Tag: Earth

Sleeping subduction zone could awaken and form a new ‘Ring of Fire’ that swallows the Atlantic Ocean

A subduction zone below the Gibraltar Strait is creeping westward and could one day “invade” the Atlantic Ocean, causing the ocean to slowly close up, new research suggests. The subduction zone, also known as the Gibraltar arc or trench, currently sits in a narrow ocean corridor between Portugal and Morocco. Its westward migration began around 30 […]

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Mars attracts: How the Red Planet influences Earth’s climate and seas

Scientists have discovered geological evidence that the gravitational interaction between Mars and Earth drives a 2.4-million-year cycle of deep-sea circulation and global warming. The surprising link between Mars and Earth’s seas and climate sees deep currents wax and wane, and this connects to periods of increased solar energy and a warmer climate. The research could […]

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Why astronomers are worried about 2 major telescopes right now

There’s a bit of tension right now in the U.S. astronomy community and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it has to do with telescopes — extremely large telescopes, in fact. Here’s what’s going on. The National Science Foundation (NSF), a source of public funding that two powerful next-gen observatories have been banking on for financial support, is facing […]

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SpaceX rocket launches pioneering methane-tracking satellite to orbit

A new satellite that will track climate-heating methane emissions from oil and gas companies around the world launched this week from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base.  The washing-machine-sized satellite, named MethaneSAT, lifted off Monday (March 4) atop a Falcon 9 rocket, one of 53 payloads on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission. MethaneSAT is designed to ultimately […]

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It’s Not Officially the Anthropocene but Humans Have Changed the Planet

Coming after nearly 15 years of deliberation, a ruling by geologists on Tuesday feels almost anticlimactic: Our species has not so radically altered our world as to have started a new chapter in its history, at least not yet, a scholarly panel decided. But even if textbooks and research papers don’t feature the “Anthropocene” epoch […]

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Are We in the ‘Anthropocene,’ the Human Age? Nope, Scientists Say.

The Triassic was the dawn of the dinosaurs. The Paleogene saw the rise of mammals. The Pleistocene included the last ice ages. Is it time to mark humankind’s transformation of the planet with its own chapter in Earth history, the “Anthropocene,” or the human age? Not yet, scientists have decided, after a debate that has […]

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What are nacreous clouds?

Nacreous clouds, or ice polar stratospheric clouds, are a rare type of cloud that forms in very cold conditions and at high altitudes.  They are known for their iridescent colors, which are created when sunlight interacts with the tiny ice crystals they are made of, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The name “nacreous” […]

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Gravitational anomalies reveal seamount 3 times the height of world’s tallest building

Researchers have discovered four gigantic seamounts towering above the seafloor surrounding South America after detecting “gravitational anomalies” given off by the massive underwater mountains. The tallest rises more than 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) from the seafloor, making it three times taller than the world’s tallest building. Scientists aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Falkor (too) research […]

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‘Intruder’ stars have changed Earth’s climate over the eons. Here’s how.

Stars intruding into the sun’s cosmic backyard could have shifted Earth’s orbit in the distant past, triggering major climate events in our planet’s history.   The gravitational influence of these intruder stars has also impacted the orbit of other planets in the solar system, causing minor deviations called perturbations.  New research looks at the effect […]

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‘We are approaching the tipping point’: Marker for the collapse of key Atlantic current discovered

Scientists have discovered a key warning sign before a crucial Atlantic current collapses and plunges the Northern Hemisphere into climate chaos.  The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) carries warm water north from the Southern Hemisphere, where it releases heat and freezes. The freezing process concentrates salt in the non-frozen portion of the ocean water; this […]

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Our luscious blue Earth used to be a frozen snowball

Imagine a time when your favorite character in the Disney movie “Frozen” roamed the Earth — many millions of years ago, scientists say the picture in your mind was a reality. However, like Olaf probably wasn’t traversing that icy ancient Earth, Elsa wasn’t the one responsible for making our planet a big snowball in the […]

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The Doomsday Clock Keeps Ticking

The Bomb and I go way back. In Seattle, where I grew up in the 1950s and ’60s, it was common wisdom that in the event of nuclear war, we were No. 2 on the target list because Seattle was the home of Boeing, maker of B-52 bombers and Minuteman missiles. In school we had […]

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NASA’s PACE satellite will study Earth’s tiniest mysteries from space: Watch it launch live Feb. 6

On Feb. 6, NASA is scheduled to launch a major, multi-million dollar satellite to a reserved spot in Earth’s orbit. Sitting above even the International Space Station, the spacecraft called PACE (which stands for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) has a very big goal: to monitor our planet’s health on an epic scale, starting from […]

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Lava from Iceland volcano spied from space (satellite photo)

Solidified lava surrounds the small Icelandic town of Grindavík in a new satellite photo, following recent volcanic eruptions.  Satellite imagery taken on Jan. 27 by the European Space Agency‘s (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission shows dark patches of solidified lava near the fishing village of Grindavik in Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula. Areas covered in the solidified lava […]

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Space mysteries: Why do Earth’s magnetic poles flip?

Earth, our rocky, watery oasis in the cosmos is the ideal place for life to flourish for a number of reasons.  We sit at just the right distance from our home star for liquid water to exist on the planet’s surface. The gravitational pull of other large planets helps protect us from apocalyptic collisions with […]

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Earth’s water might have come from ancient space rocks, meteorite discovery suggests

Earth and the rest of our solar system’s inner, rocky planets are the products of a myriad of tiny planetesimals — glorified pebbles of primordial cosmic dust — assembling themselves together more than 4 billion years ago. Now, a new analysis suggests that those planetesimals already contained water. Researchers tested samples from meteorites that they […]

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What would happen if Earth stopped spinning?

Even though Earth is always spinning, we can’t feel it, and you probably take it for granted. But what would happen if it stopped? If Earth suddenly stopped spinning, it would be catastrophic. Almost everyone and everything not attached to the planet would continue to move at the current speed of Earth’s rotation, around 1,000 […]

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2023 was the hottest year on record, NASA and NOAA say

It’s official: 2023 was the hottest year on record. On Friday (Jan. 12), climate scientists from NASA and NOAA unveiled data showing that temperatures continue to rise at shocking rates, contributing to severe climate-driven weather events worldwide. NOAA’s and NASA’s analyses did not use satellite data or weather forecasts. Instead, their analysis used surface data […]

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Japanese earthquake on Jan. 1 shifted coastline over 800 feet, satellite photos show

Satellite images captured striking changes in the coastline of Japan’s Noto Peninsula following a massive earthquake on New Year’s Day.  A 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Japan on Jan. 1 around 2:10 a.m. EST (0710 GMT, or 4:10 p.m. local time in Japan), prompting orders for residents to evacuate affected coastal areas that experienced significant uplift. […]

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Crystal-studded space rock found in the Sahara may rewrite the history of the early solar system

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. In May 2020, some unusual rocks containing distinctive greenish crystals were found in the Erg Chech sand sea, a dune-filled region of the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. On close inspection, the rocks turned out to be from […]

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