Earth Science
What Will Really Happen When San Andreas Unleashes the Big One?
A major earthquake will cause plenty of destruction along the West Coast, but it won’t look like it does in the movies
The Shaky Science Behind Predicting Earthquakes
A powerful earthquake in Italy killed hundreds of people—and set in motion a legal battle and scientific debate that has kept seismologists on edge
El Niño Is Here, But It Can’t Help Parched California (For Now)
Three national agencies have confirmed that the natural phenomenon has arrived, but not in time to bring much-needed rains in the West
Giant New Magma Reservoir Found Beneath Yellowstone
While an eruption is still unlikely, the find improves our understanding of the supervolcano underneath the national park
Five Things The Gulf Oil Spill Has Taught Us About the Ocean
While researching the spill, scientists tracked deep-sea sharks, found new mud dragons, and discovered a type of ocean current
Earth May Have Become Magnetic After Eating a Mercury-Like Object
Swallowing a sulfur-rich protoplanet could help explain two lingering mysteries in the story of Earth's formation
Getting a Push Notification on Your Cell Phone? It Could Be Warning You About an Earthquake
Sophisticated GPS sensors in the average mobile device could be harnessed for seismic early warning systems around the world
200 Years After Tambora, Some Unusual Effects Linger
Frankenstein, famine poetry, polar exploration—the "year without a summer" was just the beginning
The Moon Was Formed in a Smashup Between Earth and a Near Twin
But solving one puzzle of lunar origins has raised another linked to the abundances of tungsten in the primordial bodies
Five Must-Read Books About Earth
Geologist Robert M. Hazen selects works spanning genres that offer insights into our planet's history and inner workings
Metal Rain Could Explain Why the Earth Made of Different Stuff Than the Moon
A new study shows that iron-rich asteroids could have vaporized when they hit the early Earth
While the U.S. East Shivers, Unusual Heat Stirs Trouble Across the Globe
Cancelled dog-sled races and restless grizzly bears serve as reminders that global warming is still at work
Are QR Codes Safe and Other Questions From Our Readers
You asked, we answered
Ask Smithsonian: What's the Deepest Hole Ever Dug?
The answer to the question, says a Smithsonian researcher, is more about why we dig, than how low you can go
Scientists Have Imaged the Base of a Tectonic Plate
The discovery of a slippery layer off the coast of New Zealand could help explain plate movement
Climate Change Is Altering the Global Heat Engine
Thermodynamics help explain why storms will become fewer in number but stronger in intensity as the planet warms
Vinegar-Like Acid Rain May Have Fallen During Earth’s Worst Extinction
Vanilla-flavored rocks hint at a planet scoured by intense acid rain during the Great Dying 252 million years ago
2015 Will Be One Second Longer Than 2014
Because the Earth is rotating more slowly than the tick of our atomic clocks, says the International Earth Rotation Service
Top Three Results From a 115-Year-Old Citizen Science Project
The Audubon Christmas Bird Count is touted as the world's longest running citizen science project—so what has it taught us?
The Colorado River Delta Turned Green After a Historic Water Pulse
The experimental flow briefly restored the ancient waterway and may have created new habitat for birds
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