As the relative speed of the plates around a fault increases, is there a corresponding increase in the number of earthquakes produced along the fault? According to this study published in the December issue of BSSA, the answer depends upon the type of...

A classic explanation for oceanic hot spots such as Hawaii has been that they originate from upwellings of hot rock, called mantle "plumes," deep in the Earth's mantle. Evidence for these deep structures has been sketchy, however. Now, a sophisticated...

Climatic fluctuations close to the equator show a different pattern to climate change in the Arctic and Antarctic. In the tropics, distinct 11,500-year fluctuations between wet and dry periods can be clearly identified which do not occur in...

In the film "The Day After Tomorrow," the world enters the icy grip of a new glacial period within the space of just a few weeks. New research supported by the European Science Foundation shows this scenario may not be so far from the truth after...

The Antarctic system comprises of the continent itself, Antarctica, and the ocean surrounding it, the Southern Ocean. In a study for a doctoral degree by geophysicist Kai Rasmus, University of Helsinki, Finland, measurements were made during three...