Researchers developed an AI model combining physics and observations to reconstruct the Earth's mantle history. The model accurately recreated past temperatures and deep-mantle flow with high accuracy, indicating that combining complementary geophysical information is essential for recovering realistic mantle convection histories.
Researchers developed a method to detect water ice on the moon using seismic waves, which can travel faster through frozen soil. This discovery is critical for NASA's Artemis program, which aims to send crewed landings to the moon's south polar region in 2028.
A study by Okayama University reveals that garnet governs the formation of Earth's 660-km seismic boundary, shaping the mineral transitions that control heat and material circulation. This finding provides a unified explanation for complex seismic observations and supports a homogeneous, pyrolite-like mantle composition.
Researchers discovered a massive magma intrusion on São Jorge Island in the Azores, which stalled just 1.6km below the surface, avoiding an eruption. The study used seismometers and satellite data to reconstruct the underground movement of magma, revealing how it rose through a main fault system.
Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing technology, scientists deployed fibre-optic cables across the lunar surface to detect seismic waves generated by moonquakes, meteorites, and landings. The cables can record signals at a higher spatial resolution than traditional seismic networks.
New research using earthquake and satellite data reveals the Iberian Peninsula is rotating clockwise due to collision between Eurasia and Africa plates. The study provides insights into geodynamic processes and deformation fields in the region.
A recent study published in Science reveals that Myanmar's Sagaing Fault produced a supershear earthquake with speeds up to five kilometers per second, causing widespread destruction. The researchers attribute this phenomenon to the fault's ideal geometry and contrasting rock properties.
An earthquake swarm in Santorini was triggered by magma displacement, generating over 28,000 recorded earthquakes. The study reveals the chain of events that led to this seismic activity, including a hydraulic connection between two volcanoes.
Researchers at MIT have traced the energy released by 'lab quakes' and found that 80% of a quake's energy goes into heating up the region around the epicenter, while only 10% causes physical shaking. The study's findings could help seismologists predict earthquake vulnerability in regions prone to seismic events.
A team of scientists from Colorado State University and the University of São Paulo have developed a seismological solution to improve the resolution of ultrasound images for lung monitoring. This breakthrough could lead to improved critical care for patients, including continuous lung monitoring at the bedside. The technique uses seis...
Researchers from China, UK, and USA collaborated to study Uturuncu volcano's 'zombie' behavior, finding that movement of liquid and gas beneath the crater is the cause of unrest. The risk of an imminent eruption is considered low, alleviating fears for local populations.
Researchers have discovered that the underside of the North American continent is experiencing 'cratonic thinning', a phenomenon where the continent is slowly losing its stability and rock layers. This process, driven by the subduction of the Farallon Plate, may eventually stop as the plate sinks deeper into the mantle.
The study found the main shock and aftershocks concentrated at a depth of 12 km with high consistency across multiple methods, indicating a reverse thrust event with a small dextral strike-slip component. Historical GPS observations and geological surveys revealed the earthquake was triggered by Lajishan Fault activity.
Scientists have developed a new technique to study faults, which can improve earthquake forecasts by determining the origins and directions of past rupture events. By analyzing curved scratches left on the fault plane, researchers can pinpoint where earthquakes start and spread, providing valuable insights for modeling future scenarios.
Scientists have developed a state-of-the-art computational model predicting land, ice and global sea-level interactions. The model estimates that reducing greenhouse gas emissions could slow melting Antarctic ice enough to allow Earth uplift to partially stabilize the ice sheet and prevent some future sea-level rise.
A new imaging technique allows scientists to visualize the Earth's rocky interior using GPS data, revealing details about the planet's crust and mantle. This method has the potential to improve earthquake predictions by combining it with other techniques.
A team of researchers, including Arizona State University scientists, reveals that surface water can penetrate deep into the Earth's core, altering its composition and creating a distinct thin layer. This discovery suggests a more extensive global water cycle than previously recognized.
Researchers have created high-resolution underground images of the Long Valley Caldera, revealing a 'hardened lid' of crystallized rock covering the magma chamber. The findings suggest that the area is not gearing up for another supervolcanic eruption but may experience earthquakes and small eruptions due to cooling and gas release.
Soil liquefaction, a destructive phenomenon during earthquakes, is redefined by this groundbreaking study. Liquefaction can now be understood to occur in drained conditions with low seismic-energy density levels, triggered by seismic shaking facilitating interstitial fluid flow within the soil.
Scientists have discovered that sinking seamounts leave behind a trail of soft sediments, which help release tectonic pressure in slow slip earthquakes. This finding can be used to adjust earthquake models and improve understanding of the mechanisms driving earthquakes.
An international team, led by Eric Sandvol from the University of Missouri, aims to better understand the makeup of the earthquake zone and surrounding areas. The team plans to deploy 250 seismometers around the East Anatolian fault to study energy waves produced by earthquakes.
Scientists have discovered a layer of fluid rock at the bottom of the upper mantle, which may explain some observed phenomena in seismology. The discovery was made by analyzing data from GPS sensors on islands after a deep earthquake in the Pacific Ocean.
Seismologists have developed methods to take wave signals from seismometers and reverse engineer features of the medium they pass through, known as seismic tomography. A new full-waveform inversion model uses 3D wave simulations and data sensitivities at the global scale to improve the resolution of current seismic models.
A recent study by a UT graduate student has unraveled the enigma of how tectonic plates break Earth's rock-hard shell. By monitoring seismic images and matching them with rock samples, the researcher found that a small break in the Australian plate grew over millions of years until it unzipped and set in motion a runaway geologic process.
Researchers used big data imaging to visualize the entire subterranean formation and its effect on regional tectonics. The findings provide critical information for predicting near-future earthquake processes.
The Matterhorn oscillates at two frequencies, with movements up to 14 times stronger at the summit than at the foot. Researchers detected these subtle vibrations using seismometers, which are also found in bridges and high-rise buildings, revealing a broader phenomenon.
Researchers have identified a quantum phase transition in ferropericlase, a mineral abundant in the lower mantle. The study, published in Nature Communications, confirms earlier predictions and suggests this phenomenon may increase tectonic events like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Researchers at Kyushu University developed a new, low-cost seismic monitoring system that can detect changes in pore pressure with greater than 99.99% accuracy. The system uses a small seismic source and distributed acoustic sensing technology to monitor subsurface formations over an extensive area at a relatively low cost.
Researchers at Tohoku University studied the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake to understand the causal mechanism. They used seismic tomography and found that both the upper Okhotsk plate and lower Pacific plate contributed to the formation of a hard patch responsible for the earthquake.
Researchers used supercomputer simulations to study the behavior of mantle plumes, a key factor in volcanic formation. The study provided new insights into how plumes interact with seismic waves and could help guide future experiments on the ocean floor.
Scientists have discovered that waves in lakes can generate microseismic signals that can reveal subsurface geology and track ice cover duration. By analyzing these signals, researchers can create a seismic 'CT scan' of the Earth, providing valuable insights into geological structures.
A massive circular blob of partially molten rock, approximately 800 kilometers in diameter and 15 kilometers high, has been detected at the core-mantle boundary beneath Iceland. This discovery suggests a link between the ulvazs and rising plumes that feed active hotspots.
Research finds that the southern half of the Tibetan Plateau formed in less than one-quarter of the time since India-Eurasia continental collision, with most of the uplift occurring when a denser lithospheric root broke away. The study's findings support a different scenario to the traditional theory on Tibet's formation.
Researchers used deep geophysical exploration and seismic tomography to study the deep tectonic environment of strong earthquakes in North China. Key findings include a complex tectonic setting with a listric normal fault and high-angle deep fault, and a low-velocity anomaly in the middle-lower crust
Researchers at Tohoku University used seismic tomography to image the three-dimensional structure of the Earth's interior, shedding new light on the deep Bonin deep earthquake. The study found that the Pacific slab is split and penetrated the lower mantle, with multiple factors contributing to its occurrence.
Researchers found that the Abu Dabbab earthquakes are caused by an active fault that slides along a rigid block of igneous rock, lubricated by fluids from the Red Sea. This unique setup allows high-frequency sounds of earthquakes to rise through the rock with little weakening of the acoustic signal.
A new study published in Science has shed light on the structure of the Pacific Plate, revealing a compositional boundary that forms as rocks cool and change composition with depth. The research uses seismic tomography to image the interior of the plate and helps understand how it formed and evolved.
Researchers identified the 'Caldas tear,' a break in a slab separating two subducting plates, which accounts for seismic activity patterns and high-grade mineral deposits. The tear is thought to be caused by the Panama plate's collision with Colombia, resulting in an accumulation of stresses that could trigger strong motion events.
Large chunks of the Farallon oceanic plate are still present under parts of central California and Mexico, according to new research. The researchers used seismic tomography and other data to show that part of the Baja region and part of central California sit atop 'fossil' slabs of the Farallon plate.
A decade of research on the Soufriere Hills Volcano has provided new understanding of magma activity, explosive dynamics, and volcano mechanics. The CALIPSO and SEA-CALIPSO projects have generated high-resolution images of the volcano's center and adjacent crust.
Researchers aim to improve understanding of earthquake mechanisms and volcanic eruptions using highly complex calculations on supercomputers. The QUEST project will provide a more detailed picture of the Earth's internal structure, enabling better modeling of earthquake scenarios.
Researchers have created a three-dimensional model describing the seismic anisotropy and iron crystal texture within Earth's innermost core. The study revealed an inner inner core with a diameter of approximately 1,180 kilometers.
Researchers have developed a new method to measure surface waves from normal seismic noise, providing better resolution of the Earth's interior. This technique promises significant improvements in crust and upper mantle image quality down to 60 miles within the Earth.
Researchers have found a massive magma reservoir beneath Mt. Vesuvius in Italy, extending over 400 square kilometers and eight kilometers deep. The reservoir is thought to be a zone of neutral buoyancy, where the magma floats in a trapped layer, and may hold clues to future eruptions.
Researchers have identified a 150-million-year-old piece of Earth's crust submerged in the mantle beneath Siberia's Lake Baikal. The study provides evidence that subducted slabs eventually sink to the Earth's core, shedding light on the planet's internal dynamics.