• Rare plutonium isotope preserved in Pacific seabed points to an ancient cosmic explosion

    ByReet Kaur

    Tiny traces of radioactive plutonium locked inside a slow-growing crust on the floor of the Pacific Ocean have helped scientists solve a cosmic mystery dating back more than 100 million years. In a study published on June 15, 2026, in Nature Astronomy, an international team reports that the last nearby event capable of forging many of the Universe’s heaviest elements occurred long before the supernovae whose signatures have already been found on Earth.

  • AI uncovers nearly 1 000 hidden earthquakes beneath East Antarctica

    ByReet Kaur

    Scientists have discovered nearly 1 000 previously undetected earthquakes beneath East Antarctica after applying machine-learning techniques to seismic records collected decades ago, revealing that one of Earth’s most remote regions is far more seismically active than once believed. The findings were published in Science on May 28, 2026.

  • 2025 Kamchatka earthquake rupture matched the 1952 great earthquake, study finds

    ByRishav Kothari

    A new study of the July 2025 Mw 8.8 Kamchatka earthquake found that the rupture extended about 500 km (311 miles) southwest from its epicenter, closely matching the rupture area of the great 1952 Kamchatka earthquake. Researchers say the similarity points to long-lived structural controls along the subduction zone that may influence how the region’s largest earthquakes rupture

  • New study links Atlantic “cold blob” to declining ocean heat transport

    ByReet Kaur

    The Atlantic “cold blob” — a persistent cooling anomaly in the subpolar North Atlantic south of Greenland and Iceland — is primarily caused by reduced ocean heat transport into the region rather than increased heat loss to the atmosphere, according to a study published in Geophysical Research Letters on May 28, 2026. The findings add to growing evidence of a long-term weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).

  • Gulf Stream shifted north during abrupt Ice Age cold snap, offering clues to future climate tipping points

    ByReet Kaur

    During one of the most dramatic climate reversals of the last Ice Age, the Gulf Stream shifted hundreds of kilometers northward, warming waters off Nova Scotia by about 4-5°C (7.2-9°F) and likely disrupting marine ecosystems along eastern Canada, according to a study published in Nature Communications.

  • 800-year-old diary reveals solar storm 14 times stronger than the largest event of the Space Age

    ByReet Kaur

    An 800-year-old diary describing red lights in the skies over Kyoto has helped researchers identify a previously unknown solar proton event that occurred during one of the most active periods of solar activity known from the Medieval era.

  • Hidden faults beneath Seattle may rupture more frequently than previously recognized, study finds

    ByReet Kaur

    Secondary faults beneath the Seattle metropolitan area may rupture more frequently than previously recognized and could represent an underappreciated source of seismic hazard, according to a new study published in GSA Bulletin.

  • Stress along Southern California faults reaches highest level in 1 000 years

    ByRishav Kothari

    More than 160 years after the M7.9 Fort Tejon earthquake, tectonic stress along Southern California’s two dominant fault systems has reached record levels, according to a new study that reconstructs 1 000 years of earthquake activity across the southern San Andreas and San Jacinto faults.

  • Giant Devonian scorpion identified from 400-million-year-old fossils in Britain

    ByRishav Kothari

    A giant scorpion that lived more than 410 million years ago may have been one of the earliest apex predators on Earth and could have spent much of its life in water, according to a new study published in Palaeontology. Researchers re-examined the fossil of the arthropod Praearcturus gigas and concluded that it was a giant scorpion rather than a crustacean, resolving a debate that has persisted for more than 150 years.

  • Continent-scale basin system found beneath East Antarctica’s ice sheet

    ByRishav Kothari

    Scientists have identified a vast fan-shaped basin province beneath East Antarctica that extends under roughly half of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The newly recognized structure may preserve evidence of tectonic processes linked to mountain building and the breakup of Gondwana.