Category: Earth & Environment

Nearly 75 percent of the U.S. could experience damaging earthquake shaking, including the possibility of damaging earthquakes along the northeastern United States. What should residents of the Big Apple – and other major metropolitan areas — do if they feel the ground move beneath their feet?

When water temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, it can mean life or death for Endangered Species Act-protected sea turtles. But scientists at the U.S. Geological survey are doing something about it. 

For months, USGS monitoring had shown that Mauna Loa was inching close to an eruption. Just before midnight on Sunday, November 27, 2022, the wait was over.

Infrastructure projects that intentionally use natural and nature-based habitats and processes to reduce risks and deliver multiple benefits are referred to as nature-based solutions. Continue reading →

The ocean’s water is constantly circulated by currents. Tidal currents occur close to shore and are influenced by the sun and moon. Surface currents are influenced by the wind. However, other, much slower currents that occur from the surface to the seafloor are driven by changes in the saltiness and ocean temperature, a process called…

Lines of latitude, also called parallels, are imaginary lines that divide the Earth. They run east to west, but measure your distance north or south. The equator is the most well known parallel. At 0 degrees latitude, it equally divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. From the equator, latitude increases as you…

Lines of longitude, also called meridians, are imaginary lines that divide the Earth. They run north to south from pole to pole, but they measure the distance east or west. The prime meridian, which runs through Greenwich, England, has a longitude of 0 degrees. It divides the Earth into the eastern and western hemispheres. The…

Barrier islands form as waves repeatedly deposit sediment parallel to the shoreline. As wind and waves shift according to weather patterns and local geographic features, these islands constantly move, erode, and grow. They can even disappear entirely. They are generally separated from the mainland by tidal creeks, bays, and lagoons. Beaches and sand dune systems…

Scientists have suspected for a while that Greenland sharks lived extremely long lives, but they didn’t have a way to determine how long. The age of other shark species can be estimated by counting growth bands on fin spines or on the shark’s vertebrae, much like rings on a tree. Greenland sharks, however, have no…

Scientists estimate that 50-80% of the oxygen production on Earth comes from the ocean. The majority of this production is from oceanic plankton — drifting plants, algae, and some bacteria that can photosynthesize. One particular species, Prochlorococcus, is the smallest photosynthetic organism on Earth. But this little bacteria produces up to 20% of the oxygen…

The word “plankton” comes from the Greek for “drifter” or “wanderer.” An organism is considered plankton if it is carried by tides and currents, and cannot swim well enough to move against these forces. Some plankton drift this way for their entire life cycle. Others are only classified as plankton when they are young, but…

Harmful algal blooms — often referred to as HABs for short — occur when algae produce toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, birds, or other aquatic organisms. Blooms occur in marine and freshwater environments throughout the world, with damaging ecological, social, and economic effects. So why can’t we clean up the…