Crystals from Fagradalsfjall’s eruption mark how mantle magma might have been moving years before geophysical indicators alerted scientists to unrest.
Alka Tripathy-Lang
Alka Tripathy-Lang is a freelance science writer covering stories about Earth and environmental science. Alka holds a Ph.D. in geology from Arizona State University and conducted postdoctoral research at the Berkeley Geochronology Center.
Posted inFeatures
Grains of Sand: Too Much and Never Enough
Sand is a foundational element of our cities, our homes, our landscapes and seascapes. How we will interact with the material in the future, however, is less certain.
Posted inNews
Scientists EEAGER-ly Track Beavers Across Western United States
Efficiently tracking nature’s engineers—beavers—at the scale of entire watersheds over time is now possible, thanks to a new artificial intelligence–trained model called EEAGER.
Posted inNews
The Great Unconformity or Great Unconformities?
Some scientists think the Great Unconformity was caused by Snowball Earth’s glaciations. Recent work suggests these phenomena might not be related.
Posted inNews
Stories Scribed on Palm Leaves Help Scientists Understand Ancient Eruption
Deposits from the 1257 Samalas eruption may contain artifacts of an ancient kingdom, according to scientists who link volcanology studies with histories written onto palm leaves.
Posted inNews
Making Underwater Cables SMART with Sensors
Future cables that stretch across the ocean, transmitting cat videos and financial transactions, could also contain temperature, pressure, and seismic sensors that would allow scientists to spy on the seafloor.
Posted inNews
Billion-Year Rewind Tracks Supercontinents and Mantle Structures
Scientists have traced past pathways of tectonic plates back a billion years using computer models, with intriguing results. Incorporating geologic data as a check on model output, however, has proven tricky.
Posted inNews
What Can Zircons Tell Us About the Evolution of Plants?
The versatile mineral could contain evidence of the evolution of land plants and their effect on the sedimentary system.
Posted inNews
Swinging Strength of Earth’s Magnetic Field Could Signal Inner Core Formation
The magnetic record stored in rocks documents the liquid core’s behavior and possibly when the inner core formed. Whether it formed half a billion or more than a billion years ago, however, is up for debate.
Posted inFeatures
Sian Proctor: Community College Professor Goes to Space
An Arizona educator finds she has the SpaceX factor to become an astronaut.