New satellite data have helped scientists crack the case of a speeding Antarctic glacier — a finding that promises to help improve sea level forecasts.

Using nearly 50 years of data, University of Maine researchers have determined that subglacial floods in East Antarctica caused a rapid and short-lived acceleration of a major outlet glacier.

Byrd Glacier, Antarctica […]

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A hidden network of glacial lakes far below the Antarctic surface regulates the motion of the continent’s ice rivers, a study has found. When the subglacial lakes overflow, the ice above accelerates towards the ocean.

"It’s like putting in a squirt of oil," says Andy Smith of the British Antarctic Survey, who was not involved in […]

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What would happen in California was hit by the Big One? New 3-D animations of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake scenario are now available to the public.*

Still image from a movie showing a view of southern California with the seismic waves radiating outward from the fault as the rupture propagates towards the northwest along the San […]

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The key to understanding Earth’s evolution, including how our atmosphere gained oxygen and how volcanoes and earthquakes form, is to look deep, really deep, into the lower mantle—a region some 400 to 1,800 miles (660 to 2,900 kilometers) below the surface.

Researchers at the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Laboratory simulated conditions at these depths and recently discovered […]

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Marine geophysicist Robin Bell is leading an expedition to Antarctica to explore a mysterious mountain range beneath the ice sheet and will be updating Scientific American readers regularly. Following are her initial thoughts as she–and her team–prepare to set off.

International Polar Year–Why?
When I first heard of the concept of an International Polar Year (IPY), I […]

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A view of a hydrothermal vent from the submersible Alvin’s portal.
(Credit: UD Photo)

Setting sail on the Pacific, a University of Delaware-led research team has embarked on an extreme adventure that will find several of its members plunging deep into the sea to study hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor.

The team, which will be conducting […]

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The mass changes of the Gulf of Alaska glaciers are computed from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) inter-satellite rate data from April 2003 through September 2007. Using space-borne gravity measurements to assess glacier mass balance NASA scientists determine mass variations along the Gulf of Alaska. Areas of deep blue like the areas around […]

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With the melting of Arctic Ocean ice, the fabled waterway between Europe and Asia has been open to shipping the past two summers–or has it?

It is said that the Inuit have many words for snow, but when it comes to the Northwest Passage only one type of frozen water matters: multiyear ice. It can slice […]

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Paper mill waste can safely be applied at a rate three times higher than the typical rate in Ohio, to reclaim soils of surface-coal mined areas.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) soil scientist Martin J. Shipitalo found that a 300-ton-per-acre application rate had many benefits, and did not result in major additional negative effects on runoff water […]

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Researchers in China and Switzerland are reporting the highest efficiency ever for a promising new genre of solar cells, which many scientists think offer the best hope for making the sun a mainstay source of energy in the future. The photovoltaic cells, called dye-sensitized solar cells or Grätzel cells, could expand the use of solar […]

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