In the whole history of Earth's climate, few events are as extreme as those that geologists call "Snowball Earth." ...

From climate change to species loss and pollution, humans have etched their impact on Earth with such strength and permanence since the middle of the 20th century that a special team of scientists ...

The record-breaking mission offers an unprecedented opportunity to study the geology of our planet’s largest layer.

Earth is truly unique among our solar system's planets. It has vast water oceans and abundant life. But Earth is also unique because it is the only planet with plate tectonics, which shaped its ...

Shrinking lakes in Tibet likely woke up long-dormant tectonic faults, a new study finds. The findings strengthen the link between climate change and earthquakes ...

The Department of Geology is about much more than rocks and minerals. Its faculty and students perform cutting-edge research on everything from how glaciers react to climate change to how molten lava ...

At first glance, Mars might seem rather different from our own planet. Mars is dry, with little atmosphere, and no liquid water on its surface. It is half the size of Earth, lacks a planetary magnetic ...

Scientists have long wondered why Earth's overall makeup doesn't fully match the mix of materials found in ancient meteorites. One hypothesis has been that our proto-Earth (what the earliest stages of ...

The Fellowship did not begin the Quest in the Shire; nor did the Quest end in the darkest depths of Mordor. There was no trekking through the Mines of Moria, and the Plains of Rohan remain untrod, for ...

The discovery could usher in a wave of investigations into the evolution of Earth’s mantle, a layer of material about 1,800 miles deep that extends from just beneath the planet’s thin crust to its ...

A thin slice of the ancient rocks collected from Gakkel Ridge near the North Pole, photographed under a microscope and seen under cross-polarized light. Field width ~ 14mm. Credit: E. Cottrell, ...

I had no intention of going into science. In my early teens, I wanted to be a jockey and was firmly convinced I would never weigh more than 100 pounds. I quickly exceeded that weight cap and switched ...