The Moon’s surface has two main rock types: white highland anorthosite and dark lowland basalt. While both are common on the nearside, the farside lacks dark lowlands. Researchers found that nearside rocks are unusually rich in chlorine (Cl), unlike farside rocks. Farside crust materials, lacking Cl enrichment, likely formed from magma that preserves remnants of the original lunar magma ocean from 4.5 billion years ago.

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 UC Riverside study identifies the cause as the long-term weakening of the AMOC, a major ocean circulation system.

New research indicates reef passes — channels that cut through coral reefs and serve as conduits for ocean water and nutrients — are shaped by island rivers.

Fritjof Nansen travelled the polar regions as both an explorer and a scientist. Ten Norwegian research institutions followed in Nansen’s footsteps in a collaborative investigation of the Barents Sea. Their 6-year effort has now been documented in a new book.