Scientists have studied 30,000 years of simulated time to assess the threat of tsunamis caused by underwater earthquakes off the coast of New Zealand. Research suggests tsunami waves up to 92 feet (28 metres) high could hit parts of New…
Satellites orbiting the Earth have detected subtle magnetic signals caused by ocean tides. (Image courtesy of the European Space Agency) Researchers have studied in detail the magnetic signals associated with the Earth’s ocean tides. These faint signals, which can be…
One of the fossilized feathers of an ancient vulture. These feathers were preserved thanks to zeolite minerals. (Photo credit: Edoardo Terranova) Scientists have finally solved the mystery of how the fossilised feathers of a 30,000-year-old vulture were preserved in such…
The Mariana Trench is the deepest known point in the ocean, deeper than Mount Everest. (Photo credit: Philipp Tur/Getty Images) The Mariana Trench (sometimes called the Mariana Trench) is a mysterious and incredibly deep ocean trench. It extends below the…
(Image credit: Scharfsinn86/Getty Images) In this excerpt from The Pocket Guide to Planetary Danger (WH Allen, 2025), author Jacob Thoma, Professor at the SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance, University of London, examines the existential threat facing humanity: heat. As the…
Researchers have produced the most detailed map of Antarctica’s bedrock to date. (Image credit: Pritchard et al., Scientific Data (2025). Creative Commons.) Scientists have demonstrated the most detailed map of the relief hidden under the ice of Antarctica. This high-quality…
Mount Spurr as seen during an AVO flyby on March 11. The summit crater is located at lower center, and the peak of the crater is at center left. (Image credit: USGS AVO) A massive volcano in Alaska appears to…
Carbon is often stigmatised in the modern climate change debate, but Paul Hawken argues that the element is the basis of life on the planet. (Photo: Beate Whitehead/Getty Images) The oxidized form of carbon is at the center of the…
Satellite images from 1986 and 2019 show how the Ok Glacier has almost completely disappeared from the top of an Icelandic volcano. (Image credit: NASA/Landsat) Two satellite images taken 33 years apart show the disappearance of a glacier in Iceland,…
Lake Baikal is 25 million years old, making it the oldest lake on the planet. (Photo courtesy of Tatyana Andreeva via Shutterstock) Like mountains, lakes on Earth can be very old, or more than 1 million years old. There are…
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is the most powerful ocean current on the planet. (Photo credit: European Union, Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service) Melting ice in Antarctica is slowing the planet’s most powerful ocean current, according to a new study. An…
Fossils in China suggest the Great Dying was not so devastating in some areas. (Photo: YANG Dinghua) The mass extinction that wiped out 80% of all life on Earth 250 million years ago may not have been so catastrophic for…