The prolonged drought being experienced by the western portion of North America—now considered a “megadrought”—is the driest seen by the region in over 1,200 years, and is considered a worst-case climate change scenario, according to a new study. “Climate change is changing the baseline conditions toward a drier, gradually drierread more
Up to a billion years worth of history is missing from the Earth’s geological record, with long spans of ancient rock strata having been seemingly erased from their subterranean resting places. Although the cause behind the missing layers has been the source of debate amongst scientists for over a century,read more
The more precise dating of a key geological formation at a paleoanthropological site in Ethiopia has bolstered the notion that modern humans are far older than previously assumed, being well established as a species as far back as 300,000 years ago. One of the oldest examples of modern humans isread more
In what is being described as a once-in-a-millennium event, Tonga’s Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on January 15, obliterating the island and generating a minor, yet deadly, tsunami. Before the eruption, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai was a seamount with a peak that rose only 120 meters (390 feet) above the surface of the ocean; the smallread more