Earth's Systems
- Earth
Explainer: CO2 and other greenhouse gases
Carbon dioxide is just one of several chemicals that contribute to the greenhouse effect. Nitrous oxide, methane and CFCs are other big contributors.
- Chemistry
Asteroids may have delivered water to early Earth
Scientists shot mineral pellets at a simulated planet. It showed an impact wouldn’t have boiled off all of an asteroid’s water.
- Earth
How long will Kilauea’s new eruption last?
A government volcano expert answers burning questions about the ongoing Kilauea eruption.
- Climate
Analyze This: Climate change could make food less healthy
Levels of important nutrients are lower in crops exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. How high? Try levels expected to be typical 30 years from now.
- Climate
Explainer: What is thundersnow?
Wacky weather produced lots of thundersnow during New England’s recent winter storms. Some scientists now suspect Mother Nature got some human help.
- Climate
Explainer: Winds and where they come from
Temperature and pressure are critical factors affecting why the wind blows where it does. Understanding the nature of wind can teach us a lot about weather.
- Earth
Explainer: What makes dirt different from soil
Although most people use the terms dirt and soil interchangeably, scientists argue that they shouldn’t. Soil has provenance — meaning history. Dirt doesn’t.
- Climate
Explainer: Weather and weather prediction
The sun and Earth combine to create the planet’s weather systems. And science is getting good at predicting what they’ll do.
- Physics
Disabilities don’t stop these experts in science and tech
People with disabilities are as varied as the careers some of them pursue in science, technology, engineering and math.
- Climate
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.
- Climate
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.
