Tiny crystals capture millions of years of mountain range history – a geologist excavates the Himalayas with a microscope

Measuring the concentration of radioactive elements in a single, sand-size crystal reveals the growth of the Himalayan mountain range over time.

Matthew J. Kohn, Professor of Geosciences, Boise State University • conversation
April 9, 2024 • ~5 min

Glacial lake outburst floods in Alaska and the Himalayas show evolving hazards in a warming world

Alaska has at least 120 glacier-dammed lakes, and almost all have drained at least once since 1985, a new study shows. Small ones have been producing larger floods in recent years.

Brianna Rick, Postdoctoral Fellow, Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center, University of Alaska Anchorage • conversation
Oct. 9, 2023 • ~8 min

How climate change might trigger more earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

Climate change is causing increasingly severe weather – but it’s not just hazards at the Earth’s surface we should be concerned about.

Matthew Blackett, Reader in Physical Geography and Natural Hazards, Coventry University • conversation
Aug. 8, 2023 • ~7 min

Landslides are a global injustice – they're rarely caused by the people worst affected

When we talk about landslides we need to talk about social justice.

Dave Petley, Vice Chancellor and Professor of Geography, University of Hull • conversation
May 4, 2023 • ~6 min

Pakistan floods: ancient grains like millet could be key to rebuilding food systems

Extreme weather will continue to disrupt global food systems.

Shailaja Fennell, Professor in Regional Transformation and Economic Security, University of Cambridge • conversation
Nov. 17, 2022 • ~6 min

Mountain glaciers may hold less ice than previously thought – here’s what that means for 2 billion downstream water users and sea level rise

Glaciers in North America, Europe and the Andes, in particular, have significantly less ice than people realized.

Mathieu Morlighem, Professor of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College • conversation
Feb. 7, 2022 • ~8 min

Mountain glaciers hold less ice than previously thought – it's a concern for future water supplies but a drop in the bucket for sea level rise

Glaciers in North America, Europe and the Andes, in particular, have significantly less ice than people realized.

Mathieu Morlighem, Professor of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College • conversation
Feb. 7, 2022 • ~8 min

How plankton helped create the Earth’s mountains 2 billion years ago

Mountains can’t be created without lubricant, and 2 billion years ago that lubricant was graphite produced by the carbon broken down from layers of dead plankton on the ocean floor.

John Parnell, Professor of Geology and Petroleum Geology, University of Aberdeen • conversation
Dec. 2, 2021 • ~7 min

Magnetism of Himalayan rocks reveals the mountains' complex tectonic history

Earth's magnetic field locks information into lava as it cools into rock. Millions of years later, scientists can decipher this magnetic data to build geologic timelines and maps.

Craig Robert Martin, Ph.D. Student in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology • conversation
Nov. 2, 2020 • ~9 min

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