Gravitational tug-of-war inside Earth is changing the length of our days
Interactions between Earth’s solid inner core, its molten outer core and its rocky mantle control how fast the…
Gravitational torque drives multidecadal variations in length of day
Torque and changes in the LOD An axial torque Γz acting on the mantle causes a change in…
Tidal tomography reveals a thermal anomaly beneath Mars’s crustal dichotomy
Modelling the time-varying gravity field The gravitational potential for Mars, U(r, λ, ϕ), can be expressed as a sum over…
Scientists discover remnants of Theia, the planet that collided with Earth 4.5 billion years ago
Two continent-sized structures deep inside Earth may contain remnants of Theia, the ancient planet thought to have collided…
The race to explore the deep ocean: four technologies transforming research
The bottom of the ocean has been mapped in much less detail than has the surface of Mars.Credit:…
Anatomy of a seafloor spreading event captured by in situ seismogeodesy
Macdonald, K. C. Mid-ocean ridges: fine scale tectonic, volcanic and hydrothermal processes within the plate boundary zone. Annu.…
Geophysicists solve the mystery of a 75-year-old ‘gravity hole’ in the Indian Ocean
South of India, the ocean surface slumps into one of Earth’s strangest depressions, a gravity hole so deep…
NASA Satellite Captures First-Ever High-Res View of Massive Pacific Tsunami
A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula sent a tsunami racing across the Pacific—and for the…
Earth’s Crust Is Tearing Open in Africa, and It Could Form a New Ocean
Scientists have found that the crust beneath East Africa’s Turkana Rift is thinning to a critical point, signaling…
Why Most Alien Worlds May Be Too Dry for Life
This image of Venus taken by NASA’s Mariner 10 spacecraft (left) is paired with an artist’s depiction of…
Scientists Say a Hidden Structure May Exist Inside Earth’s Core
Scientists have found evidence that Earth’s inner core may contain a previously unknown layer, suggesting the planet’s center…
Earth’s oldest crystals suggest an early start for plate tectonics
A scientifically faithful impression of Earth during the Hadean eon.Credit: Southwest Research Institute/Simone Marchi Ancient rock crystals from…