Geology
A Huge Italian Volcano Could Be Ready to Erupt
Italy’s Campi Flegrei volcano has caused thousands of recent earthquakes and pushed up the ground, worrying 1.3 million residents
Geology40 articles archived since 1845
Geology
Primordial Helium May Be Leaking from Earth's Core
Helium gas may be seeping from Earth’s core, say scientists who found extremely high helium isotope ratios in lavas on Baffin Island
Geology
Earth’s Earliest Rocks Forged by Colliding Tectonic Plates
Our planet’s crust has been shifting and sliding for four billion years, a new study suggests
Geology
Will It or Won’t It? Iceland’s Volcano Threatens Eruption
An enormous magma intrusion under Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula is causing earthquake swarms and forcing evacuations
Geology
Egypt’s Iconic Sphinx May Have Begun as Natural Carving by the Wind
Egypt’s famous Sphinx may have originated as a rock feature carved by erosion that ancient Egyptians further refined into the iconic monument
Geology
Lost River Landscape Discovered below East Antarctic Ice
A preserved river landscape from the time before Antarctica was icebound persists more than a mile below the East Antarctic Ice Sheet
Geology
Scientists Discover Ghost of Ancient Mega-Plate That Disappeared 20 Million Years Ago
A long-lost tectonic plate dubbed “Pontus” that was a quarter of the size of the Pacific Ocean was discovered by chance by scientists in Borneo
Geology
Dead Trees and a Mysterious Cosmic Explosion Reveal Bigger Quake Risk for Seattle
Washington State’s Puget Sound could face previously unknown earthquake risks, according to a new study that has pinned down the date of an ancient earthquake using tree rings and the radiation left by a mysterious cosmic force...
Geology
Pink Diamonds Erupted to Earth’s Surface after Early Supercontinent’s Breakup
Western Australia’s Argyle Mine is famous for its rare pink diamonds, and scientists now think they know how these formed: a tectonic collision followed by the breakup of a supercontinent...
Geology
Fountains of Diamonds Erupt as Supercontinents Break Up
Researchers have discovered a pattern where diamonds spew from deep beneath Earth’s surface in huge, explosive volcanic eruptions
Geology
Subtle Movements That Precede Earthquakes Raise Questions about Predicting Disaster
Researchers have found a subtle signal that occurs two hours before major quakes, hinting that earthquake prediction is inching closer to possibility
Geology
Can Scientists Forecast Volcanic Eruptions?
Satellites and other technologies are spurring a new revolution in volcanic activity monitoring
Geology
Giant ‘Gravity Hole’ in the Ocean May Be the Ghost of an Ancient Sea
A vast expanse of the Indian Ocean is a staggering 100 meters lower than the global average sea level because of a major dip in Earth’s gravity. Scientists now think they know the cause...
Geology
The Most Intense Lightning Storm Ever Recorded Was Sparked by the Hunga Tonga Eruption
The January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcano generated a thunderstorm with more than 192,000 lightning flashes, including 2,600 flashes per minute at its peak...
Geology
New York City Is Sinking under Its Own Weight
The weight of New York City’s 1.1 million buildings is making the city slowly sink
Geology
Yellowstone Supervolcano Eruptions Were Even More Explosive Than We Knew
The last caldera-forming eruption at Yellowstone “was much more complex than previously thought,” according to the annual report about activity at the supervolcano
Geology
Strange Tremors Rattle Danish Island—But It Wasn't an Earthquake
Dozens of people reported tremors on the island of Bornholm, but seismologists say there was no earthquake
Geology
Earth’s Inner Core May Have an Inner Core
Echoes from earthquakes suggest that Earth’s solid inner core has its own core
Geology
Why Earth’s Inner Core May Be Slowing Down
The planet’s solid inner core might rotate at a different rate than the rest of the planet, and that rate might be changing
Geology
How Water Made Fire in an Indonesian Volcano
Heavy rains may have set off an outpouring of ash and gases from Indonesia’s volcano Semeru “like uncorking a soda bottle”
