EurekAlert! News by Subject: Earth Science - News by Subject: Earth Science

Earth Science

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 7-Apr-2026 10:16 ET (7-Apr-2026 14:16 GMT/UTC)

9-Feb-2026

When water meets rock: Exploring water quality impacts from legacy lithium mining in North Carolina

Duke University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

By investigating the residual effects of lithium mining on the quality of North Carolina water resources, researchers from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment shed light on potential impacts from future mining operations.

Journal: Environmental Science & Technology

9-Feb-2026

UW researchers use satellite data to quantify methane loss in the stratosphere

University of Washington
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A University of Washington study shows that existing models underestimate methane loss in the stratosphere and generate uncertainty in the global methane budget — a key metric for tracking climate change.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

9-Feb-2026

Montana State study of turtle fossil narrows timeline of Cretaceous species migration

Montana State University

By dating the layer of sediment where the Basilemys fossil was found, students determined the creature was the oldest of its species ever discovered in North America.

Journal: Historical Biology

9-Feb-2026

Seeing the whole from a part: Revealing hidden turbulent structures from limited observations and equations

Tokyo University of Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Turbulence can be found everywhere, from stirring in a teacup to currents in the planetary atmosphere. Predicting such flows is difficult, especially when only incomplete information is available. Now, researchers from Japan and the UK have shown that, in two-dimensional turbulent flows, observing only large-scale motion is sufficient to reconstruct the full flow. Their findings contribute to a deeper understanding of fluid dynamics, with implications for data-driven weather forecasting.

Journal: Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

9-Feb-2026

Why only a small number of planets are suitable for life

ETH Zurich
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The right amount of oxygen being present when the Earth’s core was formed meant that there were sufficient phosphorus and nitrogen available in the mantle and crust. This means the Earth was the beneficiary of a stroke of chemical good fortune in the universe. It is located in a zone with optimal chemical conditions for the development of life. When searching for life elsewhere in the universe, scientists should therefore look for solar systems that resemble our own. Focusing on water is not sufficient.

Journal: Nature Astronomy

6-Feb-2026

‘Energy efficiency’ key to mountain birds adapting to changing environmental conditions

University of East Anglia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) finds that 'energy efficiency' appears to influence how mountain birds adapt to changes in climate. Researchers looked at seasonal changes in the elevational distributions of birds - how high in the mountain birds go at different times of year - for nearly 11,000 avian populations across 34 mountain regions worldwide, including in Asia, Europe and the Americas, as well as Southern African and Australia.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: Wolfson Foundation, Royal Society

6-Feb-2026

When Earth’s magnetic field took its time flipping

University of Utah
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A University of Utah geoscientist, teamed with paleomagnetists from Japan and France, extracted sediment cores off Newfoundland that revealed a geomagnetic pole reversal that dragged on for 70,000 years—far longer than previously known.

Journal: Communications Earth & Environment
Funder: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science