Earth Science
What Happens To A House Swept Away By A Flood?
Flood debris may circulate in ocean gyres for years
August 29, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Q and A: Smithsonian's Elizabeth Cottrell on the Virginia Earthquake
A Smithsonian geologist offers her expertise on the seismic event that shook much of the mid-Atlantic this week
August 24, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
How To Study A Volcano
Getting this close to a bubbling cauldron of lava is not just dangerous; it's stupid enough that even other volcanologists will yell at you
July 28, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Diamonds Hold Secret About Plate Tectonics
When it comes to diamonds in jewelry, perfection is everything. But imperfections are a clue to the past
July 25, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Where the Pacific’s Predators Go
Scientists have found that predator species trade off between prey availability and water temperature in their travels
July 21, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
What’s the Most Dangerous Country?
Iceland is pretty much the least habitable of all the places that people have inhabited. But visiting it is like hiking through a geology textbook
July 07, 2011 |
By Laura Helmuth
Top Ten Kids’ Movies With a Green Theme
Loggers, hunters, developers, fishers, polluters and whalers are the evil villains in this movie genre
June 24, 2011 |
By Julie Mianecki
Earth From Space
Which of these images from the European Space Agency's Flickr stream would you consider hanging as art in your home?
June 17, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Source of the Sun’s Dark Spots
A new study provides insight into how convection creates sunspots
June 03, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
A New View Into California’s Kelp Forests
Satellite imagery is providing new insight into an important ecosystem just off the California coast
May 27, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
What Scientists Are Learning About the 2011 Japanese Earthquake
What scientists are learning from "the best recorded earthquake ever" could help prepare for future ones
May 23, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Ocean Acidification and the Battle Between Coral and Seaweed
Ocean acidification creates plenty of potential problems for life in the oceans, but corals might have it the worst
May 17, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
A View From Above of Memphis Flooding
The Mississippi River doesn't like to stay where it is, but then most rivers prefer to meander, expanding beyond their banks on occasion, at other times forging new paths across the landscape. This isn't a problem unless you've built cities and towns and farms up and down its banks, as we've done. ...
May 13, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Hydrothermal Vents Fertilize Oceans With Fool's Gold
Deep in the oceans, hydrothermal vents spew superheated water full of dissolved minerals. The vents spawn diverse communities of unique creatures that not only withstand the extreme temperatures and acidity but even depend on the chemicals in the water to live. New research in Nature Geoscience sho...
May 11, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
A Satellite View of Tornado Scars
Last week's devastating tornadoes have left indelible marks on not only the lives of people throughout the South, but also the Earth itself. This image was acquired by NASA's Aqua satellite on April 27 and shows the tracks of three tornadoes near Tuscaloosa, Alabama.The tracks are pale brown trails...
May 06, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Make Room for 10 Billion People
The United Nations announced this week that the world population is expected to reach 10 billion by the end of the century—and then just keep on growing (more details in the pdf). That's a big increase from the previous estimate of a peak of 9 billion that would then stabilize or shrink.Science mag...
May 05, 2011 |
By Laura Helmuth
Gigantic Plume Beneath Yellowstone Now Even More Gigantic
The geysers of Yellowstone are a reminder of the potential danger that lies below---a supervolcano that last erupted some 70,000 years ago. The Yellowstone region sits on a volcanic hotspot, similar to the one that creates the Hawaiian islands. That hotspot first pushed through the Earth's surface ...
April 15, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Humpback Whale Songs Spread From West to East
During humpback whale breeding season (July to October in the south), males all sing the same song. That song can evolve rapidly, and before long all the whales are singing the new tune. When scientists analyzed the songs sung by whales in the southern Pacific Ocean, they made a curious discovery—t...
April 14, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Meet Earth’s New Companion Asteroid
Name? 2010 SO16Discovered? In images from the WISE infrared survey satellite, launched in 2009.Orbit? Very Earth-like, say it's discoverers, Apostolos Christou and David Asher, of Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland, who report their finding in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Socie...
April 07, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
An Arctic Ozone Hole?
When you hear the term "ozone hole" you think about the ozone depletion over Antarctica, and how people in the far south of the Southern Hemisphere have to protect themselves from the Sun. It's why my friends have to buy hats for their little girl and slather her with sunblock every time she goes o...
April 06, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
