Natural hydrogen from deep underground could be an important building block for the sustainable energy system of the future, but it is currently still difficult to predict where and at what depth elevated concentrations are located. New study results from the Department of Geology at the University of Vienna could make such predictions easier in the future. So-called "fairy circles" – round patches with vegetation damage – could be helpful indicators. This is because these "fairy circles" subside due to the seepage of natural hydrogen. According to the study, the deeper the hydrogen source underground and the higher its pressure, the larger the "fairy circle" on the Earth's surface. The study was recently published in the journal Geology.

Glaciers across High Mountain Asia are losing more than 22 gigatons of ice per year. The impact of a warming climate on glacial loss is undisputed—this new study provides the first evidence that seasonal shifts in rainfall and snowfall patterns, particularly of the South Asian monsoons, are also exacerbating glacier melting across the region.

Led by Univerisity of Maryland researchers, this novel experiment reveals how thunderstorms affect our climate and how Earth’s atmosphere breaks down pollution. 

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere vary naturally between ice ages and interglacial periods. A new study by researchers at the University of Gothenburg shows that an unexpectedly large proportion of carbon dioxide emissions after the ice age may have come from thawing permafrost.

The Philippines, like other tropical countries, is known more for its balmy climate than for hailstorms. But a new Philippine study—the first of its kind—has found that the country’s hottest days are, in fact, more likely to produce hail.

An international team led by Manuel Asnar, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, has achieved a breakthrough with laboratory tests in the GFZ's high-pressure laboratory: Using their test setup, the researchers were able to measure seismic wave velocities in a sandstone cylinder measuring just a few centimeters in diameter for different propagation directions with a high degree of accuracy. This enabled them to discover why seismic wave velocity slows down shortly after an earthquake and then returns to normal. The results also play a role in stability of man-made structures.

The inside of Mars isn’t smooth and uniform like familiar textbook illustrations. Instead, new research reveals it’s chunky - more like a Rocky Road brownie than a neat slice of Millionaire’s Shortbread.