By integrating 13 published speleothem δ¹⁸O records from the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) region, this study systematically analyzed the spatio-temporal characteristics of the 8.2 (8.7–7.7) and 4.2 (4.7–3.7) ka BP abrupt climate events. The results indicate that both the temporal resolution and geographical location significantly affect the ability of the stalagmite δ¹⁸O sequences to record the 8.2 and 4.2 ka BP events. During the 8.2 ka BP event, δ¹⁸O records from both northern and southern sites showed pronounced positive excursions, whereas during the 4.2 ka BP event, δ¹⁸O records from the north and south exhibited contrasting patterns. These findings provide important evidence for understanding the mechanisms of abrupt climate change and for assessing regional climate sensitivity. The related results were published in Science China: Earth Sciences, Issue 9, 2025.

Typhoons and their Atlantic counterparts—hurricanes—can develop into massively destructive storms that can take a severe toll on both infrastructure and human life. To date, collecting in situ tropical cyclone data has been too dangerous and cost prohibitive to routinely collect on a larger scale. Researchers have just developed a submersible vehicle, the “Blue Whale,” designed to withstand the adverse conditions of these storms and collect the in situ data necessary for more accurate typhoon intensity forecasts and marine condition warnings.

The article examines how machine learning is revolutionizing igneous petrology and volcanology by automating tasks, enhancing models, and accelerating discoveries. At the same time, the authors warn of key challenges, including the need to understand what models actually learn and to ensure transparency, reproducibility, and interpretability. These concerns are especially critical for volcanic hazard assessment and crisis management. The study also addresses ethical risks and reviews evolving policies in the EU, US, and China.

ETH researchers have refuted the assumption that a huge store of dissolved organic carbon in the ocean was partly responsible for the ice ages and the emergence of complex life between 1,000 and 541 million years ago. 

Applying a new method for analysing iron oxide grains, they were able – for the first time - to directly determine the dissolved organic carbon content of the ocean at that time. 

The measurements show that the amount of dissolved organic carbon in the oceans at that time must have been 90 to 99 per cent less than today. 

These findings call for new explanations as to how ecological and biogeochemical evolution are related.

A study by the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo offers insights into how microbial life may have functioned during a critical phase in Earth's history, when oxygen was only beginning to accumulate in the atmosphere. By studying iron-rich hot springs in Japan that mirror the conditions of early, low-oxygen oceans, researchers discovered microbial communities sustained by iron metabolism, supported through a relationship with oxygen-producing photosynthetic microbes.

What happens when cows graze, carbon vanishes from soil, and climate change looms large? Scientists have a plan—and it involves a black, brainy material called biochar that’s transforming how we think about soil health in some of the planet’s most delicate landscapes. A powerful new study—published on July 7, 2025, in Carbon Research—has cracked the code on how to protect and even boost soil carbon in karst ecosystems, the stunning limestone-rich regions that stretch across southern China and beyond.