A nearby star system with two suns could potentially support an Earth-sized planet in a region where liquid water could exist, according to a new paper examining the dynamics of the system. The paper, published in the Astrophysical Journal, focuses on a binary star system called 70 Ophiuchi that is trillions of miles from Earth...
Scientists have helped solve a longstanding mystery about how Earth remained habitable after oxygen first accumulated in its atmosphere more than 2 billion years ago, providing evidence that an ancient ocean chemistry sustained life-friendly conditions. The study, published in Nature Communications, was led by researchers including UC Riverside geologist Andrey Bekker. They found that changes...
With a global ocean of liquid water below a thick crust of ice, Saturn’s moon Enceladus is one of the most promising places to search for life beyond Earth. A new study suggests the moon itself may aid in that search by making some ocean compounds easier for future spacecraft to detect. At the moon’s...
Scientists have long speculated why Venus, with a similar size, mass, and structure to Earth, doesn’t have a moon. New UC Riverside research shows it’s because our hungry twin likely swallowed it. In the past, scientists have theorized that Venus possibly had a moon at one time that got hit with something massive, obliterating it...
UC Riverside scientists have developed a way to identify where Earth’s biggest earthquakes are most likely to occur, offering a powerful new tool for improving disaster preparations in some of the most dangerous seismic regions. Rather than predicting the timing of an earthquake, the method identifies where stress has been building along major faults, so...
A new laboratory at UC Riverside is giving scientists cutting-edge tools to investigate one of humanity’s most fundamental questions: Is there life beyond Earth? The Planetary Geochemistry and Astrobiology Laboratory is led by Assistant Professor Fabian Klenner, a new faculty member in UCR’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. His research focuses on the habitability...
Hundreds of Venus-like planets could soon help determine why some worlds become sweltering greenhouse hellscapes while others remain capable of supporting life. But before answering that question, scientists first need to know how fast those planets are spinning. The speed of a planet’s rotation helps determine how energy from a star, like the sun, moves...
A slowing Atlantic Ocean current is projected to intensify powerful storms in California while reducing snowfall over Greenland, according to a new University of California, Riverside study. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, works like a giant conveyor belt in the ocean, moving warm water from the tropics northward to heat places like Europe...
Scientists have identified the two biggest reasons that once-pristine rivers across the Arctic are growing cloudy with toxic orange iron particles that smother insects and suffocate fish. A new study published in Communications Earth & Environment builds on earlier research documenting widespread contamination in Alaska’s Brooks Range. As the climate warms, a layer of Arctic...
For decades, the search for life beyond Earth has revolved around a key question: What molecules should scientists be looking for on other planets or moons? A new study, published in Nature Astronomy, suggests the more revealing clue may not be the molecules themselves, but the hidden order connecting them. Read more
A newly named asteroid is carrying a bit of UC Riverside into deep space. The International Astronomical Union, which is responsible for naming celestial objects, has honored UCR professor of planetary astrophysics Stephen Kane by naming asteroid (711599) “Kane” after him. Read More.
At half the size of Earth and one-tenth its mass, Mars is a featherweight as far as planets go. And yet, new research reveals the extent to which Mars is quietly tugging on Earth’s orbit and shaping the cycles that drive long-term climate patterns here, including ice ages. Read more
A new study has unexpectedly discovered that a common parasite of modern oysters actually started infecting bivalves hundreds of millions of years before the dinosaurs went extinct. The research, published in iScience, used high-resolution 3D scans to look inside 480-million-year-old shells from a Moroccan site known for its exceptionally well-preserved sea life. The scans revealed...
A newly described fossil reveals that leeches are at least 200 million years older than scientists previously thought, and that their earliest ancestors may have feasted not on blood, but on smaller marine creatures. “This is the only body fossil we’ve ever found of this entire group,” said Karma Nanglu, a paleontologist with the University...
n Alaska’s Brooks Range, rivers once clear enough to drink from now run orange and hazy with toxic metals. As warming thaws formerly frozen ground, it sets off a chemical chain reaction that is poisoning fish and wreaking havoc on ecosystems. As the planet warms, a layer of permafrost — permanently frozen Arctic soil that...
More trees will cool the climate and suppress fires, but mainly if planted in the tropics, according to a new UC Riverside study. The study , published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, found that tree planting is generally a net positive for the climate because it helps pull warming carbon out of the atmosphere...
One of the most pressing mysteries in climate science is why Earth has begun warming faster over the past 15 years. A new international study points to a surprising contributor: cleaner air in East Asia, particularly China. The study, published in Communications Earth & Environment, found that East Asia’s aerosol reductions contributed about 0.05 degrees...
For more than a century, a patch of cold water south of Greenland has resisted the Atlantic Ocean’s overall warming, fueling debate amongst scientists. A new study identifies the cause as the long-term weakening of a major ocean circulation system. Researchers from the University of California, Riverside show that only one explanation fits both observed...
In a study that closes a long-standing knowledge gap in fundamental science, researchers Boerge Hemmerling and Stephen Kane at the University of California, Riverside, have successfully measured the electric dipole moment of aluminum monochloride (AlCl), a simple yet scientifically crucial diatomic molecule. Their results, published in Physical Review A, have implications for quantum technologies, astrophysics...
Replanting forests can help cool the planet even more than some scientists once believed, especially in the tropics. But even if every tree lost since the mid-19 th century is replanted, the total effect won’t cancel out human-generated warming. Cutting emissions remains essential. In a new modeling study published in Communications Earth & Environment, researchers...
