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Sunrise over the Salma Plateau in Oman. — There's a 'ghost' plume lurking beneath the Middle East — and it might explain how India wound up where it is today Researchers have discovered an unusual plume of magma beneath Oman that may have changed the course of the Indian tectonic plate between 25 million and 40 million years ago.

A freezer compartment at the University of Zurich containing microbial samples. — 'It is our obligation to future generations': Scientists want thousands of human poop samples for microbe 'doomsday vault' The founders of the Microbiota Vault, a project that aims to preserve microbial diversity, have announced that they are ready to grow their frozen microbe collection to 10,000 samples by 2029.

Aerial view of a dry river in Nevada, near Colorado River and Grand Canyon, USA. — Ancient groundwater records reveal worrying forecast for US Southwest Groundwater records from the last ice age indicate that aquifers in the U.S. Southwest are more sensitive to global warming than aquifers in the Pacific Northwest.

Latest about Planet Earth

Enormous blobs deep beneath Earth's surface appear to drive giant volcanic eruptions

By Nicolas Flament, Annalise Cucchiaro published 16 July 25

Opinion Pillars of hot rock appear to connect continental-size moving blobs at the bottom of Earth's mantle to giant volcanic eruptions at its surface.

Opinion

Configuration of East Antarctica, Australia, and India prior to continental break-up. Red outlines show the flat surfaces mapped in this study.

Scientists discover long-lost giant rivers that flowed across Antarctica up to 80 million years ago

By Skyler Ware published 16 July 25

Large flat surfaces carved by ancient rivers deep beneath East Antarctica are influencing how ice flows across the continent today, according to a new study.

Antarctica

Lava erupts from gigantic fissure in Iceland following earthquake swarm — and the photos are epic

By Patrick Pester published 16 July 25

A lava-spewing fissure has opened up along Iceland's Sundhnúkur crater row as the Reykjanes peninsula experiences another volcanic eruption.

Volcanos

A dark cloud of smoke flows from a lava flow on a volcano

Russian volcano grows 'devil horns' and spits out 1,000-mile-long river of smoke

By Harry Baker published 15 July 25

Earth from space A false-color satellite photo from 2023 shows a devilish pair of lava flows and an enormous plume of smoke spewing from Klyuchevskoy, the tallest volcano in Europe and Asia.

Earth from space

Grand Canyon Dragon wildfire burns down historic lodge and triggers toxic gas leak

By Patrick Pester published 14 July 25

Firefighters are battling a lightning-caused wildfire on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The Dragon Bravo Fire has burned down the Grand Canyon Lodge and triggered a chlorine gas leak.

Wildfires

What's Earth's lowest point on land?

By Charles Q. Choi published 13 July 25

What's Earth's lowest spot on dry land — and how did it get to be that way?

Geology

Split image showing an illustration of the giant moa and Earth's magnetic field.

'Bringing back' giant ancient birds and a shift in Earth's poles

By Pandora Dewan published 12 July 25

Science news this week June 12, 2025: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.

Science news this week

In disasters like the Texas floods, warning people of danger isn't so simple

By Keri K. Stephens, Hamilton Bean published 11 July 25

OPINION As flash floods ravage areas like the Texas Hill Country, research shows that technology alone cannot save lives during flooding emergencies.

OPINION

Colorful pink evening sunlight on the floating ice in the waters around the Antarctic peninsula.

Antarctic sea ice collapse linked to a mysterious spike in ocean salt

By Ben Turner published 11 July 25

Satellite imagery has revealed a yet-to-be-explained rise in the Southern Ocean's salinity. It could be a key factor in the decline of the region's sea ice.

Antarctica