research topics earth science

Earth Science

• Welcome to Harvard

Harvard’s researchers are exploring Earth’s past, predicting its future, and working to understand the hidden mysteries of our home.

The bedrock of Earth science

Explore how the slow, powerful forces within the Earth continue to create and alter the places we call home.

Tectonic plates

Researchers studying when tectonic plates began to shift found that it began much earlier than previously thought, launching the creation of continents, oceans, and other landforms.

Learn more about tectonic plates

How do we predict earthquakes?

A team of Harvard scientists created numerical models to predict an earthquake’s final magnitude 10 to 15 seconds faster than the current best algorithms.

What’s in a volcanic eruption?

Volcanic eruptions include lava and “smoke,” which is actually a mix of water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur gases, and ash.

Are all faults dangerous?

To understand which faults may be the most dangerous, researchers have developed large-scale models of the fault systems in the western United States, Japan, Turkey, and other locations across the globe.

In real time

Earth continues to shift and change, which means we must develop creative solutions for the complex problems that emerge.

The melting of polar ice is shifting Earth itself

As glacial ice from Greenland, Antarctica, and the Arctic Islands melts, Earth’s crust warps, an impact that can be measured thousands of miles away.

A 2022 volcano eruption altered the chemistry of the stratosphere, reducing ozone levels

Catastrophic floods are exposing the cracks in the flood insurance market

Experts are rethinking design and infrastructure in the wake of major earthquakes

A deadly tsunami in Japan forced people to think more critically about unexpected natural disasters

Polish up on your rock knowledge

Earth rocks!

Explore the gallery

Better understanding our home

Harvard experts are using everything from science to religion to gain a deeper awareness of the world around us.

Correcting ocean warming information

New research corrects decades of sea surface temperature data, solving a long-standing mystery about global climate change.

Detecting earthquakes

Researchers created an algorithm that can separate small disturbances from seismic noise.

Investigating Earth’s fractures

A team of researchers found that hydraulic fractures play a major role in the generation of tectonic tremors.

Exploring an Earth-centric religious philosophy

The philosophy centers on the idea that we are part of and utterly dependent on the living Earth.

Spinning back the globe

Exploring the events and changes in Earth’s past may help us understand what we can except in the future.

Double dinosaur disaster

Along with an asteroid impact, evidence points to volcanoes having a role in the extinction of the dinosaurs, especially the Deccan Traps eruption, which lasted a million years and produced lava formations 6,000 feet thick.

Creating conditions to cultivate life

Research on early tectonic plate movement and a protective magnetic field offer a glimpse of when the Earth was conducive to the development of life on the planet.

Super storms the size of states

During ancient periods of extreme heat, Earth may have experienced cycles of dryness followed by massive rainstorms hundreds of miles wide that could dump more than a foot of rain in a matter of hours.

Terrible tremors around Tennessee

The New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 reshaped the landscape and the lives of the people who settled there. So why were they forgotten by the time of the Civil War?

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Related In Focus topics

• Climate Action

Articles on Earth science

Displaying 1 - 20 of 91 articles.

I’ve studied sand dunes for 40 years – here’s what people find most surprising

David Thomas , University of Oxford

What the Anthropocene’s critics overlook – and why it really should be a new geological epoch

Simon Turner , UCL ; Colin Waters , University of Leicester ; Jan Zalasiewicz , University of Leicester , and Martin J. Head , Brock University

New unified theory shows how past landscapes drove the evolution of Earth’s rich diversity of life

Tristan Salles , University of Sydney ; Beatriz Hadler Boggiani , University of Sydney ; Laurent Husson , Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) , and Manon Lorcery , Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)

How do crystals form?

Natalie Bursztyn , University of Montana

‘Many sleepless nights’: why scientists who predict landslides are under enormous pressure

Dave Petley , University of Hull

6 reasons why global temperatures are spiking right now

Andrew King , The University of Melbourne

What causes earthquakes? A geologist explains where they’re most common and why

Jaime Toro , West Virginia University

Living near the fire – 500 million people worldwide have active volcanoes as neighbors

David Kitchen , University of Richmond

Why don’t rocks burn?

Scientists just revealed the most detailed geological model of Earth’s past 100 million years

Tristan Salles , University of Sydney

What are mud volcanoes?

Michael R. Hudec , The University of Texas at Austin

Curious Kids: how is lava made?

Janice Crerar , Charles Darwin University

Sandcastle engineering – a geotechnical engineer explains how water, air and sand create solid structures

Joseph Scalia , Colorado State University

James Lovelock: the scientist-inventor who transformed our view of life on Earth

Mark Maslin , UCL

How the Tour de France helped me think about geology in a new way

Douwe van Hinsbergen , Utrecht University

Volcanoes, diamonds, and blobs: a billion-year history of Earth’s interior shows it’s more mobile than we thought

Nicolas Flament , University of Wollongong ; Andrew Merdith , University of Leeds ; Ömer F. Bodur , University of Wollongong , and Simon Williams , Northwest University, Xi'an

Why can’t we throw all our trash into a volcano and burn it up?

Emily Johnson , US Geological Survey

Melbourne earthquake: what exactly happened, and what’s the best way to stay safe from aftershocks?

Mark Quigley , The University of Melbourne

Earth’s energy budget is out of balance – here’s how that’s warming the climate

Scott Denning , Colorado State University

Australia badly needs earth science skills, but universities are cutting the supply

Kate Selway , University of South Australia

Related Topics

• Climate change
• Climate science
• Curious Kids
• Earthquakes
• Plate tectonics

Top contributors

Associate Professor of Earthquake Science, The University of Melbourne

Professor in Earth Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and Emeritus Professor of Mineral Physics, University of Cambridge

Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, Wesleyan University

Associate Professor in Earth System Science, University of Exeter

Lecturer in Geosciences, University of Montana

Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Leicester

Senior Research Fellow, Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia

Associate professor, University of Sydney

Queen Elizabeth II Fellow, School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne

Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Wollongong

Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor Emeritus, The University of Melbourne

Professor II at CEED, University of Oslo

Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems, Australian National University

Lecturer in Education, Charles Darwin University

Deputy Director, Risk Frontiers Natural Hazards Research Centre, Macquarie University

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Research topics.

Faculty, research scientists, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students in the Department of Earth Sciences, as well as affiliated faculty from other departments, conduct research that commonly transcends the boundaries of classic sub-disciplines in Earth Science. Below we provide some information about our three broad focus areas within the department, although we encourage you to visit the individual websites of our community members for more information!

MAJOR RESEARCH THEMES

• Earth and Planetary History  

Research Topics & Ideas: Environment

100+ Environmental Science Research Topics & Ideas

Finding and choosing a strong research topic is the critical first step when it comes to crafting a high-quality dissertation, thesis or research project. Here, we’ll explore a variety research ideas and topic thought-starters related to various environmental science disciplines, including ecology, oceanography, hydrology, geology, soil science, environmental chemistry, environmental economics, and environmental ethics.

NB – This is just the start…

The topic ideation and evaluation process has multiple steps . In this post, we’ll kickstart the process by sharing some research topic ideas within the environmental sciences. This is the starting point though. To develop a well-defined research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , along with a well-justified plan of action to fill that gap.

If you’re new to the oftentimes perplexing world of research, or if this is your first time undertaking a formal academic research project, be sure to check out our free dissertation mini-course. Also be sure to also sign up for our free webinar that explores how to develop a high-quality research topic from scratch.

Overview: Environmental Topics

• Ecology /ecological science
• Atmospheric science
• Oceanography
• Soil science
• Environmental chemistry
• Environmental economics
• Environmental ethics
• Examples  of dissertations and theses

Topics & Ideas: Ecological Science

• The impact of land-use change on species diversity and ecosystem functioning in agricultural landscapes
• The role of disturbances such as fire and drought in shaping arid ecosystems
• The impact of climate change on the distribution of migratory marine species
• Investigating the role of mutualistic plant-insect relationships in maintaining ecosystem stability
• The effects of invasive plant species on ecosystem structure and function
• The impact of habitat fragmentation caused by road construction on species diversity and population dynamics in the tropics
• The role of ecosystem services in urban areas and their economic value to a developing nation
• The effectiveness of different grassland restoration techniques in degraded ecosystems
• The impact of land-use change through agriculture and urbanisation on soil microbial communities in a temperate environment
• The role of microbial diversity in ecosystem health and nutrient cycling in an African savannah

Topics & Ideas: Atmospheric Science

• The impact of climate change on atmospheric circulation patterns above tropical rainforests
• The role of atmospheric aerosols in cloud formation and precipitation above cities with high pollution levels
• The impact of agricultural land-use change on global atmospheric composition
• Investigating the role of atmospheric convection in severe weather events in the tropics
• The impact of urbanisation on regional and global atmospheric ozone levels
• The impact of sea surface temperature on atmospheric circulation and tropical cyclones
• The impact of solar flares on the Earth’s atmospheric composition
• The impact of climate change on atmospheric turbulence and air transportation safety
• The impact of stratospheric ozone depletion on atmospheric circulation and climate change
• The role of atmospheric rivers in global water supply and sea-ice formation

Topics & Ideas: Oceanography

• The impact of ocean acidification on kelp forests and biogeochemical cycles
• The role of ocean currents in distributing heat and regulating desert rain
• The impact of carbon monoxide pollution on ocean chemistry and biogeochemical cycles
• Investigating the role of ocean mixing in regulating coastal climates
• The impact of sea level rise on the resource availability of low-income coastal communities
• The impact of ocean warming on the distribution and migration patterns of marine mammals
• The impact of ocean deoxygenation on biogeochemical cycles in the arctic
• The role of ocean-atmosphere interactions in regulating rainfall in arid regions
• The impact of ocean eddies on global ocean circulation and plankton distribution
• The role of ocean-ice interactions in regulating the Earth’s climate and sea level

Tops & Ideas: Hydrology

• The impact of agricultural land-use change on water resources and hydrologic cycles in temperate regions
• The impact of agricultural groundwater availability on irrigation practices in the global south
• The impact of rising sea-surface temperatures on global precipitation patterns and water availability
• Investigating the role of wetlands in regulating water resources for riparian forests
• The impact of tropical ranches on river and stream ecosystems and water quality
• The impact of urbanisation on regional and local hydrologic cycles and water resources for agriculture
• The role of snow cover and mountain hydrology in regulating regional agricultural water resources
• The impact of drought on food security in arid and semi-arid regions
• The role of groundwater recharge in sustaining water resources in arid and semi-arid environments
• The impact of sea level rise on coastal hydrology and the quality of water resources

Topics & Ideas: Geology

• The impact of tectonic activity on the East African rift valley
• The role of mineral deposits in shaping ancient human societies
• The impact of sea-level rise on coastal geomorphology and shoreline evolution
• Investigating the role of erosion in shaping the landscape and impacting desertification
• The impact of mining on soil stability and landslide potential
• The impact of volcanic activity on incoming solar radiation and climate
• The role of geothermal energy in decarbonising the energy mix of megacities
• The impact of Earth’s magnetic field on geological processes and solar wind
• The impact of plate tectonics on the evolution of mammals
• The role of the distribution of mineral resources in shaping human societies and economies, with emphasis on sustainability

Topics & Ideas: Soil Science

• The impact of dam building on soil quality and fertility
• The role of soil organic matter in regulating nutrient cycles in agricultural land
• The impact of climate change on soil erosion and soil organic carbon storage in peatlands
• Investigating the role of above-below-ground interactions in nutrient cycling and soil health
• The impact of deforestation on soil degradation and soil fertility
• The role of soil texture and structure in regulating water and nutrient availability in boreal forests
• The impact of sustainable land management practices on soil health and soil organic matter
• The impact of wetland modification on soil structure and function
• The role of soil-atmosphere exchange and carbon sequestration in regulating regional and global climate
• The impact of salinization on soil health and crop productivity in coastal communities

Topics & Ideas: Environmental Chemistry

• The impact of cobalt mining on water quality and the fate of contaminants in the environment
• The role of atmospheric chemistry in shaping air quality and climate change
• The impact of soil chemistry on nutrient availability and plant growth in wheat monoculture
• Investigating the fate and transport of heavy metal contaminants in the environment
• The impact of climate change on biochemical cycling in tropical rainforests
• The impact of various types of land-use change on biochemical cycling
• The role of soil microbes in mediating contaminant degradation in the environment
• The impact of chemical and oil spills on freshwater and soil chemistry
• The role of atmospheric nitrogen deposition in shaping water and soil chemistry
• The impact of over-irrigation on the cycling and fate of persistent organic pollutants in the environment

Topics & Ideas: Environmental Economics

• The impact of climate change on the economies of developing nations
• The role of market-based mechanisms in promoting sustainable use of forest resources
• The impact of environmental regulations on economic growth and competitiveness
• Investigating the economic benefits and costs of ecosystem services for African countries
• The impact of renewable energy policies on regional and global energy markets
• The role of water markets in promoting sustainable water use in southern Africa
• The impact of land-use change in rural areas on regional and global economies
• The impact of environmental disasters on local and national economies
• The role of green technologies and innovation in shaping the zero-carbon transition and the knock-on effects for local economies
• The impact of environmental and natural resource policies on income distribution and poverty of rural communities

Topics & Ideas: Environmental Ethics

• The ethical foundations of environmentalism and the environmental movement regarding renewable energy
• The role of values and ethics in shaping environmental policy and decision-making in the mining industry
• The impact of cultural and religious beliefs on environmental attitudes and behaviours in first world countries
• Investigating the ethics of biodiversity conservation and the protection of endangered species in palm oil plantations
• The ethical implications of sea-level rise for future generations and vulnerable coastal populations
• The role of ethical considerations in shaping sustainable use of natural forest resources
• The impact of environmental justice on marginalized communities and environmental policies in Asia
• The ethical implications of environmental risks and decision-making under uncertainty
• The role of ethics in shaping the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future for the construction industry
• The impact of environmental values on consumer behaviour and the marketplace: a case study of the ‘bring your own shopping bag’ policy

Examples: Real Dissertation & Thesis Topics

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a research topic, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses to see how this all comes together.

Below, we’ve included a selection of research projects from various environmental science-related degree programs to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• The physiology of microorganisms in enhanced biological phosphorous removal (Saunders, 2014)
• The influence of the coastal front on heavy rainfall events along the east coast (Henson, 2019)
• Forage production and diversification for climate-smart tropical and temperate silvopastures (Dibala, 2019)
• Advancing spectral induced polarization for near surface geophysical characterization (Wang, 2021)
• Assessment of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter and Thamnocephalus platyurus as Tools to Monitor Cyanobacterial Bloom Development and Toxicity (Hipsher, 2019)
• Evaluating the Removal of Microcystin Variants with Powdered Activated Carbon (Juang, 2020)
• The effect of hydrological restoration on nutrient concentrations, macroinvertebrate communities, and amphibian populations in Lake Erie coastal wetlands (Berg, 2019)
• Utilizing hydrologic soil grouping to estimate corn nitrogen rate recommendations (Bean, 2019)
• Fungal Function in House Dust and Dust from the International Space Station (Bope, 2021)
• Assessing Vulnerability and the Potential for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in Sudan’s Blue Nile Basin (Mohamed, 2022)
• A Microbial Water Quality Analysis of the Recreational Zones in the Los Angeles River of Elysian Valley, CA (Nguyen, 2019)
• Dry Season Water Quality Study on Three Recreational Sites in the San Gabriel Mountains (Vallejo, 2019)
• Wastewater Treatment Plan for Unix Packaging Adjustment of the Potential Hydrogen (PH) Evaluation of Enzymatic Activity After the Addition of Cycle Disgestase Enzyme (Miessi, 2020)
• Laying the Genetic Foundation for the Conservation of Longhorn Fairy Shrimp (Kyle, 2021).

Looking at these titles, you can probably pick up that the research topics here are quite specific and narrowly-focused , compared to the generic ones presented earlier. To create a top-notch research topic, you will need to be precise and target a specific context with specific variables of interest . In other words, you’ll need to identify a clear, well-justified research gap.

Need more help?

If you’re still feeling a bit unsure about how to find a research topic for your environmental science dissertation or research project, be sure to check out our private coaching services below, as well as our Research Topic Kickstarter .

Need a helping hand?

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211 of the Most Interesting Earth Science Topics

Are you looking for the best and most interesting earth science topics? Sure you do, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this blog post. Well, we have some very good news for you. Our expert writers and editors created a list of 211 interesting and 100% original topics about all the major fields of earth science. But why would you choose our topics and not continue your search?

Choose Our List of Earth Science Research Topics

We want to make it clear right from the start that all of these earth science research topics are 100% original at the time of writing. We have created each and every one of them ourselves, so you won’t find them on other website. In addition, because our staff has extensive experience writing academic papers, we can assure you that these ideas are not only interesting, but relatively easy as well. This means you don’t have to spend a week or more doing the research and writing the paper. In most cases, you will find more than enough information about the topic with a simple Google search.

Another reason to choose our list of earth science topics is the fact that all these topics are provided for free. You are not required to give us any credits. You are absolutely free to reword our topics as well. Our company is here to help students get top grades on their academic papers, so don’t hesitate to recommend us to your friends and peers. For now, we realize you’re anxious to see the topics. Here are our top 211 ideas for your next earth science essay or research paper:

Earth and Space Science Topics

Would you like to write about something related to earth and space? No problem! Check out these wonderful earth and space science topics and choose the one you like the most right now:

• Discuss climate and seasons on Earth-like planets
• The effects of the Moon on our planet
• Discuss Earth’s magnetic field
• The effects of planetary bodies on Earth
• Negative effects of a meteor strike
• Discuss the minerals present on Mars
• Harvesting energy from the Sun effectively
• Research the Earth-Moon system
• The effects of our galaxy on planet Earth
• Peculiarities of our solar system
• What would Earth be without the Sun?

Earth Science Regents Topics

Are you looking for the most interesting earth science regents topics? Our experienced writers have created a list of exceptional topics that any student can use right away, with no changes:

• What is the role of the atmosphere?
• Discuss the evolution of life on Earth
• Talk about the geologic history if the Everest
• Discuss the Sun-Moon-Earth relationship
• Pressing climate change topics in 2023
• Talk about plate tectonics
• What role does astronomy have?
• Talk about the evolution of meteorology
• Celestial motion in our Solar system
• Dwindling supply from water sources on Earth
• Analyze 3 rocks and minerals in your area
• Analyze the change in landscape in your area

Geophysics Topics

If you are interested in the field of geophysics, our experts have some of the most interesting geophysics topics you could ever find right here. Check them out:

• Why is oceanography so important?
• Discuss the importance of fluid dynamics in geophysics
• Mineral physics and radioactivity
• Magnetism in Earth’s magnetosphere
• Discuss the apparition of water on planet Earth
• The use of geophysics in the search for petroleum
• The concept of heat flow in geophysics
• The role of electromagnetic waves on our planet
• What is the most important benefit of gravity?
• The link between geophysics and atmospheric sciences
• Compare and contrast geophysics with geology
• Research the hydrological cycle in the Atlantic Ocean
• Magnetism in the ionosphere
• Problems caused by our Moon on Earth
• The effects of the Sun on planet Earth

Earth Science Topics for High School

Of course, we have plenty of earth science topics for high school students as well. Take a look at the list below and pick the topic you like the most:

• Discuss the composition of Earth’s crust
• An in-depth look at mantle convection
• The difference between fusion and fission
• How can we determine the age of our planet?
• Research the Alfred Wegener theory
• Talk about how planets are formed
• What is the magnetic polar wandering effect?
• What causes a subduction zone?
• Mountains and the tectonic forces beneath them
• The importance of accurate weather prediction
• Talk about the environmental policies in the European Union
• The worst natural disasters in 2023
• Preserving the mangrove forests
• Talk about the effects of using nuclear fusion as an energy source

Complex Earth Science Research Topics

Do you want to give a more complex topic a try? This can be a good way to impress your professor. Take a look at these complex earth science research topics and choose one:

• The effect of melting glaciers on our oceans
• Various types of minerals found in the UK
• Will the human species run out of clean water?
• Discuss the process by which rocks are formed
• What causes rocks to weather?
• Talk about metamorphic rocks
• An in-depth look at plate tectonics in the United States
• What is a Plutonic body?
• Why is the Earth round?
• 3 of the most important metals on Earth
• How is oil produced?
• The subtle signs of a powerful earthquake
• Why is the gravitational force so important?
• How long before we deplete our natural resources?

Interesting Earth Science Topics

We have selected the most interesting earth science topics across all the relevant fields and have placed them in this list. Select one of these ideas and get a top grade on your next essay:

• The formation of fossil fuels on Earth
• Talk about the continental drift (causes and effects)
• Discuss the composition of planet Earth
• How is oil formed?
• The most important rocks on Earth
• How are diamonds formed?
• Talk about the dangers of seismic waves
• An in-depth look at the interior of our planet
• Discuss the process of glaciation
• What causes faulting on Earth’s surface?
• Talk about industrial practices that can cause earthquakes
• Is Mars an inhabitable planet?
• Talk about physical weathering

Geochemistry Topics

Are you interested in geochemistry? It is a field of earth science, so you can safely write an essay about it. In fact, we have some excellent geochemistry topics for you right here:

• Differences between geology and geodesy
• What is major element geochemistry?
• Breakthroughs in elemental geochemistry in 2023
• Why is geochemistry important for the mining industry?
• Essential characteristics of IOCG-type mineral deposits
• The best software for geochemistry analysis
• Conducting a geochemical analysis on tap water in the United States
• Talk about low temperature aqueous geochemistry

Earth Science Topics for College

Our experts have years of experience writing academic papers for college students, so you can safely pick any of these earth science topics for college:

• The importance of petroleum geophysics
• The composition of Earth’s atmosphere
• Talk about the four spheres of Earth
• Talk about mining geophysics
• What is the Lithosphere and what makes it so special?
• What causes El Nino?
• Physical forms created by lightning strikes
• The damage caused by coal mining on our planet
• Talk about the lithosphere deformation effect
• An in-depth look at the Clean Air Act
• Discuss the biodiversity in the Amazon Forest
• The dangers of tropical cyclones
• The process of identifying a mineral
• The importance of hyperspectral remote sensing

Soil Science Topics

It may not sound like a difficult thing to do, but writing a research paper about soil science can take days. Here are some soil science topics that both interesting and easier to write:

• Discuss the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients in soil
• Effectively managing municipal waste
• Talk about the importance of soil
• Compare and contrast alpine and arctic soils
• What causes soil erosion?
• Talk about the importance of rotating crops in the US
• The major applications in soil sustainability
• The benefits of manure for the soil
• Talk about the nutrient availability in eroded soil
• Negative effects of fertilizer on the soil

8th Grade Earth Science Topics

We have plenty of topics to 8th graders, of course. Don’t worry, these 8th grade earth science topics are not difficult to write about (and you will surely get an A or A+ on them):

• Describe the Moon and talk about its features
• What causes the tidal force? (talk about high tides and low tides)
• How is gold created?
• Why are diamonds so hard?
• How is rain created?
• What makes hydrology so important?
• How can we measure the age of the Earth?
• Why do you want to become a geologist?
• What is a tectonic plate?
• How old is our Moon?
• Talk about climate change and its causes
• Discuss the biodiversity in the United Kingdom
• What is magma?
• What are the 3 major types of rock?
• How is quartz formed?

Hydrology Topics

Writing about something in hydrology can be fun, and it could also persuade your professor to give you some bonus points. Here are our best hydrology topics for students:

• Talk about the soil hydrology in your area
• The hydrologic cycle in North America
• Talk about the chemical nature of water
• Discuss the process of melting ice
• Best ways to conserve water in 2023
• An in-depth look at reclaimed water
• The worrying effects of ocean pollution
• Plastics pollution at its worst
• The effects of the lack of water on the land
• Methods of supplying water in ancient Rome
• The many dangers posed by large bodies of water

Awesome Astronomy Topics

Did you know that writing about astronomy can lead to a top grade? It’s not an easy field, we know. However, we have some pretty awesome astronomy topics right here:

• Discuss the life of Aristotle
• The ongoing search for exoplanets
• The life and works of Ptolemy
• Is there any way we can travel back in time?
• What happens during a Sun eclipse?
• Why are black holes named this way?
• An in-depth analysis of a supernova
• Breakthroughs in space exploration in 2023
• What is a star cluster and how does it form?

Earth and Life Science Topics

Yes, we have plenty of earth and life science topics for students of all ages. We realize professors really like this field, so you should seriously consider choosing one of these ideas:

• The apparition of life on planet Earth
• The importance of meteorology studies
• An in-depth look at the temperate deciduous forest biome
• Talk about breakthroughs in oceanography
• Analyze the biodiversity of the ocean floor
• Effects of deforestation on gorilla habitats
• Analyze the biodiversity of a coral reef
• The amazing nature of termite mounds
• What can we say about the biosphere?
• Research the tropical rainforest biome

Environmental Science Research Topics

If you are searching for the best environmental science research topics, you have arrived at the right place. Check out our ideas and select the one you think would work best for you:

• What is driving the current climate change?
• Talk about the most important effects of bioremediation
• What is noise pollution and how can it be stopped?
• Renewable energy production in 2023
• A solution to our overpopulation problem
• Talk about signs of severe ocean acidification
• What would complete ozone layer depletion mean for humans?
• Analyze the 10 best ways to reduce pollution
• Effects of oil spills on the biodiversity in our oceans

Physical Geography Topics

Our list of physical geography topics will impress even the most demanding of professors. Pick any of these ideas and start writing your research paper today:

• Major breakthroughs in climatology
• Studying the formation of glaciers over the past 100,000 years
• The latest advancements in the field of biogeography
• An in-depth analysis of the worst climate change in 100 years
• Breakthroughs that can change the face of oceanography
• Making effective use of farmland in Venezuela
• Research rural health in mainland China
• We are rapidly running out of water sources

Easy Earth Science Research Paper Topics

Yes, we know you don’t want to spend too much time writing the essay. This is why we have compiled a list of easy earth science research paper topics just for you:

• What is a meteorite and why does one pose a problem if it strikes our planet?
• Talk about the human ecological footprint
• What would happen if the Moon would drift away?
• The negative effects of acid rain in China
• Can our Sun die? (talk about the effects of this)
• Analyze the Canadian environmental policy in the Arctic region
• Analyze 3 invasive plants in your area
• The main causes of drought in sub-Saharan African countries

Controversial Earth Science Topics List

If you want to pick a controversial topic to write about, you will be thrilled to learn that we have a controversial earth science topics list right here:

• Is global warming really as dangerous as people would have us believe?
• Putting a stop on the spread of microplastics in our oceans
• Negative effects of factory farming
• Drought and its effects in 2023 (does it spread?)
• How did our planet form? (was it the Big Bang?)
• Potential dangers of Ocean floor volcano eruptions
• A closer look at the decline of marine biodiversity
• The melting of the Arctic ice sheet and the rise of ocean levels

Best Earth Science Essay Topics for 2023

Because our writers are so experienced at writing about earth science, they can predict which topics will get you top grades in the near future. Check out our list of the best earth science essay topics for 2023:

• The evidence that supports the Big Bang theory
• An in-depth look at the concept of metapopulations
• Discuss the earth science behind wireless 5G networks
• Predicting the next major volcano eruption
• Why were constellations so important to ancient humans?
• Discuss the occurrence of dark matter in outer space
• Estimating the amount of rare metals on a meteorite
• The link between earthquakes and tsunamis

Topics for College and University Students

We have some topics that are a bit more complex than the average topic. These are aimed at college and university students. Here are our best topics for college and university students:

• Why did life in the oceans appear 150 million years before life on land?
• Which fossil fuel is found at the greatest depth and why?
• Explain how coal deposits are being formed
• Metal extraction methods in Medieval Europe

Geological Phenomena Topics

Yes, geological phenomena are a part of earth science. This means you can write your research paper on any of these unique geological phenomena topics:

• What causes excess production of methane?
• What is a fractal and why is it important?
• Talk about the processes involved in plate tectonics
• An in-depth look at the various igneous formation processes
• What causes moraines to appear in glaciated regions?
• Talk about the causes behind the continental drift
• Talk about the a sedimentary formation process in your area
• An in-depth look at the processes behind geysers and hot springs
• What can cause a landslide in the absence of water?
• Talk about the magnetic field of planet Earth

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April 10, 2024

Cloudy science, clear insights: Atmospheric scientist studies clouds’ causes and effects

Atmospheric scientist and cloud expert Alexandria Johnson creates clouds in her lab to study atmospheric phenomena on Earth and in faraway skies. (Purdue University photo/Kelsey Lefever)

Cloud formation and behavior in lab teach researchers about Earth, other planets

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Every cloud is lined, not with silver, but with science — at least from cloud expert Alexandria Johnson’s point of view.

Clouds are ubiquitous. They are one of the most notable characteristics of planet Earth. Studying them is akin to studying the blood and arteries of the planet itself. Johnson , an atmospheric scientist and assistant professor in Purdue University’s College of Science , studies clouds wherever they are: in her lab, on Earth, throughout the solar system and into the galaxy.

“The coolest thing about my research is that I can see clouds every day,” Johnson said. “I can look up into our own atmosphere and watch them change and evolve. Then I can take that knowledge and apply it to other planetary bodies, both within and outside our solar system.”

The science of clouds covers a lot of ground, and her research often reveals the unexpected. How to make theories about the surface of a planet from its cloudy atmosphere, for example. Or the fact that almost every milliliter of raindrops, even in the landlocked Midwest, contains a shocking amount of microplastics.

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• Billions of years ago, Venus may have had a key Earthlike feature (New York Times article, subscription required)
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Raining buckets and pouring plastics

Like a pearl forming around a speck of sand, clouds coalesce around motes of matter called nuclei. Usually, these nuclei are made of material from outside the atmosphere: a bit of space dust from a meteor skimming the atmosphere or a speck of sand kicked up from the Earth’s surface. But a new type of nuclei is beginning to play a role in natural systems: microplastics.

“Plastic doesn’t degrade,” Johnson said. “It just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces that show up in our environments. We have found these microplastics everywhere on the planet, even in remote regions like national parks and Antarctica. However, they are found most densely where humans are because we are the source of the plastic.”

Johnson and her team, including Gouri Prabhakar, assistant professor of practice in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences , collected samples from several large rain and snow events at Purdue’s Agronomy Center for Research and Education in 2023. And they’ve started looking through the samples for something to catch their eyes: brightly colored blips of plastic. They have identified microplastics in every sample they’ve studied. They are now using a scanning electron microscope to find even smaller plastic pieces and better understand their properties.

Microplastics are a health and environmental concern across the globe, but most research has focused on plastics in animals’ bodies or in bodies of water. Johnson and her team are among the first to see that some of that plastic is falling from the sky in the Midwest and link it to clouds and precipitation.

“In a pristine state, plastic is hydrophobic and won’t act as cloud nuclei,” Johnson said. “However, if these microplastics reside in the environment long enough, they can become coated in organics, after which they may act as a cloud condensation or ice nuclei. These aged microplastics could be affecting clouds and precipitation patterns, the effects of which will grow with time as the number of microplastics in our environment increases.”

How to catch a cloud and pin it down

Clouds are difficult to study. They are, by definition, nebulous as well as enormous, and far from the comfortable climes where humans spend their lives. But understanding how they form and their physics are key to understanding weather, precipitation patterns and the planet itself.

Johnson’s solution is to grow her own clouds in her lab in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. She uses minimalistic models to capture the dynamics of the systems, stripping them down to their basics to get a clear understanding on how the particles that make up clouds form, develop and interact with their environment. Using decidedly nonphotogenic setups of mostly lasers and big black boxes, Johnson’s studies show how the behavior of these lab-based cloud particles mimics the behavior of cloud particles in massive sky-sweeping clouds, only in miniature.

“Of course, we don’t grow them at quite the same scale you see in an atmosphere,” Johnson said. “Instead, we take one particle that is representative of a cloud, pump in different gases, change the temperature and pressure of the system. We then watch as that particle grows, shrinks or changes phase with time, all of which are processes that happen in clouds everywhere.”

The particles that act as the nuclei of Johnson’s lab-grown clouds, like most particles, have a charge. Johnson and her team use an electric field to levitate and contain the individual particles so they can’t move around. These particles are then stable for extended periods, which enables long-term research experiments — sometimes they stick around long enough to earn names. The scientists vary the pressure, temperature, electric field and laser illumination and study how the cloud particle reacts. Other methods build upon these to allow the team to look at groups of particles and observe how they scatter and polarize light.

Johnson can extrapolate from these systems to understand how different conditions lead to certain cloud types and behaviors. Like aeronautical engineers using a wind tunnel to observe how currents move around structures, Johnson uses these particles to understand the microphysics that underpin vast and complex systems.

Many scientists — climatologists, meteorologists and planetary scientists, to name a few — study clouds as part of their broader research. But Johnson is one of the few who studies the particular physics of clouds in the laboratory.

“There are not many of us who dig into the small-scale processes of how clouds form,” Johnson said. “Anyone who studies the atmosphere has to have a general knowledge of clouds. But none of those systems work without the microphysics driving cloud formation and evolution. We have to understand these processes to truly grasp the complexities and implications at larger scales.”

Exoplanets under the weather

It’s a long-running joke that the nights of notable astronomical events on Earth seem to be almost supernaturally disposed to be cloudy. That is true of other planets, too. Humans awaited the April 2024 solar eclipse hoping for clear skies, not clouds, a hope that was rewarded in a wide swath of the U.S.

But all too often, using enormous, advanced, vastly powerful telescopes, astronomers can peer through light-years of space just to find clouds blocking their view of the planet itself. Rather than the planet’s surface, they can only perceive the opaque atmosphere that enrobes it.

Every planetary body in the solar system that has a dense atmosphere, and many outside of it, has clouds in that atmosphere. Even bodies with thin, wispy or intermittent atmospheres — like Pluto — have particulates hanging in the atmosphere that, while not true clouds, are a haze of particles and share many of clouds’ properties.

“Clouds are a ubiquitous feature of planetary atmospheres,” Johnson said. “This is something we’ve seen from our own solar system, and when we look at exoplanet atmospheres, it’s no surprise that we find clouds there too. Unfortunately, they tend to block our view of the atmosphere and surface that below.”

Scientists have been able to send probes and rovers to close planetary neighbors, including Venus and Mars. But for bodies that are farther away, including exoplanets — planets in other star systems entirely — scientists must come up with clever ways to conduct science.

“The astronomers find the clouds to be an annoyance. They get in the way of the data they want, whether that’s learning about the surface of the planet or its atmospheric composition,” Johnson said. “We see it a little differently. Yes, they’re there and we can’t get rid of them. So let’s use our understanding of clouds on Earth and planetary atmospheres of our solar system to learn about those things that we can’t observe in exoplanets.”

Johnson and her team accumulate information about planetary bodies in Earth’s solar system or exoplanets. Astronomers can collect spectrographic data to analyze the chemical compounds that make up the atmosphere and use mathematical models, observations and gravitation studies to determine a planet’s mass, size and orbit. Combining that information with insights from her laboratory studies, Johnson can help astronomers determine what a planet’s atmosphere and clouds might be and extrapolate its chance for hosting life — helping ground-truth telescope data.

“Our big questions are when, where and why do clouds form in these atmospheres?” Johnson said. “If we want to understand these enshrouded exoplanets, we need to understand the clouds. That understanding gives us insights into the atmospheric chemistry at work, atmospheric circulations and the climate of these exoplanets. In a way, we ground-truth astronomical observations. The same physics is at work whether it’s on Earth, in my lab or on an exoplanet. It’s the same processes, all throughout the universe, and it brings me a huge amount of wonder and joy.”

About Purdue University 

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives . 

Writer/Media contact: Brittany Steff, [email protected]

Source: Alexandria Johnson, [email protected]

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Humans can increase biodiversity, archaeological study shows

Cultural diversity is likely to have an overall positive effect on the biodiversity of ecosystems. The homogenization of human life forms may therefore be regarded as an important motor of the ongoing major extinction events in the 'Age of Humans' (Anthropocene). Dr Shumon T. Hussain from the University of Cologne and Dr Chris Baumann from the University of Tübingen come to this conclusion in their recent article 'The human side of biodiversity: coevolution of the human niche, paleo-synanthropy and ecosystem complexity in the deep human past' published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

The article fits into the current thematic focus 'Multispecies Conviviality' of the University of Cologne's Research Hub MESH (Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities).

In their publication, the scientists examine the role of past humans in the evolution and control of biodiversity on our planet. The archaeologists offer a deep-time perspective grounded in material and ecological data to argue that the idea that humans had lived harmoniously with nature as hunter-gatherers mischaracterizes the fundamental problem of human interaction with ecosystems. The scientists also criticize that in the recent past, with regard to the aforementioned extinction events, the so-called biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene, attempts have often been made to highlight that people had actively intervened in their ecosystem more than 10,000 years ago, notably with negative consequences.

The researchers suggest that the relationship between humans and ecosystems has always been much more complicated and complex, and that, in addition to negative effects, there are also positive effects on biodiversity that follow certain rules. "Oftentimes, it can even be said that biodiversity loss occurs locally due to human activity, but biodiversity is strongly promoted elsewhere; these dynamics must therefore be placed in a wider context," said Hussain.

The research combines various case studies from the Late Pleistocene (approx. 120,000 to 11,800 years before present) and is also based on a recent study of the two authors on ravens from the ice age, which shows that these birds benefited from humans as neighbours about 30,000 years ago -- especially from food options that hunter-gatherers in the environment provided for these animals.

The archaeologists based their research on the results of zooarchaeological and stable isotope analyses, which were applied in the case of ravens, and used this and other already published, contextual archaeological information to show that such processes can lead to an increase in biodiversity on a local level. This is because certain animals benefit from human influence and others that are excluded locally by humans, such as larger predators, move to other areas. Overall, this increases the heterogeneity and complexity of such ecosystems, thereby often resulting in a positive effect on overall biodiversity.

"Ultimately, we try to argue that biodiversity regimes cannot be separated from human influence and that not all of these influences are merely negative," explained Shumon Hussain. "It also follows that increased diversity in human life forms probably has an overall positive effect on biodiversity as a whole, and that a decisive driver of the biodiversity crisis in the Anthropocene is in part also the homogenization of human life in nature and with it."

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Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Cologne . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Shumon T. Hussain, Chris Baumann. The human side of biodiversity: coevolution of the human niche, palaeo-synanthropy and ecosystem complexity in the deep human past . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences , 2024; 379 (1902) DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0021

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New Zealand supereruption provides time marker for the Last Glacial Maximum in Antarctica

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A solar radiation database for Chile

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Evidence of long-term NAO influence on East-Central Europe winter precipitation from a guano-derived δ 15 N record

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Humid heat waves at different warming levels

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Distributed Acoustic Sensing for Seismic Monitoring of The Near Surface: A Traffic-Noise Interferometry Case Study

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Declining pre-monsoon dust loading over South Asia: Signature of a changing regional climate

• Satyendra K. Pandey
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The first physical evidence of subglacial volcanism under the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

• Ross Lieb-Lappen
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8000-year monsoonal record from Himalaya revealing reinforcement of tropical and global climate systems since mid-Holocene

• Pradeep Srivastava
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Extreme weather caused by concurrent cyclone, front and thunderstorm occurrences

• Andrew J. Dowdy
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Drift-dependent changes in iceberg size-frequency distributions

• James D. Kirkham
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Exceptional 20 th century glaciological regime of a major SE Greenland outlet glacier

• Camilla S. Andresen
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Contrasting glacier responses to recent climate change in high-mountain Asia

• Akiko Sakai
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The impact of extreme El Niño events on modern sediment transport along the western Peruvian Andes (1968–2012)

• Sergio B. Morera
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Indian Ocean corals reveal crucial role of World War II bias for twentieth century warming estimates

• M. Pfeiffer
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The signs of Antarctic ozone hole recovery

• Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath
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Tracing the Vedic Saraswati River in the Great Rann of Kachchh

• Nitesh Khonde
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Droughts in India from 1981 to 2013 and Implications to Wheat Production

• Xiang Zhang
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Half a century of coastal temperature records reveal complex warming trends in western boundary currents

• Nick T. Shears
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US Power Production at Risk from Water Stress in a Changing Climate

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Effect of a positive Sea Surface Temperature anomaly on a Mediterranean tornadic supercell

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Monitoring ground water storage at mesoscale using seismic noise: 30 years of continuous observation and thermo-elastic and hydrological modeling

• Thomas Lecocq
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The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) tracks 2–3 peta-gram increase in carbon release to the atmosphere during the 2014–2016 El Niño

• Prabir K. Patra
• David Crisp
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Changes in land use alter soil quality and aggregate stability in the highlands of northern Ethiopia

• Yoseph T. Delelegn
• Witoon Purahong
• Douglas L. Godbold

Zebra rocks: compaction waves create ore deposits

• Ulrich Kelka
• Manolis Veveakis
• Nicolas Beaudoin

Distributed optical fibre sensing for early detection of shallow landslides triggering

• Luca Schenato
• Luca Palmieri
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The role of city size and urban form in the surface urban heat island

• Diego Rybski
• Jürgen P. Kropp

Wind-generated Electricity in China: Decreasing Potential, Inter-annual Variability and Association with Changing Climate

• Peter Sherman
• Michael B. McElroy

A new family of extraterrestrial amino acids in the Murchison meteorite

• Toshiki Koga
• Hiroshi Naraoka

Minimal Holocene retreat of large tidewater glaciers in Køge Bugt, southeast Greenland

• Laurence M. Dyke
• Flor Vermassen

Magmatic tempo of Earth’s youngest exposed plutons as revealed by detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology

• Hisatoshi Ito
• Christopher J. Spencer
• Carl W. Hoiland

Impact of Ocean Warming on Tropical Cyclone Size and Its Destructiveness

• Zhong Zhong

Long-term climate change in the D-region

• Mark A. Clilverd
• Roger Duthie
• Keith H. Yearby

Direct Formation of Structural Components Using a Martian Soil Simulant

• Brian J. Chow
• Tzehan Chen

Surge-type and surge-modified glaciers in the Karakoram

A robust empirical seasonal prediction of winter NAO and surface climate

• P. J. Kushner

Enhanced Arctic Amplification Began at the Mid-Brunhes Event ~400,000 years ago

• T. M. Cronin
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Peatland Ecosystem Processes in the Maritime Antarctic During Warm Climates

• Julie Loisel
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Salinity stratification controlled productivity variation over 300 ky in the Bay of Bengal

• R. Da Silva
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Climate variability and trends at a national scale

• Jianguo Liu

Nonuniform subduction of the Indian crust beneath the Himalayas

• Simon L. Klemperer

Origin of methane-rich natural gas at the West Pacific convergent plate boundary

• Naoya Kinoshita
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Prediction of Indian Summer-Monsoon Onset Variability: A Season in Advance

• Maheswar Pradhan
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Evaluating the importance of metamorphism in the foundering of continental crust

• Timothy Chapman
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Identification of the driving forces of climate change using the longest instrumental temperature record

• Peicai Yang

Advancement of magma fragmentation by inhomogeneous bubble distribution

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Himalayan glaciers experienced significant mass loss during later phases of little ice age

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Fatty Acid Surfactant Photochemistry Results in New Particle Formation

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Mantle hydration along outer-rise faults inferred from serpentinite permeability

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Silica precipitation potentially controls earthquake recurrence in seismogenic zones

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Patterns of change in high frequency precipitation variability over North America

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Marine self-potential survey for exploring seafloor hydrothermal ore deposits

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Hydrothermal activity, functional diversity and chemoautotrophy are major drivers of seafloor carbon cycling

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A decade of global volcanic SO 2 emissions measured from space

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South Atlantic paleobathymetry since early Cretaceous

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Precipitation in a warming world: Assessing projected hydro-climate changes in California and other Mediterranean climate regions

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Penultimate deglacial warming across the Mediterranean Sea revealed by clumped isotopes in foraminifera

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Emerging negative Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation index in spite of warm subtropics

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Attribution of recent temperature behaviour reassessed by a neural-network method

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Disentangling physical and biological drivers of phytoplankton dynamics in a coastal system

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Extreme coastal erosion enhanced by anomalous extratropical storm wave direction

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India plate angular velocity and contemporary deformation rates from continuous GPS measurements from 1996 to 2015

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Multi-year predictability of climate, drought, and wildfire in southwestern North America

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Climate and permafrost effects on the chemistry and ecosystems of High Arctic Lakes

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Sensing coral reef connectivity pathways from space

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Potential ash impact from Antarctic volcanoes: Insights from Deception Island’s most recent eruption

Causes and Predictability of the Negative Indian Ocean Dipole and Its Impact on La Niña During 2016

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Induced seismicity closed-form traffic light system for actuarial decision-making during deep fluid injections

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On the consistency of seismically imaged lower mantle slabs

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Volcanic influence on centennial to millennial Holocene Greenland temperature change

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Increasing frequency and spatial extent of concurrent meteorological droughts and heatwaves in India

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New Late Permian tectonic model for South Africa’s Karoo Basin: foreland tectonics and climate change before the end-Permian crisis

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• Bruce S. Rubidge
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Vegetation morphologic and aerodynamic characteristics reduce aeolian erosion

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Evidence for ice-ocean albedo feedback in the Arctic Ocean shifting to a seasonal ice zone

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• Kay I. Ohshima
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Arctic cryosphere and Milankovitch forcing of Great Basin paleoclimate

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• Yemane Asmerom
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Recognition of a likely two phased extinction at the K-Pg boundary in Antarctica

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Birth of an oceanic spreading center at a magma-poor rift system

• Morgane Gillard
• Daniel Sauter
• Gianreto Manatschal

Impact of Multidecadal Climate Variability on United Kingdom Rickets Rates

• Haris Majeed
• G. W. K. Moore

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When the Earth, Moon, and Sun line up in space, we can see an eclipse. NASA studies eclipses from the ground, in our atmosphere, and in space, influencing solar, planetary, and Earth science.

Get ready for the 2024 total solar eclipse!

2024 Total Solar Eclipse

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

How the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Is Different than the 2017 Eclipse

On April 8, the Moon’s shadow will sweep across the United States, as millions will view a total solar eclipse.…

About Eclipses

An eclipse is an awe-inspiring celestial event that drastically changes the appearance of the two biggest objects we see in our sky: our Sun and Moon. On Earth, people can experience solar and lunar eclipses when Earth, the Moon, and the Sun line up. Safety is the number one priority when viewing a solar eclipse. Be sure to follow these safety guidelines when viewing a solar eclipse .

Quick Facts

Parts of the U.S. will experience a total eclipse in April 2024.

After the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the next total solar eclipse that can be seen from the contiguous United States will be on Aug. 23, 2044.

We can't normally see the corona – the Sun's outer atmosphere – because Sun's surface below it is so much brighter. But during a total solar eclipse, the corona emerges, offering unique opportunities to study it.

An eclipse season is one of only two periods during each year when the Sun, the Moon and Earth are aligned, allowing eclipses to occur. Each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months later!

• Citizen Science
• Eclipse Types

Eye Safety During an Eclipse

Observing our star, the Sun, can be safe and inspirational.

Except for a specific and brief period of time during a total solar eclipse, you must never look directly at the Sun without proper eye protection, such as safe solar viewing glasses (eclipse glasses). Eclipse glasses are NOT the same as regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses are not safe for viewing the Sun. During a total solar eclipse, you must wear your eclipse glasses (or use other solar filters) to view the Sun directly during the partial eclipse phase. You can only take your glasses off during the short time when the Moon completely obscures the Sun – known as the period of totality. If you don’t have eclipse glasses, you can use an indirect viewing method , such as a pinhole projector, which projects an image of the Sun onto a nearby surface. It is safe to look at the Moon with unprotected eyes or through a telescope during all types and during all stages of a lunar eclipse.

Citizen Science Projects

Observing a solar eclipse is one of many ways to get in on the fun of doing science.

You can get involved with NASA science by participating in a number of NASA-funded citizen science projects. Citizen science projects are collaborations between scientists and interested members of the public. Through these collaborations, volunteers (known as citizen scientists) have helped make thousands of important scientific discoveries.

Know your eclipses!

There are four types of solar eclipses: Total, partial, hybrid, and annular.

The type of eclipse that people get to see depends on how the Moon aligns with Earth and the Sun, and how far away the Moon is from Earth. There are three types of lunar eclipses: total, partial, and penumbral. At least two partial lunar eclipses happen every year, but total lunar eclipses are rare. Unlike a solar eclipse, it is always safe to look at a lunar eclipse with the naked eye.

Science of Eclipses

Eclipses aren’t just beautiful – they’re great for science.

In addition to inspiring artists and musicians, eclipses have driven numerous scientific discoveries. For over a century, solar eclipses helped scientists decipher the Sun’s structure and explosive events, find evidence for the theory of general relativity, discover a new element, and much more. NASA scientists still study eclipses to make new discoveries about the Sun, Earth, and our space environment. Total solar eclipses are particularly important because they allow scientists to see a part of the Sun’s atmosphere – known as the corona – which is too faint to see except when the bright light of the Sun’s surface is blocked.

History of the Eclipse

Eclipses have fascinated humans from the beginning.

Throughout time, humans have had different interpretations of and reactions to these striking celestial events. In fact, historical records of eclipses from scribes in Anyang, China, helped astronomers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to determine how Earth’s rotation has changed over time. Determining exactly when the eclipse was seen and where the Moon's shadow fell on Earth helped the scientists calculate the rate of Earth's spin. The eclipses they used for this research were in 1226 B.C.E., 1198 B.C.E., 1172 B.C.E., 1163 B.C.E., and 1161 B.C.E. ​

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NASA Wallops Launches 3 Rockets During Eclipse in Virginia

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Eclipse Across North America 2024

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Scientists Pursue the Total Solar Eclipse with NASA Jet Planes

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2024 models of excellence.

4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Penn Museum, 3260 South St.

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Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St.

Earth Week 2024

This is a campuswide week of events, lectures, and volunteer opportunities designed to educate and inspire action related to environmental justice, climate, and nature-based solutions. This year’s theme is Restore & Regenerate.

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Take Our Children to Work Day

Science & Technology

Understanding the Northeast earthquake

Penn researchers david goldsby and robert carpick discuss the 4.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the east coast..

Last week, people in the Northeast, including many at Penn, experienced an unusual disruption to their day as the ground beneath and walls around started to shake for about half a minute. The magnitude 4.8 earthquake was, for some, a once in a lifetime occurrence. Centered in New Jersey, the quake did little damage.

To learn more about the mechanics of earthquakes and to discuss this rare event, Penn Today spoke with David Goldsby , professor and chair of Earth & Environmental Science in the School of Arts & Sciences , and Robert Carpick , the John Henry Towne Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

What is an earthquake, and what causes quakes like the one that hit the East Coast?

Carpick: Simply put, an earthquake is a sudden and dynamic geologic event caused by the movement of pieces of the Earth’s crust pushing against each other.

Imagine standing on a sidewalk where there’s some dirt and small pebbles between your leading foot and said sidewalk. If you try push that foot forward, it won’t move at first, but with more and more force it’ll eventually slip and might slide quite suddenly.

Goldsby: Over time, as force accumulates, these pieces can no longer withstand the energy without moving, leading to a sudden slip; this is the essence of an earthquake. An earthquake occurs when there’s a sudden displacement along a fault, a crack in the Earth’s crust. Before the earthquake, this fault is ‘locked,’ accumulating stress over time until the force surpasses the fault’s frictional strength, leading to a rapid slip. This process not only causes the ground to shake but also releases accumulated elastic strain energy from the surrounding rocks, which is then partly transformed into seismic waves that propagate from the earthquake’s origin.

Does Philadelphia lie near a fault line?

Carpick: Philadelphia is about 70 miles south of the Ramapo fault zone which runs through New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The closest parts of that fault system are between Doylestown and Easton, Pennsylvania.

Goldsby: Overall, there are certainly myriad faults below and near Philly, but there are no major fault lines that would produce major devastating earthquakes.

Do your research interests overlap with earthquakes?

Carpick: David and I have been funded by the National Science Foundation to look at the underlying physics and mechanics of earthquakes, trying to get at the atomic-level processes that precede the sliding events. It will take a lot of work, but eventually we hope what we’re learning can, combined with the work of many others, lead to ways to actually predict earthquakes and how they will behave.

Penn celebrates operation and benefits of largest solar power project in Pennsylvania

Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

‘The Illuminated Body’ fuses color, light, and sound

A new Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition of work by artist Barbara Earl Thomas features cut-paper portraits reminiscent of stained glass and an immersive installation constructed with intricately cut material lit from behind.

Campus & Community

25 years of ‘LOVE’

The iconic sculpture by pop artist Robert Indiana arrived on campus in 1999 and soon became a natural place to come together.

Health Sciences

Two-and-a-half decades of research in Malawi

As the country’s life expectancy has risen, the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health has shifted its current and future research to aging.

In hot water: Coral resilience in the face of climate change

Over a decade, researchers from Penn studied coral species in Hawaii to better understand their adaptability to the effects of climate change.

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Nasa’s dc-8 completes final mission, set to retire, elena aguirre, nasa armstrong public affairs specialist.

After 37 years of successful airborne science missions, NASA’s DC-8 aircraft completed its final mission and returned to the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703 in Palmdale, California, on April 1.

The DC-8 and crew were welcomed back with a celebratory water salute by the U.S Air Force Plant 42 Fire Department after completing an air quality study, the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality, or ASIA-AQ mission . The aircraft is set to retire after concluding operations in May.

As the largest flying science laboratory in the world, the DC-8 has been used to support the agency’s Airborne Science mission since 1987. This unique aircraft was first acquired by NASA in 1985 and collected data for experiments in support of scientific projects serving the world’s scientific community – including scientists, researchers, and students from NASA and other federal, state, academic, and foreign institutions.

The DC-8 will continue its educational legacy as it retires to its new home at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho, where it will be used to train future aircraft technicians by providing real-world experience in the college’s Aircraft Maintenance Technology Program.

For more information about the DC-8 aircraft, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/armstrong/dc-8-aircraft/

Related Terms

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Langley Research Center

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