This enhanced colour image shows the traces of carbon on the surface, coloured here in blue.
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
The discovery of carbon in the form of graphite on the surface of Mercury helps explain the mystery of why the tiny planet is so unusually dark.
The biggest state has a brand new map.
Geologic Map of Alaska
On printed maps, piling on the detail risks obscuring the meaning. This new digital map is really more of a database from which users can create different versions that match their own interests.
The iconic church at the centre of Christchurch still hasn’t fully recovered from the 2011 quake.
AAP Image/Cleo Fraser
Christchurch is still reeling from the 2011 earthquake, but there may be more on their way.
Shutterstock
Scientists have found a way to narrow down the best signs that a specific volcano is about to blow.
Esteban De Armas / shutterstock.com
Too much fertiliser can kill all life in parts of the ocean. It has happened before – and could do so again.
We don’t need future geological evidence to tell us nuclear tests are bad.
US Department of Defense
There’s no need for manufactured debates about a new geological era – we should just get on with the business of solving our problems.
Carbon in the atmosphere is one of many major marks humans will leave on the geological record.
William Hong / Reuters
We’re in a new geological era, say scientists.
How did the Star of Adam grow so big?
BBC
The world’s biggest known sapphire was formed and shaped by natural processes millions of years ago.
Despite the noble intentions behind charity wells, they may not be the best thing.
Franco Volpato/Shutterstock
The digging of wells in Africa has often been thought of as the solution to helping rural women walking to get water, but they may cause more harm than good.
It’s impossible to know the quality of our groundwater unless we test it.
WaterNSW
A new technique that uses lasers to determine the composition of groundwater is helping us protect that most precious resource.
What caused the dramatic collapse of the coast on a Queensland island?
AAP Image/Higgins Storm Chasing
The beach collapse at Inskip in Queensland might look like a sinkhole, but it was likely triggered by very different forces.
The early solar system was once a turbulent place.
Flickr/Philippe Put
The early solar system was a busy place with plenty of meteorite impacts on the new planets and moons. But finding evidence of such impacts on Earth can be tricky.
Chileans wait outside after evacuating during the earthquake in Santiago.
Reuters
Earthquake monitoring can now detect a quake and warn people before it arrives.
Tick tock, tick tock… You can’t hide from the molecular clock.
www.shutterstock.com
The molecular clock is helping us deepen our knowledge of evolution and completing the tree of life. But how does it actually work?
Kelvin Ma
Glaciers once covered most of Earth’s surface and reflected the sun’s heat back into space.
The April 2015 earthquake flattened villages and towns, but more may be to come.
AAP Image/Jonathan Hyams/Save The Children
New research shows the earthquake that struck central Nepal in April this year was only a partial rupture of the fault line, meaning another strong quake could be due in future.
Piton de la Fournaise or “Peak of the Furnace” on Reunion Island is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, shown erupting in August 2015.
AAP/NewZulu/Vincent Dunogué
What happens beneath the surface before a volcano erupts? Can we predict when one will blow? And how can typhoons and melting glaciers contribute to big eruptions?
What can what’s on the moon tell us about our home planet?
NASA
The moon might harbor bits of the Earth that blasted off our planet billions of years ago. These lunar time capsules could hold secrets about conditions here at home back when life was first emerging.
Bye bye humanity…. now what?
NASA
With most species out of the way, remaining plants and animals rush to evolve into the ecological gaps.
One of the stalagmites used in this study. The blue-green fluorescence is due to the light from the camera flash.
Stalagmites in Scottish preserve 3,000 years of climate history, suggesting human migration is linked to wet and dry periods.