News
March 12, 2026
The world produced roughly 106 million barrels of oil per day in 2025, according to estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Just two regions dominate global supply. North America and the Middle East together produce nearly 60% of the world’s oil, underscoring their outsized influence on energy markets.
This graphic breaks down global oil production by region in 2025, based on EIA data.
March 12, 2026
A Most Unusual Lake. Scientists estimate that Earth is home to more than 100 million lakes. Among the most unusual is Lake Unter-See, one of Antarctica’s largest and deepest surface lakes, known for its distinctive water chemistry. Its ice-covered waters have exceptionally high levels of dissolved oxygen, low dissolved carbon dioxide, and a strongly alkaline (basic) pH.
February 17, 2026
Russia plans to abandon lithium imports by 2028. According to Oleg Kazanov, head of Rosnedra, Russia expects to fully meet its lithium needs through domestic resources by 2028.
His statement, made during a speech in the State Duma, also indicates that by 2030 the country will be able to significantly reduce its dependence on supplies of several other rare and rare‑earth metals, including tantalum and niobium. This was reported by Kommersant.
February 17, 2026
Antarctica sits above Earth's strongest 'gravity hole.' Now we know how it got that way. Gravity feels reliable—stable and consistent enough to count on. But reality is far stranger than our intuition. In truth, the strength of gravity varies over Earth's surface. And it is weakest beneath the frozen continent of Antarctica after accounting for Earth's rotation.
An invisible force shaping Antarctica
January 27, 2026
Scientists from the Siberian Federal University have proposed an environmentally friendly technology to enhance oil recovery from hard-to-recover reservoirs. The development is based on a combination of xanthan gum, a natural biodegradable polymer, and nanoparticles. According to Vladimir Prigozhikh, a researcher at the Laboratory of Physical and Chemical Technologies for the Development of Hard-to-Recover Hydrocarbon Reserves, this composition can replace traditional synthetic solutions that persist in the environment for decades.
January 23, 2026
After Trump’s Ultimatum, Greenland Talks Include Sovereign U.S. Bases, No Drilling for Russia. Negotiators have discussed proposals to check Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic and transfer sovereignty over pockets of Greenlandic land to the United States, an idea opposed by Denmark.
Discussions to resolve the future of Greenland have focused in recent days on proposals to increase NATO’s presence in the Arctic, give America a sovereign claim to pockets of Greenland’s territory and block potentially hostile adversaries from mining the island’s minerals.
January 21, 2026
How shifting tectonic plates drove Earth's climate swings. Carbon released from Earth's spreading tectonic plates, not volcanoes, may have triggered major transitions between ancient ice ages and warm climates, new research finds.
Published in Communications Earth & Environment, the study, led by researchers at the Universities of Melbourne and Sydney, reconstructed how carbon moved between volcanoes, oceans and deep within Earth over the last 540 million years.
January 19, 2026
China debuts its first deep-sea drilling and in-situ monitoring robot. China has successfully tested its first robot capable of three-dimensional drilling and monitoring within deep-sea strata in the South China Sea, according to the China Geological Survey under the Ministry of Natural Resources on Wednesday.
Independently developed by the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS), the robot represents a major advance in China’s deep-sea exploration and in-situ monitoring of subsurface environments.
January 14, 2026
Scientists call for 'systems reset' to redefine sustainable development. A new international study calls for a fundamental reset in how humanity understands and pursues sustainable development. The article is published in the journal Communications Sustainability.
The paper argues that current sustainability frameworks—built on a three-pillar model separating nature, society and economy—have not been fit for purpose in a world facing accelerating climate change, biodiversity loss and inequalities.
January 14, 2026
Japan plans 'world first' deep-sea mineral extraction. Japan will from January attempt to extract rare earth minerals from the ocean floor in the deepest trial of its kind, the director of a government innovation program said Thursday.
Earlier this week the country pledged to work with the United States, India and Australia to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals, as concern grows over China's dominance in resources vital to new technologies.