earth science

Our clearest view yet of Antarctica stripped of all its ice

The British Antarctic Survey has produced the sharpest image yet of Antarctica’s rugged topography. And as you can clearly see, without its mile-thick layer of ice, the polar continent would be an incredibly mountainous terrain, indeed. In conjunction with NASA’s IceBridge mission, the BAS compiled this map by drawing upon millions of new measurements of…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 6

What it’s like to have an EF5 tornado pass almost directly overhead

Two days ago, as the 2013 Moore tornado struck Oklahoma, Charles Gifford sought refuge in a storm shelter. After he was safe inside, and with the door securely shut, Gifford poked his camera through a small hole, allowing him to capture this insanely up-close video of the 1.3 mile wide tornado. This video shows how…

io9 George Dvorsky May 22

The longest continual satellite scroll of Earth you will ever see

Get ready to take a trip. Your 6,000 mile (9,000 km) long journey will start in Russia and extend down to the northern tip of South Africa — and you’ll see it all from a height of 438 miles (705 km). It’s called The Long Swath — a 19-gigapixel filmstrip of the Earth produced by…

io9 George Dvorsky May 21

Could you stop tornados before they start?

Oklahoma has been ravaged by a massive, mile-wide tornado, with more predicted to come. We talked about the megastorms with atmospheric scientist Karen Kosiba, whose work is showcased in documentary Tornado Alley. Kosiba is a researcher at the Center for Severe Weather Research in Colorado, where she studies ground-level conditions during tornadoes. She has also…

io9 Annalee Newitz May 20

Red Waves Are Breaking Across the Land

There is nothing that embodies the idea of “terrible beauty” more than an approaching sandstorm. Here is what these awe-inspiring forces of nature look like, right before they consume the ocean or landscape in blinding clouds. Onslow storm, Western Australia, 9 January 2013 Pictured above. (via The Roosevelts, Levi Cooper and Brett Martin/PerthWeatherLive.com) Phoenix, Arizona,…

io9 Vincze Miklós May 17

What will really happen when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts?

Lurking beneath Yellowstone National Park is a massive underground reservoir of magma, capped by the park’s famous caldera. 640,000 years ago, a super eruption rocked the region. What would happen if another such event blasted the park today? We asked USGS geologist Jake Lowenstern, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. Photo by Nina B via…

io9 Annalee Newitz May 17

When Earth is Scarred Forever

Our planet is covered in pockmarks so deep that they can be seen from space. Some were caused by asteroid strikes, but most are the result of human meddling. Here are some of the most incredible examples of the scarred Earth. Mir or Mirny Mine, Yakutia, Russia This open pit diamond mine was opened in…

io9 Vincze Miklós May 8

What if the Earth had no moon?

We recently watched Oblivion, prompting us to ask the question: What if the Earth had no large moon? Mild spoiler(s) and graphic depictions of shattered satellites ahead! In the movie, aliens destroy the Earth’s moon, presumably to throw our planet into chaos. You’d think we’d already be outclassed by the very definition of a species…

io9 David Dickinson - Universe Today May 3

Expanding the Planet’s Limits

This is part two of a two-part series on the limits of human economic growth on planet Earth. Part one details some of the environmental and natural resource challenges we’re up against. Here, we look at the ultimate size of the resource pool and solutions to our problems. https://gizmodo.com/the-limits-of-the-earth-475204937 Growing the Pie In Part One…

io9 RamezNaam May 1

It’s Time to Stop Predicting the End of the World

Columbia University earth scientist Peter Keleman is sick of hearing that we’re doomed to suffer horrific climate disasters. And it’s not because he doesn’t believe in global warming — it’s because he does, and he understands it a lot better than the doomsayers do. Over at Dot Earth, Keleman writes, in part: Climate catastrophe is…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 29

The Limits of the Earth

This is part one of a two-part series on the limits of human growth and prosperity on planet Earth. Both parts are based on Ramez Naam’s new book, The Infinite Resource: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet. You can also read part two. https://gizmodo.com/expanding-the-planets-limits-475944711 Is the world doomed? Are we headed for a…

io9 RamezNaam Apr 29

Non-profit wants to clone the world’s oldest trees for reforesting

A group called the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is seeking to repopulate many of the planet’s struggling forests by cloning its most fittest specimens. Here’s a catch 22 for you: Let’s say that some trees have great genes that allow them to live for millennia and grow to be almost as big as skyscrapers, but…

io9 Michael Graham Richard - Tree Hugger Apr 24

Yellowstone’s megavolcano is more terrifying than we ever imagined

A seismology student from the University of Utah is claiming that the volume of molten magma beneath Yellowstone is 50% larger than previously thought. Given that the caldera could blow up at anytime and with little warning, that’s a pretty scary thought. https://gizmodo.com/further-evidence-that-the-yellowstone-megavolcano-could-5940099 Graduate student Jamie Farrell made the remarks yesterday (April 17) at the…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 18

One of those rare moments when a small thing gives you hope for the future of the planet

This is a video about a small company called re:char, who build environment-saving factories inside cargo containers and ship them all over the world. Founded by a former soil scientist, Jason Aramburu, re:char’s goal is to help small farms grow healthier crops — and reduce their carbon footprint at the same time. He and his…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 12

Cities of the Future Will Be Swarming With These Insects

Evidence suggests that the climate is warming, but it’s hard to get a concrete idea of what the planet will be like when Earth is a few hotter warmer everywhere. Now a group of scientists have found a slice of our sultry future in an unexpected place: the heat islands of southern US city Raleigh,…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 8

Everything you need to know about the five ice ages of Earth (including ours)

Did you know that as our climate warms, we are actually returning to a more typical weather pattern for the Earth? That’s right — we are living in an ice age, which means the temperatures and ice caps we think of as “normal” are actually extreme aberrations in the history of our planet. Image via…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 8

Watch as this massive ice-sheet rips and shreds itself apart off Alaska

During the last several weeks, NASA has been tracking an unprecedented sea-ice fracturing event off the coast of northern Alaska. As this dramatic satellite video shows, hundreds of square miles of ice twisted and crumbled into the Beaufort Sea. The whole thing started back in late-January when a high-pressure system parked itself above the region,…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 4

The first image of Earth taken by a weather satellite

Back on April 1, 1960, NASA launched the TIROS-1, the first successful low-Earth orbital weather satellite. And this is the first picture it sent back. Image courtesy of Rick Kohrs, SSEC via CIMSS Satellite Blog. The satellite, the first of a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites, stayed in orbit for only 78 days. The…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 3

How to take the temperature of an entire ocean

Want to know how to take the temperature of all the ocean between California and Hawaii? All you need is the right sound. A special acoustic technique lets people figure out the temperature of the ocean, and how it might be changing from year to year. There’s no real way to take simultaneous temperature readings…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 29

Volcanic Lightning: How does it work?!

VOLCANO LIGHTNING. The fusion of flash with ash! Say the words aloud, together, and it sounds impossible – the kind of thing a six-year-old might think up. And yet, volcanic lightning is very real. But how does it happen? Few phenomena can compete with the raw beauty and devastating power of a raging thunderstorm, save…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Mar 27

Our clearest view yet of Antarctica stripped of all its ice

What it’s like to have an EF5 tornado pass almost directly overhead

The longest continual satellite scroll of Earth you will ever see

Could you stop tornados before they start?

Red Waves Are Breaking Across the Land

What will really happen when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts?

When Earth is Scarred Forever

What if the Earth had no moon?

Expanding the Planet’s Limits

It’s Time to Stop Predicting the End of the World

The Limits of the Earth

Non-profit wants to clone the world’s oldest trees for reforesting

Yellowstone’s megavolcano is more terrifying than we ever imagined

One of those rare moments when a small thing gives you hope for the future of the planet

Cities of the Future Will Be Swarming With These Insects

Everything you need to know about the five ice ages of Earth (including ours)

Watch as this massive ice-sheet rips and shreds itself apart off Alaska

The first image of Earth taken by a weather satellite

How to take the temperature of an entire ocean

Volcanic Lightning: How does it work?!

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