Solid Earth is excited to announce the publication of the latest 2025 update of the World Stress Map (WSM) Project, marking the 40th anniversary of this ongoing collaboration between academia and industry. The WSM offers a global compilation of the present-day crustal stress field, integrating a broad range of measurement techniques. This dataset continues to serve as a valuable resource for researchers in geodynamics, tectonics, geomechanics, seismic hazards, structural geology, and resource engineering. The WSM is thus an indispensable resource that informs and impacts a global science community. As such, this latest iteration is worthy of being a highlighted paper in our journal.

The manuscript delivers a predictive, integrated model for fractures in truly deep/ultra-deep tight sandstones combining cores, thin sections, acoustic-emission tests, and well logs, linking micro- to reservoir-scale fracture evidence. It quantifies sedimentary controls, brindging rock mechanics, structural geology and stratigraphy/sedimentology. It also delivers clear rules and implementation, ensuring transferability, which is rather important for such a rare case study.

In curling – one of the 2026 Winter Olympic sports - stones are slid on ice and made to collide along a circumferential striking band. Each stone experiences thousands of impacts per season, over a lifespan of 10–15 years before refurbishment. This provides a unique opportunity to investigate fatigue and damage accumulation under cyclic loading, which is exactly what this unconventional study of rock physics and curling does.

This manuscript explores an important aspect of CCS, the potential interaction with and consequences of CO2-saturated solution with the host rock. In a series of well-executed experiments it is shown that the effects are, at elevated temperatures, especially severe in feldspars, with potentially significant geomechanical and geochemical implications.

The presented seismic exploration experiment exhibits the potential of using a low-cost survey design for 3-D imaging of the subsurface. In this case study, a deep layered intrusion and its feeder system are investigated. The new insights into the tectonic evolution and mineralization potential of the studied region in Finland evidences a complex, layered system rather than a simple magma channel. Furthermore, a major fault is identified that may influence how the development of mineral deposits in the area are interpreted. In summary, this work offers new tools and insights for exploring valuable underground resources in hard rock environments. This is a timely scientific result not only for Europe but has influence on people's sustainable living worldwide.