Planet Earth news, feature and articles

Editor's Picks

A research ship at sea at sunset.
Enormous freshwater reservoir discovered off the East Coast may be 20,000 years old and big enough to supply NYC for 800 years An expedition off the coast of Massachusetts has confirmed the existence of a freshwater reservoir beneath the seafloor. Now, scientists are starting to understand when and how it formed.
27 Comments
A fracture in the earth's crust in the rift valley between the American and Eurasian continental plates in Iceland.
'Maybe they're waiting for something that only happens thousands of years later': The hidden life 'sleeping' deep beneath Earth for millions of years Deep inside Earth lies a hidden world of "intraterrestrials" that have been dormant for hundreds of thousands of years — what are they waiting to "wake up" for?
4 Comments
Photograph of a grassy hill with horses in the background and a tall tree.
'Nitrogen fixing' trees could help tropical forests bounce back, research suggests On the narrow isthmus of Panama, scientists discovered adding nitrogen to the soil doubled tree growth, providing new insights into forest restoration.
2 Comments

Latest about Planet Earth

Powers of white and brown salt crystals are seen in a dimly lit cave with a roped staircase in the background

Missing megaflood: How did the Mediterranean transform from a salt-filled bowl to a deep sea if it wasn't a cataclysmic deluge?

By Dana Mackenzie, Knowable Magazine published

Researchers have long believed that a sudden, massive deluge filled a dry, salt-filled Mediterranean 5 million years ago. Turns out that probably didn't happen, but there was still drama aplenty.

Weather

Hidden slippery clay on seafloor may have worsened devastating 2011 tsunami in Japan

By Stephanie Pappas published

A thick layer of slippery clay on the ocean floor may have formed the weak spot that enabled a magnitude 9.1 quake to make such a devastating tsunami.

Earthquakes

Vanishing lakes in Tibet may have triggered earthquakes by awakening faults in Earth's crust

By Colin Barras published

Shrinking lakes in Tibet likely woke up long-dormant tectonic faults, a new study finds. The findings strengthen the link between climate change and earthquakes

Earthquakes
An astronaut photo showing a section of the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe

Hidden beauty of Zimbabwe's 2.5 billion-year-old 'geological marvel' revealed in striking astronaut photo

By Harry Baker published

Earth from space A 2010 astronaut photo shows off the astonishing scale of the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe, which stretches over 340 miles (550 kilometers). The lengthy structure, which is not actually a dike, is full of extremely valuable minerals that fuel a massive mining industry.

3 Comments
Earth from space
A map of the world with dark blue dots showing earthquake activity and traces in red of the various tectonic plates around planet Earth

'Impossible' mantle earthquakes actually occur all over the world, study finds

By Stephanie Pappas published

Researchers were once unsure whether mantle earthquakes existed. Now they have a global map of this mysterious phenomenon.

Earthquakes

There's 13 Great Lakes' worth of water hidden beneath the contiguous US, new map reveals

By Emily Gardner, Eos.org published

Researchers used 1 million data points and a machine learning algorithm to estimate groundwater stores with higher resolution than ever before.

Planet Earth
On the left, a reconstruction of a Denisovan. On the right, Salinas Las Barrancas.

China turns desert into carbon sink, a viking giant in a mass grave, real-life inception, and a Valentine's gift idea from nature

By Ben Turner published

Science news this week Feb. 14 2026: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.

Science news this week
A shimmering desert road is hot with a brown sign in the front reading "Caution, Extreme heat Danger." with a blurred car in the background

Trump is bringing car pollution and other greenhouse gases back to America's skies. Here are the health risks we all face from climate change.

By Jonathan Levy, Howard Frumkin, Jonathan Patz, Vijay Limaye published

Four researchers dive into the health risks associated with climate change, and why the recent decision by the Trump administration to rescind key environmental policies could lead to serious harm.

Climate change

'It's telling us there's something big going on': Unprecedented spike in atmospheric methane during the COVID-19 pandemic has a troubling explanation

By Victoria Atkinson published

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the atmosphere temporarily lost its ability to break down methane, leading to a huge spike in the greenhouse gas.

20 Comments
Climate change

Canada could remove 5 times its annual carbon emissions by planting trees on edge of boreal forest, study finds

By Brian Owens published

Planting trees on 6.4 million hectares of northern taiga forest could remove 3.9 gigatons of CO2 by 2100 — five times Canada's annual emissions.

35 Comments
Plants
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Archives