When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on Saturday, it could be heard about 5,000 miles away in Alaska and produced an ash cloud the size of New England, The Washington Post reported. The volcano lies mostly underwater, about 20 miles southeast of Tonga’s Fonuafo’ou island in the South Pacific, reported CNN. It sits about […]
Did you know that the U.S. is one of the most volcanic countries in the world? There are more than 160 active volcanoes in the nation—but which ones could cause the most damage if they erupt? On Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released an update of its national volcanic threat assessment for the first […]
More than 600 homes have been destroyed by lava flows from Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii since erupting more than a month ago, Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim told Reuters. Kim said that Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, has never destroyed so many homes before in such a short […]
By Tim Radford Movements of the earth’s crust may mean that global warming driven by greenhouse gases from power stations and vehicle exhausts isn’t the only threat to life the world faces. About 700 million years ago, global temperatures fell so low that glaciers may have reached the equator. Snowball Earth may have all but […]
By Megan Hill Eddy Cartaya and Brent McGregor have unearthed what might as well be another planet. It exists in the backyard of 6 million people, in areas frequented by scores of national park tourists each year. In 2011, the two men founded Glacier Cave Explorers, a Pacific Northwest–based group of scientists and adventurers, all […]
We can add volcanic eruptions to the list of potential climate change hazards. In a presentation at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly held from April 8 to 13, University of Clermont Auvergne Ph.D. student Gioachino Roberti explained research indicating that melting glaciers could trigger eruptions, the Independent reported Wednesday. According to Roberti, glaciers give […]
Antarctica, the coldest place on Earth, may now be home to the densest concentration of volcanoes, according to a first-of-its-kind study. The discovery isn’t something to get too excited about. The researchers warned that if these volcanoes were to erupt, it could cause more ice sheets to melt and contribute to sea level rise. Scientists […]
A unique interactive website gives you a new perspective on your time on Earth. BBC Earth’s “Your life on earth” interactive takes your birthdate, gender and height to give you a personalized look at how the Earth has changed since you were born. Factoids provided include: how many times your heart has beaten; how far […]