Our Earth is a living and breathing planet. It has a life of its own and keeps on changing physically. While we know that the tectonic plates move horizontally, studies over the years have shown that these plates have also moved vertically, causing the continents to rise. Though the process is slow and has been taking place for millions of years, researchers are intrigued. Recently, research led by Professor Thomas Gernon, published in the journal Nature, has found a plausible theory behind the phenomena. He suggested that the breaking of the tectonic plates may be causing powerful waves that lead the continents to rise by over a 1 kilometer.
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He pointed out that the higher drifts like that around South Africa could be due to the rifts and splitting of continents over time. "However, explaining why the inner parts of continents, far from such escarpments, rise and become eroded has proven much more challenging,” Gernon said, per BBC Science Focus. The study found out that when continents split, their crust is stretched which results in a “sweeping motion,” affecting the base of the continent. “It’s like stretching a piece of toffee. You get this deformation in the middle where the crust gets thinner. This causes an upwelling of hot material from below,” the professor explained. This hot material wells up hits the cooler continents and sinks again.
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Professor Sascha Brune and Dr Anne Glerum, part of the research team, used modern tools to run a simulation and understand the course the phenomenon follows, per the University of Southampton. They were able to identify waves that had an interesting speed similar to those of erosion events responsible for breaking up the supercontinent Gondwana. Sharing another explanation, Professor Brune pointed out, “Much like how a hot-air balloon sheds weight to rise higher, this loss of continental material causes the continents to rise – a process called isostasy.”
The wave also triggers a sort of erosion event that pushes rocks and other parts of the continent to move, thus lifting much weight off of it, and causing it to rise higher. Gernon added that this uplifting has happened over billions of years and impressively tells of the vast changes and development the continents are experiencing. “That’s what’s really fascinating here. These regions are the ancestral hearts of the continents, which have survived for billions and billions of years. They’ve lived through the major events in Earth’s history but for some reason after the continents broke up they went through this major disturbance,” he remarked.
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Another remarkable note the team made was that the waves trigger not only a kind of erosion but also affect climate and more. They pointed out that the disturbance that causes diamonds to appear from the deep surface of the Earth is also responsible for reshaping the landscape. The latter affects climate and even biodiversity and human settlements. “Destabilizing the cores of the continents must have impacted ancient climates too,” Gernon added. The continents rising has surely been an interesting phenomenon to observe and are still to be studied considering the vast impact it has on human life, wildlife and more.
This article originally appeared 1 month ago.
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President Donald J. Trump and photo of a forest.
Public united and adamantly opposes Trump’s plan to roll back the Roadless Rule
There doesn't seem to be much agreement happening in the U.S. right now. Differing moral belief systems, economic disparity, and political divide have made a country with so many positives sometimes feel a little lost. Everyone desperately seeks a niche, a connection, or a strong sense of community to which they can feel a "part of," rather than just "apart."
But there seems to be one thing that the country strongly unites over, and that's the "Roadless Rule." With the Trump Administration attempting to roll back conservation policies that protect U.S. National Forests, Americans are saying in harmony an emphatic "No." A nonpartisan conservation and advocacy organization, the Center for Western Priorities, reviewed a comment analysis on the subject. After receiving 223,862 submissions, a staggering 99 percent are opposed to the president's plan of repeal.
What is the 'Roadless Rule' policy implemented in 2001?
The Roadless Rule has a direct impact on nearly 60 million acres of national forests and grasslands. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the rule prohibits road construction and timber harvests. Enacted in 2001, it is a conservation rule that protects some of the least developed portions of our forests. It's considered to be one of the most important conservation wins in U.S. history.
America's national forests and grasslands are diverse ecosystems, timeless landscapes, and living treasures. They sustain the country with clean water and the wood products necessary to build our communities. The National Parks protected under their umbrella offer incredible recreational retreats and outdoor adventure.
Why does the administration want to roll it back?
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins told the Department of Agriculture in a 2025 press release, “We are one step closer to common sense management of our national forest lands. Today marks a critical step forward in President Trump’s commitment to restoring local decision-making to federal land managers to empower them to do what’s necessary to protect America’s forests and communities from devastating destruction from fires." Rollins continued, “This administration is dedicated to removing burdensome, outdated, one-size-fits-all regulations that not only put people and livelihoods at risk but also stifle economic growth in rural America. It is vital that we properly manage our federal lands to create healthy, resilient, and productive forests for generations to come. We look forward to hearing directly from the people and communities we serve as we work together to implement productive and commonsense policy for forest land management.”
Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz explained the Roadless Rule frustrated land management and acts as a challenging barrier to action. It prohibits road construction needed to navigate wildfire suppression and properly maintain the forest. Schultz said, “The forests we know today are not the same as the forests of 2001. They are dangerously overstocked and increasingly threatened by drought, mortality, insect-borne disease, and wildfire. It’s time to return land management decisions where they belong – with local Forest Service experts who best understand their forests and communities."
Why are people adamantly opposed to the proposed rollback?
A 2025 article in Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization, expressed its concern over the protection of national forests covering 36 states and Puerto Rico. A rescinded rule allows increased logging, extractive development, and oil and gas drilling in previously undisturbed backcountry. Here is what some community leaders had to say about it:
President Gloria Burns, Ketchikan Indian Community, said, "You cannot separate us from the land. We depend on Congress to update the outdated and predatory, antiquated laws that allow other countries and outside sources to extract our resource wealth. This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless. We are not willing to risk the destruction of our homelands when no effort has been made to ensure our future is the one our ancestors envisioned for us. Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”
Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, stated, "Roadbuilding damaged salmon streams in the past — with 240 miles of salmon habitat still blocked by failed road culverts. The Roadless Rule protects our fishing economy and more than 10,000 jobs provided by commercial fishing in Southeast Alaska.”
The Sierra Club's Forest Campaign Manager Alex Craven seemed quite upset, saying, "The Forest Service followed sound science, economic common sense, and overwhelming public support when they adopted such an important and visionary policy more than 20 years ago. Donald Trump is making it crystal clear he is willing to pollute our clean air and drinking water, destroy prized habitat for species, and even increase the risk of devastating wildfires, if it means padding the bottom lines of timber and mining companies.”
The 2025 recession proposal would apply to nearly 45 million acres of the national forests. With so many people writing in opposition to the consensus, the public has determined they don't want it to happen.
Tongass National Forest is at the center of the Trump administration's intention to roll back the 2001 Roadless Rule. You can watch an Alaska Nature Documentary about the wild salmon of Tongass National Forrest here:
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The simple truth is we elect our public officials to make decisions. The hope is they do this for all of our well-being, although often it seems they do not. Even though we don't have much power to control what government officials do, voicing our opinions strongly enough often forces them to alter their present course of action. With a unanimous public voice saying, "No!" maybe this time they will course correct as the public wishes.