Earth Science

As European air travel returns to normal and as passengers slowly begin making their way home, we may not have heard the last about the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull yet. Scientists have discovered disturbing evidence that the seismic activity from Eyjafjallajokull…
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I suppose one could say if you want to help the planet, plant a plant. The importance of plants, especially green plants, cannot be overstated. They are a food source, they produce oxygen, they help control natural events, and they…
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The rarest gems are not always the most beautiful or impressive. However, they may be the most expensive, since rarity often drives up price. These are some of the rarest gemstones in the world. Benitioite Intensely blue Benitoite is the…
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When they hear the phrase “volcanic ash,” many people take it for granted that the stuff is something like the ashes left behind by a campfire or in a fireplace. Volcanic ash isn’t the leftovers of a fire, though, it’s…
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The rock cycle deals with the changes that rocks undergo over time due to natural influences of weathering, erosion, pressure, and heat. While short-term changes may not be noticeable even in one’s life time over millions of years these changes…
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Living in California we are often warned about the “The Big One”- when an earthquake causes the state to drop into Pacific.  Before you panic, that is an old myth.  California cannot drop into the ocean.  A separation from the…
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The reason that science and business connected to establish Biosphere II was to find ways to manage the interrelation of ecosystems. The entire earth is one giant ecosystem subdivided into tens of thousands of lesser ones. We could extend this…
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Rocks break into smaller pieces by many different processes, but no matter what process it has gone through, the smaller pieces of rock are called sediment. The sediment can also include organic material, such as plant parts. A sedimentary rock…
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Volcanoes occur all over the world. They can destroy entire cities, shape the land, and even erupt under the oceans. In fact, somewhere in the world, on average, 11-17 volcanoes are erupting, many of then under the surface of the…
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The scholarly study titled “The Impact of Climate Change on Indigenous Arabica Coffee (Coffea arabica): Predicting Future Trends and Identifying Priorities” can be summed up with one brief sentence: the Arabica coffee bean may become extinct. For those that drink…
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