Birth of an Ocean: The Evolution of Ethiopia's Afar Depression. "Formation of an ocean is a rare event, one few scientists have ever witnessed. Yet this geophysical nativity is unfolding today in one of the hottest and most inhospitable corners of the globe." [Via]
posted by homunculus on Oct 2, 2008 - 26 comments

In 1987, the Caltech biomagnetist and paleomagnetist Joe Kirschvink gave undergraduate Dawn Sumner a rock sample [from South Australia] to study for her senior thesis. The apparent glacial origin of this rock lead directly to the theory that periodically the Earth has been thoroughly glaciated from the poles to the Equator: the so-called Snowball Earth events. A website dedicated to this theory includes detailed teaching slides, a FAQ, and many other resources on this interesting period in Earth's history.
posted by Rumple on Apr 21, 2008 - 7 comments

The Seismic Monitor is a map of recent earthquake activity. Earthquakes that have occurred in the last two weeks are depicted as circles with diameters corresponding to their magnitudes. You can click the map to zoom in on regions, and you can click the represented earthquakes to see information about them.
posted by owhydididoit on Sep 17, 2006 - 9 comments

About 250 million years ago all of the continents were joined in a single land mass called Pangea. Then they broke up and drifted apart to their present positions. Plate tectonic projections forecast that 250 million years from now, the continents will once again join up into a single land mass now dubbed Pangea Ultima. JRR Tolkien couldn't have dreamt up a better Middle Earth.
posted by lagado on Dec 7, 2000 - 16 comments