Geophysics

A simple scaling law brings order to the chaos of flowing water, rock, and sediment. New findings have extended the law even further.

A global constellation of neutrino detectors is creating a never-before-seen view of the radioactive elements that power Earth’s tectonic heat engine.

Earth’s largest volcanic system, hidden in mountain chains under the sea, has long been assumed to erupt only quietly. The shallow seafloor off Iceland tells another story.

It should be possible, but getting there will require a greater understanding of subsurface physics.

Around the world, volcanologists are following the path of magma as it travels between connected volcanoes, in an effort that could lead to improved eruption forecasts.

The uniquely vulnerable West Antarctic Ice Sheet holds enough water to raise global sea levels by 5 meters. But when that will happen — and how fast — is anything but settled.

Over the past 60 years, scientists have largely succeeded in building a computer model of Earth to see what the future holds. One of the most ambitious projects humankind has ever undertaken has now reached a critical moment.

Strong new evidence suggests that primordial material from the planet’s center is somehow making its way out. Continent-size entities anchored to the core-mantle boundary might be involved.

Recent flybys of the fiery world refute a leading theory of its inner structure — and reveal how little is understood about geologically active moons.