Earth's Systems

Earth

Explainer: Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons

Hurricanes are some of the most destructive forces on the planet. Here’s how they form and why they are so dangerous.

Earth

Antarctic ice shelf sheds Delaware-sized iceberg

Larsen C is a major ice shelf in Antarctica. An iceberg the size of Delaware has just splintered off of it in one of the largest calving events ever recorded.

Ecosystems

Cool Jobs: Bringing caves’ dark secrets to light

These three cave researchers study caves to learn more about climate, geology and organisms that can survive some of Earth’s most hostile environments.

Microbes

World’s deepest zoo harbors clues to extraterrestrial life

Scientists have found a wide range of life deep below Earth’s surface. The discoveries could help inform our search for life on other planets.

Earth

Ancient Arctic ‘gas’ melt triggered enormous seafloor explosions

Methane explosions 12,000 years ago left huge craters in bedrock on the Arctic seafloor. Scientists worry more could be on the way today as Earth’s ice sheets melt.

Earth

To study a geyser, these teens built their own

Fascinated by geysers but unable to see one? These teens decided to build their own. It allowed them to study how temperature and pressure make the water spew into a founta.

Tech

Maybe ‘shade balls’ should not be balls

So-called shade balls have a range of uses in water reservoirs, from cutting evaporation to reducing the growth of algae. But the best performers might not actually be balls, a Florida teen now shows.

Earth

Scientists Say: Continent

A continent is a large land mass. Geologists recognize six of them — Africa, Antarctica, Eurasia, Australia, North America and South America.

Environment

Plastic trash rides ocean currents to the Arctic

Ocean currents can carry plastic trash far from the cities that shed it. Some plastic debris has made it all of the way to the Arctic Ocean, new data show.

Tech

Teen’s invention can warn of deadly rip currents

A teen lifeguard from Australia has invented a buoy that can alert swimmers to the strong, swift and deadly rip currents that can sweep them dangerously far offshore.

Climate

Sea ice around Antarctica shrinks to record low

Just two years after reaching a record high, the Antarctic sea ice extent has reached a new low.

Oceans

Massive ice shelf is poised to break off of Antarctica

A fast-growing crack in Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf could soon release a truly huge hunk of ice into the ocean.