March 19, 2018
No river meant no floods for ancient Indus settlements
Large Middle Eastern rivers like the Nile, Tigris, Euphrates and Tiber were critical for the development of early urban societies in Egypt, …
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Geology
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1236 articles · Page 13 of 52
March 19, 2018
Oldest "Third Pole" ice core recovered
Holding massive reservoirs of ice, high-altitude glaciers, such as those in the Himalayas, are sometimes referred to as Earth’s “Third Pole.” The …
March 19, 2018
Measuring earthquakes using fiber-optic cables
Fiber-optic cables crisscross the world, ferrying digital data and enabling internet access and telecommunication. In a new study, published in …
March 19, 2018
Surveying forests from afar
Traditional surveys of forest health and diversity take hours of hiking and sampling by scientists who can only cover relatively small areas. …
March 19, 2018
Globe-trotting bacteria found at both poles
The Arctic and Antarctica, separated by more than 15,000 kilometers, may be geographic opposites but they share many similarities, including …
March 15, 2018
LIP split by South Atlantic breakup was sourced from deep
Massive volumes of rock called large igneous provinces (LIPs) have formed many times throughout Earth’s history, fed by some of the planet’s …
March 14, 2018
Carbon emissions spike when continents rift
The vast majority of Earth’s carbon is stored in the planet’s interior. This buried carbon is not isolated from the surface over geologic …
March 9, 2018
Down to Earth With: Award-winning sci-fi novelist Kim Stanley Robinson
Don’t let Kim Stanley Robinson fool you. He may know a lot about the geography of Mars and ocean acidification, but he’s no scientist. He’s an …
March 8, 2018
Gyres spin up, currents get muddled
In addition to polynya formation and warming-induced surface freshening, other factors may also impact open-ocean convection in the Southern …
March 8, 2018
Disrupting the deep: Ocean warming reaches the abyss
Seventy-one percent of our planet is covered by ocean, and these basins contain 97 percent of Earth’s near-surface water. The ocean lies at the …
March 8, 2018
Geomedia: On the Web: How will melting ice impact your city?
The relationship between melting glaciers and rising sea levels is best described as: “It’s complicated.” A new online tool shows just how …
March 2, 2018
Geologic Column: Pie on Pi Day, and Einstein's lesser-known legacy
March hosts a number of special days: St. Patrick’s Day, Johnny Appleseed Day, the Spring Equinox and, one of my favorites, March 14, which is …
March 1, 2018
Getting There & Getting Around Corsica
The two largest of Corsica’s four airports, Ajaccio (AJA) and Bastia (BIA), are located on the island’s southwestern and northeastern coasts, …
March 1, 2018
Travels in Geology: Corsica: A fusion of cultures on the Mediterranean's most mountainous isle
Last summer, after trekking for a month with my son across the cool and rainy Alps, I found myself craving warm sunshine and long, sandy beaches. …
February 27, 2018
Benchmarks: March 29, 1912: Scott's South Pole Journey Ends in Death
The epic tale of the race between Norway and Britain to be the first to reach the South Pole — and its tragic conclusion with the deaths of …
February 27, 2018
Geomedia: Books: "Aerial Geology": A stunning and informative addition to any coffee table
My fellow EARTH Magazine contributor Mary Caperton Morton is the author of “Aerial Geology,” a beautiful and massive tome that profiles a hundred …
February 27, 2018
Geomedia: Books: "Half-Earth" is only half-compelling
Edward O. Wilson, professor emeritus and honorary curator in entomology at Harvard, is a scientist of acclaim and renown, a naturalist and …
February 27, 2018
Down to Earth With marine geoscientist Harold Tobin
As a boy growing up on the East Coast, Harold Tobin loved being outdoors but was not all that excited by geology or the region’s ancient rocks. …
February 27, 2018
Ice (Re)Cap: March 2018
From Antarctica to the Arctic; from polar caps, permafrost and glaciers to ocean-rafted sea ice; and from burly bears to cold-loving microbes, …
February 27, 2018
Lakeshore shape influences lake-effect snow
On Dec. 11, 2013, Upstate New York’s Tug Hill region received more than 100 centimeters of snow in 24 hours. And annually, the region, which …
February 27, 2018
Gettysburg rocks tell battlefield tales
Since the late 19th century, Civil War battlefield landscapes have changed. Some have been plowed under and developed, while elsewhere, woods …
February 23, 2018
Spawning salmon engineer landscapes
All animals depend on their ecosystems for habitat. And, in turn, many animals impact their ecosystems by engineering the landscape to suit their …
February 15, 2018
How do earthquakes impact landslides?
Sensitive instruments installed on and near the slow-moving landslide in Maca, Peru, have allowed scientists to observe the response of the …
February 15, 2018
Isotopes reveal sources of centuries-old alabaster artifacts
When geologists think of alabaster, they likely envision blocks of gypsum, its main mineral constituent; when art historians hear the word, …