Atolls have a long and complex history related to seafloor evolution, and Darwin’s model is only the beginning of the story.
unsolved mysteries
Posted inFeatures
The Bay of Bengal and the Curious Case of the Missing Rift
In a classic detective story, clues from data new and old helped researchers reveal the puzzling chain of tectonic events that followed the Early Cretaceous split between India and Antarctica.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
What Controlled the Growth of the Southern Central Andes?
Flat-slab subduction appears to have played a minor role in the growth of the Southern Central Andes, with evidence for eastward migrating deformation.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Mysterious Engine of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation
Understanding the fundamental physics of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation, a phenomenon that occurs over the Indian and Pacific Oceans, remains a challenge in tropical atmospheric research.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Electron Density near Enceladus Shows Orbital Variation
The electron density peaks well after the activity of the moon’s distinctive south polar ice plume reaches its maximum, but the cause of the lag remains puzzling.
Posted inNews
Below the Great Pacific Garbage Patch: More Garbage
New research is finding there’s more to marine debris than just what appears near the ocean surface, including tons of microplastics extending hundreds of meters into the deep.
Posted inNews
Scientists Float a New Theory on the Medusae Fossae Formation
Pumice-like rafts of lightweight material could have carried volcanic debris across an ancient Martian ocean to build one of the most puzzling features on the Red Planet.
Posted inNews
Getting to the Bottom of Slow-Motion Earthquakes
For close to 20 years, slow-motion earthquakes have been an enigma. Core samples provide new clues to their origins.
Posted inAGU News
Edmond Dewan, Citizen Science, and the Mystery of Ball Lightning
In the early 1960s, a physicist enlisted the help of the public to study a rare atmospheric phenomenon.
Posted inNews
Does This Fossil Reveal a Jurassic Tropical Freeze?
On view for over a century, a fossil slab may display evidence of tropical freezing during the Jurassic, but scientists never noticed it—until one finally did. Some colleagues are not convinced.