Tectonic wobbles and muddy deposits: The seismic clues leading up to 3/11
New research is allowing scientists to envision a future where megathrust quakes are not only less unexpected, but perhaps, to a certain degree, predictable.
In Iceland, 18,000 earthquakes over days signal possible eruption on horizon
Volcanoes in southwestern Iceland have been quiet for 800 years, but the period of rest may soon be over: More than 18,000 earthquakes have shaken the area in just over a week, leading scientists to believe that an eruption could be imminent. Geophysicists and volcanologists ...
A fossilized millipede-like creature discovered in Scotland may represent the oldest-known land animal, a humble pioneer of terrestrial living 425 million years ago that helped pave the way for the throngs that would eventually inhabit Earth's dry parts. Researchers said the fossil of the Silurian ...
M9 quake and 30-meter tsunami could hit northern Japan, panel says
Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, was forecast to be hit by the largest tsunami of 29.7 meters, followed by the Hokkaido town of Erimo at 27.9 meters.
Earth's oldest crater found in Australia; asteroid may have helped thaw 'snowball Earth'
Scientists have identified Earth's oldest-known impact crater, and in doing so may have solved a mystery about how our planet emerged from one of its most dire periods. Researchers have determined that the 45-mile-wide (70-km) Yarrabubba crater in Australia formed when an asteroid struck Earth ...
An international group of geologists on Friday formally adopted "Chibanian" as the name of a geologic age spanning 770,000 to 126,000 years ago, researchers said, marking the first time a Japanese name has been chosen. The term means "Chiba age" and derived from a geological ...
New Zealand police plan mission to recover bodies from volcano island
Police in New Zealand are planning a mission to volcanic White Island on Friday to retrieve bodies of people killed in this week's eruption, while the known death toll from the disaster climbed to eight, with two people dying in the hospital. Eight more people ...
Tremors worsen around New Zealand volcano, preventing recovery of bodies
Increasing tremors on a volcanic island in New Zealand on Wednesday prevented the recovery of the bodies of eight people thought to be left on the island, two days after an eruption engulfed dozens of tourists in steam and hot ash. Six people were killed ...
Researchers discover Japan's oldest known rock, dating back 2.5 billion years
Japanese researchers said Monday they have found the country's oldest known rock, dating back 2.5 billion years, in Shimane Prefecture — around 500 million years earlier than the previous oldest discovery. A team from Hiroshima University collected fragments of the rock, which is located near ...
North magnetic pole's movement forces unprecedented navigation fix
Rapid shifts in the Earth's north magnetic pole are forcing researchers to make an unprecedented early update to a model that helps navigation by ships, planes and submarines in the Arctic. Compass needles point toward the north magnetic pole, a point that has crept unpredictably ...
Geologists are keeping a close eye on the crater of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano and a lava-spouting cone on its flank for possible signs a nearly three-month eruption may be slowing. Up until Thursday, Kilauea had not had an explosion in 53 hours, the longest break ...
Lava from Kilauea 'collapse explosion' destroys evacuated Hawaiian structures
A "collapse explosion" at the summit of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano on Wednesday sent a surge of lava that destroyed structures in an evacuated housing development, geologists and civil defense authorities said. The blast sparked by the gradual collapse of the volcano's crater was equivalent to ...
