Environment / Earth Science

#54: Seismic Waves Reveal the Thickness of Tectonic Plates: ~50 Miles

By analyzing how waves change speed and direction, researchers were able to locate the boundary between rigid tectonic plates and the hot, pliable asthenosphere. 12.30.2009

#77: Did an Early Pummeling of Asteroids Lead to Life on Earth?

Early organisms apparently survived the Late Heavy Bombardment—which may have made our planet a much comfier place to live. 12.22.2009

#85: Fossilized Plankton Show the Effect of Fossil Fuels

Researchers develop a clever new technique to more accurately gauge historical levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. 12.20.2009

#91: The Strange Process That Made Earth's Oxygen

Less volcanism led to a "nickel famine," which led to the downfall of methanogens, which led to the rise of cyanobacteria, which led to the boom in oxygen, which led to us. 12.18.2009

The Man Who Discovered What Killed the Dinosaurs

Geologist Walter Alvarez describes how rocks tell the story of Earth's history. 10.26.2009

The 9 Industries That Will Be Most Screwed by Global Warming

If climate change reaches scientists' more dire predictions, it could change every facet of our society. But some industries will be especially hammered. 10.02.2009

Disaster! The Most Destructive Volcanic Eruptions in History

Pompeii, Santorini, Pinatubo—a journey through the eruptions that shook the world. 06.23.2009

Building an Interstate Highway System for Energy

Tomorrow’s smart grid will keep the lights on and factories humming with clean (but fickle) renewable energy. 06.10.2009

A Scientist's Guide to Finding Alien Life: Where, When, and in What Universe

A variety of new findings point to the "habitable zones" where we're likely to find extraterrestrials. 05.11.2009

The World's Biggest Tornado Hunt

Next month, 100 meteorologists will try to finally understand the dynamics of tornadoes—like the one that killed three people in Mena, Arkansas, last night. 04.10.2009

Diamonds Are a Geologist's Best Friend

Tiny carbon spheres hidden under rock and ice may be telltales of cataclysmic comet strikes. 04.06.2009

The Strange Forests that Drink—and Eat—Fog

Several forests around the world use fog to get critical moisture and nutrients. 03.30.2009

20 Things You Didn't Know About... Time

The beginning, the end, and the funny habits of our favorite ticking force. 03.12.2009

What Is This? A Dirty Sheep?

Stay away: these poofy blobs are actually quite deadly. 03.09.2009

What is This? A Windshield's Worst Nightmare Come True?

It may look like a worthless rock, but it can be encrusted with diamonds or used to find black gold. 02.05.2009

Nature's Great Piece of Art-Slash-Geometry Lesson: The Snowflake

What makes them look like that, investigating the age-old theory of snowflake singularity, and more 01.07.2009

The Year in Earth Science

Life from space, killer hail, bacterial weather, and more 12.24.2008

#5: Nations Stake Their Claims to a Melting Arctic

Undiscovered oil and gas reserves below the ice set off a polar gold rush. 12.22.2008

#67: Drilling, Not Earthquake, Caused Giant Hot Mud Volcano

Some claim an earthquake caused this mud river, but new research says otherwise. 12.10.2008

#73: Giant Ice Meteors Fall From Clear Skies

20-pound chunks of ice falling on a sunny day? It's no urban myth. 12.09.2008

#88: Bacteria Can Control the Weather

The tiny organisms may play a big role in causing precipitation. 12.07.2008

#93: Physicists Discover the Source of Earth’s "Mystery Hiss"

A strange electromagnetic wave follows the path of sound waves through water. 12.05.2008

The 10 Most Amazing Things the Sky Can Do

Rainbows, mirages, halos, and more: Tim Herd explains the gamut of visual wonders in the book Kaleidoscope Sky. 12.04.2008

Visual Science: The Remote-Controlled Helicopter That Predicts Volcanic Eruptions

Aerovolc 1 has a very sharp sense of smell—and not a shred of fear. 11.18.2008

Global Warming Math: The Hard Numbers

A clear-eyed look at the magnitude of global warming problem—and the cost in getting rid of it. 10.18.2008

Visual Science: The History of the World, Contained in a Block of Ice

Ice core samples reveal the atmosphere's secrets as far back as 400,000 years. 10.14.2008

How—and Where—Will We Live in 2015?

The future is now for sustainable cities in the U.K., China, and U.A.E. 10.08.2008

The Solar System Looks Way Better Than It Used To

A comparison of landmark space pictures shows our imaging tech has improved in 40 years. A lot. 10.07.2008

Water at Ocean Vents Isn't Water—It's a Gas-Liquid Hybrid

You've heard about the freaky animals at ocean vents. Now check out the freaky water. 10.05.2008

Rock-a-Pedia

A new open-source atlas could keep you from falling into a sinkhole and help settle the great Arctic land grab. 10.03.2008

The King of Green Architecture

William McDonough aims to create buildings that produce oxygen, sequester carbon, and produce more power than they use. 09.28.2008

The Man Who Aims to Feed Humanity's Future

Pedro Sanchez says we need nanofertilizers, transgenic crops, and governments and investors with cojones. 09.12.2008

What Invisible Things Are in the Surfaces You Touch and Air You Breathe?

A DISCOVER editor delves into the unseen forces that affect our lives. 08.29.2008

How to Hitchhike Across the Globe Without Leaving Your Living Room

The 360° World Atlas turns anyone with a computer into a global traveler. 08.17.2008

Visual Science: The Daredevils Who Chase One of the Sky's Greatest Mysteries

Some brave pilots fly tiny gliders into an amazing type of cloud that forms only in Australia. 08.14.2008

A Complete History of Carbon

A new book takes readers through the birth and unstoppable rise of this dangerous element. 08.04.2008

20 Things You Didn't Know About... The Summer Solstice

Galileo was forced to recant his astronomical theories on the summer solstice of 1633. 06.19.2008

The Biggest Weather-Control Flubs in History

How many ways can humans fail at manipulating nature? 06.06.2008

Harnessing the Weather

Could new technology help humans eliminate "acts of God"? 06.06.2008

3 Amazing Science Projects from Around the Globe

Iron Man suits, ice telescopes, and underwater CO2 traps 06.02.2008

What's Your Virtual Water IQ?

Every bite and sip you take affects your water footprint. Take this quiz and see how water-wise you are. 05.28.2008

Sliced: Inside a Tornado

To find out how twisters work, researchers send probes right into the belly of the beast. 05.05.2008

Each Grain of Sand a Tiny Work of Art

Microscopic photos of sand show that it's a lot more than just little tan rocks. 05.01.2008

The Latest Endangered Species: Vacation Spots

Check out these 7 amazing locales soon; they may not be around for long. 04.10.2008

Kaleidoscope Sky

03.07.2008

The Key to Safe and Effective Carbon Sequestration

Some rock acts as a natural stopper to buried carbon dioxide. 02.29.2008

5 Most Radical Ways to Squelch a Climate Crisis

Why we may need to reprogram the planet—and how we can do it. 02.25.2008

If Life Gives You Methane, Make Methane Energy

The global warming risk that's also a great opportunity 01.31.2008

Sliced: Anatomy of an Avalanche

Heft: Thousands of tons of snow. Speed: 100mph. Fatalities: 150 per year. 01.17.2008

Hell Froze Over Earlier Than We Thought

Ancient diamonds suggest a thick skin on the early Earth. 12.20.2007

20 Things You Didn't Know About... Gold

Anti-inflammatory, protector of astronaut eyes, and excrement of the gods 11.15.2007

Attack of the Giant (Extinct) Insects!

They just don't make two-foot dragonflies like they used to. Here's why. 11.02.2007

Birds Navigate Using Magnetic Compass-Vision

Combined with a GPS beak, it leads them on marathon migrations. 10.30.2007

NASA's 6 Best Earth-Based Research Projects

Ultrafast scramjets, mach-10 wind tunnels, cockpit displays that see through clouds... 10.17.2007

Quasars Say Earth Is 1/2 a Pinkie Smaller

We now know the planet is quite mushy—but at least we know. 10.12.2007

The Last Unexplored Place on Earth

Scientists race to discover the secret world buried miles beneath Antarctica. 09.28.2007

The Moon Passes Gas

Even a rock with no atmosphere needs to let it out sometimes. 09.24.2007

Watching the Birth—and Death—of an Island

In the South Pacific, the crew of a yacht saw new land form right beneath their boat. 08.08.2007

Earth Speaks in an Inaudible Voice

You can’t hear it, but our planet’s ultradeep hum could save your life. 08.02.2007

Journey to the Center of the Earth

A probe might reveal what's happening at the core. 06.08.2007

Everything on Earth Is in the Air

Cosmic dust, cockroach parts, chloroform—you name it 06.07.2007

Everything Emits Radiation—Even You

The millirems pour in from bananas, bomb tests, the air, bedmates... 06.04.2007

The Ceaseless Buzzing of Kinetic Energy

If heat were visible, we’d see a lot of frenzied motion. 05.30.2007

Grace in Space

Satellites accurately track Earth's squishiness. 03.23.2007

World Versus the Volcano

Huge eruptions leave the world cold and hungry. 03.19.2007

The Top 8 Earth Science Stories of 2006

Global warming as hot topic, water worlds under Antarctic ice, King Tut's alien heat source, and more 12.27.2006

Earth's Big Balancing Act

Once, Alaska was near the equator. 11.17.2006

Meet the New Continent

In only a million years we'll have an eighth: East Africa. 10.31.2006

Swimming in the Sahara

The world's largest desert was once a green Eden. One day it will be again. 10.25.2006

Earth's Inner Fort Knox

Searching for a pot of gold? Try the center of the Earth. 09.01.2006

Discover Dialogue: Planetary Geologist H. Jay Melosh

Just about every atom on Earth has been through a hypervelocity impact. 07.24.2005

Geology

01.02.2005

The Geology of . . . Rubies

A ruby's dazzling color masks the mysterious origins of its birth 11.25.2004

Geology

01.02.2004

Geology

Year In Science 01.13.2002

Victim of Geology

Whatever you do, don't get started on fossils 07.01.2001