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Earth on fire

The 5 mass extinction events that shaped the history of Earth — and the 6th that's happening now

By Scott Dutfield , How It Works magazine

The death of the dinosaurs was just one of five global events that saw millions of species wiped out. How do these events happen? And how can we stop it happening again?

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By Jeanna Bryner

Sign up for a Live Science newsletter so you can receive the latest in science discoveries, from dinosaur findings to the biggest cosmic mystery to COVID-19 updates.

Highway workers repair a hole that opened in the road as a result of the July 5, 2019 earthquake in Ridgecrest, California, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.

Earthquake early warning system uses AI to predict shaking

By Stephanie Pappas

A new deep-learning approach to predict earthquake shaking could lead to better warnings of where and when shaking will occur.

The New Caledonia Barrier Reef is the second-longest double-barrier coral reef in the world, reaching a length of 1,500 kilometers.

A hidden continent birthed a new subduction zone near New Zealand

By Stephanie Pappas

A new subduction zone south of New Zealand formed when tectonic forces brought a segment of weakened continental crust from the submerged continent of Zealandia next to denser oceanic crust.

Smoke from the single burning giant sequoia in the southwestern area of Sequoia National Park.

Giant sequoia tree still smoldering 9 months after devastating California wildfires

By Rachael Rettner

A giant sequoia tree in California's Sequoia National Park is still smoldering months after devastating wildfires hit the region last summer.

cascadia subduction zone

Was a humongous Cascadia earthquake just one of many?

By Stephanie Pappas

An earthquake of approximately magnitude 9 in 1700 in Cascadia could have instead been three or four slightly smaller, but still devastating, quakes.

Bicellum brasieri holotype specimen.

Fossil 'balls' are 1 billion years old and could be Earth's oldest known multicellular life

By Mindy Weisberger

Tiny fossils from the northern Highlands of Scotland preserve the oldest evidence of organisms with more than one type of cell.

Colorful depiction of atoms.

Lightest-known form of uranium created

By Mara Johnson-Groh

Scientists have discovered a new type of uranium that is the lightest ever known.

Barrel of DDT found off the coast of Santa Catalina Island in California.

Massive DDT dumping ground found off the Los Angeles coast is bigger than anyone thought

By Mindy Weisberger

A survey recently mapped a vast industrial dumping ground in the ocean basin between the Los Angeles coast and Catalina Island.

An artist's conception of the early Earth, showing a surface bombarded by large impacts that result in the extrusion of magma onto the surface.

Earth's crust is way, way older than we thought

By Brandon Specktor

Earth's continents have been leaking nutrients into the ocean for at least 3.7 billion years, new research suggests.

Klinaklini Glacier is the largest glacier of Western Canada

Study of nearly every glacier on Earth shows ice loss is speeding up

By Nicoletta Lanese

A new study assessed more than 200,000 glaciers around the world.

Earth's wobble

Climate change has been altering Earth's axis for at least 30 years

By Stephanie Pappas

Glacial melt caused by climate change is redistributing weight on the planet, leading to a shift in Earth's poles as far back as the 1990s.

The expedition ship M/S Explorer inches up to the edge of Iceberg A-68a with a humpback whale breaching the surface in the Weddell Sea.

Enormous Antarctic iceberg that became an internet star finally melts away

By Stephanie Pappas

Iceberg A68, an enormous hunk of ice that broke off Antarctica in 2017, has finally melted away to nothing in the Atlantic.

Platform supply vessels battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon. A Coast Guard MH-65C dolphin rescue helicopter and crew document the fire aboard the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon, while searching for survivors. Multiple Coast Guard helicopters, planes and cutters responded to rescue the Deepwater Horizon's 126 person crew.

What was the Deepwater Horizon disaster?

By Jen Monnier

In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing 11 people. Two days later the rig capsized, and the pipe below began spewing oil.

Understanding how microplastics move through global systems is essential to fixing the problem.

Thousands of tons of microplastics are swirling around in the atmosphere, study finds

By Harry Baker

A new study has measured the number of microplastics in the atmosphere and modeled how the tiny particles get transported around the planet.

Great Barrier Reef

10 stunning natural wonders of the world you need to visit

By Amy Grisdale, How It Works magazine

Some of the best locations nature has to offer, from an island teeming with dragons to a famous waterfall.

The scientists controlled the uncrewed submarine from the RV Nathaniel B Palmer.

Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' close to tipping point, unmanned sub reveals

By Ben Turner

The glacier could be melting at the key points anchoring it to the land.

Smoke pours out of Fukushima Daiichi power plant shortly after a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck in 2011.

Millions of tons of nuclear wastewater from Fukushima will be dumped into the sea

By Brandon Specktor

The Japanese government announced plans to dump more than 1 million tons of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, beginning in two years.

Cracked surface of Larsen b ice shelf

A third of Antarctic ice shelves could collapse at current pace of warming

By Rafi Letzter

A third of Antarctica's vast offshore ice shelves would risk collapse into the ocean if the world warms by 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

Dust Particles, Sparkles and Light Rays over Black Background.

5,200 tons of extraterrestrial dust fall on Earth each year

By Stephanie Pappas

Each year, 5,200 tons of space dust fall to Earth, far outweighing larger meteorites that hit the planet.