Showing results for "WHAT" in Earth Sciences

Meteorologists Simon King and Clare Nasir reveal the captivating ways the weather works, from exploring incredible weather phenomenon (how are rainbows formed?) and expertly breaking down our knowledge of the elements (could we harness the power of lightning?) to explaining the significance of weather in history (has the weather ever started a war?) and importantly discussing the future of weather (could climate modification save the planet?). In What Does Rain Smell Like? Simon and Clare uncover the thrilling science behind a subject that affects us all.

The science is overwhelming; the facts are in. The planet is heating up at an alarming rate and the results are everywhere to be seen. Yet, as time runs out, climate progress is blocked by the men who are profiting from the burning of the planet: energy moguls like the Koch brothers and Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson. Powerful politicians like Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Inhofe, who receive massive contributions from the oil and coal industries. Most of these men are too intelligent to truly believe that climate change is not a growing crisis.

Written by one of the world's leading dinosaur experts, Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior is a foundational work on the subject and an invaluable reference for anyone interested in these amazing creatures.

Super Volcanoes revels in the incomparable power of volcanic eruptions past and present, Earth-bound and otherwise, and explores how these eruptions reveal secrets about the worlds to which they belong. Science journalist and volcanologist Robin George Andrews describes the stunning ways in which volcanoes can sculpt the sea, land, and sky, and even influence the machinery that makes or breaks the existence of life.

Over the past 20 years, paleontologists have made tremendous fossil discoveries, including fossils that mark the growth of whales, manatees, and seals from land mammals and the origins of elephants, horses, and rhinos. Today there exists an amazing diversity of fossil humans, suggesting we walked upright long before we acquired large brains, and new evidence from molecules that enable scientists to decipher the tree of life as never before.

When it comes to climate change, the media, politicians, and other prominent voices have declared that "the science is settled." In reality, the long game of telephone from research to reports to the popular media is corrupted by misunderstanding and misinformation. Core questions - about the way the climate is responding to our influence, and what the impacts will be - remain largely unanswered. The climate is changing, but the why and how aren't as clear as you've probably been led to believe.

In 2018, lumps of frozen soil, collected from the bottom of the world's first deep ice core and lost for decades, reappeared in Denmark. When geologist Paul Bierman and his team first melted a piece of this unique material, they were shocked to find perfectly preserved leaves, twigs, and moss. That observation led them to a startling discovery: Greenland's ice sheet had melted naturally before, about 400,000 years ago.

For readers of Bill Bryson, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Siddhartha Mukherjee, a wondrous, wildly ambitious, and vastly entertaining work of popular science that tells the awe-inspiring story of the elements that make up the human body, and how these building blocks of life travelled billions of...

With the new edition of Unsettled, Steven Koonin draws on decades of experience—including as a top science advisor to the Obama administration—to clear away the fog and explain what science really says (and doesn’t say). With a new introduction, this edition now features reflections on an additional three years of eye-opening data, alternatives to unrealistic “net zero” solutions, global energy inequalities, and the energy crisis arising from the war in Ukraine.

We have long fantasized about finding life on planets other than our own. Yet even as we become aware of the vast expanses beyond our solar system, it remains clear that Earth is exceptional. The question is: Why? In Lucky Planet, astrobiologist David Waltham argues that Earth’s climate stability is what makes it uniquely able to support life, and it is nothing short of luck that made such conditions possible. The four-billion-year stretch of good weather that our planet has experienced is statistically so unlikely that chances are slim that we will ever encounter intelligent extraterrestrial others.

What if dinosaurs could help us prepare for the future? In Surviving Climate and Chaos, paleontologist and science communicator Evan Jevnikar reveals how the prehistoric past holds critical lessons for understanding modern climate change, extinction, and survival.

Volcanoes: What Everyone Needs to Know® guides the listener through one of nature's most fascinating and powerful forces, explaining essential geological concepts critical to understanding how and where volcanoes form before examining their physical structure and associated processes. Through real-world examples—from the explosive history of Mount Vesuvius to the colossal eruption of Yellowstone Supervolcano—Jovanelly uncovers mind-blowing facts about how volcanoes have shaped our planet, impacted the climate, and altered the course of civilizations.

Earth, from space, looks like a shimmering gem suspended in an inky, infinite expanse. But this serene image masks the magnificent and volatile interior forces that make life possible for millions of species on the surface. The placid appearances of our neighboring planets similarly belie their powers—and science fiction-worthy features, like diamond rain.

What On Earth?! is a podcast about the planet we live on - and the many questions it raises. From fossils and volcanoes to rocks, landscapes, and the forces shaping Earth beneath our feet, each episode breaks down an Earth science topic in a clear and engaging way.No prior knowledge required: we focus on the ideas, stories, and discoveries that help you understand how Earth works and why it matters. If you’ve ever looked at a rock, a map, or the ground beneath you and thought “what on Earth is going on here?” - this podcast is for you.

Beyond what we already know about "food miles" and eating locally, the global food system is a major contributor to climate change, producing as much as one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. How we farm, what we eat, and how our food gets to the table all have an impact. And our government and the food industry are willfully ignoring the issue rather than addressing it. In Anna Lapp's controversial new book, she predicts that unless we radically shift the trends of what food we're eating and how we're producing it, food-system-related greenhouse gas emissions will go up and up and up.

For millennia, human societies have viewed the ocean as a dumping ground for waste products of all kinds. The sources of marine pollution are extensive, including oil spills, sewage, fertilizers, pesticides, industrial wastes, heavy metals, ocean acidification, plastics, and even invasive species, considered biological pollution. Yet, the solutions are not as clear. Updated to reflect recent research, this book discusses the sources of marine pollutants, their effects on marine organisms and humans, and how to reduce or eliminate them.

In Once and Future Giants, science writer Sharon Levy digs through the evidence surrounding Pleistocene large animal ("megafauna") extinction events worldwide, showing that understanding this history - and our part in it - is crucial for protecting the elephants, polar bears, and other great creatures at risk today. These surviving relatives of the Ice Age beasts now face an intensified replay of that great die-off, as our species usurps the planet's last wild places while driving a warming trend more extreme than any in mammalian history.

In this updated edition of his authoritative book, MIT atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel outlines the basic science of global warming and how the current consensus has emerged. Although it is impossible to predict exactly when the most dramatic effects of global warming will be felt, he argues, we can be confident that we face real dangers. Emanuel warns that global warming will contribute to an increase in the intensity and power of hurricanes and flooding and more rapidly advancing deserts.

A weekly show hosted by Huck Dixon covering news and facts on volcanoes around the world. Episodes are published every Friday (excluding holidays) at 3:00 PM Pacific Time.

"What About Water? with Jay Famiglietti" connects water science with the stories that bring about solutions, adaptation, and action for the world's water realities. Presented by Arizona State University and the University of Saskatchewan, and hosted by ASU Professor and USask Professor Emeritus Jay Famiglietti.