Scientists constructed a 100-year history of acidity in the Gulf of Maine. They expected coastal variability but were surprised by what they didn’t find: a strong anthropogenic signal.
geochemistry
Hydrothermal Hazards on Display in Yellowstone National Park
Tourists and officials were startled by a hydrothermal explosion at Black Diamond Pool in July 2024. Geoscientists are working out how and why it occurred to better understand these hazardous events.
Seaweed Surges May Alter Arctic Fjord Carbon Dynamics
Climate change–accelerated seaweed growth could cause seaweed-dependent microbes to proliferate and consume more oxygen, leading to a rise in oxygen-starved zones.
A 30,000-Year-Old Feather Is a First-of-Its-Kind Fossil
A new analysis of a fossil found in 1889 has unveiled the presence of zeolites—and an entirely new mineralization method.
Hawai’i’s Depleted Peridotite Delivers More Magma
The source for the isotopically-enriched Hawaiian magmas contains peridotites that experienced near-surface melting prior incorporation in the plume.
Extreme Heat and Rain Turned These Arctic Lakes Brown
Scientists are stunned by the changes in multiple Arctic lakes, all transforming in the same way.
Ceres’s Organics Might Not Be Homegrown After All
Scientists have been unable to determine whether the dwarf planet’s organics were produced by its own chemical processes or delivered by asteroids. New evidence implicates asteroids.
Wildfires Raise Concern About Remobilized Radioactive Contamination
Researchers collected soil and ash after the 2020 wildfires in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Chemical tests suggested that the fires made it easier for contaminants to wash into nearby rivers.
Ice Core Records Shed Light on a Volcanic Mystery
By analyzing sulfur and volcanic ash entrained in ice cores, researchers pinpointed a caldera in the remote Kuril Islands as the site of an unidentified 19th century eruption.
Magma Diversity in Iceland
Iceland’s recent basalt eruptions originated at the crust-mantle boundary and show chemical variability over remarkably short timescales of weeks, suggesting exchanges between diverse magma sources.