The study of Earth’s systems, including its physical structure, natural processes, and interactions between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Earth sciences investigate phenomena such as weather, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions to understand our planet’s past, present, and future.
Weaker lightning during the early stages of a thunderstorm ignited a deadly wildfire in MuLi County, southwestern China, on March 30, 2019, killing 31 people and reshaping how scientists understand the ignition power of lightning.
Researchers at Penn State and Columbia University have found that Earth’s continents became stable through extreme heat exceeding 900 °C (1 650 °F) in the planet’s lower crust, according to a study published in Nature Geoscience on October 13, 2025.
A study published in Nature Communications on October 6, 2025, by an international team of 36 scientists from five countries led by Prof. Xufeng Zheng of Hainan University reveals that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current once flowed hundreds of kilometers further south and may now be slowly shifting north under natural orbital cycles.
A new study published on September 21, 2025, finds that Earth’s 433-day Chandler Wobble nearly vanished after 2015, and the cause traces back to dramatic air and water mass shifts in 2011 that followed the 2010–11 La Niña.
Scientists have captured the Cascadia subduction zone off Vancouver Island actively tearing apart, according to a study published in Science Advances on September 24, 2025.
Ionospheric disturbances were observed up to two hours before the Mw 7.5 earthquake that struck northern Peru at 10:52 UTC (05:52 LT) on November 28, 2021, according to a new study published in the Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics on September 27, 2025.
Early results from SWERVE show that forecasts in weeks two and three can sometimes detect meaningful signals of heightened severe weather activity. The signals, produced through consensus forecasts that blend multiple models, perform better than climatology alone. Instead of simply repeating seasonal averages, they highlight specific windows when the atmosphere appears more favorable than normal…
A peer-reviewed study in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters shows that horizontal vortex tubes strongly influenced the EF3 tornado that struck Foshan, China, on October 4, 2015 during Super Typhoon Mujigae.
A study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research finds that strong electric fields in thunderclouds can accelerate electrons, creating runaway avalanches that emit X-rays and gamma rays, a process connected to the conditions that lead to lightning initiation.
A magnitude M7.5 earthquake struck Central Sulawesi at 18:02 LT (10:02 UTC) on September 28, 2018, unleashing a locally amplified tsunami, catastrophic liquefaction and slope failures that killed more than 4 300 people.
