https://phys.org/earth-news/environment/ en-us The latest news on the environment, environmental issues, earth science and space exploration. Geoscientists at the University of Glasgow have helped reveal new evidence about the formation of one of the highest mountainous areas on Earth—the Tibetan Plateau. A study by an international team of Chinese and U.K. geoscientists shows that the unique topography at the summit of the plateau is shaped by processes going on deep in Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-geoscientists-reveal-earth-roof-world.html Earth Sciences Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:40:01 EDT news702896179 China and the southern United States were hit last year by some of their worst sand and dust storms in decades, the United Nations said Friday. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-intense-storms-struck-china.html Environment Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:20:02 EDT news702908402 Fifteen people were killed in landslides in the Philippines, and thousands in Taiwan were evacuated from their homes as the biggest typhoon in decades neared the region Friday. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-landslides-philippines-biggest-typhoon-decades.html Environment Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:00:01 EDT news702908339 Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell to its lowest level in a decade in the first half of the year, according to official figures released Friday. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-brazil-deforestation-amazon.html Environment Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:40:02 EDT news702908215 Tropical forests draw down and store large quantities of CO₂ from the atmosphere. The Amazon rainforest in South America, for example, stores approximately 123 billion tons of carbon—more than is stored in any other terrestrial ecosystem in the world. But these forests are facing a critical challenge. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tropical-forests-carbon-sources-el.html Environment Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:20:04 EDT news702902641 As drought strains water supplies across much of the United States, Virginia Tech researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to help policymakers manage growing competition between agriculture and semiconductor manufacturing. Feras Batarseh, associate professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering and the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative and the project's lead researcher, said the recent explosion of AI queries via language learning models and the increased need for chip production are increasing pressure on already-strained water systems in many parts of the country. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-national-drought-deepens-ai-demands.html Environment Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:40:03 EDT news702898801 A team at the Applied Physics Lab is working to understand the complex science behind predicting invisible threats that can quickly cripple electric grid infrastructure on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-solar-storms-million-miles-earth.html Earth Sciences Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:20:05 EDT news702896122 There's nothing like gliding down a snow-covered slope. That is, if you ask the thousands of people who make an annual pilgrimage to our alpine resorts during the Australian winter. But this year, the start to the snow season has been far from spectacular. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-australia-season-climate-expert.html Earth Sciences Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:40:01 EDT news702893941 A new international study involving scientists from the University of Aberdeen has revealed a critical blind spot in global climate risk assessments—the growing danger posed by small alpine lakes formed by glacier retreat and permafrost thaw. Published in Nature Sustainability, the research highlights how these lakes, which are often too small to appear in conventional hazard databases, can still unleash sudden and destructive floods with little warning. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tiny-mountain-lakes-pose-big.html Earth Sciences Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:40:01 EDT news702890265 As sea levels rise and coastlines erode, Australia's legal system is struggling to keep up. Longstanding assumptions about who owns the coast—and who should pay when it disappears—are now at the center of growing disputes. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tides-tensions-rethink-coastal-law.html Earth Sciences Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:20:01 EDT news702892862 President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday moved to loosen truck pollution regulations put in place by his predecessor, Joe Biden, in its latest environmental rollback benefiting makers of fossil fuel-burning vehicles. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-weaker-truck-pollution.html Environment Fri, 10 Jul 2026 04:20:02 EDT news702875102 Digital technologies—from artificial intelligence to smartphones and data centers—are often described as "clean" innovations. Yet every device depends on minerals, electricity, labor and global supply chains, raising important questions about environmental justice and development. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-qa-global-south-environmental-justice.html Environment Thu, 09 Jul 2026 23:20:03 EDT news702832137 The Amazon rainforest is one of the largest carbon reservoirs on Earth. It is also the world's largest source of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These carbon-based gases are naturally released by vegetation. They protect trees against various sources of stress, e.g., by mitigating oxidative stress and deterring herbivores. Once in the atmosphere, VOCs react rapidly with other gases. This influences the formation of airborne particles and clouds, which contributes to shaping the regional climate and rainfall patterns. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-stress-amazon-trees-climate-atmosphere.html Environment Thu, 09 Jul 2026 17:00:03 EDT news702822133 Earth's temperature has been much cooler in the past than previously thought, meaning it could be moving toward the warmest it's ever been. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ancient-reveal-earth-periods-cooler.html Earth Sciences Thu, 09 Jul 2026 16:40:03 EDT news702822175 Permafrost usually hits the news as a hazard, a planetary risk. When this ice-rich ground thaws, it damages roads and building foundations. It drains lakes and tips trees into drunken forests. It releases greenhouse gases that have been locked in carbon-rich soils for thousands of years, amplifying warming and driving further thaw. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-earth-deep-memory-arctic-permafrost.html Earth Sciences Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:40:01 EDT news702820801 The El Nino weather pattern picked up strength over the past month and is highly likely to "rank among the largest" ever recorded when it peaks between October and December, U.S. forecasters said Thursday. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-el-nino-largest.html Environment Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:10:01 EDT news702823540 Following a four-year study, scientists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography released a new report to determine whether an early warning system could detect a landslide before it happens. The "California Coastal Landslide Early Warning Research" report found that a network of in-ground sensors can provide a reliable warning of impending, dangerous landslides with hours to days' notice, but that more work is needed to formalize the findings into an actionable warning system. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-sensors-california-cliff-collapses-hours.html Earth Sciences Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:00:20 EDT news702806259 The UK on Thursday experienced its eighth day in 2026 with the mercury climbing above 34°C (94°F), the Met Office said, breaking the previous record by one day. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-uk-days-34c.html Environment Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:47:19 EDT news702823589 A new study published in Quaternary Science Reviews dates the dramatic collapse of one of the largest glaciers ever documented in the Himalayas. The findings overturn a long-held assumption about what sustains wet-climate (monsoon-dominated) glaciers. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ancient-kilometer-himalayan-glacier-india.html Earth Sciences Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:00:01 EDT news702809752 Moderate volcanic eruptions and extreme wildfires since 2005 have led to an increase in the amount of water vapor in the stratosphere, a layer of Earth's atmosphere above the weather-filled troposphere. That's potentially bad news because water vapor here acts like a greenhouse gas that traps heat and changes ozone chemistry. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-volcanoes-wildfires-adding-vapor-stratosphere.html Earth Sciences Thu, 09 Jul 2026 12:30:05 EDT news702816070 For more than 150 years, scientists have debated when and how the Colorado River first carved its way through the Grand Canyon. Now, a new study led by researchers at the University of New Mexico offers evidence that the river developed gradually from north to south between 8 million and 4.8 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-fish-dna-crystals-rewrite-colorado.html Earth Sciences Thu, 09 Jul 2026 11:20:05 EDT news702808308 An intensifying El Niño, nature's heat-releasing thermostat that spikes global temperatures, is heading to historically strong levels, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-el-nino-powers-historic-strength.html Environment Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:40:01 EDT news702809889 Two-thirds of the European Union's population may have been exposed to harmful levels of ozone pollution during last month's record-breaking heat wave, a report exclusively shared with AFP warned Thursday. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ozone-thirds-eu-residents-june.html Environment Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:01:41 EDT news702810079 Continental aquatic ecosystems, such as lakes and reservoirs, occupy a small proportion of Earth's surface but play a significant role in the global carbon cycle. It is estimated that more than 40% of global methane emissions originate from these ecosystems. However, the true scale of these emissions remains uncertain, as most of the available data comes from one-off measurements taken at specific times and locations. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-falling-trigger-surge-methane-emissions.html Earth Sciences Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:40:12 EDT news702806844 Imagine living in a home that you could simply pick up and move when extreme weather strikes. Instead of bricks and mortar, it's made from materials sourced from the local environment and, if weather conditions change, you pack it up and rebuild it in a safer location. That's exactly what Khudi Bari, developed by Bangladeshi firm Marina Tabassum Architects, is doing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-homes.html Environment Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:40:08 EDT news702808201 As a heat dome drives dangerous temperatures across much of the United States and renews concerns about extreme heat, USC researchers have developed a new, freely available AI tool that could help cities better understand one of their best defenses against rising temperatures: trees. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-tool-cities-urban-tree.html Environment Thu, 09 Jul 2026 07:40:05 EDT news702799682 Barcelona registered a maximum temperature of 40.7°C (105.3°F) on Wednesday, its highest figure in 112 years of records, weather agencies said as another heat wave struck Spain. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-shatters-barcelona-spain-latest.html Environment Thu, 09 Jul 2026 05:20:01 EDT news702791277 Western Europe this year experienced its hottest June on record as a searing heat wave swept across a continent facing increasingly frequent and intense heat extremes, the European Union's climate monitor said Thursday. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-western-europe-hottest-june-surge.html Environment Thu, 09 Jul 2026 05:10:01 EDT news702790921 Taiwan's weather forecaster warned on Thursday of "destructive" winds as the biggest typhoon in years swept toward the island after pounding U.S. Pacific territories. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-taiwan-destructive-typhoon-nears.html Environment Thu, 09 Jul 2026 05:00:09 EDT news702790876 Tiny, invisible swirls and twirls—not much bigger than a coin—deep below the ocean's surface are silently shaping some of the biggest forces shaping our climate: sea level rise, fisheries collapse, extreme flooding and how much carbon dioxide the ocean absorbs. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-hidden-deep-sea-turbulence-climate.html Earth Sciences Thu, 09 Jul 2026 05:00:01 EDT news702711269