Researchers peering into Earth’s interior found two continent-sized structures that upend our picture of the mantle. What could their existence mean for us back on Earth’s surface?
unsolved mysteries
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Observations Show Gravity Waves Above Antarctica Dance in Winter
Year-round observations show gravity waves above Antarctica exhibit seasonal patterns that peak in winter, which could help researchers trace the source of this mysterious phenomenon.
Posted inENGAGE, News
The Akkadian Empire—Felled by Dust?
Chemical measurements of a stalagmite from a cave in Iran reveal a large uptick in dust activity in northern Mesopotamia roughly 4,200 years ago, coincident with the decline of the Akkadian Empire.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Peering into Pores: What Happens When Water Meets Soil?
New research sheds light on the long-standing puzzle of how and why soil water density differs from free water density.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Revisiting Enigmatic Martian Slope Streaks
Slope streaks of different sizes and shapes are a common feature on the surface of Mars, but scientists disagree about the mechanisms for their formation and development.
Posted inNews
How Arctic Cyclones Change the Sea Ice
Whirlwinds disrupt the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. Scientists are now beginning to understand how.
Posted inNews
Microbes Rain Down from Above, to the Tune of the Seasons
Every time snow or rain falls, it brings with it microbes from high in the atmosphere. Could those microbes have a seasonal signal, just like the plants on the land below?
Posted inScience Updates
Investigating the Northern Indian Ocean’s Puzzling Geodynamics
International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Proposal Nurturing Workshop on Indian Ocean; Goa, India, 17–18 September 2018
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Cassini Reveals a Missing Link on Saturn’s Rotating Aurora
The bright aurorae dancing in the sky are produced by charged particles traveling along the magnetic field lines from tens of planetary radii. By why do aurorae rotate at Saturn but not at Earth?
Posted inEditors' Highlights
What Makes a Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flash in Thunderclouds?
Two lightning flashes were observed in the same location: One produced a bright gamma-ray flash with about 1000 counts per millisecond, but the other did not.