Earth Science

An aerial view of the New Zealand coast shows marine terraces lifted up by an earthquake.

Scientists Have Imaged the Base of a Tectonic Plate

The discovery of a slippery layer off the coast of New Zealand could help explain plate movement

A satellite image shows the huge snowstorm that blanketed the northeastern United States this week. The blizzard was an example of how storms are getting less common but more intense.

Climate Change Is Altering the Global Heat Engine

Thermodynamics help explain why storms will become fewer in number but stronger in intensity as the planet warms

A diverse array of trilobites ruled the seas for almost 300 million years, until they vanished at the end of the Permian period.

Vinegar-Like Acid Rain May Have Fallen During Earth’s Worst Extinction

Vanilla-flavored rocks hint at a planet scoured by intense acid rain during the Great Dying 252 million years ago

An atomic clock at the Physical Technical Federal Institution in Braunschweig, Germany.

2015 Will Be One Second Longer Than 2014

Because the Earth is rotating more slowly than the tick of our atomic clocks, says the International Earth Rotation Service

Volunteers participate in the 2009 Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Now in its 115th year, Audubon touts the event as the largest and longest-running citizen science project in the world.

Top Three Results From a 115-Year-Old Citizen Science Project

The Audubon Christmas Bird Count is touted as the world's longest running citizen science project—so what has it taught us?

An aerial view of the lower portion of the Colorado River shows the leading edge of the water pulse flow on May 12, before it connected with the sea.

The Colorado River Delta Turned Green After a Historic Water Pulse

The experimental flow briefly restored the ancient waterway and may have created new habitat for birds

Singer and plastic-clothing designer Pharrell Williams at the "Raw For The Oceans" event at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The Top 12 Ocean Stories That Made Waves in 2014

The seas served up some compelling headlines this year, from celebrity fashion to solving the mystery of the melting starfish

Earth's layers.

What We Can Learn by Digging Up the Secrets of Earth's Deep Carbon

Diamond computers and subsurface life are just some of the topics being investigated by scientists in the Deep Carbon Observatory network

A fossilized leaf from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum sits in the Wyoming snow.

Ancient Earth Warmed Dramatically After a One-Two Carbon Punch

A period of intense warming 55 million years ago is an even better case study for modern climate change than previously suspected

The town of Portelo, in the shadow of the Pico do Fogo volcano, is now all but gone.

A Volcano on Cape Verde Is Wiping Out Whole Towns

An eruption at the Pico do Fogo volcano has forced 1,200 people to evacuate

California's Ongoing Drought Is Its Worst in 1,200 Years

Tree ring records unveil the severity of California's drought

The Science of the Red Sea's Parting

It is physically and scientifically possible for a body of water to part

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This New Video of the Earth Is the Best Ever Made

The video was made with images taken by a Russian satellite

About 25 million years ago, a massive landslide engulfed the area between Beaver and Cedar City, Utah.

City-Sized Landslides Happened in the Past And Can Happen Again

Utah has a new claim to fame: it was the site of the world's largest known landslide

An artist's interpretation of the Philae lander separating from Rosetta and landing on the comet.

The Philae Spacecraft Confirmed the Presence of Organic Molecules on the Comet it Landed On

Researchers hope the finding sheds light on how organic molecules might have first arrived on Earth

What Do Glaciers Say When They Sing?

Glaciers make some curious sounds

A worker installs filters on an experimental carbon capture and storage project in Spremberg, Germany, July 19, 2010.

It’s Still Possible to Stop the Worst of Climate Change

Say so long to fossil fuels

Crop irrigation in arid regions, such as California’s San Joaquin Valley, can lead to overly salty soils.

Earth’s Soil Is Getting Too Salty for Crops to Grow

Buildup of salts on irrigated land has already degraded an area the size of France and is causing $27.3 billion annually in lost crops

Deforestation in Brazil

The Amazon Rainforest Disappeared Way More Quickly This Year

Widespread deforestation is even worse than you think

Wind Power is Actually Cheaper Than Coal, Nuclear and Gas

Once you consider the downstream consequences, coal becomes a lot more expensive

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