Corona Heights fault, California. (a) Whole outcrop view. The inset corresponds to the surface shown on (c). (b) Zoom on the fault showing different segments constituting the surface. (c, d) Map of fault surfaces scanned using LiDAR. The inset in (c) corresponds to the patch shown on (d). Credit: Candela et al. [2011], Figure 2(a-d)
Alfalfa fields—which one of the authors (B.L.G.) grew up irrigating—flank a stream in northeastern Wyoming. Climate change is altering streamflows and the agricultural practices that depend on them in this area and across the U.S. West. Credit: Beatrice L. Gordon
An artistic rendering of early Earth during the Hadean eon shows a surface shaped by frequent impacts, localized melting, and regions with persistent liquid water. Neither entirely hellish nor tranquil, early Earth was a dynamic environment frequently transformed by impact bombardment. Credit: SwRI/Simone Marchi
Eastern oysters (_Crassostrea virginica_) cement their shells together to form reefs along Atlantic coasts. Credit: Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill
挪威的埃格尔松德岩脉系统形成于6亿多年前的埃迪卡拉纪时期。在一项新的研究中，研究人员从图中所示的岩脉中钻取岩石样本，以了解更多关于地球磁场历史的信息。图片来源：Yi Xue，CC BY 3.0
This enhanced-color image from the MESSENGER mission shows (from left to right) the craters Munch, Sander, and Poe. The hollows are the bright blue areas covering the floor of Sander and dotting the rims of Munch and Poe. The hollows are highly reflective and naturally appear bluish, but the spacecraft’s camera used color filters to exaggerate the spectrum in this image. Credit: NASA/Johns…
(a) Map view of the Gonghe Basin. The upper left inset shows the location of the Gonghe Basin in the broader Tibetan Plateau (red square). Cyan circles show epicenters of earthquakes during January 2009–July 2021 collected from the National Earthquake Data Center (NEDC). Beachballs represent focal mechanisms that mark M≥ 5 aftershocks of the 26 April 1990 Ms 7.0 event (compiled from Diao et al.,…
The location of the modeled transect at Allt Dubh that contains many of the topographic features typical of blanket peatlands. These features affect the movement and storage of water (complex concave and convex slopes and depressions) that make it suitable for testing Tom Winter’s conceptual model (Winter, 2000). Credit: Baird et al. [2026], Figure 1
The dry bed of the Great Salt Lake in Utah is one stop in this month’s fieldwork-focused expedition. Credit: Michael Thorne
Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano in Tanzania, bubbles with unique low-temperature, low-viscosity lava high above the East African Rift. Credit: Wcalvin/Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA-4.0
If chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) had not been banned, the ozone layer would have been totally depleted by 2060, according to projections by NASA. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
This stream monitoring weir at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire measures and regulates streamflow for consistent data collection. It turns a natural system into a repeatable measurement record, a record that may be lost if a successor stewardship plan is not required ahead of any reduction in the facility’s output or outreach. Credit: Anthony Veltri
When shallow aquifers below Japan’s Mount Fuji absorb water, the height of the mountain temporarily increases. Credit: Loïc Lagarde/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Crevasses on Greenland’s Store Glacier are seen here from an uncrewed aerial vehicle. Credit: Tom Chudley
Installation of a USMTArray site in southern California in 2019. A central data logger (pictured) records electric and magnetic field variations at each site. Field personnel monitor initial data prior to leaving an instrument to record unattended for about 3 weeks. Credit: Kristin Pratscher
Deformation bands, Aneth oil field, San Juan County, Utah. Credit: Utah Geological Survey
Tens of thousands of satellite images of the Tibetan Plateau, including Lake Paiku, seen here, helped researchers create the clearest-ever picture of how the plateau is deforming. Credit: NASA/JSC, Public Domain
Mélange and bounding faults of Punta Prieta Ridge, Cedros Island, Mexico. The higher-grade, blueschist (bsch) blocks were eroded and recycled back into the subduction trench as sedimentary debris before being reburied. Credit: Wang et al. [2026], Figure 6b
The water supply plant in the village of Keshopur, part of the larger community of Simri, Bihar, India, started operating in February 2025. It supplies filtered water from The Ganges to villages in the area. Credit: Arun Kumar
New research investigates seismicity in South Africa’s Karoo Basin, seen here. Credit: Inka Stinka/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Researchers gathered samples of sea ice off the coast of Antarctica. In some samples, the ice had a granular microstructure, as seen here. Credit: Kenneth Golden
The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change may drop a widely-used future emissions scenario as it develops its seventh climate report. In part due to the dropping cost of renewable energy, this scenario was found to be "implausible" by scientists. Credit: Zbynek Burival/Unsplash
Tree branches, tree trunks, mud, and building materials were deposited by a debris flow after the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire in Colorado. Credit: USGS/Jason Kean, Public Domain
Machine learning models cannot yet outperform modeling overseen by human forecasters when it comes to flood prediction, especially when making predictions of extreme events with long lead times, new research suggests. Credit: California Department of Water Resources, Public Domain
The famous mathematical paradox of jagged shores gets a reality check from 130,000 global islands.
Experimental setup: A 16-meter-long, 1-meter-wide flume with a 1.5% slope (sketch top, photo bottom). The study investigated entrainment from a mixed bed (4–32-millimeter diameter), using a light table at the flume’s downstream end to record particle count statistics for model validation. Credit: Chartrand [2026], Figure 5
A massive experiment with fire tornadoes helped researchers learn more about a potential new method for oil spill cleanup. Credit: Wuquan Cui/Michael Gollner
Italy’s Larderello region hosts geothermal power plants that take advantage of abundant heat from beneath the ground—now known to come from a massive magma reservoir. Credit: DarioStaccioli90/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
During several field expeditions to the Hangay Mountains, scientists collected evidence that showed how the dome-shaped mountain range rose up. Credit: Pengfei Li
Credit: Ousa Chea/Unsplash