Machine Learning Helps Predict the Geothermal Heat Flux in Greenland
A paper appearing in Geophysical Research Letters uses machine learning to craft an improved model for understanding geothermal heat flux — heat emanating from the…
Geophysics
Astronomers Reveal How a Jupiter Jet Stream Shifts into Reverse
Speeding through the atmosphere high above Jupiter’s equator is an east–west jet stream that reverses course on a schedule almost as predictable as a Tokyo…
California’s Sierra Nevada Mountain Range Grew Taller During Drought
A new NASA study shows that a loss of water from the rocks of California’s Sierra Nevada caused the mountain range to rise nearly an…
Yale Researchers ‘Look’ Deep Inside a Diamond Planet
New research by Yale University scientists suggests rocky planets orbiting other stars may hide thick layers of diamond beneath the surface. “A carbon-rich planet likely…
Jupiter’s Moon Europa Could Have Subduction Zones
New research shows that Jupiter’s moon Europa could have subduction zones, which could supply chemical food for life to a subsurface ocean. A Brown University…
NASA Heliophysics Research Details Substorm Activity Around Earth
Researchers have been studying the near-Earth environment for the better part of a century, but many mysteries — like where the energetic particles that pervade…
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory Detects Solar Flare Pulses at Sun and Earth
When our Sun erupts with giant explosions — such as bursts of radiation called solar flares — we know they can affect space throughout the…
New NASA Research Bolsters Theory of Heat Source Under West Antarctica
New research from NASA adds evidence that a geothermal heat source called a mantle plume lies deep below Antarctica’s Marie Byrd Land, explaining some of…
NASA Scientists Track Ozone Pollution by Monitoring Key Ingredients
New NASA-funded research has devised a way to use satellite measurements to track ozone formation among three different sets of conditions. Ozone pollution near Earth’s…
New Study Shows Earth’s Tectonic Plates Are Weaker Than Once Thought
New research from the University of Pennsylvania gives scientists a better idea of olivine’s strength, with implications for how tectonic plates form and move. No…
MIT Study Predicts Thresholds for a Sixth Mass Extinction
According to a newly published study from MIT, Earth’s oceans may hold enough carbon to launch mass extinction of species in future millennia. In the…
New Gravity Map of Mars Suggests the Planet Has a Porous Crust
Researchers from NASA have discovered evidence that Mars’ crust is not as dense as previously thought, a clue that could help scientists better understand the…
Researchers Identify a Prehistoric Sea Creature That Once Patrolled the Ocean Floor
A team of biologists has identified a small marine predator that once patrolled the ocean floor and grabbed its prey with 50 spines that it…
Arctic Sea Ice Loss is Impacting Atlantic Ocean Water Circulation System
New research from Yale University and the University of Southampton shows that the loss of Arctic sea ice is impacting the Atlantic Ocean water circulation…
Researchers Investigate Turbulence in Planetary Cores
New research investigates the combination of elliptical deformation of streamlines and vorticity that can lead to the destabilization of any rotating flow via the elliptical…
Geophysicists Resolve the Mystery About Wind Flows on Jupiter
Using a spinning table and a massive garbage can, new experiments simulated Jupiter’s swirling winds in the laboratory for the first time. The results demonstrate…
Prehistoric Extinctions Offer Insights for Today’s Endangered Species
New research from Yale University is using data from prehistoric extinctions to teach valuable, real-world lessons about what happens to an ecosystem when its most…
‘Great Valley’ Provides More Evidence That Mercury is Shrinking
A newly discovered “great valley” in the southern hemisphere of Mercury provides more evidence that the small planet closest to the sun is shrinking. Scientists…