Earth Sciences

Minerals are part of virtually every product we use. Common examples include copper used in electrical wiring and titanium used to make airplane frames and paint pigments. The Information Age has ushered in a number of new mineral uses in a number of...

Questions about the origin and nature of Earth and the life on it have long preoccupied human thought and the scientific endeavor. Deciphering the planet's history and processes could improve the ability to predict catastrophes like earthquakes and...

Like ocean beaches, sheltered coastal areas experience land loss from erosion and sea level rise. In response, property owners often install hard structures such as bulkheads as a way to prevent further erosion, but these structures cause changes in...

During the past 50 years, coastal Louisiana has suffered catastrophic land loss due to both natural and human causes. This loss has increased storm vulnerability and amplified risks to lives, property, and economies—a fact underscored by Hurricanes...

Improved Seismic Monitoring—Improved Decision-Making, describes and assesses the ...

In order to answer important questions about ecosystems and biodiversity, scientists can look to the past geological record—which includes fossils, sediment and ice cores, and tree rings. Because of recent advances in earth scientists’ ability to...

Geoscience data and collections (such as, rock and sediment cores, geophysical data, engineering records, and fossils) are necessary for industries to discover and develop domestic natural resources to fulfill the nation’s energy and mineral...

Fluid flow and solute transport within the vadose zone, the unsaturated zone between the land surface and the water table, can be the cause of expanded plumes arising from localized contaminant sources. An understanding of vadose zone processes is,...

Alluvial fans are gently sloping, fan-shaped landforms common at the base of mountain ranges in arid and semiarid regions such as the American West. Floods on alluvial fans, although characterized by relatively shallow depths, strike with little if...