Earth

Earth, our home planet, is a beautiful blue and white ball when seen from space. The third planet from the Sun, it is the largest of the inner planets. Earth is the only planet known to support life and to have liquid water at the surface. Earth has a substantial atmosphere and magnetic field, both of which are critical for sustaining life on Earth. Earth is the innermost planet in the solar system with a natural satellite – our Moon. Explore our beautiful home planet – unique in our solar system - through the links in this section.

Scientists are concerned that melting Arctic sea ice will increase the amount of fresh water in the <a href="/earth/polar/arctic_currents.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">Beaufort Gyre</a>, which could spill out into the Atlantic and cause major climate shifts in North America and Western Europe. Watch the <a href="/earth/changing_planet/freshwater_arctic.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">Changing Planet: Fresh Water in the Arctic video</a>.<p><small><em> Courtesy of Jack Cook, WHOI (<a href="http://www.whoi.edu">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute</a>)</em></small></p>As permafrost thaws, the land, atmosphere, water resources, ecosystems, and human communities are affected. Coastal areas and hillsides are vulnerable to erosion by thawing of permafrost. Thawing permafrost also causes a positive feedback to global warming, as carbon trapped within the once-frozen soils is released as <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/methane.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">methane</a>, a powerful <a href="/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">greenhouse gas</a>. Watch the NBC Learn video - <a href="/earth/changing_planet/permafrost_methane_intro.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">Thawing Permafrost and Methane</a> to find out more.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of the USGS</em></small></p>March 2012 marks the first anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude <a href="/earth/geology/quake_1.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">earthquake</a>, <a href="/earth/tsunami1.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">tsunami</a>, and resulting nuclear accident in Japan on <a href="/headline_universe/march112011earthquaketsunami.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">11 March 2011</a>. The tsunami did massive damage, wiping out entire villages and killing ~16,000 people, and leading to one of the most serious nuclear accidents in history. This image shows before and after photos of the area north of Sendai, where 10,000 people were lost.<p><small><em>Photos by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/13/world/asia/satellite-photos-japan-before-and-after-tsunami.html?hp">GeoEye/EyeQ</a>.</em></small></p>Scientists at the University of Michigan have found that <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_permafrost1.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">permafrost</a> in the <a href="/earth/polar/polar_north.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">Arctic</a> is extremely sensitive to sunlight. Exposure to sunlight releases carbon gases trapped in the permafrost, including <a href="/earth/climate/earth_greenhouse.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">climate-warming</a> <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_dioxide.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">carbon dioxide</a>, to the <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">atmosphere</a> much faster than previously thought.<p><small><em>George Kling, The University of Michigan</em></small></p>A view of the Earth as seen by the <a href="/space_missions/apollo17.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">Apollo 17</a> crew while traveling to the <a href="/earth/moons_and_rings.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">Moon</a> on December 7, 1972. Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula are visible, and you can barely make out the <a href="/earth/polar/antarctica.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">Antarctic</a>, shrouded in the heavy <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/cloud.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">cloud</a> cover in the southern hemisphere. Arching cloud patterns show the presence of <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/front.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">weather fronts</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA/Apollo 17.</em></small></p>An <a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc000905e.php">8.6 magnitude earthquake</a> struck on 11 April 2012 off of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, followed by a strong aftershock. Earthquake motion was primarily horizontal. A tsunami warning was issued for the Indian Ocean, but was cancelled at 12:36 UTC. A tsunami was observed at 1 meter or less. Find out more about <a href="/earth/geology/quake_1.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">earthquake</a> and <a href="/earth/tsunami1.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">tsunami</a> processes. Check out the resources <a href="/teacher_resources/2011_AGU-NESTA_GIFT_Workshop.html&edu=elem&dev=1/SomervilleGIFT.pps">here</a>.<p><small><em>NOAA</em></small></p>

Explore Earth

Earth's Interior and Surface

Earth, the largest and densest rocky planet, was formed about 4.5 billion years ago. The Earth's ...Read more

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and other gases (1%) that surrounds ...Read more

Magnetosphere

The Earth has a magnetic field with north and south poles. The magnetic field of the Earth ...Read more

Moon

The Earth's one natural satellite, the Moon, is more than one quarter the size of Earth itself ...Read more

Earth's Polar Regions

Do you wonder what Earth's Polar Regions are like? Where do polar bears live? Where do penguins ...Read more

Climate and Global Change

Warm near the equator and cold at the poles, our planet is able to support a variety of living ...Read more

Water (The Hydrosphere)

Water is found in many places on Earth including on the surface of the planet, within rocks ...Read more

Life and Ecology (The Biosphere)

What is life? Why is there life on Earth, but not on any other planets in the solar system ...Read more

Natural Hazards

The United Nations estimated that between 1994-2015, there were 6,873 natural disasters worldwide, ...Read more

More about Earth

Historical Events

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Did you know?

Did you know that lunar eclipses are produced by the Earth casting its shadow on the Moon?

Do you know how photosynthesis works?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Riparian
xRiparian : The bank of a river or other body of water; may include the floodplains

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

Silver Tells a Story of Early Earth: Water Here Since Planet's Very Early Days

Tiny variations in the isotopic composition of silver in meteorites and Earth rocks are helping scientists put together a timetable of how our planet was assembled, beginning 4.568 billion years ago. Results...Read more


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