Earth Sciences
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Microbes from millions of years ago
They’ve been hiding beneath the South Pacific Gyre.
Scientists studying sediments from the Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand have found bacteria that appear to have surv...
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Volcanoes aren’t always what they seem
A different kind of magma may lurk below.
Volcanoes are potentially dangerous, but this can be tempered by their consistency. Many produce similar eruptions ov...
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Aerosols have been around for a while
Southern Ocean offers a glimpse of preindustrial times.
Preindustrial concentrations of atmospheric aerosols were higher than assumed in most modern climate models, a new st...
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During lockdown we were light on the Earth
Scientists record the seismic noise of social distancing.
The lack of activity during the COVID-19 lockdown between March and May caused human-linked vibrations in the Earth t...
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Earlier warning of Pacific cyclones
New model makes predictions four months ahead.
Many vulnerable Pacific nations will have more time to prepare for tropical cyclones thanks to a new model that can g...
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History
Clair Patterson helped us breathe freely
He won the battle against lead pollution and its backers.
Clair Cameron Patterson didn’t have far to travel when he returned to civilian life at the end of World War II. Th...
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Conversation
Earthquake scientists make most of lockdown
It’s easier to hear things when things are quiet.
By Meghan S. Miller and Louis Moresi, Australian National University Our responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have d...
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How much of Antarctica is really wilderness?
New study maps extend and pattern of human activity.
While as much as 99.6% of Antarctica is technically wilderness, pristine areas free from human interference cover les...
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Metal lodes may be hidden deep
Geologists identify structural lines with real potential.
Scientists have discovered structural lines around 170 kilometres below the Earth’s surface they say appear to signal...
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Saharan dust active at home and abroad
Study reveals pollution’s impact on child health.
Dust storms heading west across the Atlantic from the Sahara are nothing new, but the latest has been particularly la...
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Gold mining restricts Amazon forest recovery
Study measures impact of a growth industry.
Gold mining significantly limits the regrowth of Amazon forests and thus their ability to accumulate carbon, accordin...
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Global pollution mapped, for good and bad
Data reveal the success of some recent strategies.
US researchers have used data from multiple satellites and ground monitors to create a “comprehensive and consistent”...