A fossil hunter paints visceral pictures with words about the lives of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures.
Earth science
Faults Along Salt Walls Are Less Stressed in the Paradox Basin
Based on an extended stress database, scientists observe systematic changes in the tectonic stress state and a reduction in fault reactivation potential near salt walls in the Paradox Basin.
Microbes Likely Form Magnetite in the South China Sea
Researchers sampled sediment cores and found that where magnetite was abundant, methane-producing bacteria were as well.
Carbon Cycles Through Plants More Quickly Than Expected
A radioactive isotope produced by nuclear weapons reveals that plants take up more carbon—but hold on to it for less time—than current climate models suggest.
How Mantle Hydration Changes over the Lifetime of a Subduction Zone
Water released from subducting oceanic plates influences the formation of volcanoes and earthquakes on Earth’s surface. A new study simulates how slab dehydration and mantle hydration levels change over time.
Mantle Upwelling May Have Triggered Morocco Earthquake
Researchers glean new information about the deep origins of a deadly event.
Watching and Listening for Signs of Slope Failure
Ten years of data preceding a rockfall in the French Alps suggest the need for more comprehensive monitoring systems.
The Size of the Great Salt Lake Affects Storm Precipitation
Utah’s most famous body of water is shrinking, and storms might deliver less precipitation than normal if that trend continues.
Four-Billion-Year-Old Zircons May Contain Our Earliest Evidence of Fresh Water
Australian crystals hint at fresh water, as well as land rising above Earth’s Hadean ocean.
Tracing Millions of Years of Geologic Stress in the Andean Plateau
Paleostress modeling shows how a region of the Andean Plateau was uplifted and formed beginning more than 20 million years ago.
