News by Subject Earth Science

In 2017, a massive new region of magnetic field erupted on the sun's surface next to an existing sunspot. The powerful collision of magnetic energy produced a series of solar flares, causing turbulent space weather conditions at Earth. Scientists have now pinpointed for the first time exactly when and where the explosion released the energy that heated spewing plasma to energies equivalent to 1 billion degrees in temperature.

Researchers who analyzed well-preserved ocean drilling and global temperature records have added support to the idea that the primary cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) mass extinction was an asteroid impact, rather than extreme volcanism.

Japanese researchers used a Global Navigation Satellite System-Acoustic ranging combination technique to detect signals due to slow slip events in the Nankai Trough with seafloor deformations of 5 cm or more and durations on the order of one year. These events generally occurred on the shallow sides of regions with strong interplate coupling and represent variations in interplate friction conditions, which may help simulate the occurrence of megathrust earthquakes originating from this subduction zone and contribute earthquake disaster prevention.

New research, published today in Nature, led by scientists at the University of Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences, and at the Geological Survey of Israel, provides evidence from Siberian caves suggesting that summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean plays an essential role in stabilising permafrost and its large store of carbon.

Private well owners should test water quality annually, according to a recent Kansas State University study that revealed nitrate levels in shallow wells above US Environment Protection Act standards.