https://phys.org/earth-news/earth-sciences/ en-us The latest news on earth sciences and the environment Natural geological processes have been regulating Earth's climate for millions of years. Accelerated versions of these processes are now being promoted as technologies to draw down carbon from the atmosphere—and some are rapidly moving from concept to real-world deployments. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-technologies-natural-capture-carbon-durably.html Earth Sciences Fri, 22 May 2026 16:20:03 EDT news698673123 Thawing permafrost is rapidly transforming dozens of Arctic streams into acidic, metal-laden waterways, according to new research published in Science. The study shows how thawing permafrost exposes sulfide minerals that react with oxygen and water—a process similar to what occurs in mining pollution. The reactions release acidity and heavy metals such as zinc, nickel, cadmium, and aluminum into surrounding waters. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-arctic-unleashes-pollution-hundreds-waterways.html Earth Sciences Fri, 22 May 2026 16:00:02 EDT news698673001 Rice feeds more than half the world. From terraced paddies in Southeast Asia to irrigated fields in China and India, it underpins daily meals for billions of people. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-rice-billions-people-role-fueling.html Earth Sciences Fri, 22 May 2026 11:20:05 EDT news698662981 The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt has survived more than 4,500 years. Earthquakes have repeatedly shaken the region, including the magnitude 5.8 Cairo earthquake in 1992, which dislodged some of the pyramid's outer casing stones. Yet the main body remained essentially intact. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-great-pyramid-giza-survived-years.html Earth Sciences Fri, 22 May 2026 10:00:01 EDT news698661482 A new atlas charts the global distribution of unusual, critical-metal-bearing igneous rocks, finding that they often form near the thick and ancient cores of the world's major continents. Researchers from Cambridge's Department of Earth Sciences mapped occurrences of CO2-rich igneous rocks—the world's primary source of rare earth elements—finding that their distribution is strongly tied to variations in Earth's rigid outer layer, the lithosphere. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-atlas-reveals-rare-earth-element.html Earth Sciences Fri, 22 May 2026 05:00:09 EDT news698599682 Forecasters say a potentially "super" El Niño is rapidly taking shape in the Pacific—but whether it evolves into a history-making event could hinge on fickle winds and other volatile atmospheric shifts. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-scientists-potential-super-el-nino.html Earth Sciences Fri, 22 May 2026 04:18:14 EDT news698642211 A new international study led by Lander Van Tricht (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, ETH Zürich), shows that glaciers in Central Asia experienced their most extreme mass-loss year on record in 2025, designated as the International Year of Glaciers Preservation by the United Nations, following an initiative from Tajikistan. The findings are published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-central-asia-ice-loss-millions.html Earth Sciences Thu, 21 May 2026 14:40:06 EDT news698586122 New research from the University of St Andrews has precisely dated an eruption from Newberry Volcano and discovered that its ash spread more than 5,000 km across the globe, far further than previously thought for an eruption of its size. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ice-core-discovery-volcanic-eruptions.html Earth Sciences Thu, 21 May 2026 09:20:02 EDT news698401005 NASA scientists have developed an artificial intelligence tool to take on a longstanding challenge in ocean waters. In a study recently published in the Earth and Space Science journal, researchers reported the tool was able to fuse data from multiple satellites and detect harmful algal blooms that occurred in western Florida and Southern California. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ai-tool-fuses-satellite-datasets.html Earth Sciences Wed, 20 May 2026 18:00:05 EDT news698513041 Scientists have uncovered new evidence that Earth's continents are continuously reworked deep beneath the surface, offering fresh insight into how continents have evolved over billions of years. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-earth-recycles-continents-deep-underground.html Earth Sciences Wed, 20 May 2026 17:00:07 EDT news698507281 Aerosols and clouds play a key role in Earth's climate budget. However, the extent to which they reflect solar energy depends heavily on how much water the particles can absorb. This so-called hygroscopicity has so far been represented in a simplified manner in climate models. An international research team led by the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) has now demonstrated through a global study that the models are not precise enough, particularly in urban regions. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-urban-aerosols-faster-polluted-air.html Earth Sciences Wed, 20 May 2026 16:00:10 EDT news698501755 Sea level rise is a direct consequence of human-induced climate change: global warming. It is relentless and very hard to stop. It arises from human-induced warming and the consequential expansion of the ocean, plus the addition of more and more water from melting glaciers and ice sheets. It will continue long into the future. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-scientists-knowledge-sea.html Earth Sciences Wed, 20 May 2026 14:00:07 EDT news698493661 Old oil and gas wells may continue to affect the environment long after they have stopped producing, with new field evidence showing that their leakage footprint can be broader and more persistent than surface methane measurements alone reveal. A study led by researchers at The Lyell Centre, Heriot-Watt University, examined persistent methane leakage from a legacy petroleum well in British Columbia, Canada. The team found that while methane emissions at the ground surface were concentrated in a relatively small area and varied through time, the leakage also left a wider detectable signature in the shallow subsurface and surrounding soils. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-field-evidence-canada-wells-hidden.html Earth Sciences Wed, 20 May 2026 12:44:20 EDT news698499741 According to NOAA, the global average sea level has risen 8–9 inches (21–24 centimeters) since 1880. The rate at which the sea level is rising is increasing, threatening coastal cities and ecosystems around the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-cloud-sun-centuries-sea.html Earth Sciences Tue, 19 May 2026 12:45:13 EDT news698413433 It may sound counterintuitive, but new research suggests that cleaning up air pollution could contribute to a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). This is the ocean current system that acts like a giant conveyor belt, moving warm surface water northward and cool deep water southward. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-climate-air-pollution-key-atlantic.html Earth Sciences Tue, 19 May 2026 12:40:02 EDT news698411936 It was the hardest field trip they had ever been on, but the result was both surprising and exciting. After hiking 9 kilometers with a 400-meter elevation gain and carrying heavy backpacks through very rocky terrain, the researchers spent more than 24 hours in the field and returned with sediment samples from the lake Stuptjørna. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-brutal-field-insights-arctic-winter.html Earth Sciences Tue, 19 May 2026 12:00:04 EDT news698408102 Tidal wetlands are critical, yet vulnerable ecosystems. Tidal marshes, mangrove forests, and tidal flats support biodiversity, protect against flooding and storm surges, sequester carbon, and improve water quality. Due to human development and climate change, tidal wetland areas have been shrinking globally. A new study using 40 years of satellite data shows that this loss has been accelerating in the U.S. and that this acceleration is being increasingly driven by extreme weather events. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-extreme-weather-events-tidal-wetland.html Earth Sciences Tue, 19 May 2026 05:00:06 EDT news698325841 Across the western United States, wildfires are increasing in size and intensity. As the climate continues to warm, more extreme wildfires will reshape landscapes and pose a growing risk to human health and natural ecosystems throughout the West. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-worse-western-wildfires.html Earth Sciences Mon, 18 May 2026 22:00:03 EDT news698318208 Ghost forests, the cemetery-like groupings of dead trees killed by saltwater intrusion, have become haunting symbols of sea level rise overtaking land along the Mid-Atlantic coast. But a new study published in Nature Sustainability, led by William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS, points to even more dramatic land losses in the region's coastal farmlands, where the rate of marsh encroachment is happening nearly twice as fast. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-sea-swallowing-mid-atlantic-farmland.html Earth Sciences Mon, 18 May 2026 18:10:01 EDT news698343001 Researchers at National Taiwan University and partner institutions have uncovered new evidence that Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW)—a distinct layer sitting 500–1,500 meters below the ocean surface—played a pivotal role in a major atmospheric carbon dioxide transition that occurred roughly 450,000 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-southern-ocean-intermediate-key-earth.html Earth Sciences Mon, 18 May 2026 16:00:06 EDT news698327881 Within the Canadian Shield, hydrogen gas is steadily building up naturally among some of the oldest rocks on Earth. Now, for the first time, geochemists at the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa have measured its presence, mapped its concentration and tracked its long-term accumulation, shedding new light on this source of natural, or white, hydrogen. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-white-hydrogen-billion-year-canadian.html Earth Sciences Mon, 18 May 2026 15:00:10 EDT news698317793 Densely populated coastal regions in many parts of the world are particularly vulnerable to flooding. The sinking of land masses exacerbates the impacts of rising sea levels in these areas, according to a study by researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Tulane University. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-sea-areas-due-subsidence.html Earth Sciences Mon, 18 May 2026 12:20:01 EDT news698321821 Hydrogen gas formed by natural processes in the subsurface of mountain ranges could represent a promising source of clean energy. A new international study led by Unil and GFZ shows that erosion plays a key and complex role in the formation and accumulation of this natural resource. The research confirms that the Pyrenees and the Alps could constitute key targets for natural hydrogen exploration. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hidden-energy-mountains-erosion-hydrogen.html Earth Sciences Mon, 18 May 2026 09:00:02 EDT news698057821 Tropical forests, often described as the lungs of the planet, may be edging closer to a dangerous threshold as droughts become more frequent and widespread across the world's humid tropics. New research suggests these ecosystems are increasingly struggling to recover from prolonged dry conditions, raising concerns that some forests could eventually shift from absorbing carbon dioxide to releasing it back into the atmosphere. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-droughts-tropical-forests-dangerous-threshold.html Earth Sciences Mon, 18 May 2026 08:40:01 EDT news698071491 For years, scientists have warned that melting Antarctic ice could push sea levels dangerously higher by the end of this century. But a new study led by University of Maryland scientist Madeleine Youngs suggests those warnings may still be too conservative because they leave out a crucial factor: the ocean's own complex circulatory system. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-scientists-hidden-antarctic-ice-loss.html Earth Sciences Fri, 15 May 2026 14:40:01 EDT news698071801 Earthquakes can visibly and permanently crack the ground apart in dramatic and unpredictable surface fault rupture, but new research led by University of Michigan Engineering revealed that soil density strongly influences how and where they occur. The paper is published in the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dense-soils-earthquake-surface-ruptures.html Earth Sciences Fri, 15 May 2026 12:20:04 EDT news698064759 University of Delaware geologist Jessica Warren has contributed to research that brings us one step closer to better understanding how earthquakes operate. Situated along a stretch of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, between Indonesia and Central America, the Gofar transform fault is one of the fastest moving faults on Earth—cruising along the seafloor at about 140 millimeters per year. This is over four times faster than the San Andreas fault is moving in California. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-fast-gofar-fault-reveals-quiet.html Earth Sciences Fri, 15 May 2026 10:40:03 EDT news698060101 Multi-year La Niña events—so-called "double-dip" or even "triple-dip" La Niñas—are becoming more common. But why do these events persist for multiple years in the first place? https://phys.org/news/2026-05-la-nia-lingers-uncover-mechanisms.html Earth Sciences Fri, 15 May 2026 04:00:01 EDT news697966442 As densely populated coastal communities struggle to keep up with rising sea levels, new research reveals a way to predict how river deltas build land and protect coastal regions from encroaching oceans. This insight will help engineers and policymakers estimate how much new land can be created or maintained when human intervention is used to redirect river channels, making these efforts more effective for coastal restoration and flood protection. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-thumb-sustainability-river-deltas.html Earth Sciences Thu, 14 May 2026 17:10:33 EDT news697997401 Can "snow" fall in the ocean and influence the climate of the entire planet? It turns out that it can. Research conducted by scientists from the Faculty of Physics at University of Warsaw, published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, helps us understand how microscopic flakes of dead organic matter collide and sink into the deep ocean, transporting vast amounts of carbon and affecting the pace of global warming. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-physics-uncharted-mysteries-marine.html Earth Sciences Thu, 14 May 2026 16:30:48 EDT news697995001