January 30, 2019
Thirsty mantle: Subduction zones swallow more water than thought
For all the water stored in oceans, ice and other reservoirs at Earth’s surface, there’s likely even more in the planet’s interior, where it …
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Geophysics
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22 articles · Page 1 of 1
January 11, 2019
Sounding Out Earth's Hum
Earth has a song, a symphony composed of ubiquitous, continuous subtle seismic signals that thrum beneath the hustle and bustle of modern …
April 3, 2018
Earth's "hum" heard at ocean bottom
Lapping waves or crashing surf may come to mind for most people when they imagine the sounds of the ocean. But the ocean has other voices as …
November 15, 2016
Small-scale factors influence mantle flow under the seafloor
In December 2011, scientists and technicians aboard the research vessel Marcus G. Langseth dropped several ocean-bottom seismometers into the …
July 26, 2016
Mauna Loa's mysterious Ninole Hills were once a rift
Hawaii’s Nīnole Hills, jutting out from Mauna Loa’s southeast flank, are one of the most striking features on the Big Island, though their …
May 16, 2016
Radar reveals unmarked graves
The occasional excursion to Death Valley or mineralogical study of bloodstone notwithstanding, geoscientists don’t often delve into the macabre …
January 7, 2016
Subducting seamounts blocked a big quake in Chile
Off the coast of Chile, the Nazca Plate is subducting beneath the South American Plate. Friction between the two plates creates stress along the …
May 8, 2015
Down to Earth With: Marine Geophysicist Maya Tolstoy
Growing up in Scotland, Maya Tolstoy was drawn to the theater, and even briefly considered majoring in the subject in college. Instead, she chose …
December 18, 2014
Down to Earth With: Brian Tucker
Some of the world’s most densely populated cities are at highest risk for earthquake-related disasters. Geophysicist Brian Tucker has spent the …
July 21, 2014
Are slow-slip earthquakes under Tokyo stressing faults?
To study plate movements under Tokyo, Shinzaburo Ozawa of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan in Tsukuba used GPS sensors to track the …
May 14, 2014
Humans causing California's mountains to grow
Humankind has proven time and again that it can reshape mountains, or even tear them down. Now, it appears, we can make them rise as well. …
April 23, 2014
Observing a plate boundary
More than 280 continuous GPS (cGPS) stations in Cascadia are part of the U.S. Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), a component of EarthScope, which …
April 23, 2014
A truly global system
Like the GPS navigation system in your car or smartphone, a high-precision GPS receiver uses signals from satellites to determine the distance …
April 23, 2014
A new tool for atmospheric studies
Scientists are putting GPS to work in some unexpected new ways. For example, John Braun, a project scientist at the University Corporation for …
April 14, 2014
Precise to a fault: How GPS revolutionized seismic research
In the late 1980s, Ken Hudnut, a Columbia University graduate student studying plate tectonics in Southern California, began experimenting with a …
April 11, 2014
Faking quakes at full scale: Giant shake tables simulate earthquakes to make buildings safer
On a muggy day in mid-July 2009, a lone seven-story condominium complex northwest of Kobe, Japan, was violently shaken by seismic forces similar …
November 8, 2013
Slab tear explains perplexing Colombian earthquake activity
Colombia sits atop a restless intersection of tectonic plates: The Caribbean Plate is subducting along the country’s northern coast while the …
August 5, 2013
Hidden graves give up their secrets to geologists
As of April 2013, more than 61,000 people were registered as missing in Colombia, many of whom are feared to be victims of the country’s …
June 13, 2013
Iowa impact crater confirmed
An airborne geophysical survey mapping mineral resources in the Midwest has confirmed that a 470-million-year-old impact crater nearly five times …
January 5, 2012
Natural gas production linked to earthquakes in Texas
A saltwater disposal well, a part of the natural gas production process, may have been responsible for triggering a series of minor earthquakes …
January 5, 2012
Geoscientists Without Borders: Geologists Lend a Hand
Craig Beasley’s one-year term as president of the Society for Exploration Geophysicists had a challenging start. After about two months in …
January 5, 2012
Danger in the Deep: Chemical weapons lie off our coasts
Flash back to 1944: It’s a misty Hawaiian morning and a military vessel carries a nervous crew and deadly cargo from Pearl Harbor into the …