Earth Sciences Geophysics

Researchers from Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo analyzed Nankai Trough seafloor displacement data, detecting previously unknown variations in the locking strength between tectonic plates

Many secrets lie deep beneath the Earth’s surface. Researchers from Tohoku University uncovered one of them when they discovered a hidden natural lubricant inside an active fault. Their findings may explain why the Atotsugawa Fault System produces surprisingly few large earthquakes despite being located in a tectonically active region.

More thorough testing of methane and ethane emissions in Osaka, Japan, identified numerous natural gas-related large methane sources that were mostly overlooked in current predictions. These sources may be useful future targets for mitigating emissions.

JapanFlux2024 compiles 30+ years of eddy covariance data from 83 sites across the region

For the first time, researchers at Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, quickly and efficiently measure the seafloor down to the centimeter-level using an unmanned aerial vehicle

Data could help rethink climate change models regarding sources of carbon and CO2 sinks

Scientists restore impaired kidney for the first time, How fibre composite fails when wet, Cleaner fish recognize themselves in pictures 🖼️🐟& The source of black carbon in the sea. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice. Plus our magazine Asia Research News 2023 is out now 🎉!

Hydrothermal vents have been identified as a previously undiscovered source of dissolved black carbon in the oceans, furthering the understanding of the role of oceans as a carbon sink.

A simulation of stakeholder interactions around geothermal development in Japan provides an agent-based modeling tool for understanding how achieving community consensus is achieved.

A team of researchers understands more about the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. They discovered a flow of hot rocks, known as a mantle plume, rising from the core-mantle boundary beneath central Greenland that melts the ice from below.

Researchers have shaken up a once accepted timeline for cataclysmic events in the early solar system. Geological and geochemical records indicate that the Earth-Moon system experienced a period of frequent and cataclysmic impacts from asteroids and other bodies. It was thought that this period had a relatively sudden onset, but the researchers have found evidence that this bombardment period may have started much earlier, and decreased in intensity over time.

Laboratory experiments at extreme pressures and temperatures lead to precise measurements of the sound velocity of CaSiO3 perovskite which is one of the important constituent minerals in the Earth's mantle. The measurements suggested the accumulation of the subducted oceanic crust beneath the 660 km discontinuity.

A highly precise method to determine past typhoon occurrences from giant clam shells has been developed, with the hope of using this method to predict future cyclone activity.

Researchers at Nagoya University resolve the formation mechanism of “spherical carbonate concretions” and find they form much more rapidly than previously recognized.

A new soil classification, and tools to implement it, helps understanding of the properties of the ground underpinning geo-engineering projects.

A Nagoya University-led team reveals the mechanisms behind different earthquakes at a plate boundary on the west coast of South America, shedding light on historical seismic events and potentially aiding prediction of the future risk from these natural disasters.