Have you ever looked at a rocky section of mountain and noticed the striped layers of different colors? If you did, you studied geology. How did the layers get there and where did they come from? What materials make the…
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When examining the cause of a volcanic eruption, it is helpful to first look at the interior of the earth. At the very center of the Earth is a core of mostly iron and nickel, heated well over the melting…
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The National Parks in the northern United States tend to have the coldest temperatures while the southern states have the hottest temperatures. However, Alaska’s national parks have the coldest temperatures by far, with many of them below 32 degrees for…
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The heat index, also known as humidex, is a measurement that seeks to show how hot a day is, and it is derived from a combination of the air temperature and the relative humidity, along with a few other variables….
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The water cycle on this planet is a very important means of life for many life forms, biomes, geological stabilities, and the cleansing of the planet. As the vast majority of the planet is covered in water, there is a…
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It seems like every day, there is something regarding greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect mentioned in the news. However, many people are a bit confused when it comes to the greenhouse effect and what it is. The simple fact…
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An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef which has broken the ocean surface and formed a barrier around a small, relatively shallow part of the ocean. The enclosed part of the ocean is known as an atoll lagoon. The atoll…
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Thunder snow is a term often used in weather and it has the same meaning of a winter thunderstorm or a thunder snowstorm. When a cold front or warm front develops in a winter environment, then thunder snow can form. It is in the…
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Before talking about why water vapor is the most abundant of the greenhouse gases, it is a good idea to know what makes a gas a “greenhouse gas” (GHG) in the first place. It’s also wise to know what a…
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Igneous rocks get their name from the Latin word for fire, “ignis.” This makes sense, because early naturalists could watch them forming as fiery streams of lava flowing from volcanoes turned into solid rock. The word igneous is now used…
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