Tag

Geophysics

All articles tagged with #geophysics

science19 hours ago•5 min saved

Seismic Scan Reveals Metal-Rich Brine Beneath Active Caribbean Volcano

Oxford-led researchers used earthquake data from 1996–2007 across 23 stations to construct a 3D map under the Soufrière Hills volcano, uncovering a 1–1.5 km-wide, ~2 km-deep zone of fluid-rich, metal-bearing brine that could mark the beginnings of a new ore deposit and a geothermal resource. While promising, there’s still uncertainty about exact composition and concentrations, and extracting metals from an active volcano would be challenging; the study demonstrates a non-invasive way to identify such targets, published in Geophysical Research Letters (2026).

via ScienceAlert|

#brine #geophysics #metals

science3 days ago•6 min saved

Old Nuclear Tests Reveal a Dynamic, Patchy Outer Core

Using seismic data from underground nuclear tests (1977–1995), the study shows Earth's outer core is not a uniform liquid but dynamically mixed, with a newly identified PKrKP wave exposing a large, suspended-solid anomaly that hints at vigorous outer-core flow and potential implications for the planet’s magnetic field.

via ScienceAlert|

#earths-core #geophysics #outer-core

science4 days ago•6 min saved

Storm-Generated Seismic Imaging via Campus Fiber Optics

Penn State researchers modeled storm-generated seismic waves and used a campus fiber-optic cable as a seismometer to map four weak zones near a karst campus, validating the results with radar, boreholes, and independent seismic data; the work shows thunderstorms could provide a frequent, near-surface imaging source despite necessary modeling approximations.

via Ars Technica|

#fiber-optic-seismology #geophysics #near-surface

science18 days ago•5 min saved

Mysterious Core Reversal: Eastward Flow Detected Beneath the Pacific

Researchers using ESA Swarm and CryoSat data have traced a dramatic shift in a broad region of molten iron beneath the equatorial Pacific from westward to eastward flow around 2010, challenging the view of a stable outer-core circulation and potentially linking to inner-core changes; the eastward flow has weakened since 2020, and scientists will monitor to determine if this is a temporary fluctuation, part of a cycle, or a new long-term state, with implications for Earth's magnetic field generation (the geodynamo).

via ScienceDaily|

#earth-science #geomagnetism #geophysics

science19 days ago•13 min saved

Runway Renumberings: How a Wandering Magnetic North Rewrites Global Airports

Earth’s magnetic north drifts as molten iron in the outer core moves, changing the magnetic bearing used to label runways. When the drift shifts bearings by about 3–4 degrees, airports must repaint runways, replace signage, and renumber designations, a process seen at Tampa, Fairbanks, London Stansted, and others. The changes are driven by updates to the World Magnetic Model and the planet’s ongoing core dynamics, even though passengers rarely notice the invisible pen-and-paint overhaul happening far below their flights.

via Space Daily|

#airports #aviation #geophysics

science23 days ago•5 min saved

Earth's Inner Core May Run on Superionic Hydrogen, Study Finds

New modeling suggests Earth's inner core contains abundant superionic hydrogen, predominantly in a stable hexagonal close-packed iron-hydrogen phase, with a less stable BCC form only under extreme conditions before melting. A radial hydrogen gradient drives ongoing exchange between the inner and outer core, contributing chemical buoyancy that powers the geodynamo, and the inner core is growing at about 1 millimeter per year; future work will consider other light elements like oxygen and carbon to refine core composition and evolution.

via ScienceAlert|

#core-evolution #geophysics #inner-core

science25 days ago•11 min saved

12 Kilometers Deep: What the Kola Borehole Revealed About Earth's Crust

From 1970 to the early 1990s the Kola Superdeep Borehole reached 12,262 meters, but the bottom rock heated and deformed plastically, sealing the bore rather than revealing Earth's center; importantly, this depth is vertical, not the bore's total length, since the drill path zigzagged with sidetracks. The project yielded thousands of cores and refined crustal models, showing a continuous transition into ancient granite‑gneiss and indicating the Moho boundary lies well beyond the hole. Temperatures at depth reached roughly 180–212 C, and the operation faced extreme wear and logistical challenges; no borehole has crossed the Moho or sampled mantle, and modern ultradeep drilling now targets crustal structure and geothermal topics rather than a journey to the core.

via Space Daily|

#crustal-geology #deep-drilling #geophysics

space1 month ago•104 min saved

Mars's Hidden Magma Seas Could Have Built a Habitable Past

NASA's InSight seismic data reveal a deep crustal boundary on Mars formed by vast magma pools, suggesting the crust differentiated into mafic and ultramafic layers and implying interconnected, long-lived magmatic systems beneath the planet. This transcrustal magmatism could have reprocessed mantle material, releasing greenhouse gases and thickening the early atmosphere to sustain warmer conditions, potentially making Mars habitable in its past, while also hinting at near-surface mineral wealth.

via Space|

#geophysics #habitability #insight

science1 month ago•11 min saved

Earth’s inner core slows and drifts backward in a 70-year seismic rhythm

Seismic data indicate Earth's solid inner core, long spinning slightly faster than the surface, slowed to match the surface around 2009–2010 and has since fallen behind, effectively drifting backward relative to the rest of the planet. The motion is a relative one (to the mantle) and likely part of a ~70-year oscillation that also influences length of day and the magnetic field; the evidence is indirect and debated, with ongoing work to confirm the oscillation model over the coming decade.

via Space Daily|

#earth-rotation #geophysics #inner-core

science2 months ago•36 min saved

Antarctica Unveils Continent-Sized Subsurface Enigma

Scientists have identified a vast subsurface feature beneath Antarctica described as a continent-sized megastructure, revealed through new geophysical imaging (radar and seismic data). The discovery could reshape understanding of the continent’s geology and influence models of ice dynamics and past climate, with ongoing research to determine its origin and nature.

via Yahoo|

#antarctica #geology #geophysics

discoveries2 months ago•39 min saved

Indian Plate Peels Apart Under Tibet, Redrawing Himalayan Tectonics

New seismic evidence shows the Indian Plate beneath southern Tibet is peeling away and tearing, with delamination of the mantle lithosphere and a tear likely forming a patchwork beneath the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. By combining S-receiver functions and shear-wave splitting across thousands of stations, researchers map two mantle domains and surface gas signals that hint at mantle sources. The work challenges the classic single-slab view of continental collision and highlights deep Earth processes that shape mountain building and earthquake hazards in Asia.

via The Brighter Side of News|

#continental-collision #discoveries #earthquakes

science2 months ago•39 min saved

Centuries-Old East Coast Booms Traced to Hidden Natural Source

A new study traces more than three centuries of mysterious booms along the U.S. East Coast to a single natural source, ending a long-standing mystery.

via Yahoo|

#acoustics #east-coast #geophysics

science2 months ago•20 min saved

A Patch of Earth's Outer Core Reversed Its Flow in 2010

A section of Earth's molten outer core reversed its eastward flow in 2010, according to satellite measurements of the magnetic field reported by ScienceAlert; the finding suggests the planet's interior is more dynamic than previously thought and that bulk-flow changes can occur, though scientists are still investigating the cause and implications for the geodynamo.

via Slashdot|

#2010 #earth-core #geophysics

science3 months ago•39 min saved

Pacific core-flow reversal reveals hidden shifts in Earth's interior

A study using satellite data from Swarm, CryoSat, CHAMP and Ørsted shows a broad region of iron-rich fluid in Earth's outer core beneath the equatorial Pacific reversed its flow from westward to eastward in 2010, challenging the view of steady westward drift and prompting questions about the core's dynamics and its link to geomagnetic changes. Ongoing monitoring will determine whether this is a short-term wobble, part of a cycle, or a new stable state; while not dangerous itself, such deep interior shifts can influence Earth's magnetic field and technology that relies on it.

via Earth.com|

#geomagnetism #geophysics #outer-core

science3 months ago•5 min saved

Pacific Core Flow Reversal Reveals Dynamic Earth

Satellite data from 1997–2025 show a portion of Earth's outer core beneath the Pacific reversed its flow from westward to eastward between 2010 and 2012, strengthening through 2020 before weakening again and accounting for about 5% of the outer-core surface flow. This hints that the deep interior is more dynamic than previously thought and may be linked to later geomagnetic jerks; improving our understanding of the geodynamo helps forecast the magnetic field and space weather.

via ScienceAlert|

#earth-science #geodynamo #geomagnetism