Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

Earth's Interior and Surface

Earth, the largest rocky planet, was formed about 4.5 billion years ago. The Earth's interior is divided into four layers which is typical of rocky planets. It is cool on the surface but very hot deep inside the planet. The center, or core, is as hot as 9000 degrees F.

The Earth's surface is unique from the other planets because it is the only one with liquid water. Water helps to make surface features such as rivers, lakes and oceans. The moving plates of the Earth’s surface form other surface features such as mountains, earthquakes and volcanoes.

Bison roaming on mixed grass prairie - a type of <a href="/earth/grassland_eco.html&edu=elem&dev=1">grassland</a> - at Wind Cave National Park (U.S.).  Over one quarter of the Earth's surface is covered by grasslands. Grasslands are found on every continent except <a href="/earth/polar/polar_south.html&edu=elem&dev=1">Antarctica</a>, and they make up most of Africa and Asia. Grasslands develop where there isn't enough rain for <a href="/earth/forest_eco.html&edu=elem&dev=1">forests</a> but there is too much rain for <a href="/earth/desert_eco.html&edu=elem&dev=1">deserts</a>. Grasslands are filled with - you guessed it - grass.<p><small><em> National Park Service</em></small></p>Rainforest vegetation on the Caribbean island of Dominica.  <a href="/earth/rainforest.html&edu=elem&dev=1">Tropical rainforests</a> are home to thousands of species of animals, plants, fungi and microbes. Scientists suspect that there are many species living in rainforests have not yet been found or described. Rainforests get their name because they receive a lot of rain - an average of 80 inches (203 cm) a year!<p><small><em> NBII Digital Image Library - Randolph Femmer, photographer</em></small></p>Gold or Fool’s Gold? There are two easy ways to tell Fool’s Gold, the <a href="/earth/geology/min_intro.html&edu=elem&dev=1">mineral</a> <a href="/earth/geology/min_pyrite.html&edu=elem&dev=1">pyrite</a>, from real gold. First, pyrite leaves a black streak on a white tile whereas gold leaves, well, a gold streak. Also, pyrite is much harder than gold. Pyrite is made up of the <a href="/earth/geology/periodic_table.html&edu=elem&dev=1">elements</a> iron (Fe) and sulfur (S).  Both of these two elements are among the <a href="/earth/geology/crust_elements.html&edu=elem&dev=1">eight most abundant</a> in the <a href="/earth/interior/earths_crust.html&edu=elem&dev=1">Earth’s crust</a>.<p><small><em> Courtesy of Corel</em></small></p>This is the Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona. The diameter is 1.2 kilomters, and it is 49,000 years old. Compared with other planets, <a href="/earth/Interior_Structure/crater.html&edu=elem&dev=1">impact craters</a> are rare <a href="/earth/Interior_Structure/surface_features.html&edu=elem&dev=1">surface features</a> on Earth. There are two main reasons for the low number of craters. One is that our <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html&edu=elem&dev=1">atmosphere</a> burns up most <a href="/our_solar_system/meteors/meteors.html&edu=elem&dev=1">meteoroids</a> before they reach the surface. The other reason is that Earth's surface is <a href="/earth/interior/plate_tectonics.html&edu=elem&dev=1">continually active</a> and erases the marks of craters over time.<p><small><em>D. Roddy and LPI</em></small></p>The most majestic of the volcanoes are composite volcanoes, also known as strato-volcanoes. Unlike the <a href="/earth/interior/shield_volcanos.html&edu=elem&dev=1">shield volcanoes</a> which are flat and broad, composite volcanoes are tall, symmetrically shaped, with steep sides, sometimes rising 10,000 feet high. They are built of alternating layers of <a href="/earth/interior/lava.html&edu=elem&dev=1">lava</a> flows, volcanic <a href="/earth/interior/ash.html&edu=elem&dev=1">ash</a>, cinders, blocks, and bombs.  This is a photo of Mt. Cotopaxi in Ecuador.<p><small><em>The U.S. Geological Survey</em></small></p>An <a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc000905e.php">8.6 magnitude earthquake</a> struck on 11 April 2012 off of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, followed by a strong aftershock. Earthquake motion was primarily horizontal. A tsunami warning was issued for the Indian Ocean, but was cancelled at 12:36 UTC. A tsunami was observed at 1 meter or less. Find out more about <a href="/earth/geology/quake_1.html&edu=elem&dev=1">earthquake</a> and <a href="/earth/tsunami1.html&edu=elem&dev=1">tsunami</a> processes. Check out the resources <a href="/teacher_resources/2011_AGU-NESTA_GIFT_Workshop.html&edu=elem&dev=1">here</a>.<p><small><em>NOAA</em></small></p>

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Explore Earth's Interior and Surface

Interior

The Earth's interior is made of rock and metal. It has four main layers: 1) the inner core: ...Read more

Surface

Underneath the water that fills the oceans, and the dirt and plants that cover the land, the ...Read more

Surface Features

Look at this picture of the surface of the Earth! Can you find these features? the Pacific ...Read more

Earthquakes

The ground underfoot might seem like it’s not going anywhere but it is. It moves. If it moves ...Read more

Volcanoes

There are several ways in which a volcano can form, just as there are several different kinds ...Read more

Plate Tectonics

Many forces change the surface of the Earth over time. The largest force that changes our ...Read more

Elements

An element (also called a "chemical element") is a substance made up entirely of atoms having ...Read more

Geology

Geology means, literally, the study of the Earth. Explore this section to understand the structure ...Read more

Biomes and Ecosystems

Biomes are large areas of the world where there are similar plants, animals, and other living ...Read more

Historical Events

5/24 Nicholas Copernicus, a Polish astronomer, died on this date in 1543 Details
5/30 7.5 magnitude quake hits Quetta, Pakistan in 1935
5/31 7.9 magnitude earthquake hits Peru in 1970

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

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Did you know?

What are dip-slip and transform faults? Find out more on our geologic fault page!

Do you know why earthquakes happen?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

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Turbidites
xTurbidites : Turbidites are sea-bottom deposits formed by massive slope failures where rivers have deposited large deltas.

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

Scientists Study "Glaciovolcanoes," Mountains of Fire and Ice

In the spring of 2010, the eruption of a volcano called Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland cancelled many flights in Europe. Eyjafjallajökull is a glaciovolcano, which means it's a volcano that is covered by...Read more

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The Spring 2011 issue of The Earth Scientist is focused on modernizing seismology education. Thanks to IRIS, you can download this issue for free as a pdf. Print copies are available in our online store.

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation and NASA, our Founding Partners (the American Geophysical Union and American Geosciences Institute) as well as through Institutional, Contributing, and Affiliate Partners, individual memberships and generous donors. Thank you for your support! NASA AGU AGI NSF