Lake Turkana in northern Kenya is often called the cradle of humankind. Home to some of the earliest hominids, its fossil-rich basin has helped scientists piece together the story of human evolution.

We tend to think earthquakes are predominantly driven by deep-Earth forces. But in Kenya’s Lake Turkana Rift, researchers recently found that as surface water levels dropped roughly 100 to 150 meters ...

In deep Earth, rocks take up and release water all the time, and the effects can be wide reaching. Dehydration can cause rocks to crack and trigger earthquakes, and over geologic timescales, this ...