Geophysics podcasts

Robin George Andrews discusses Japan’s planned sampling mission to Phobos and what returned material could reveal about the moon and Mars. Ashton Flinders explains how camera observations, geochemistry and geophysical monitoring revealed patterns in Kīlauea’s lava fountains. Economist Javier Birchenall examines a historical prediction of runaway population growth and the broader difficulty of forecasting major crises.

Hosted by Sarah Crespi

Torgeir Andersen explains how continental rocks in western Norway were dragged roughly 100 kilometres into the mantle during the collision of Baltica and Laurentia, and then returned to the surface. Coesite inclusions provide evidence of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism. The conversation examines subduction, slab break-off, exhumation and whether isolated diamond-bearing rocks record local overpressure rather than greater burial depth.

Hosted by Oliver Strimpel

This Nature Podcast explores how anonymized banking records can reveal patterns of financial abuse and inform support for victim-survivors. A second segment examines how opposing forces within Earth’s core can change the planet’s rotation and the length of a day. Research highlights cover Mercury’s contraction and cognitive resilience in predicting Alzheimer’s dementia.

Nature staff discuss geophysical evidence that could indicate hidden chambers beyond Tutankhamun's tomb and what the findings might imply for the search for Nefertiti's burial place. The episode also examines a multifunctional brain-computer interface that translates neural activity into both speech and gestures, highlighting how one implant can support several forms of communication.

Brian Wernicke explains lithospheric extension and the origins of the Basin and Range Province. The discussion explores how geologists reconstruct large-scale stretching of the crust and what these observations reveal about deformation and continental evolution.

Hosted by Oliver Strimpel

Nature reporters explain why record ocean temperatures associated with an intensifying El Niño could weaken marine carbon sinks. The episode also covers radiation protection for astronauts, thunder-based underground geology and experimental mitochondrial injections for vision loss.

Bernhard Steinberger examines whether volcanic hotspots provide a fixed reference frame for plate motion. The discussion combines paleomagnetic records, island-chain ages and mantle-flow models, showing how plumes can drift with mantle circulation. Contrasting the Hawaiian and Louisville tracks helps distinguish hotspot motion from changes in plate direction and illustrates the limits of treating hotspots as stationary.

Hosted by Oliver Strimpel

Sonia Tikoo explores the unresolved history of the Moon’s magnetic field. Lunar samples indicate a strong early field followed by a much weaker field that persisted far longer than expected. The discussion weighs proposed dynamo mechanisms, paleomagnetic measurements and the difficulty of explaining both the field’s early strength and its long-lived weak tail.

Hosted by Oliver Strimpel

Alec Brenner explains how palaeomagnetic measurements reveal independent motion of the East Pilbara and Kaapvaal cratons about 3.5 billion years ago. The evidence moves the detection of relative plate motion much earlier and constrains models of early Earth tectonics. It rules out a permanently stagnant surface without establishing that modern plate tectonics already operated, and also informs questions about the core and atmosphere.

Steve Jacobsen describes how laboratory experiments reproduce the extreme pressures and temperatures found inside planets. He explains how the behaviour of minerals under those conditions informs models of planetary interiors and discusses work at the NSF Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures.

Michael Manga explains how water changes volcanic eruptions, including explosive interactions between magma and external water and the effects of dissolved water as magma depressurizes. The discussion includes the 2022 Hunga Tonga eruption and extends to water-related volcanism on Mars and icy moons.

Tom Herring introduces high-precision geodetic measurements using satellite navigation, very-long-baseline interferometry and radar interferometry. He explains how improved accuracy and cheaper receivers expand studies of plate motion, earthquake-related deformation and Earth rotation, with further applications in infrastructure and agriculture.

Claudio Faccenna explores why subduction zones retreat, advance, move sideways or reverse direction over geological time. The discussion examines interactions between descending slabs and their surroundings, including neighbouring subduction systems. Mediterranean examples illustrate how convergent margins evolve over tens of millions of years.

Andreas Fichtner explains progress and obstacles in seismic imaging of Earth at regional and global scales. He discusses the evidence supporting three-dimensional maps of mantle plumes, continental interiors, mid-ocean ridges and large low-shear-velocity structures, and how improved methods increase confidence in the images.

Folarin Kolawole explains how continental lithosphere breaks apart, from distributed normal faulting to localized extension and eventual ocean-basin formation. Field observations, seismic imaging and rock mechanics help reveal the early stages of rifting. Examples connect active rifts with passive continental margins left by earlier breakup.