EARTH & PLANETARY SCIENCES NEWS ARCHIVE 
New instrument reveals raindrop formation in warm clouds
How do raindrops form? It's a simple question, but the answer is far from elementary. Tiny water droplets somehow merge to become full-sized raindrops, but the details remain a mystery. [Full Story]
Seismologists measure heat flow from Earth's molten core into the lower mantle
For the first time, scientists have directly measured the amount of heat flowing from the molten metal of Earth's core into a region at the base of the mantle... [Full Story]
Local research team pinpoints local impact of climate change
Lisa Sloan and the Paleoclimate and Climate Change Group are published on the front page of the Santa Cruz Sentinal. [Full Story]
Listening for silent earthquakes
Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula is known for good surf and beautiful beaches. Among seismologists, however, it is better known for earthquakes. [Full Story]
UCSC Earth & Planetary Sciences professors featured on NOVA
Gary Glatzmaier and Robert Coe, both professors of Earth sciences, were featured in "Magnetic Storm," a program in the PBS television series NOVA about Earth's magnetic field, which was recently rebroadcast. [Show Description]
Fall lecture series at the Seymour Center will focus on global climate change
The Fall Lecture Series at UC Santa Cruz's Seymour Marine Discovery Center will focus on climate change and global warming. October 5th, 12th & 19th. [Full Story]
New book looks at Santa Cruz coast "Then and Now"
A new book by Gary Griggs, professor of Earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz, and local architect Deepika Shrestha Ross offers a unique look at the Santa Cruz coastline. [Full Story]
Department changes name to Earth & Planetary Sciences
The Earth Sciences Department has changed its name to Earth & Planetary Sciences. [Full Story]
Geophysicists featured in the History Channel's Mega Disasters series
UCSC geophysicist Steven Ward and visiting researcher Simon Day are featured in "East Coast Tsunami," airing this week on the History Channel as part of the cable channel's Mega Disasters series. [Full Story]
Increased flow of groundwater after earthquakes suggests oil extraction applications
The most obvious manifestation of an earthquake is the shaking from seismic waves that knocks down buildings and rattles people. Now researchers have established a more subtle effect of this shaking... [Full Story]
Two faculty elected fellows of Geological Society of America
Andrew Fisher and Paul Koch, both professors of Earth sciences, have been elected fellows of the Geological Society of America in recognition of their significant contributions to the science of geology. [Full Story]
Study shows earthquake shaking triggers aftershocks
A new analysis of earthquake data indicates that aftershocks are triggered by the shaking associated with the mainshock, rather than by the added stress on nearby faults resulting from rearrangement of the Earth's crust. [Full Story]
Saturn's moon Enceladus may have reoriented
Enceladus, a small icy moon of Saturn, may have dramatically reoriented relative to its axis of rotation, rolling over to put an area of low density at the moon's south pole. [Full Story]
Sunken slab of ocean floor detected
Halfway to the center of the Earth, at the boundary between the core and the mantle, lies a massive folded slab of rock that once formed the ocean floor and sank beneath North America some 50 million years ago. [Full Story]
New capture scenario explains origin of Neptune's oddball moon Triton
Neptune's large moon Triton may have abandoned an earlier partner to arrive in its unusual orbit around Neptune. Triton is unique among all the large moons in the solar system because it orbits Neptune in a direction opposite to the planet's rotation... [Full Story]
Original seismograph of 1906 San Francisco earthquake on display at Lick
On April 18, 1906, the seismographic station at the University of California's Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton obtained the only good record of local strong ground motion from the great earthquake that devastated San Francisco that day. [Full Story]
San Francisco earthquake of 1906 is focus of March 15 lecture
With the centennial of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake approaching, UCSC will host a free public talk this month on the earthquake that devastated San Francisco and marked the birth of modern earthquake science. [Full Story]
Alumna Kathryn D. Sullivan honored with atrium dedication
Family, fellow alumni, and distinguished guests gathered on April 21 to celebrate the career and achievements of Kathryn Sullivan...
[Full Story]
Fast track to global warming
Human activities are releasing greenhouse gases more than 30 times faster than the rate of emissions that triggered a period of extreme global warming in the Earth's past, according to an expert on ancient climates. [Full Story]
Collisions between embryonic planets studied
Hit-and-run collisions between embryonic planets during a critical period in the early history of the Solar System may account for some previously unexplained properties of planets, asteroids, and meteorites... [Full Story]
Glacier's retreat in Greenland
Satellite images show that, after decades of stability, a major glacier draining the Greenland ice sheet has dramatically increased its speed and retreated nearly five miles in recent years. [Full Story]
Unmanned submersible sheds light on an undersea volcano
Rock samples collected last year show surprising variation in the chemistry of an undersea volcano on the Juan de Fuca Ridge near Seattle. [Full Story]
Simulations shed light on Earth's history of magnetic field reversals
A new analysis of computer simulations of Earth's magnetic field suggests that its behavior was different early in Earth's history, resulting in greater stability and fewer reversals of the magnetic field. [Full Story]
Rapidly accelerating glaciers may increase how fast the sea level rises
Satellite images show that, after decades of stability, a major glacier draining the Greenland ice sheet has dramatically increased its speed and retreated nearly five miles in recent years. [Full Story]
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