Earth Science

Radiocarbon dating is a cornerstone of climate and archaeological sciences. But it could be threated as fossil fuel emissions negate the useful signal from atomic tests.

By Caroline Hasler

Here are six surprises that were uncovered around the globe when the heat rose and the water receded.

By Cherise Threewitt

Arizona isn't all desert. Take Grand Falls, aka "Chocolate Falls." It is dry most of the year, but when it rains, this waterfall pours.

By Patty Rasmussen

Split as if by a laser, the Al Naslaa rock in Saudi Arabia's Tayma Oasis baffles scientists and amateur geologists alike. How did this perfect split happen?

By Laurie L. Dove

Rossby waves influence everything from high tides to extreme weather patterns, and not just on Earth. They also occur on the sun and on Venus and Jupiter as well. So, what are they exactly?

By Mark Mancini

The Poles of Inaccessibility are the locations on Earth that are the farthest away from either water or land and are the most remote spots in the world.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Trovants, found only in a small town in Romania, are stones that actually seem to move and grow. But are they alive?

By Jennifer Walker-Journey

Does searching through the mud of a riverbank for treasures of old sound like a fun way to spend a day? If so, you may just be a true mudlarker at heart.

By Jennifer Walker-Journey

The element lithium is one of just three created during the Big Bang and has been used for mental health care for decades. But now it's in higher demand than ever before.

By Allison Troutner

The U.S. Senate recently passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent. However, many health groups are against it. What do studies say and should President Joe Biden sign the bill into law?

By Allison Troutner

Cinnabar's bright-red pigment has been used in jewelry, pottery and makeup for millennia. But cinnabar is also the primary ore for mercury, making it a dangerous mineral if the particles are inhaled.

By Allison Troutner

The rose-red mineral rhodonite was first discovered in the 1790s in the Ural Mountains of Russia. Today it's found globally and is associated with compassion, love and healing.

By Allison Troutner

The curves of the giant snake line up with the sun during equinoxes and solstices.

By Jesslyn Shields

Mountains might look like they're stoic and still, but research shows otherwise. Massive ones, like the Matterhorn, are moving all the time, gently swaying back and forth every few seconds.

By Richard J. Sima

The waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet at the tip of Cape Horn and never the two shall mix, right?

By Jesslyn Shields

Some say UFOs, while others say a meteor strike formed the Carolina Bays. Whatever created these isolated ponds and wetlands across North and South Carolina left a wondrous ecosystem that is in dire need of protection.

By Allison Troutner

Waterfalls are mainly reliant on precipitation to keep flowing. Here are six famous waterfalls that slowed to a trickle when drought set in.

By Laurie L. Dove

Nutty Putty Cave, near Salt Lake City, Utah, was discovered in 1960 and sealed up forever in 2009. This is the story.

By Dave Roos

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, plays an essential role in regulating ocean temperatures, but it looks as if it may be collapsing. What happens next?

By Joanna Thompson

The climate crisis is messing with the water cycle. Some places are getting way too much, while others aren't getting any water at all. We'll explain.

By Stephanie Parker

This beautiful pink quartz is found in numerous places throughout the world and is thought to be associated with unconditional love.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

Researchers have been asking this question for almost a century and now we're a little closer to the answer. Something else to ponder: Every 27.5 million years there is usually a mass extinction.

By Valerie Stimac

Not all diamonds are found on dry land. Many turn up in sediments below the ocean's surface. You just have to know where to look.

By Mark Mancini

Not all deserts have sand and they're certainly not all hot. They're just extremely dry and have little vegetation. That means deserts are located all over the planet, including at super-high elevations.

By Sharise Cunningham

The Southern Ocean has finally been officially recognized, though scientists have known about it for over a century.

By Jesslyn Shields