Earth Science

During the early Triassic epoch, Washington, D.C. was situated in a massive supercontinent called Pangea

This Map Lets You Plug in Your Address to See How It's Changed Over the Past 750 Million Years

The interactive tool enables users to home in on a specific location and visualize how it has evolved between the Cryogenian period and the present

Magnetic North Is Cruising Toward Siberia, Puzzling Scientists

It has drifted so far that scientists made an emergency revision to the World Magnetic Model

World War II Bombing Shockwaves Were Strong Enough to Reach Edge of Space

Analysis of radio records in the ionosphere showed that Allied Forces' bombing runs over Germany altered the upper atmosphere

What Would Happen if the Earth Stopped Rotating? and More Questions From our Readers

You asked, we answered

Bloede Dam (ca. 2016) near Ilchester, Maryland

Drones Will Track One of the Largest Dam Removals on the East Coast

When a Maryland dam comes down this fall, a team of scientists will deploy drones to monitor the flow of more than two million cubic feet of sediment

Svalbard has the densest population of surging glaciers in the world.

What the Surging Glaciers of Svalbard Tell Us About the Future of Rising Seas

Scientists look to the Norwegian archipelago's fast-moving glaciers to better understand how other accelerating glaciers will behave

‘Earthrise,’ which appeared on the cover of the second and third Whole Earth Catalog, was taken by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders during lunar orbit, Dec. 24, 1968.

50 Years Ago, the Whole Earth Catalog Launched and Reinvented the Environmental Movement

The publication gave rise to a new community of environmental thinkers, where hippies and technophiles found common ground

Marc Fries examines a magnetic board looking for iron particles recovered from the sea floor.

A Research Ship Is Hunting Meteorite Fragments Off the Coast of Washington

The research ship E/V Nautilus is combing through samples and sediment hoping to recover the first space rock from the ocean floor

The tiny mosquito can be a big summer nuisance.

Why Some Summers Are So Appealing For Mosquitoes

...and so unbearable for you

Say hello to SMAP

This NASA Satellite Can Map the Planet's Soil Moisture Content In Just Three Days

The speedy collection of this data will help with crop management and flood prediction

Are the Sands of the Namib Desert Really Rusting?

The reddish hues of the vast dunes of the Namib Desert in southern Africa are a result of concentrations of iron in the sand

Rescue workers walk on rooftops in Escuintla, Guatemala, Monday, June 4, 2018, blanketed with heavy ash spewed by the Volcan de Fuego, or "Volcano of Fire."

Five Things to Know About Guatemala's Deadly Volcanic Eruption

The massive blast is affecting nearly 2 million people, and more may still be in store

Left: A cooled pāhoehoe flow from the Kīlauea, showing its characteristic ropey texture, captured in 2012 (imageBROKER / Alamy). Right: An ‘a‘ā flow from Kīlauea moves down Makamae Street in Leilani Estates, Hawaii on May 6, 2018.

A Handy Guide to Volcano Vocab

Laze, vog, lava bomb—we help you decipher what geologists are actually talking about

Marine heatwaves can kill off species and alter ecosystems.

Ocean Heatwaves Are Getting Longer and More Intense

If the past century is any indication, global warming may be contributing to less stable marine ecosystems

Why Deception Valley's Deadly Heat is Good for Wildlife

The harsh climate of Deception Valley, a remote section of the Kalahari, deters people from living there

Sacred Sites Can Also Be Hotspots of Conservation

Protecting burial grounds, temples and churchyards can bolster wildlife and forests

You Won't Believe the Size of Botswana's Salt Flats

In Deception Valley, giant salt flats the size of Portugal are a major boon to the Botswanan economy

Can Bringing Back Mammoths Help Stop Climate Change?

Scientists say creating hybrids of the extinct beasts could fix the Arctic tundra and stop greenhouse gas emissions

The Kilauea volcano’s Halema’uma’u lava lake as it appeared on Monday.

"Explosive" Eruptions Possible at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano

Steam-powered bursts could fling multi-ton boulders half a mile away, but the USGS says wide-scale destruction is not likely

Why Las Vegas's Landscape Is So Lush and Green

One of the most important byproducts of the Hoover Dam is an artificial body of water known as Lake Mead

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