Latest news with #DepartmentofEarthSciences
Metro
2 days ago
- Science
- Metro
Hidden 620 mile crack beneath North America could trigger massive earthquake
A crack stretching more than 620 miles across northwestern Canada could one day cause 'at least' a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. Tintina is a fault line – where two of Earth's puzzle pieces, tectonic plates, meet – which runs from northeastern British Columbia to central Alaska. Experts have never worried too much about it, believing it has been asleep for about 40million years. But researchers have revealed in a new study that an 81-mile-long stretch of the fault line in Yukon has been very much awake for 2.6million years. The study, published in the Geophysical Research Letters, found that the crack has produced multiple strong tremors between a magnitude of three and four, enough to cause minor damage. Worryingly, whether the fault could cause an even larger tremor isn't a question of if; it's when. The most active chunk is grumbling about 12 miles from Dawson City, a town home to 1,500 people, University of Victoria researchers found. Tintina is a right-lateral strike-slip fault, where two chunks of the Earth's crust slide against each other horizontally. By looking at how far the landforms have shifted around, scientists pieced together the fault's recent movements. And by 'recent', we mean geologically recent. One side of the fault slipped about 270 miles during the Eocene period, some 55million years ago. But the team realised that Tintina is more active than first thought by examining fault scarps, steep slopes and cliffs formed by earthquakes. These scarps can easily be tens of miles long, but only a few metres wide and tall, making them tricky to see in forested areas like Canada. The scientists used satellite images and data to identify fault scarps near Dawon City that suggest the last time the fault experienced a major earthquake was at least 12,000 years ago. Two tectonic grinding on one another causes friction and pressure to build up. Once the force of the plates moving exceeds the friction, they suddenly jolt and release seismic waves that shake the ground, causing a quake. With 12,000 years of pressure built up, the study warned that Tintina is overdue for a Big One. Lead author Theron Finley said in a statement: 'We determined that future earthquakes on the Tintina fault could exceed magnitude 7.5.' 'Based on the data, we think that the fault may be at a relatively late stage of a seismic cycle.' A 7.5 magnitude earthquake and the tsunami that followed it killed more than 4,300 people in Indonesia in 2018. While 645 people died after a 7.5 quake shook Noto, a peninsula in northern Japan, last year. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Finley's team added that a quake of this scale would rattle Dawson City and could pose a threat to nearby roads and mines. Dr Jonathan Paul, a senior lecturer from the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London, told Metro that Tintina is a 'spectacular fault not to have been detected before'. 'It's like San Andreas, only about six times as long,' he said, referring to the tension-wracked fault line slicing through California. 'It's in a very remote location so, even if there were a huge earthquake, the damage to people's livelihoods and the local economy is likely to be minimal.' More Trending Dr Paul said that it's 'impossible to predict' when an earthquake might happen, and the one that could happen along Tintina is no exception. He added: 'Digging trenches across the fault would also be a prerequisite to understanding whether the fault is likely to move in a single jump, releasing a huge amount of energy all at once (i.e. an earthquake) or whether movement might take the form of a cluster of much smaller ruptures, or even slower creep motion. Dr Ian Stimpson, a senior lecturer in geophysics at Keele University, similarly said that there's no suggestion the quake hitting the remote region is 'imminent'. 'If I were Canadian, I would be more concerned about a magnitude seven-plus earthquake from the Cascadia subduction zone beneath Vancouver, a region with 2.7 million people living there,' he told Metro. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: At least one woman killed as 6.1 magnitude earthquake rocks Turkey MORE: My week in the world's most welcoming city where immigrants are 'newcomers' MORE: Moment huge black bear is chased out of home by tiny Pomeranian dog
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Science
- Indian Express
2 Indian aquanauts make record-breaking dives into Atlantic Ocean
In preparation for the country's Deep Ocean Mission, two Indian aquanauts have undertaken dives to nearly 4,000 metres and 5,000 metres in the Atlantic Ocean, on board the French vessel, Nautile. These are the deepest ocean dives ever made by Indians, with most submarine dives being restricted to above 500 metres, and a previous record of 670 metres being set by aquanaut Commander (Retd) Jatinder Pal Singh. The dives took place on August 4 and 5. While Singh descended 5,002 metres, R Ramesh descended to 4,025 metres. An Indian flag, along with a French one, was floated during the dive. From deployment to retrieval, the mission to travel to the depths of 5,000 metres took about 9.5 hours. 'It took about two and a half hours to reach the depth. Once there, I spent around four hours at the depth working with the robotic arm, checking how to work with and without the light at a place where there is never any sunlight, how to work with the life support system if the CO2 systems are shut off, what has to be done in case of power failure, or how long will it take for the vessel to reach the surface in case of an emergency,' said Singh, who was a Naval submarine pilot. The experience from the two dives would help India's upcoming Samudrayaan mission. India plans to build its vessels to send three aquanauts to the depths of 6,000 metres by 2027. 'These dives was meant for our team to gain hands on experience on several aspects of such deep sea missions such as pre-dive preparatory tasks, piloting the vessel, ascending, descending and living in the vessel, using the robotic manipulator to collect samples from the outside, tracking the vessel, and retrieving it after the mission,' said Dr M Ravichandran, Secretary, Department of Earth Sciences. Another important learning from the dives was on communication protocols with the use of acoustic telephones. 'Thousands of metres underwater, you cannot use normal communication methods. Our phones use air as a medium to transmit radio waves to enable communication; these cannot penetrate the depth of water. So, for underwater communication, sound waves are used, and there is a delay of a few seconds in that,' Ravichandran said. The collaboration with France came after years of negotiation, as most countries are reluctant to share deep-sea technologies. In fact, India developed its own acoustic phones and will manufacture the titanium sphere that will carry the aquanauts. 'For depths of 6,000 metres, a titanium sphere will be needed for the crew. This sphere is currently being manufactured by the Indian Space Research Organisation,' he said, adding that it requires highly specialised and precise manufacturing techniques. He explained that the sphere has to be of 80mm thickness uniformly, 'even if at one place it is 79.8 mm thick, it will collapse under the immense pressure'. Under the Samudrayaan mission, a shallow water dive up to 500 metres—using a steel sphere instead of the more complex titanium one—is likely to take place in mid-2026. The integration of the titanium sphere and deep water testing is likely to occur by mid-2027, before the final mission scheduled for 2027-28.
The Hindu
29-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Pondicherry University, IIPE ink MoU for joint research in earth science and energy fields
Pondicherry University and the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE), Visakhapatnam, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for joint research endeavours in earth science and energy fields and sustainable technologies. The MoU establishes multiple avenues for collaboration, including joint research projects, faculty and student exchange programs, expert lectures, student internships and hands-on training at IIPE and PU facilities, shared access to research facilities and laboratories and organisation of national conferences and workshops leading to enhanced academic and research co-operation, a press note from Pondicherry University said. The University described the collaboration as a milestone in fostering academic and research collaboration. On concluding the agreement, P. Prakash Babu, Vice-Chancellor, Pondicherry University, emphasised the strategic importance of the partnership, which 'aligns well with the university's aspiration to strengthen institute-university linkages' and creating academic and research-relevant knowledge ecosystems. 'This partnership represents a perfect synergy between academic and research excellence. At Pondicherry University,' the Vice Chancellor said. The collaboration with IIPE will enable students and faculty to work on transformative projects that address India's growing energy demands while maintaining environmental sustainability. 'Together, we will develop cutting-edge solutions that can be implemented at both national and global levels.' he said. 'As India's premier petroleum and energy academic and research institution, IIPE recognises the critical importance of bridging the gap between laboratory research and commercial applications,' said Shalivahan, Director of IIPE. The IIPE, Visakhapatnam, a domain-specific institute at par with IITs and IIMs, was established by the Government of India under the aegis of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. 'The MoU with Pondicherry University allows us to combine our state-of-the-art testing facilities, academic and research experience with Pondicherry University's strong academic foundation and research capabilities', he added. S. Victor Anandkumar, Dean (International Relations), outlined the university's expanding global and industrial outreach. Shailendra Singh, MoU co-ordinator and faculty member of the Department of Earth Sciences, elaborated the scope of the partnership. According to the University, the collaboration was the result of nearly a year of careful planning and a series of discussions. It is particularly significant that it creates a structured platform for continuous interaction between both institute faculties and students, ensuring that the partnership remains dynamic and productive. K. Srinivasamoorthy, Head, Department of Earth Sciences, said the MoU would significantly impact the university's academic landscape. The MoU signing ceremony was attended by faculty members, research scholars, and representatives from both the institutions.
The Hindu
09-06-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
New study makes controversial weather-tweaking idea more realistic
The world needs to lower its dependence on fossil fuels. Countries have done so in fits and starts: issues like war, poverty, disease, and inflation have often left climate mitigation on the back burner. Today, greenhouse gas emissions are increasing worldwide. In this situation, some researchers have proposed the use of technologies to directly cool the planet rather than bank on reducing emissions alone. Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) is one such technology — and a controversial one. In SAI, aerosols are injected into the earth's stratosphere to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the surface. A study recently published in the journal Earth's Future offered an innovative approach to this technique that could reduce its costs but also bring it closer to fruition despite the opposition to it. A volcano-inspired tool SAI is a 'proposed method of cooling the planet and reducing the impacts of climate change by adding a layer of tiny reflective particles to the high atmosphere,' Alistair Duffey, a PhD student at the Department of Earth Sciences at the University College London and the study's lead author, said. The method was inspired by volcanic eruptions, which have been known to have a cooling effect on the planet by spewing aerosols into the air. By reflecting more sunlight away from the earth, SAI aims to create a cooling effect that could help combat rising surface temperatures. How well SAI works depends on the type of material injected, the timing of the injection, and the location. Technical challenges are also more pronounced at higher altitudes. Most studies of SAI's efficacy have focused on implementing it at 20 km or more, particularly over areas closer to the equator. Doing so demands specially designed aircraft capable of operating at such elevations. A contrasting approach The study's authors have explored an alternative approach to undertake SAI using existing aircraft. 'We were interested in understanding how the effectiveness of stratospheric aerosol injection varies with the injection altitude,' Duffey said, adding that 'low altitude injection strategies are necessarily' meant for the polar regions. At the equator and regions close to the equator, the stratosphere is higher — 18 km and above — where existing aircraft can't fly. In polar and extratropical regions, the boundary between the troposphere (the lowermost layer of the atmosphere) and stratosphere, called the tropopause, is at a lower altitude than over the equator or subtropics. This means existing jets can reach the stratosphere at these close-to-polar regions. 'Higher altitude injection is generally more effective because the particles stay in the stratosphere for longer,' anywhere between months or years, Duffey said. In contrast, particles released at lower altitudes are more likely to be caught in clouds and washed out by rain. Despite this, researchers are exploring low-altitude SAI because spraying particles at lower heights is technically less challenging and doesn't require specially designed high-altitude aircraft, also making the approach potentially more accessible and cost-effective. Even when using existing aircraft for this mission, various modifications are necessary, according to Duffey. An August 2024 study said aircraft like the Boeing 777F would have to be modified to install insulated double-walled pressurised tanks to ensure the safe transport of aerosols and maintain the desired temperature during flight. Time-, cost-effective The new study's researchers simulated various particle-injection strategies. Using the UK's Earth System Model 1 (UKESM1), a computer model of the climate, they simulated the 'spraying' of sulphur dioxide at different altitudes, latitudes, and seasons. The team found that injecting 12 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide every year at an altitude of 13 km in the local spring and summer seasons of each hemisphere could cool the planet by approximately 0.6° C. The spray quantity is comparable to the amount added to the atmosphere by the Mount Pinatubo volcano in 1991. For cooling by 1° C, their models suggested spraying 21 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide a year. If the particles were injected at an even higher altitude in the subtropics, only 7.6 million tonnes would be required annually to achieve the same effect. An added advantage is that this technique could begin sooner than conventional higher altitude methods because designing and building specialised aircraft meant for flying 20 km and above requires almost a decade and several billion dollars in capital expenses. Modifying existing aircraft can be faster and cheaper. Is it worth the risk? But while there are some benefits to this method, using three times the usual amount of aerosols carries greater risk. 'There are lots of important risks and side-effects related to SAI, including social and geopolitical risks, as well as direct side-effects such as delayed recovery of the ozone hole and acid rain,' Duffey said. The cooling effect will also be more pronounced in polar regions rather than in the tropics, where warming is more severe. Duffey also stressed that the cooling effect wouldn't reverse climate change. The cooling may also have some other ecological effects but it would also introduce new challenges. As The Hindu reported recently, the cooling could mask warming on the ground and make countries complacent about curtailing emissions. SAI is also controversial because its effects are global: if one country injects aerosols into the stratosphere, all countries will be affected and not always in a good way. In 2021, the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommended the US government fund solar geoengineering research with a focus on transparency. But a year later, an international coalition of scholars called for a moratorium on solar geoengineering R&D because the technology is 'ungovernable in a fair, democratic and effective manner'. Duffey also said the team's results were limited by the number of simulations they conducted and that they're working on a better follow-up study. Shreejaya Karantha is a freelance science writer.
Telegraph
15-04-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
Water did not come to Earth from asteroids, Oxford study suggests
Water did not come to Earth from asteroids – it was already here, a new study by the University of Oxford suggests. Many scientists believe that life began on Earth following bombardment by asteroids or comets containing life-giving ingredients including hydrogen which reacted with oxygen to form water. But Oxford scientists have used ultra-powerful x-rays to peer inside space rocks, which date from the same time as the formation of the Earth around 4.5 billion years ago. The rocks represent leftover material from when the planets were forming in the Solar System, and so offer a snapshot of what the early Earth looked like. The research showed a significant amount of hydrogen sulphide, which was part of the asteroid itself rather than later contamination from falling on to the planet. Dr James Bryson, an associate professor at the Department of Earth Sciences, said: 'A fundamental question for planetary scientists is how Earth came to look like it does today. 'We now think that the material that built our planet – which we can study using these rare meteorites – was far richer in hydrogen than we thought previously. This finding supports the idea that the formation of water on Earth was a natural process, rather than a fluke of hydrated asteroids bombarding our planet after it formed.' It has been suggested that water was created in the early Earth when hydrogen dissolved into the magma oceans, where it reacted with oxygen-containing compounds, forming water. The team looked at a rare type of meteorite known as an enstatite chondrite, which was found in Antarctica, and has a composition like that of the early Earth. A previous study led by a French team had originally identified traces of hydrogen within the meteorite but it was not known if it had acquired them after crashing to Earth. 'Vital evidence' to support native water theory But the new research found that in places in the asteroid that showed signs of cracks in the rusting, there was little or no hydrogen present. All the hydrogen was locked deep within the asteroid, forming an intrinsic part of its makeup. Tom Barrett, a doctoral student in the Department of Earth Sciences, who led the study, said: 'We were incredibly excited when the analysis told us the sample contained hydrogen sulphide – just not where we expected. 'Because the likelihood of this hydrogen sulphide originating from terrestrial contamination is very low, this research provides vital evidence to support the theory that water on Earth is native – that it is a natural outcome of what our planet is made of.' In 2022, a meteorite that fell on a driveway in Gloucestershire was found to contain water that resembles water on Earth. It was the best evidence yet that asteroids delivered water to the planet. But the new study suggests that by the time the early Earth had become large enough to be struck by asteroids, it would have already amassed enough reserves of hydrogen to explain Earth's present-day water abundance. It suggests habitable conditions do not rely on space rocks and could have implications for searching for life on other planets. The research was published in the journal Icarus.
