Geophysics

Subsidence, or the decline in the elevation of land surface, is creating a problem for some coastal cities as sea levels rise.

By Jesslyn Shields

The confiscation of a jar of Jif peanut butter by the TSA caused an uproar, but a mechanical engineer explains Newtonian fluids and why the TSA was correct.

By Ted Heindel

Zulu Time is a shorthand for describing a time that is the same no matter where you are in the world. So, how does that work?

By Alia Hoyt

The seven largest countries in the world account for nearly half of the world's land area, but one is far larger than the rest. Do you know what the largest country is?

By Jesslyn Shields

Sarah Palin never really said she could see Russia from her house. But how far is Russia from Alaska anyway? And can you see one country from the other?

By Mitch Ryan

You could stack the Eiffel Tower, the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty in Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the U.S. But, do you know what the deepest lake in the world is?

By Jesslyn Shields

The United States is divided into 50 states, small and large. So which is the biggest state in the U.S.A.?

By Sharise Cunningham

This seismic boundary lies within Earth between the bottom of crust and the uppermost mantle. But nobody has ever dug down deep enough to confirm it exists. So does it?

By Allison Troutner

The decision made at the 27th General Conference on Weights and Measures will scrap leap seconds for good by 2035.

By Laurie L. Dove

When it comes to rivers, longest doesn't necessarily mean biggest, and length can be difficult to determine, so the top spot will always be debated.

By Jesslyn Shields

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

Few Americans like the switching between Daylight Saving Time and Standard Time, but there's conflict on whether to switch permanently to DST or to ST. What are the pros and cons of permanent DST?

By Allison Troutner

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

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

It's possible that the giant, deadly serpent hanging out at the bottom of Fosse Dionne spring is just a legend, but divers have disappeared trying to find out, so who knows?

By Jesslyn Shields

Deep underneath Antarctica, there lies a hidden lake. Roughly the size of North America's Lake Ontario, the buried landmark has inspired curiosity and controversy for decades.

By Mark Mancini

It's not just the size that differentiates a lake from a pond. The real distinctions flow much deeper.

By Sharise Cunningham

The Earth is split up into 24 time zones based on longitudinal lines. But those lines all converge at the North and South poles, so what's the time there?

By Mark Mancini

The autumnal equinox is the day Earth is perfectly angled to the sun, so the day and night are of equal length. Well, almost.

By Kathryn Whitbourne

Water is one of the most abundant substances on the planet. About 70 percent of our planet is covered by oceans, but just how much water is there on Earth?

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

The stratosphere is one of Earth's five atmospheric layers that also includes the troposphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere.

By Mark Mancini

Since its discovery in 1870, the Wyoming cone geyser Old Faithful has wowed spectators with its predictable eruptions, but its eruptions are not quite as predictable or prodigious as they once were.

By Mark Mancini

Ice volcanoes form when it's freezing cold outside and choppy water is forced to erupt through a hole in the ice around a body of water, cascading down into the classic shape of a volcano.

By Jesslyn Shields

You've probably heard of the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, but do you know the difference?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky