News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

Diamonds that formed deep in the Earth's mantle contain evidence of chemical reactions that occurred on the seafloor. Probing these gems can help geoscientists understand how material is exchanged between the planet's surface and its depths.

Using satellite data to 'see in the dark', researchers have shown for the first time that lakes on the Greenland Ice Sheet drain during winter, a finding with implications for the speed at which the world's second-largest ice sheet flows to the ocean.

While investigating gas hydrate deposits in the western Black Sea, a team of scientists from GEOMAR, Kiel and MARUM, Bremen made surprising discoveries. Contrary to previous findings and theories, the scientists found free methane gas in layers where it should actually not appear. The authors conclude that the gas hydrate system in the deep-sea fan of the Danube continues to adapt due to climate changes since the last glacial maximum.

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, a multinational team of over 300 scientists including two astrophysicists from the University of the Witwatersrand has revealed a new view of the massive object at the centre of the M87 galaxy: how it looks in polarised light. This is the first time astronomers have been able to measure polarisation, a signature of magnetic fields, this close to the edge of a black hole.

A new type of rock created during large and exceptionally hot volcanic eruptions has been discovered beneath the Pacific Ocean.

Using a newly developed flexible, finite-fault inversion framework based on seismic P waves, a new study from the University of Tsukuba confirms that the magnitude 7.9 Gulf of Alaska earthquake of January 23, 2018 involved the multi-shock irregular rupture of a complex conjugate fault system with both east-west- and north-south-oriented segments, and found that this irregular rupture was associated with pre-existing bathymetric features.