Geophysics

You probably know that the North Pole does not stay in the same spot. The North and South Poles can actually change positions. What causes this? Find out in this article.

By Tracy V. Wilson

Have you ever wondered what would happen if we were able to flip a switch and turn the Earth's gravity off for a day? The end result may surprise you.

By Marshall Brain

Have you ever read "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and wondered if it were possible to do it? Well, scientists are in the process of giving it their best shot. How hard is it to dig a hole this deep, and what might they find?

By Patrick J. Kiger

On a planet that is 70 percent water, people don't have enough clean, safe water to drink. We're in a water crisis, and water rights are becoming a big issue. What happens if we just plain run out?

By Josh Clark

In its purest form, it's odorless, nearly colorless and tasteless. It's in your body, the food you eat and the beverages you drink. All forms of life need it. What substance is more necessary to our existence than any other? Water.

By Shanna Freeman

One iceberg sank the unsinkable Titanic, and another exploded in front of an expedition. These floating chunks of ice carry their bulk deceptively below the surface of the water. What else are they hiding?

By Ed Grabianowski

Glaciers are rivers of ice and are the largest moving objects on Earth. Learn about glaciers and find out how much freshwater are frozen in glaciers.

By Ed Grabianowski & Desiree Bowie

Water is just hydrogen and oxygen, so why can't we do what nature does and combine the two? Unfortunately, it's not that simple, and the results can be rather ... explosive.

By Josh Clark & Jennifer Walker-Journey

Famine might bring to mind historical tragedies or modern media coverage of tiny children with swollen bellies. But how does the unimaginable -- a widespread loss of food -- actually happen?

By Jessika Toothman

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

By Mark Mancini

The world has only had time zones since the late 1800s. Some people think we should eliminate them and have just one universal time instead.

By Patrick J. Kiger & Austin Henderson

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

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

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

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

The Arctic Circle is a region marked by frigid temperatures, strange sunlight and glaciers galore. And for hundreds of thousands of people, it's also home sweet home.

By Mark Mancini

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

By Laurie L. Dove

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

By Sharise Cunningham

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

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

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

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

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

You may have noticed that our planet isn't terribly predictable. Could a German polymath and an unfathomable pile of data change that?

By Robert Lamb

For centuries, ancient cultures celebrated the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, as the "day the sun came back." Here are five enlightening facts about the winter solstice.

By Kathryn Whitbourne

Scientists from The Ohio State University have drilled longest ice core from outside the poles.

By Mark Mancini