January 30, 2019
Thirsty mantle: Subduction zones swallow more water than thought
For all the water stored in oceans, ice and other reservoirs at Earth’s surface, there’s likely even more in the planet’s interior, where it …
The EARTH archive
January 2019
Explore the archive by subject.
25 articles · Page 1 of 2
January 15, 2019
Deep drilling reveals how impact crater's hidden ring formed
When the 15-kilometer-wide Chicxulub meteorite slammed into what is now Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula 66 million years ago, it was moving at more …
January 11, 2019
Redefining Dinosaurs: Paleontologists are Shaking the Dinosaur Family Tree to its Roots
What traits distinguish one dinosaur from another? For many, that question probably conjures characteristics like the massive jaws of …
December 26, 2018
Where on Earth? - January 2019
Clues for January 2019: This Eastern Sierra Nevada lake, the creek that feeds it and the basin it lies in, share a name that references a gang of …
December 21, 2018
Melting glaciers shift Earth's axis
A perfectly round desk globe spins evenly on a fixed axis, but that’s not the case with Earth, which wobbles as the position of its spin axis — …
December 21, 2018
Quirky lunar swirls expose the moon's secret past
Lunar observers have long noted mysterious “swirls,” patterns of alternating bright and dark shading, adorning the lunar surface. The popular …
December 21, 2018
Mesosaurs may have spent time on land
Mesosaurs are famous for being the earliest-known fully aquatic reptiles. With their whip-like tails, webbed feet and nostrils on top of their …
December 21, 2018
Ocean circulation change suffocating Gulf of St. Lawrence
Estuaries are among the most nutrient-rich and biologically productive areas of the ocean, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where freshwater from …
December 21, 2018
Earliest art found in South Africa
Blombos Cave, located along the South African coast about 300 kilometers east of Cape Town, has been excavated since 1991, revealing materials …
December 21, 2018
Rising carbon dioxide may raise risk of nutrient deficiencies in humans
Plants absorb carbon dioxide to fuel their growth. As humans increase the amount of the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, more will be available …
December 21, 2018
Early mammal reproduced like a reptile
A mother found fossilized alongside 38 of her young is offering a rare glimpse into early mammalian reproductive strategies. Unearthed in …
December 21, 2018
Columbia River basalts erupted faster than thought
Editor’s note: This story appeared in print in the January issue of the magazine. The version below has been updated to note that the areal …
December 21, 2018
Arctic warming causes Siberian cooling
The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth, and fall sea-ice extents have been trending downward for decades. But while the region …
December 21, 2018
Ancient collision left a bit of Europe behind in Britain
Great Britain is famously considered the birthplace of modern geology, and the many layers and terranes of rocks that make up England, Wales and …
December 21, 2018
The geology of kidney stones revealed
Kidney stones are an excruciatingly painful problem for 10 percent of the world’s population. In a new study applying geobiological methods to …
December 21, 2018
Oman ophiolite suggests subduction started with a shove
Plate tectonics is a fundamental control on how Earth operates and is important for the planet’s habitability, but how this crustal recycling …
December 21, 2018
Benchmarks: January 12, 1888: "Schoolchildren's Blizzard" Strikes the Great Plains
By mid-January 1888, the Great Plains had seen ice storms, frigid temperatures and above-average snowfall. On the morning of Jan. 12, however, …
December 21, 2018
Down to Earth With: Clay mineralogist Warren Huff
Two distinct images come to mind when I think of Warren Huff, my former doctoral adviser: one in which he is enthusiastically teaching and …
December 21, 2018
Geologic Column: Muinntir a' ghlinne so
“The Gaelic word “pibroch” isn’t one you come across every day. It signifies a Scottish piper’s variations on a musical theme. Although the theme …
December 20, 2018
Comment: How to tell a good science story
Everyone has a story to tell. Scientists are no exception, especially given that scientific studies can take researchers to far-flung places …
December 20, 2018
Our top tips for adding storytelling to your repertoire
(from Green et al., Facets, February 2018) Identify your take-home message first. Start with the end in mind. Remember the shape of your story. …
December 18, 2018
Eyes in the sea: Swarms of floating robots observe the oceans
In 1999, Peter Franks, a biological oceanographer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, published a hypothesis that, to his …
December 18, 2018
Travels in Geology: Lhasa, Tibet: Journey to the roof of the world
Few destinations are as alluring as the wild and windswept Tibetan Plateau. With an average elevation of 4,500 meters, it is Earth’s highest …
December 18, 2018
Getting there and getting around Tibet
“Tibet is a long way from most everywhere. There are no direct flights from North America, so it’s usually cheapest and most convenient to fly …