MS-ESS2-1
Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
- Earth
Dust creates deserts in the sky
Vast rivers of dust flow through the sky. This invisible force shapes our world in profound ways. And scientists are finally homing in on a major source.
- Earth
Cool Jobs: Getting to know volcanoes
It’s too hot to explore the insides of a volcano. These scientists examine their lava, their low-frequency rumblings and their ‘vog’.
- Earth
Carbon dioxide could explain how geysers spout
A new study overturns 150 years of thinking about Yellowstone’s geysers. Carbon dioxide, not just hot water, may be driving those spectacular eruptions.
- Oceans
Arctic ice travels fast, carrying pollution
Climate change is melting old sea ice in the Arctic. Now, younger, thinner ice is migrating far and fast, taking pollutants with it.
- Oceans
Explainer: What is a tsunami?
Earthquakes and landslides can create huge waves that travel across oceans.
- Earth
Explainer: Understanding plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is the process whereby Earth continually rebuilds itself — and causes destructive events like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
- Earth
Ancient ocean linked to supercontinent’s breakup
The supercontinent Pangaea started breaking apart 200 million years ago. This may have been triggered by the shrinking of the Tethys Ocean, a new study finds.
- Climate
Fast sea level rise is a very recent change
Sea levels have been rising for more than a century. But that rise is now speeding up. That suggests that what is driving the rise — climate change — also has increased dramatically in recent years.
- Earth
How people have been shaping the Earth
We are the dominant force of change on Earth. Some experts propose naming our current time period the ‘Anthropocene’ to reflect our impact.
- Earth
Explainer: The volcano basics
Here’s an overview of what they are, where they form and the many ways they pose dangers.
- Physics
Bracing sand sculptures with gravity
Natural sculptures of sandstone withstand strong winds and rains. The reason, a new study concludes: Gravity holds the sand grains together.
- Earth
Thirst for water moves and shakes California
Here’s a scary cost to pumping up groundwater to slake the thirst of crops in California’s Central Valley: It may uplift nearby mountains and trigger tiny earthquakes, experts find.
