Wet antecedent soil moisture increased streamflow magnitudes by 2–4.5 times during atmospheric river storms across 122 U.S. West Coast watersheds between 1980 and 2023, according to a new analysis. The study, published in the Journal of Hydrometeorology on June 4, 2025, establishes a nonlinear threshold effect in soil moisture, above which flood response to atmospheric rivers increases sharply.
Scientists have detected rhythmic pulses of hot mantle material rising from deep beneath East Africa’s Afar rift system — a region where the continent is gradually breaking apart along three tectonic rift arms. Based on over 130 volcanic rock samples, the study shows that the mantle upwelling is compositionally varied and shaped by differences in crustal thickness and spreading rates across the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Main Ethiopian rifts.
Veniaminof volcano in Alaska frequently erupts with little to no detectable precursory ground movement or seismic activity. A new study analyzing the 2018 eruption with thermomechanical models demonstrates that eruptions can occur with minimal warning when deep, low-flux magma systems are surrounded by thermally softened rock.
A recent study published in Nature Geoscience shows the presence of mantle-derived noble gases in the Palouse Basin Aquifer, which is part of the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer system in eastern Washington and Idaho. Despite the region’s lack of active volcanism, helium and argon isotope measurements revealed a deep mantle source. The results suggest that noble gases can migrate through stable continental crust even in the absence of active volcanic or tectonic processes.
The Salton Sea in California has been shrinking steadily since 2003, leading to a rise in toxic hydrogen sulfide gas emissions. A recent study found that these emissions frequently exceed safety limits, especially in communities along the lake’s shoreline, putting residents’ health at increasing risk.
A persistent, ultra-low frequency seismic vibration was detected worldwide in September 2023 and traced to Dickson Fjord, East Greenland, after two large landslides triggered tsunamis and a long-lasting seiche. For the first time, researchers directly observed this standing wave using NASA’s SWOT satellite mission, providing new insights into the connection between global seismic signals and surface water motion in remote coastal environments.
New research suggests we may be overlooking a population of asteroids quietly orbiting alongside Venus. Though rarely observed, these co-orbitals could drift into Earth-crossing paths and pose a real impact threat. New simulations highlight the gaps in current detection efforts and make a strong case for space-based surveys near Venus.
The largest planet in the solar system is putting on a show no telescope has fully caught before. New data from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the gas giant’s auroras flickering in bursts measured in seconds, not minutes. Scientists now face fresh questions about where that power comes from.
A study of Campi Flegrei’s crust has uncovered a damaged rock layer underground that may be driving the volcano’s long-running unrest. The zone, weakened by older magma intrusions, now appears to trap gas rising from deeper sources. This buildup of underground pressure could explain both the steady ground uplift and the swarms of small quakes recorded since 2005.
Researchers from Princeton University have experimentally demonstrated that Earth’s rotation through its magnetic field can generate electric power. The findings support a theoretical model that challenges long-standing assumptions about the impracticality of harvesting rotational energy from Earth’s magnetic field.
