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Earth Science

The collapsed caldera of the Campi Flegrei supervolcano in Italy.

Why Supervolcanic Eruptions Are Even Rarer Than We Thought

Supervolcanoes are not just really, really big volcanoes—they’re fundamentally different things, driven by different forces

The development of the ancient city of Akko, roughly 6000 years ago, led to the collapse of the local ecosystem.

Urbanization Has Been Destroying the Environment Since the Very First Cities

The development of the ancient city of Akko, roughly 6000 years ago, led to the collapse of the local ecosystem

Downed trees litter the street during a recent ice storm in Toronto.

A Loud Crack on a Cold Winter Night? It Might Have Been a Frost Quake

Frost quakes can cause a sound like a sonic boom

This Cold Snap Is Making It Colder Than the Surface of Mars

There’s a pocket of cold air hanging over the eastern states, and it is very cold indeed

Japan’s Newest Island Has Merged With Its Neighbor

Ongoing volcanic activity has caused Japan’s newest island to merge with its neighbor

Measured snowfall from this past weekend.

Here Are Your Odds of Getting a White Christmas

If nothing else, it gives you an excuse to sit inside all day drinking hot chocolate

Meet the Money Behind The Climate Denial Movement

Nearly a billion dollars a year is flowing into the organized climate change counter-movement

This Past November Was the Hottest November Ever Recorded

In the 134-year observational record, we’ve never had a hotter November

The northern subtropical jet stream flows in Cameron Beccario's Earth.

Watch How the Wind Moves Around the Earth—It’s Hypnotic

This mesmerizing tool helps visualize the winds all over the globe and is known simply as “Earth”

If the concentration of PFTBA is the same everywhere as it is in Toronto, which the researchers think it is, then that would be a bad thing.

There’s a New Greenhouse Gas to Worry About, And It’s 7,100 Times Stronger Than Carbon Dioxide

PFTBA is the most efficient greenhouse gas found, on a molecule-by-molecule basis

NASA's Juno spacecraft captures first images of our moon orbiting Earth.

Watch From Space As the Moon Orbits Around Earth

The Earth and the Moon, as seen from 600,000 miles away

Can you find Beijing in this photo? Or anything, really?

China Is So Smoggy You Can’t Even See Beijing From Space

Can you find Beijing in this smog-filled satellite photo?

The Antarctic plateau. Very, very, very cold. Now, imagine it in winter.

You Think It’s Cold Out? NASA Just Found the New Coldest Place on Earth

At -135.8 Fahrenheit, you definitely don’t want to go here

A more Earthly Mordor.

Which U.S. City Most Resembles Mordor? A British Climate Scientist Found Out

Mordor is basically Los Angeles

This part of the planet would have looked a whole lot different.

America Was Almost Two Separate Continents

The east and the west were nearly different continents

Seattle Seahawks Fans Caused an Earthquake This Week

Seattle fans take pride their stadium and ability to be loud. But to anyone’s knowledge, the 12th Man causing an earthquake is a first

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This Hurricane Season Was Way Less Awful Than People Expected

This year’s hurricane season - which ends tomorrow - has been far more subdued than experts predicted

The production of oil and gas produces methane. But official counts may be underestimating just how much of this potent greenhouse gas comes from natural gas and similar sources.

Emissions of Methane, a Potent Greenhouse Gas, May Be Underestimated

Leaks from natural gas extraction may be a bigger source of U.S. methane emissions than previously thought, a new study finds

Shale gas in America

Most Americans Don’t Know What Fracking Is

You know what fracking is, right? If not, we’re here to help

The Mauna Loa Observatory where Keeling’s observations are made.

Budget Cuts Could Shut Down the Carbon Dioxide Monitors That First Warned of Global Warming

The monitoring program that gave us Keeling’s Curve is facing the axe as budgets are cut

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