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Sunrise over the Salma Plateau in Oman.
There's a 'ghost' plume lurking beneath the Middle East — and it might explain how India wound up where it is today Researchers have discovered an unusual plume of magma beneath Oman that may have changed the course of the Indian tectonic plate between 25 million and 40 million years ago.
A freezer compartment at the University of Zurich containing microbial samples.
'It is our obligation to future generations': Scientists want thousands of human poop samples for microbe 'doomsday vault' The founders of the Microbiota Vault, a project that aims to preserve microbial diversity, have announced that they are ready to grow their frozen microbe collection to 10,000 samples by 2029.
Aerial view of a dry river in Nevada, near Colorado River and Grand Canyon, USA.
Ancient groundwater records reveal worrying forecast for US Southwest Groundwater records from the last ice age indicate that aquifers in the U.S. Southwest are more sensitive to global warming than aquifers in the Pacific Northwest.

Latest about Planet Earth

Barn on Fickle Hill above Eureka Arcata Humboldt County, California.

Mystery quake that rocked Northern California in 1954 came from 'eerily quiet' Cascadia Subduction Zone

By Stephanie Pappas published

Scientists link a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that shook Humboldt Bay, California, 71 years ago to the "locked" Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Earthquakes

Lake Superior rocks reveal build up to giant collision that formed supercontinent Rodinia

By Aaron Sidder, Eos.org published

Using paleomagnetic samples collected along the shores of Lake Superior, a new study illuminates the movement of a billion-year-old paleocontinent as it crept south toward a tectonic collision.

Geology

Rocket-like jellyfish, regal Komodo dragon and harrowing whale rescue — see the stunning Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 finalists

By Perri Thaler published

Finalists in the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 competition capture beautiful images of animals and people oceans.

Rivers & Oceans

Tiny devices propelled by sunlight could explore a mysterious region of Earth's atmosphere

By Tereza Pultarova Partner Content Created With Space. published

"Being able to send something out there would enable us to take a lot more precise data than we currently can."

An astronaut photo of a giant caldera in Japan. A central cluster of volcanoes is surrounded by a ring of urban and agricultural land and a larger ring of ridges

Supervolcanic 'hell' caldera in Japan is home to 17 different volcanoes

By Harry Baker published

Earth from space A 2012 astronaut photo shows the striking beauty of Japan's Aso Caldera, a "supervolcanic" structure home to more than a dozen volcanoes and "hellish" hot springs. It was formed by several major eruptions spanning more than 200,000 years.

Earth from space

Watch Hurricane Erin reach Category 5 strength in a blaze of lightning

By Patrick Pester published

NOAA's GOES-19 satellite captured images of Hurricane Erin as it developed in the Atlantic and then rapidly strengthened into a Category 5 storm.

Hurricanes

Hurricane Erin could unleash 100-foot waves across the East Coast this week, forecasters warn

By Patrick Pester published

Forecasters expect Hurricane Erin, one of the fastest rapidly intensifying storms in history, to bring flooding and dangerous currents as the Category 4 hurricane travels to the U.S. East Coast this week.

Hurricanes
A blue whale and the Cosmic Horseshoe.

Science news this week: Black holes galore and blue whales that still sing

By Ben Turner published

Science news this week Aug. 16, 2025: 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

San Andreas fault could unleash an earthquake unlike any seen before, study of deadly Myanmar quake suggests

By Patrick Pester published

A study of March's Myanmar earthquake has found that strike-slip faults don't necessarily repeat past behavior, meaning the San Andreas fault could unleash a bigger quake than any seen before.

Earthquakes

Satellites watch France's largest wildfire in 75 years burn an area larger than Paris

By Tereza Pultarova Partner Content Created With Space. published

Satellite images revealed the scope of destruction in the south of France where an area larger than the country's capital Paris has been turned into ashes by a massive wildfire.

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