Earth Science
The structure and processes of planet Earth.
Subcategories
- Meteorology — The study of the atmosphere and the weather it produces.
- Oceanography — The oceans: currents, waves, chemistry, and their role in the climate system.
Articles (9)
- Meandering Rivers and Oxbow Lakes: How They Form and Change
A meandering river forms looping bends because its fastest flow erodes the outside of each curve, and an oxbow lake forms when a flood cuts through a loop neck. - How Are Caves and Karst Landscapes Formed?
Caves and karst form when slightly acidic groundwater dissolves limestone along cracks, enlarging them over thousands of years into passages and sinkholes. - What Killed the Dinosaurs? The Chicxulub Impact
The Chicxulub impact, about 66 million years ago off the Yucatán coast, triggered the mass extinction that ended the non-avian dinosaurs and most other species. - How Do Tsunamis Form and Travel Across Oceans?
A tsunami forms when the seafloor suddenly moves and pushes a whole column of water, sending waves across oceans at jet speed that grow tall only near the coast. - The Little Ice Age
The period of regional cooling from roughly 1300 to 1850 — glacial advances, frozen rivers, failed harvests — and what it reveals about climate sensitivity. - Reading Topographic Maps and Using a Compass
How contour lines encode terrain, how to orient a map, take a bearing, and find your position — the durable skill set behind every navigation app. - Water Cycle
The continuous movement of water between atmosphere, land, and oceans through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff. - Greenhouse Effect
The warming of Earth's surface by greenhouse gases that absorb and re-emit infrared radiation, keeping the planet habitable. - Plate Tectonics
The theory that Earth's outer shell consists of moving plates whose interactions build mountains, open oceans, and trigger earthquakes and volcanoes.