Earth news stories

Analysis of stone tools and ancient DNA suggests an indigenous population, rather than migrants from earlier agricultural communities within the Fertile Crescent.

Memories of the largest lava flood in the history of Iceland, recorded in an apocalyptic medieval poem, were used to drive the island’s conversion to Christianity, new research suggests.

While mapping the seabed, the team discovered seven large craters in the seafloor, and the geologists can’t explain what might have made them.

People have shaped Latin America’s ecosystems on a large scale. Humans maintained and even expanded plants’ habitats, increased biodiversity, and engineered ecosystems on two continents.

Nutrient-rich ash from an enormous flare-up of volcanic eruptions toward the end of the dinosaurs’ reign kicked off a chain of events that led to the formation of shale gas and oil fields from Texas to Montana.

The Toba eruption, as we’re learning, wasn’t nearly as bad for humans as we thought—and it may not have produced a volcanic winter at all.

The voiceover includes Morgan Freeman, Brian Cox, Carl Sagan, and David Attenborough. Each second represents 22 million years, which really puts into perspective how old our universe is.

Cellulose fibers can take on remarkable characteristics, including a strength-to-weight ratio that’s about eight times that of steel.

Scientific analysis of diamond impurities — known as inclusions — reveal naturally forming ice crystals and point to water-rich regions deep below the Earth’s crust

A flip in Earth’s magnetic field may be brewing. And if it is, an electromagnetic blob deep under southern Africa is likely to be ground zero for the change.

A study of sediment cores from Lake Malawi has found no evidence of a plant die-off that would have come with the alleged six-year-long nuclear winter following the Toba catastrophe.

As governments convene throughout 2018 and beyond to discuss new and necessary ocean laws, we must give equal consideration to the perspectives of women.

New research has outlined a new methodology for estimating ancient atmospheric water content based on fossil plant leaf waxes.