Earth

Moving and shaking for 4.5 billion years

The physical processes that sculpt our Earth are dramatic — earthquakes, weather, volcanic eruptions, tectonic motions, climate change. Now, decades of research into the intricately intertwined system that links all oceans and freshwater, the atmosphere and our land is moving us forward toward a better understanding of our world. Here we watch it unfold.

Researchers want to use fungi to try to promote forest growth.
Will Sullivan, Staff Writer
Scientists brave one of the coldest places on Earth, and it's well worth it.
Inside Science Contributor
Some countries will gain farmland while other countries will lose it.
James Gaines, Contributor
A series of eruptions around the world could have led to less Nile River flooding, which is essential for agriculture.
Will Sullivan, Staff Writer
The findings suggest current theories of how some volcanoes form may be too simple.
Charles Q. Choi, Contributor
The decrease in lightning coincided with a drop in human activities that send aerosols into the atmosphere.
Will Sullivan, Staff Writer
A keen eye and a bit of luck help scientists find something deep in the ice
Inside Science Contributor
If the world can limit future greenhouse gas emissions, scientists are hopeful that adaptations can help a battered industry survive.
Benjamin Plackett, Contributor
New study examines rare sedimentary rocks atop some of the planet's oldest large land masses.
Charles Q. Choi, Contributor
The top of the troposphere, the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere, has climbed about 50 to 60 meters per decade in the past 20 years.
Will Sullivan, Staff Writer
Scientists set out to investigate how these unusual structures form.
Katharine Gammon, Contributor
Iron-laden particles fertilized areas of the ocean thousands of kilometers away.
Charles Q. Choi, Contributor