MS-ESS3-1
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.
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Climate
5 things to know about the climate-saving benefits of tree planting
A recent analysis of the benefits of massive efforts to plant more trees triggered a firestorm of controversy.
By Susan Milius -
Earth
Explainer: Where fossil fuels come from
Despite one oil company famously using an Apatosaurus as its logo, oil, gas and coal don’t come from dinosaurs. They do, however, come from a long time ago.
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Earth
Ancient Arctic ‘gas’ melt triggered enormous seafloor explosions
Methane explosions 12,000 years ago left huge craters in bedrock on the Arctic seafloor. Scientists worry more could be on the way today as Earth’s ice sheets melt.
By Beth Geiger -
Earth
Helium discovery blows away shortage worries
Fears that the world may soon run out of helium have been set aside for now by the finding of a huge reservoir of the gas in East Africa.
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Earth
How ancient African fish feed today’s Amazon
Many of the world’s lushest tropical forests would starve if winds didn’t bring them nutrient-rich dust from across an ocean.
By Douglas Fox -
Oceans
Arctic ice travels fast, carrying pollution
Climate change is melting old sea ice in the Arctic. Now, younger, thinner ice is migrating far and fast, taking pollutants with it.
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Environment
Scientists Say: Fracking
Liquid fuel sources such as natural gas and petroleum form deep underground between layers of rock. To retrieve them, engineers often use a technique called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
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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.
By Sid Perkins