thedebrief.org

22 hours ago | thedebrief.org | Ryan Whalen

Axial Seamount, a highly active underwater volcano off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, is heading toward eruption for the first time in a decade, providing scientists with a rare window into oceanic eruptions. While the ecosystem surrounding Axial Seamount’s hydrothermal vents will be impacted, the eruption will pose no threat to humans.

1 day ago | thedebrief.org | Tim McMillan

In the windswept reaches of northern Scotland, where jagged cliffs meet the crashing waves of the Atlantic, a discovery has emerged that challenges long-held assumptions about human history at the icy edge of Europe. Archaeologists have unearthed stone tools on the far northern coast of the Isle of Skye, suggesting that humans thrived at what was once considered the bleak and uninhabitable margin of the world during the final throes of the last Ice Age.

2 days ago | thedebrief.org | Micah Hanks

The official website of the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) appears to have been taken down over the weekend. “Pardon our dust, under construction,” read a message on the ODNI website’s homepage as of Monday afternoon. The message appears to have first replaced the site’s main page sometime on May 10, 2025. All links to information that appeared on previous versions of the site appear to be broken, and now return 404 errors.

2 days ago | thedebrief.org | Ryan Whalen

New seismic data from NASA’s InSight lander suggests that liquid water may still exist beneath the Martian surface, a promising development for future human exploration and settlement. An international team of researchers from China, Australia, and Italy collaborated on the new study, which utilized NASA’s InSight seismometer data to probe the Martian interior with unprecedented resolution.

2 days ago | thedebrief.org | Micah Hanks

Deep beneath the thick ice that covers East Antarctica, scientists are revealing new discoveries about a mystery that has been hidden beneath the continent’s frozen exterior for half a billion years. According to newly published research, clues to the formation of a mountain range the size of the Alps tucked away below Antarctic ice are being revealed, offering geologists a unique glimpse at the processes behind their formation.