Earth
Earth’s crust under Africa is thinning in a way never seen before
Africa’s Turkana Rift Zone has been caught in the act of “necking" — a key point in breakup of continental crust.
MS-ESS2-2
Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.
More Stories in MS-ESS2-2
- Earth
Scientists Say: Van Allen belts
Astronomers have detected these radiation belts around Earth and beyond. Jupiter’s belt is thousands of times as intense as Earth’s.
- Earth
Earth farts may explain some spooky floating lights
The gases released by earthquakes might occasionally ignite, triggering ghostly lights sometimes witnessed in South Carolina.
- Earth
Experiment: Can plants stop soil erosion?
Soil erosion washes pollutants into streams and rivers — but plants may help limit that.
- Earth
Many natural underground stores of freshwater are shrinking
A lot of these aquifers are quickly disappearing due to climate change and overuse. Fortunately, there is growth in some of the world’s major aquifers.
- Climate
Warmer seas trigger skyrocketing ice loss in 3 Antarctic glaciers
Destabilized by waves and vanishing sea ice, one of the glaciers lost 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) of ice in 16 months — a possible hint of worse to come.
- Physics
Before the ancient Egyptians, nature may have carved sphinxes
Steady ‘winds’ can carve clay blobs into lion-shaped landforms called yardangs, a new study suggests. One such yardang may have inspired the Great Sphinx of Giza.
- Earth
To get diamonds perfect for Barbie, make and break a supercontinent
Most pink diamonds may have formed billions of years ago during the tectonics that led to formation and breakup of Nuna, Earth’s first supercontinent.
- Earth
Canada’s Crawford Lake seems to mark when the Anthropocene began
Mud at the bottom of this lake holds a record showing how humanity has been changing our planet. But the Anthropocene isn’t an official new epoch yet.
- Earth
A volcanic eruption sparked the highest lightning ever seen
The eruption plume spawned lightning that started 20 to 30 kilometers (some 12 to 19 miles) above sea level.
