By studying the chemical signatures of 300-million-year-old precipitation, researchers find evidence that the supercontinent Pangea contained peaks as tall as the European Alps.
Katherine Kornei
Katherine Kornei is a freelance science journalist covering Earth and space science. Her bylines frequently appear in Eos, Science, and The New York Times. Katherine holds a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Nuclear Bomb or Earthquake? Explosions Reveal the Differences
A series of controlled chemical detonations in the Nevada desert is helping researchers discern between ground shaking caused by nuclear explosions and earthquakes.
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Volcanic Eruption Creates Temporary Islands of Pumice
Rafts of pumice, spewed from an undersea volcano, recently appeared in the South Pacific. These transient, movable islands are important toeholds for marine life like barnacles, coral, and macroalgae.
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Light Permeates Seasonally Through Arctic Sea Ice
The transmission of sunlight through Arctic sea ice depends on the presence of ice, snow, and melt ponds, data collected over 6 years reveal.
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Nearby Asteroid Is Mysteriously Devoid of Dust, Lander Reveals
Close-up images of Ryugu, a near-Earth asteroid and the target of the Hayabusa2 sample return mission, reveal a rocky, dustless world that may have formed from a giant collision.
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Rainfall Kick-Starts Slow-Moving Landslides
A census of hundreds of slow-moving landslides in Northern California reveals an uptick in the number and speed of landslides in 2017, the second-wettest year on record.
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Wind-Triggered Ground Shaking Masks Microseismicity
Ground motion caused by gusts of wind can drown out signals from the smallest earthquakes, potentially confusing earthquake detection algorithms.
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Microbes Spotted on Blades of Ice High in the Andes
Researchers discover microbial life on ice spires known as penitentes on the arid, sunlight-blasted upper reaches of Llullaillaco, one of the best earthly analogues for Mars.
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Meteotsunami Spotted for the First Time in the Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, a region with high-end resorts and oil-related infrastructure dotting its shorelines, was hit in 2017 by weather-induced waves that rolled roughly a kilometer inland.
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Satellite Data Reveal Growth and Decline of Sargassum
High nutrient levels in 2018 resulted in a nearly 9,000-kilometer belt of Sargassum, a seaweed critical to many marine animals but also a nuisance when it washes up on shorelines, new results reveal.