Tiny zircon crystals are revealing that Earth’s earliest history may have included surprisingly complex tectonic activity. Earth today is built around recycling. Old crust sinks, melts, and returns as new rock. A new zircon study suggests that…
Category: Earth
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The Oldest Minerals on Earth Are Rewriting the Planet’s Origin Story
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Amazon rainforest flipped to carbon source during 2023 extreme drought, study shows
The Amazon rainforest is of crucial importance to the Earth’s ecosystem, given its capacity to store substantial amounts of carbon in its vegetation. In 2023, the region experienced unusually high temperatures, reaching 1.5°C above the…
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Offshore wind farms change ocean current patterns, simulations show
By 2050, offshore wind power capacity in the North Sea is set to increase more than tenfold. Researchers at the Helmholtz Center Hereon have analyzed the long-term overall impact of this large number of wind farms on the hydrodynamics of the…
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Widespread 'enhanced rock weathering' could slow global warming
It’s one of the latest technologies for sequestering carbon: crush silicate rocks, add to crop soil, and let the rock dust naturally react with carbon dioxide. The reactions bind carbon into stable mineral forms that can persist for millennia,…
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Amazon deforestation raises surface temperature by 3°C during dry season, satellite data show
Deforestation in the Amazon is causing significant regional changes in climate compared to areas with forest cover above 80%. The loss of vegetation leads to an increase in surface temperature, a decrease in evapotranspiration, and a reduction in…
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Half the World’s Coral Reefs Devastated by Record Ocean Heat
Half the world’s coral reefs were hit hard by extreme ocean heat, and an even more severe bleaching crisis is happening right now. Coral reefs are far more than colorful underwater ecosystems. They support fisheries, drive tourism, shield…
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Extreme rainfall is worsening algal blooms along South Korea's coast
Extreme rainfall is reshaping coastal waters along South Korea’s shoreline, flushing nutrients from land into the sea and fueling the growth of algal blooms. A new multi-year study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, tracked water quality…
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Microscopic plankton reveal tropicalization of the Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is rapidly changing under ongoing climate change. In the eastern basin, tropicalization is already well documented and driven by a combination of strong warming and the influx of tropical species through the Suez Canal. In…
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Ancient Rocks Reveal Hidden Climate Motion During Snowball Earth
Even when Earth was locked in a global deep freeze, its climate may have kept moving. Ancient rocks reveal seasonal and decade scale cycles beneath the ice during Snowball Earth. Researchers at the University of Southampton have discovered signs…
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Stanford Researchers Chart Mysterious Earthquakes in Earth’s Mantle
Scientists have mapped a little-understood class of earthquakes that originate deep within Earth’s mantle rather than in the crust. Stanford scientists have produced the first comprehensive global map of an unusual kind of earthquake that…
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