jul 2026 18:00:04 EDT news704474342 Every summer, algal blooms turn rivers and lakes green. Although they are widely known as a major form of water pollution that makes water murky, a KAIST research team has now shown for the first time that algal bloom conditions can make discarded plastics, such as plastic bags, more prone to breaking apart, potentially accelerating the formation of microplastics. The study points to a new direction for the era of climate change: water pollution and plastic pollution need to be managed together rather than as separate problems. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-algal-blooms-plastic-weathering-potentially.html Environment Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:20:01 EDT news704470141