A study by NASA astronomer Sten Odenwald found that magnetometers in smartphones can detect small disturbances of the Earth's magnetic field, allowing such devices to be used to form a distributed space weather observatory. The 3-axis Hall-effect magnetometer…
Researchers have confirmed the presence of magnetic plasma waves in the Sun's photosphere, catching them in action. Known as Alfven Waves, these fascinating waves were first predicted in 1947. The Alfven Waves, named after Nobel Prize-winning scientist Hannes…
Scientists from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science have shed light on the hazards of Hawaii's Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on Earth, finding that a large earthquake could set off an eruption. The team…
In a new paper, scientists have reported what they say is the longest sediment avalanche measured so far in action and the only monitored flow to continuously self-accelerate for over 1 000 km (620 miles). The event occurred off the coast of West Africa, in a deep…
The cause of the deepest earthquakes on Earth has been a mystery to scientists for more than a century. In a new study, a team of scientists may have solved the case by identifying water as the key factor that causes deep-focus quakes. Most earthquakes occur near…
A catastrophic drop in atmospheric ozone layers 60 000 to 100 000 years ago likely contributed to a population bottleneck during that period. According to a new study, the event was triggered by the eruption of the Toba supervolcano in Sumatra, Indonesia. "Toba…
The devastating M8.5 earthquake that shook Sumatra, Indonesia, in 1861 was long believed to be a sudden rupture on a previously quiescent fault. However, new research showed that tectonic plates below the island had been slowly crashing against each other for 32…
A team of scientists from Japan, South Korea, and the USA, has identified a new pattern of atmospheric circulation around the Arctic that could drive co-occurrences of heatwaves and large-scale wildfires over the region, particularly in Siberia and subpolar North…
Slow-slip earthquakes have been detected at many earthquake hotspots in the world, including areas around the Pacific Ring of Fire, but it remains unclear as to how they are linked to the damaging quakes that take place there. In a new study, researchers at The…
Professor Clare Watt, a space plasma physicist from Northumbria's Department of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, is leading a new project that aims to forecast space weather more accurately. Funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council…
