Ventura fault could cause stronger shaking, new research finds

The figure shows the location of the Ventura-Pitas Point fault with respect to the cities involved. The view is of Southern California, as seen from the Pacific coast looking east. The thin white line is the coastline; the outlines of the Channel Islands can be seen off to the right (the south). The pink triangulated […]

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3-D reconstruction of skull suggests a small crocodile is a new species

A small crocodile discovered in Germany’s Langenberg Quarry may be a new species, according to a study published February 15, 2017 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Daniela Schwarz from Leibniz Institute for Evolutionary and Biodiversity Research, Germany, and colleagues. The Langenberg Quarry has proven to be a rich source of marine-related fossils, including […]

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Ancient jars found in Judea reveal Earth’s magnetic field is fluctuating, not diminishing

Albert Einstein considered the origin of Earth’s magnetic field one of the five most important unsolved problems in physics. The weakening of the geomagnetic field, which extends from the planet’s core into outer space and was first recorded 180 years ago, has raised concern by some for the welfare of the biosphere. But a new […]

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Australian continent shifts with the seasons, study finds

Australia shifts and tilts back and forth by several millimeters each year because of changes to Earth’s center of mass, according to a new study. The findings could help scientists better track the precise location of Earth’s center of mass, which is important for GPS and other satellite measurements, according to the study’s author. All […]

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New theory explains how Earth’s inner core remains solid despite extreme heat

Even though it is hotter than the surface of the Sun, the crystallized iron core of the Earth remains solid. A new study from KTH Royal Institute of Technology may finally settle a longstanding debate over how that’s possible, as well as why seismic waves travel at higher speeds between the planet’s poles than through […]

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