How Did Eastern North America Form?
With many collisions and much crumpling of rock, down the ages. The story holds lessons for how the edges of continents are built and change over time.
Why Peat Is a Key Ingredient in Whisky and the Climate Crisis
Approximately 80 percent of Scotch whisky is made using peat as a fuel source for drying barley during the malting process. Is that a problem?
Moho-A-Go-Go: Journey to the Far Edge of the Center of the Earth
The “Moho,” short for the Mohorovičić discontinuity, is a long way down.
High-Flying Geology
The development and refinement of aerial photography in the World Wars transformed the discipline of geology.
How Sports Shaped Glacier Science
The heroic masculinity that governed early glacial science had its roots in nineteenth-century British sporting culture.
The Shifting Sands of Hurricane Resilience
Sand dunes act as shock absorbers during hurricanes, both when the storms hit and while reestablishing roots (literally) in the aftermath.
The Eight Best Hidden Impact Craters on Earth
Many impact craters on Earth have been erased thanks to wind, water, and plate tectonics. But scientists have clever ways to find them.
How Plate Tectonics Shook Life into Existence
The cycles of life all rely on the dynamism of the Earth’s crust.
How Rocks and Minerals Play with Light to Produce Breathtaking Colors
Rocks and minerals don’t simply reflect light. They play with it and interact with light as both a wave and a particle.
Deimos: A Chip Off the Old Martian Block?
A new space probe suggests that the moonlet Deimos isn’t a captured asteroid after all.