Earth Science
Fifty Things We’ve Learned About the Earth Since the First Earth Day
On April 22, 1970, Americans pledged environmental action for the planet. Here’s what scientists and we, the global community, have done since
Could Wildfire Ash Feed the Ocean’s Tiniest Life-Forms?
Ash falling on the ocean after a wildfire could fuel plankton growth
The Top Ten Scientific Discoveries of the Decade
Breakthroughs include measuring the true nature of the universe, finding new species of human ancestors, and unlocking new ways to fight disease
The Ten Best Science Books of 2019
New titles explore the workings of the human body, the lives of animals big and small, the past and future of planet earth and how it's all connected
Scientists Around the World Declare 'Climate Emergency'
More than 11,000 signatories to a new research paper argue that we need new ways to measure the impacts of a changing climate on human society
Voracious Purple Sea Urchins Are Ravaging Kelp Forests on the West Coast
The trouble started in 2013, when sea stars, an urchin predator, began to die off
Did a 1964 Earthquake Bring a Dangerous Fungus to the Pacific Northwest?
A new study posits that tsunamis triggered by the Great Alaska Earthquake washed Cryptococcus gattii onto the shore
The Crazy Superstitions and Real-Life Science of the Northern Lights
In the latest episode of ‘Re:Frame,’ Smithsonian curators take a deep dive into the dramatic painting ‘Aurora Borealis’ by Frederic Church
Earth's Magnetic Field Could Take Longer to Flip Than Previously Thought
New research suggests a polarity reversal of the planet takes about 22,000 years, significantly longer than former estimates
How Artist Teresita Fernández Turns Graphite, the Stuff of Stardust, Into Memories
A new episode of the Smithsonian’s ‘Re:Frame,’ explores the origin of graphite, a material artists have used for centuries
Amid All the Fossils, Smithsonian's New Dinosaur Exhibition Tells the Complex Story of Life
The much-anticipated exhibition is packed full of Mesozoic dinosaur drama, new science, hands-on discoveries and state-of-the-art museum artistry
How Does Earth's Carbon Cycle Work?
Stanford University’s Katharine Maher explains the mechanisms that heat and cool the planet
How Do Paleontologists Find Fossils?
Smithsonian’s Hans-Dieter Sues, who has collected fossil vertebrates in the U.S. and around the world shares some of his tips
The Glacier That Produced the 'Titanic' Iceberg Has Suddenly Stopped Flowing
After a period of losing 66 feet of ice per year, the Jakobshavn Glacier is growing again—but that doesn't mean glaciers aren't in trouble
The Space Station Just Got a New Cutting-Edge Carbon Mapper
The OCO-3 instrument will watch Earth's carbon levels change throughout the day
How an Oil Spill Inspired the First Earth Day
Before Earth Day made a name for the environmental movement, a massive oil spill put a spotlight on the dangers of pollution
Scientists Find a Tiny Speck of Comet Inside a Meteorite
The little fragment found in Antarctica was protected from the elements and preserves the chemical signature of the early solar system
Nepalese Expedition Seeks to Find Out if an Earthquake Shrunk Mount Everest
Scientists and climbers have trained for three years to prepare to take various types of survey's from the summit of the world's highest peak
Some People's Brains Can Sense Earth's Magnetic Field—but No, It Doesn't Mean We Have Magnetoreception 'Superpowers'
A new experiment reveals signs our brains may respond to changes in Earth's magnetic field, but it's unclear whether it impacts behavior
The Risks, Rewards and Possible Ramifications of Geoengineering Earth’s Climate
Injecting aerosols into the stratosphere could help cool the planet, but scientists have yet to study exactly how such solar geoengineering would work
Page 4 of 40