Geology

Giant oxygen explosions may have created the conditions life needed to thrive on Earth

Life is just a tiny thin layer above Earth's surface—but it may only exist because of processes happening deep inside the planet, according to a new …

Deadliest Earthquake of the Year Strikes Iran

11/14/2017 · by carylsue · in Classroom Ideas, Current Event Connection, Geography In the News, Main. ·<p><b>WORLD</b><p>The deadliest earthquake of 2017 struck Iran and Iraq late Sunday evening, rocking the two countries and killing more than 400 people. (National Geographic)<p>Use our video to better understand …

Curious Kids: Do most volcanologists die from getting too close to volcanoes?

<i>This is an article from Curious Kids, a series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer.</i> …

Antarctica's warm underbelly revealed

<b>This is the best map yet produced of the warmth coming up from the rocks underneath the Antarctic ice sheet.</b><p>This "geothermal heat flux" is key data required by scientists in order to model how the White Continent is going to react to climate change.<p>If the rockbed's temperature is raised, it makes …

When Earth's Supercontinent Pangaea Was Torn Apart 130 Million Years Ago, the Planet Warmed Up

Giant global networks of rift valleys have impacts way above the surface of the Earth, too.

Volcanism in slab tear faults is larger than in island-arcs and back-arcs

Article |<p>Open<p>Luca Cocchi ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7835-1116,<br>• Salvatore Passaro ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3045-9002,<br>• Fabio Caratori Tontini ORCID: …

When water met iron deep inside the Earth, did it create conditions for life?

Reservoirs of oxygen-rich iron between the Earth's core and mantle could have played a major role in Earth's history<p>Washington, DC -- Reservoirs of …

How the Pacific seafloor got its 60-degree bend

Hawaii sits at the end of a chain of volcanoes running across the Pacific Ocean floor, but in the middle of this chain lies a bend of 60 degrees. For …

Is there a supervolcano buried in Antarctica waiting to erupt?

Antarctica is behaving oddly. Like its North Pole counterpart, it’s being affected by our changing climate. But not in ways science expects.<p>It has lakes. It has rivers. All of liquid, flowing water. It’s just that they’re beneath the ice sheet. Not on top. How did they get there?<p>A new NASA study is …

Here's What You Really Need to Know About That Hot Plume Under Antarctica

Don't believe the headlines that say there's a disaster coming.<p>Antarctica today takes a lot of heat from above, thanks to two hundred years of …

Earthquakes Jolt Icelandic Volcano as It Refills with Magma

Earthquakes are shaking the ground around Iceland's explosive Bardarbunga volcano, but experts say there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for …

Is Iceland's tallest volcano awakening?

Two women and a boy took refuge on the roof … but it was carried away by the deluge of water, and as far as the eye could reach, the three …

When will the Earth try to kill us again? | Ars Technica

Most mass extinctions began with vast convulsions of Earth’s interior—can we detect that?<p>“The revolutions and changes which have left the earth as we …

GoPro Camera Survives Lava Flowing from Volcano

Hawaiian tour guide and GoPro action camera enthusiast Erik Storm can’t be faulted for thinking all was lost when his camera (with housing) was …

A Massive Heat Source Was Just Discovered Under Antarctica, Driving Ice Melt And Volcanism

Recent discoveries have revealed just how volcanic Antarctica really is, despite being hidden underneath massive ice sheets. However, up until now, …

Perovskite in Earth’s deep interior

Silicate perovskite-type phases are the most abundant constituent inside our planet and are the predominant minerals in Earth’s lower mantle more …

Fire and ice: Mapping the magma flow to Antarctica's most active volcano

On a quest to map the magma source of Mount Erebus in Antarctica, one of the most remote and highly active volcanoes in the world, scientists needed …

'Mantle plume' nearly as hot as Yellowstone supervolcano is melting Antarctic ice sheet

Mysterious "Geomagnetic Spike" 3,000 Years Ago Challenges Our Understanding of Earth's Interior

<i>The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.</i><p>The Earth’s magnetic …

I've always wondered: do nuclear tests affect tectonic plates and cause earthquakes or volcanic eruptions?

<i>This is an article from I’ve Always Wondered, a new series where readers send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. Send your question to</i> …

Long Valley Volcano's 'Super-Eruption' Magma Was Cooler Than Past Estimates: Study

Long Valley, California, witnessed a ‘super-eruption’ about 765,000 years ago. This caused a pool of molten rock to explode into the sky causing a …

Turns Out Magma Is Locked in 'Cold Storage' Before Volcanoes Dramatically Explode

Good to know.<p>Volcanic eruptions inevitably call to mind the mental image of an incredibly hot, molten pool of magma, bursting forth from the ground …

Inside Mount Saint Helens, Scientists Find Clues to Eruption Prediction

Early on the morning of May 18, 1980, Arlene Edwards, a freelance photographer from Portland, Ore., and her 19-year-old daughter, Jolene, drove …

What Do Volcano Warning Signs Really Tell Us? - Rocky Planet

By Erik Klemetti | November 6, 2017 11:57 am<p>Glance at the news lately and you might see these headlines that would make Kent “ACTION NEWS” Brockman …

Sleeping on fire: A trip to Africa’s most dangerous volcano, in an active conflict zone

<b>The Spirit of Nyiragongo</b><p>Mount Nyiragongo is Africa’s most active volcano. Located in the war-torn country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it …

6 Fascinating Facts About the Earth's Mantle

The mantle is the thick layer of hot, solid rock between the Earth's crust and the molten iron core. It makes up the bulk of the Earth, accounting …

How Old Is the Ocean Floor?

The youngest crust of the ocean floor can be found near the seafloor spreading centers, or mid-ocean ridges. As the plates split apart, magma rises …

We Don't Know Much About Earth's First 1.5 Billion Years, But This Mineral Could Hold Answers

These are the best records we have.<p>Scientists are using minerals extracted from volcanic rock to learn more about the earliest times on planet Earth …

Iceland's largest volcano is on the verge of eruption

Bardarbunga, the largest volcano in Iceland, is preparing to erupt. And if it does, it could send an enormous ash cloud across Europe, affecting …

Zealandia: The Eighth Continent You Never Knew About

Photo: Shutterstock<p>We hope you’ve finally made your peace with Pluto being downgraded from a planet to an ice dwarf, because we have some more …