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Scientists have discovered a gigantic volcano on Mars near the planet’s equator that remained unnoticed for decades, according to newly published research. The huge volcano was found in the Red Planet’s eastern Tharsis volcanic province, along with what researchers interpret to be a large sheet of buried glacial ice beneath the Martian surface. The discovery came as a surprise, partly because orbital spacecraft have photographed this region of Mars since the early 1970s. Hidden in plain sight now for decades, the giant volcano, which has undergone extensive erosion over time, somehow remained unnoticed. The feature has been given the temporary...

Scientists have discovered a stunning volcanic ‘lost world’ off the coast of Tasmania. Experts on the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), vessel ‘Investigator’ made the find while mapping the seafloor 249 miles east of Tasmania. The project is led by scientists from the Australian National University. CSIRO is Australia’s national science agency. A chain of ‘seamounts’, or undersea mountains, were spotted in deep water, offering the first glimpse of a spectacular “underwater world.” Scientists say that the mountains rise up to 9,843 feet from the seafloor, but the highest peaks are still 6,562 feet beneath the waves. “Our...

Tiny holes in the bones indicate that they passed through a large bird’s digestive system, according to Professor Pawel Valde-Nowak of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. It’s not clear, however, whether the bird attacked and ate the young Neanderthal or scavenged the remains of a dead child. Believed to be about 115,000 years old, the bones are the oldest human remains ever discovered in Poland. Experts from the Jagiellonian University and Washington University in St. Louis confirmed that the remains are digital bones from a child’s hand. The Archaeological Museum of Krakow and the Polish Academy of Sciences also participated...

Geologists have discovered a second magma chamber beneath volcano They believe this feeds the smaller chamber directly below the mountain Earthquakes in the area may be a sign of magma pumping between them Geologists still consider Mount St Helens to be of high risk of erupting Its scarred and jagged crater is a reminder of the terrible devastation that Mount St Helens wrought over the Washington countryside 35 years ago. Now a new study of the volcanic plumbing lurking beneath the 8,363ft (2,459 metre) summit suggests the volcano could yet again blow its top in an explosive eruption. Geologists studying...

An Italian court convicted seven scientists and experts of manslaughter on Monday for failing to adequately warn citizens before an earthquake struck L'Aquila in central Italy in 2009, killing more than 300 people. The court in L'Aquila sentenced the defendants to six years in prison. Each is a member of the country's Grand Commission on High Risks. … Scientists worldwide had decried the trial as ridiculous, contending that science has no reliable way to predict earthquakes.Among those convicted were some of Italy's most prominent and internationally respected seismologists and geological experts, including Enzo Boschi, former head of the country's Institute...

One fine day about 74,000 years ago, a giant volcano on Sumatra blew its top. The volcano, named Toba, may have ejected 1000 times more rock and other material than Mount St. Helens in Washington state did in 1980. In the process, it cooled the climate by at least 10°C, causing a global famine. But could the aftermath have been even worse? A new study puts to rest questions about whether Toba plunged Earth into a 1000-year deep freeze and whether an equivalent event today could jump-start a new, millennia-long ice age. Giant volcanic eruptions such as Toba briefly cause...

INDONESIAN scientists have placed 11 volcanoes under close watch after a series of powerful quakes awoke intense subterranean forces and increased the chances of a major eruption. As tens of thousands spent a third night in temporary camps after fleeing the slopes of Mount Talang on Sumatra island, where hot ash has been raining down since Monday, more volcanoes began rumbling into life. Late Wednesday Anak Krakatau - the "child" of the legendary Krakatoa that blew itself apart in 1883 in one of the worst-ever natural disasters - was put on alert status amid warnings of poisonous gas emissions. No...