MS-ESS2-2

Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.

  1. Earth

    Mystery ‘earmuffs’ sit deep inside Earth

    Two vast blobs in Earth’s lower mantle could result from a “trainwreck” of ancient colliding tectonic plates.

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  2. Oceans

    Explainer: What is a tsunami?

    Earthquakes and landslides can create huge waves that travel across oceans.

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  3. Earth

    Major new quake rattles Nepal

    A new earthquake struck Nepal on May 12. Its tremors were centered on a new region.

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  4. Microbes

    Life’s ultra-slow lane is deep beneath the sea

    Biologists had suspected the deep seafloor would be little more than barren sediment. But they found a surprising amount of oxygen — and life.

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  5. Earth

    Explainer: Understanding plate tectonics

    Plate tectonics is the process whereby Earth continually rebuilds itself — and causes destructive events like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

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  6. Fossils

    Tar pit clues provide ice age news

    New analyses of insects and mammals trapped in the La Brea Tar Pits point to climate surprises during the last ice age.

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  7. Earth

    Explainer: The volcano basics

    Here’s an overview of what they are, where they form and the many ways they pose dangers.

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  8. Physics

    Bracing sand sculptures with gravity

    Natural sculptures of sandstone withstand strong winds and rains. The reason, a new study concludes: Gravity holds the sand grains together.

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  9. Earth

    Thirst for water moves and shakes California

    Here’s a scary cost to pumping up groundwater to slake the thirst of crops in California’s Central Valley: It may uplift nearby mountains and trigger tiny earthquakes, experts find.

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  10. Math

    Teen puts calculus on ice

    Jacob Nichols wondered if he could use calculus to find the volume of the icicles building up outside his house. His study earned him a spot at the 2014 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

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  11. Earth

    The quake that shook up geology

    North America’s biggest earthquake struck 50 years ago. Here’s what science has learned about Earth since the 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake.

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  12. Environment

    Does lightning sculpt mountains?

    A new study sparks debate about how much rubble on a mountainside has been blasted loose by powerful bolts from the sky.

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