The first in a two-part EARTH series explores the timeline of a planetary process that is literally earth-shattering. Plate tectonics has been a centerpiece of earth science for decades, but Earth didn’t always have tectonic plates. As the planet coalesced from cosmic dust approximately 4.6 billion years ago, it had a single, unbroken lithosphere. So how and when did the plates break apart and begin their seemingly never-ending round of musical chairs? [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - As we approach the beginning of the Eastern Pacific and Atlantic hurricane seasons on May 15 and June 1, respectively, a group of pilots, meteorologists, and other hurricane experts have been jetting down the East Coast this week to boost public awareness of these hazardous storms. The hurricane experts - from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the National Weather Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other partner groups - have traveled over 2200 miles with a fleet of hurricane hunter aircraft for NOAA’s annual Hurricane Awareness Tour. [Read More]

Collecting weather data can be hazardous, but with wind speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour, flying debris, and steep gradients in both air pressure and temperature, the inside of a tornado might just be the ultimate extreme. A team of research engineers led by Georgios Vatistas at Concordia University in Montreal is exploring this harsh environment from a safe distance by using computer models to estimate temperature changes inside tornadoes. [Read More]

Leading up to Earth Science Week 2017, the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) invites you to enter its new “Earth Connections” contest. Submit a 30- to 90-second original video that tells viewers about how people have an impact on Earth systems, or how Earth systems have an impact on people, in your part of the world. Earth Science Week 2017 (October 8-14) is engaging young people and others in exploring the relationship between human activity and Earth systems, including the geosphere (earth), hydrosphere (water), atmosphere (air), and biosphere (life). [Read More]

The American Geosciences Institute is pleased to announce the release of the Directory of Geoscience Departments, 52nd Edition. The Directory of Geoscience Departments is the premier guide to geoscience organizations worldwide and is a vital resource for thousands of scientists, policymakers, publishers, students, and the general public. The 52nd Edition provides listings of nearly 2,000 university departments, museums, federal agencies, geological surveys, and research institutes. For this new edition, individual faculty and staff members were able to edit their personal information and provide more specificity regarding their research and teaching specialties. [Read More]

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is sponsoring a photo contest in celebration of Earth Science Week 2017. This year’s contest, which honors the event theme of “Earth and Human Activity,” invites students, geoscientists, and the general public to submit entries showing ways people affect, or are affected by, Earth systems in their local communities. New to this year’s photo contest, AGI and Earth Science Week present the “Earth and Human Activity Here” Photo Map, now online at http://www. [Read More]

A silent spring and a summer without honey? Current events have renewed interest in science that informs us about the health of our environment. Enter neonicotinoids, a family of chemical pesticides that has been in use since the 1990s and became especially prominent starting in the mid-2000s. Neonicotinoids have gained popularity because they are non-toxic to mammals, birds and other vertebrates, and because they can be applied in a variety of ways - most prominently as agricultural seed coatings, which largely circumvents the problem of windblown drift of pesticides offsite and into the environment. [Read More]

Allyson Anderson Book, Executive Director of the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) “As AGI’s Executive Director, I truly value and respect the diverse array of skills and opinions within the geoscience community. All of us are united in our commitment to the geosciences and we understand the vital contributions that the geosciences make to society. As geoscientists, we are in a unique position to provide accurate science-based information to policy makers about the Earth, its natural resources and hazards, and interactions between people and the natural environment. [Read More]

In celebration of Earth Science Week 2017, the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is sponsoring four contests honoring this year’s theme, “Earth and Human Activity.” This year’s competition will feature contests in photography, visual arts, essay writing, and video production. Photography Contest: Earth and Human Activity Here Students, geoscientists, and the general public are invited to participate in this year’s photography contest. Entries must be composed of original, unpublished material, and show ways people affect, or are affected by, Earth systems in their local communities. [Read More]

As the Syrian Civil War enters its sixth year, seismic hazard might not immediately come to mind. But there is a reason it should. According to research presented at the AGU Fall Meeting, new estimates of the number of earthquake fatalities that could be expected in Turkey under several potential earthquake scenarios are 3 to 20 percent higher when Syrian refugees are counted in seismic risk models. In the April issue of EARTH Magazine, read how researchers at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville made this discovery, which will provide vital data for disaster mitigation and response efforts. [Read More]