Planet Earth

Editor's Picks

Men standing in a river lift barrels and do manual labor
Bear hair and fish weirs: Meet the Indigenous people combining modern science with ancestral principles to protect the land The Heiltsuk of British Columbia are using a mix of traditional principles and modern implementation to protect salmon and bears in their territory.
aerial view of mount everest and its surrounding peaks on a clear day with blue sku
Mount Everest is taller than it should be — and a weird river may be to blame Mount Everest may be "taller than it should be" because of a river "capture" event 89,000 years ago.
Mother polar bear and two cubs standing on melting ice.
32 weird ways to fight climate change that just might work From "MooLoos" to painting mountains, these silly scientific suggestions could actually help with climate change.

Latest about Planet Earth

Tsunami waves hitting the coast of Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture.

What's the difference between a tsunami and a tidal wave?

By Richard Pallardy published

Tsunamis and tidal waves are the powerful types of wave on Earth, but very different processes are involved in their formation.

Rivers & Oceans
A photo of palm trees along a rough coastline being buffeted by incredibly strong winds

What's the fastest recorded wind speed?

By Hannah Loss published

Wind can whip up to surprising speeds, depending on if it's natural or human made.

Weather
A dramatic photo of a rain storm over the ocean with orange sunlight peeking through dark clouds

Rain helps the ocean trap more carbon

By Veronika Meduna, Eos.org published

Rain has so far been ignored in calculations of the ocean's capacity to take up carbon, but a new estimate shows it enhances the ocean sink by 5% to 7%.

Rivers & Oceans
A view of Mount Everest from an airplane

Will Mount Everest always be the world's tallest mountain?

By Katherine Irving published

The Himalayas' massive heights result from a unique combination of geologic factors.

Geology
An illustration of Earth when it had one supercontinent

Earth's mantle is split into two halves thanks to supercontinent Pangaea

By Stephanie Pappas published

The mantle is split up into two domains — the African and the Pacific — that emerged when supercontinent Pangaea broke apart.

Geology
A visualization from space of the Gulf Stream as it unfurls across the North Atlantic Ocean.

'We don't really consider it low probability anymore': Collapse of key Atlantic current could have catastrophic impacts, says oceanographer Stefan Rahmstorf

By Ben Turner published

A visualization from space of the Gulf Stream as it unfurls across the North Atlantic Ocean.

Rivers & Oceans
A hut sits at an altidue of 1,800 meters near the Mackenzie Mountains in Yukon, Canada.

Fool's Gold is driving a new accelerating climate feedback loop in Canada

By Ben Turner published

A hut sits at an altidue of 1,800 meters near the Mackenzie Mountains in Yukon, Canada.

Climate Change
Iceland's Diamond Beach with black sand and chunks of ice that sparkle under the rising sun.

Diamond Beach: Iceland's spellbinding black sand beach covered in sparkling ice jewels

By Sascha Pare published

Icebergs and other glacial fragments regularly wash up on Iceland's southern Diamond Beach, making the sandy strip look like a field of gemstones.

Rivers & Oceans
String quartet playing music in a studio,

30 years of polar climate data converted into menacing, 6-minute song

By Sascha Pare published

Geoenvironmental scientist Hiroto Nagai used publicly available climate data from the North and South poles to compose an ominous-sounding chamber music piece.

Climate Change
An illustration of the Earth with blue and red lines swirling through the Atlantic

Key Atlantic current could collapse soon, 'impacting the entire world for centuries to come,' leading climate scientists warn

By Sascha Pare published

Leading climate scientists ring alarm bell on key Atlantic Ocean current collapse in open letter

Rivers & Oceans
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