While much of public attention on Yellowstone focuses on its potential to produce large supereruptions, the hazards that are much more likely to occur are smaller, violent hydrothermal explosions. Hydrothermal explosions occur when near-boiling water suddenly flashes into steam, releasing large amounts of energy. The energy release fractures the rock...
Antarctic glaciers losing ice at fastest rate for 5,500 years
New evidence suggests that two major glaciers in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) are losing ice at the fastest rate for at least 5,500 years.
‘Fantastic giant tortoise,’ believed extinct, confirmed alive in the Galápagos
A tortoise from a Galápagos species long believed extinct has been found alive. Fernanda, named after her Fernandina Island home, is the first of her species identified in more than a century. Geneticist successfully extracted DNA from a specimen collected from the same island more than a century ago and...
New research shows climate change impacts on whale habitat use in the warming Gulf of Maine
New research finds climate change is having an impact on how large whale species, including the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, use habitats in the warming Gulf of Maine, showing that right whales' use of Cape Cod Bay has shifted significantly over the last 20 years.
Extreme, severe drought impacting the upper Colorado River basin in the second century, new study finds
The Colorado River is in an extremely severe drought and has been for the last 22 years. To better understand this drought, researchers looked at the drought history within the Colorado River Basin. Previous studies have gone back 1,200 years, but this paper goes back 2,000 years. The findings, using...
Development of a user-friendly, hot-melt, wound-healing adhesive
Scientist have developed a hot-melt tissue adhesive (i.e., medical glue that is applied in a molten state) capable of healing operative wounds. This adhesive has excellent medical material properties in terms of its ease of use, adhesiveness to tissues, biocompatibility and ability to prevent postoperative complications.
Europe’s largest land predator unearthed on the Isle of Wight
Palaeontologists have identified the remains of one of Europe's largest ever land-based hunters: a dinosaur that measured over 10m long and lived around 125 million years ago.
The secret lives of Darwin’s finches reveal daily commutes the equivalent of 30 soccer fields
Using radio transmitters, scientists have gained new insights into the behavior of medium ground finches in the Galapagos Islands. A study reveals daily movement patterns covering an area equivalent to the size of 30 soccer fields.
Bizarre meat-eating dinosaur joins ‘Rogues’ Gallery’ of giant predators from classic fossil site in Egypt’s Sahara Desert
The fossil of a still-unnamed species provides the first known record of the abelisaurid group of theropods from a middle Cretaceous-aged (approximately 98 million years old) rock unit known as the Bahariya Formation, which is exposed in the Bahariya Oasis of the Western Desert of Egypt.
Updating our understanding of Earth’s architecture
New models that show how the continents were assembled are providing fresh insights into the history of the Earth and will help provide a better understanding of natural hazards like earthquakes and volcanoes.