Our prospects of a better, fairer future are inextricably linked with the minerals and metals beneath our feet. Is it time to make peace with the industry that extracts them?
Geology experts explain why coloured diamonds are so much rarer than clear ones – and why the newly discovered Lulo Rose might become the most expensive diamond in history.
Vamsi Ganti, University of California, Santa Barbara
Millions of people around the world live on river deltas and are vulnerable when those rivers shift direction. A new study shows why and where these events, called avulsions, happen.
We should not be surprised that some of the innumerable rocks on Mars have weird shapes, because many have been sand-blasted by wind erosion for billions of years.
Lithium is essential for batteries that power electric vehicles and store energy from solar and wind farms. A new U.S. source could provide 10 times more lithium than the country uses today.
Quirks of our geology made Australia unusually abundant in coal. But as the world goes green, we can switch to vital clean mineral resources so coalminers aren’t left behind.
Tsunamis aren’t just bigger-than-average waves. Triggered by undersea earthquakes or volcanic eruptions like the one in Tonga, they are fast, massive and potentially destructive. Here’s why.