A Chinese research team tracked sulfur dioxide (SO2) from Iceland’s Sundhnukagigar volcano, which traveled over 2 000 km (1 243 miles) to the Svalbard Islands in the Arctic in 2023, causing significant smog. The findings, published in The Innovation Geoscience, documented the long-distance environmental impact of the eruption.
A NASA experiment shows how solar wind can form water on the lunar surface. The study, conducted with Apollo 17 samples, simulated 80,000 years of solar wind exposure.
Kīlauea’s 2018 eruption released volcanic ash that contributed to a large phytoplankton bloom 1 930 km (1 200 miles) away in the North Pacific. The bloom, spanning 1.5 million km², was one of the largest recorded in the region.
A new study reveals that 14–17 % of global cropland, roughly 242 million ha (598 million acres), is contaminated with toxic metals, affecting food safety for up to 1.4 billion people. The contamination, driven by metals like cadmium and nickel, poses risks to agriculture and human health worldwide.
Around 41 000 years ago, Earth’s magnetic field weakened by up to 90 percent during a geomagnetic excursion known as the Laschamps event. This rare event reduced the planet’s natural shielding against solar and cosmic radiation, exposing the surface to increased ultraviolet energy. A new study combining space weather modeling and archaeological evidence shows that early humans adapted to these extreme conditions through the use of ochre, clothing, and caves, while Neanderthals may have lacked such protective strategies, which may have contributed to their extinction.
Researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected molecules in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b that may indicate potential biological activity. The analysis revealed the presence of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide—compounds that, on Earth, are primarily produced by biological processes.
A recent study proposes that Mercury’s unusually large iron core formed after a grazing collision with a similar-sized protoplanet stripped away much of its rocky mantle. The theory is supported by simulations and past mission data, with further observations expected from the BepiColombo mission in November 2026.
A recent study analyzing data from 1980 to 2020 found that atmospheric rivers (ARs), though infrequent, have accounted for up to 70% of extreme snowfall events in East Antarctica since the 1980s, significantly impacting the continent’s ice sheet mass balance.
Previously dormant supermassive black hole Ansky in galaxy SDSS1335+0728, approximately 300 million light-years away in Virgo, started emitting exceptional X-ray flares in late 2019. These quasiperiodic eruptions last 10 times longer, shine 10 times brighter, and release 100 times more energy than typical black hole bursts. ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA telescopes have recorded 165 such events since February 2024.
A new study published in Nature found that Andromeda’s satellite galaxies are stacked on one side—an unusual imbalance that challenges the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM) cosmological model. The finding is stirring questions about the universe’s blueprint and suggests our cosmic models may be due for a rewrite.
