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Geology

Fin whale songs are some of the loudest animals in the ocean, producing calls that can reach 189 decibels and are almost as loud as container ships.

New Research

Researchers Use Whale Calls to Probe Undersea Geology

The study finds that fin whale songs are powerful enough to reverberate through the Earth’s crust, allowing scientists to study its thickness and structure

This is a giant spindle magnetofossil, created by a mysterious creature over 50 million years ago. So far, the iron fossils have only been found during two periods of intense global warming.

Smithsonian Voices

New Way to Study Magnetic Fossils Could Help Unearth Their Origins

Now that scientists can detect these fossils in geologic materials faster, they will be able to look for past evidence of the fossils more efficiently

Rescuers found the Dyatlov group's abandoned tent on February 26, 1959.

New Research

Have Scientists Finally Unraveled the 60-Year Mystery Surrounding Nine Russian Hikers’ Deaths?

New research identifies an unusual avalanche as the culprit behind the 1959 Dyatlov Pass Incident

Soil samples collected throughout the western United States show the wide variety of minerals and colors belowground.

Art Meets Science

Meet the Soil Scientists Using Dirt to Make Stunning Paints

Professors in California and Wyoming use the unique palettes to teach geology

Steamboat Geyser erupted 32 times in 2018 and 48 times each in 2019 and 2020, beating the previous record of 29 eruptions in 1964.

New Research

Reawakened Geyser Is Not a Precursor of Yellowstone Eruption, Study Finds

The researchers ruled out several theories on why the Steamboat Geyser began erupting in 2018 after three years of silence

As the fastest sinking city in the world, Jakarta, Indonesia is already experiencing the devastating outcomes of subsidence.

In Many Parts of the World, the Ground Is Literally Sinking

Extracting underground natural resources is causing land to sink in on itself, which will put 635 million people at risk by 2040

On Sunday evening, the crater's walls started to crackle as sizzling lava emerged from fissures and trickled into the water-filled crater below.

Hawai’i’s Kīlauea Volcano Returns Dramatically With First Eruption in Two Years

The spewing lava mixed with water at the summit, sending a plume of ash and steam into the sky

InSight was sent on a mission to answer questions about the Red Planet's crust, mantle and core, known as the "inner space."

Mars InSight Lander Offers a Sneak Peek at the Red Planet’s Inner Layers

The robotic explorer was sent to Mars to study its formation—and the data is now making its way back to Earth

An artist's illustration of a newly described species of ichthyosaur called Thalassodraco etchesi swimming in the Late Jurassic seas off the coast of England.

New Research

Amateur Fossil Hunter Discovers New ‘Sea Dragon’ Species on British Beach

Researchers think the new species may have been a deep diving specialist, due to its cavernous ribcage and enlarged eyes

The world's highest-altitude peak is called Sagarmatha in Nepal and Chomolungma in Tibet.

Is Mount Everest Really Two Feet Taller?

The new height measurement comes from an updated survey and decades of slow tectonic movement, not a sudden growth spurt

An aerial oblique photo of the volcanoes of the Islands of Four Mountains in Alaska's Aleutian Island chain. In the center is the summit of Mount Tana. Behind Tana are (left to right) Herbert, Cleveland and Carlisle Volcanoes.

New Research

A Massive Supervolcano May Lurk Beneath Alaska’s Aleutian Islands

Multiple lines of evidence led scientists to the idea that a group of six volcanoes in the islands are actually part of a 12-mile-wide caldera

A map of Doggerland, which once connected Britain to mainland Europe

Study Rewrites History of Ancient Land Bridge Between Britain and Europe

New research suggests that climate change, not a tsunami, doomed the now-submerged territory of Doggerland

Italy's Stromboli volcano erupting on January 13, 2011.

Watch This Recent Giant Eruption at Italy’s Stromboli Volcano

Stromboli is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, but this latest eruption was exceptionally intense

A hydrothermal area called Porcelain Basin in Yellowstone National Park's broader Norris Geyser Basin.

Boiling Chickens in Yellowstone’s Hot Springs Is Illegal

Three men are now banned from visiting the national park after pleading guilty to several charges

The Basilica di San Francesco di Paola is one of nine Naples churches in areas deemed highly susceptible to sudden collapse.

Sinkholes Threaten to Swallow Naples’ Historic Churches, Study Suggests

A new paper identifies 9 high-risk places of worship and 57 that are susceptible to “potential future cavity collapses”

Search and rescue teams search for survivors in the debris of fallen buildings in Izmir, Turkey.

Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake Hits Turkey and Greece

The region has experienced 29 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.0 or higher in the last 100 years

Old Faithful erupts before a crowd of onlookers in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park in 1966.

New Research

Climate Change Could Make Yellowstone’s Famous Geyser Less Faithful

Old Faithful stopped erupting for decades following severe drought 800 years ago and global warming could put it back on hiatus

Geologist Allan Krill spotted these markings on a boulder the side of the Bright Angel Trail in 2016. The boulder weighs several hundred pounds.

Fallen Boulder at the Grand Canyon Reveals Prehistoric Reptile Footprints

313 million years ago, two reptilian creatures crept over this boulder’s surface

A unique moss species thrives underneath translucent quartz rocks in the hot, dry Mojave Desert while its neighbors shrivel.

New Research

Desert Moss Beats Heat by Growing Under Quartz Crystals

Researchers find the translucent rocks keep the moss moist while letting just enough light pass through its milky interior

The Mississippi Delta, seen from space in 2001.

America's Waterways: The Past, Present and Future

The 70 Million-Year-Old History of the Mississippi River

Dive into the secret past and uncertain future of the body of water that has defined a nation

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