Life's Little Mysteries Earth Archives
How Are Hurricanes Named?
September 5 , 2010, by Remy Melina, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
While the monikers of current hurricanes – including Earl and Fiona — may seem simple, the system of naming hurricanes has a long and complicated history.
From using latitude-longitude location points… View Full Article »
Could New York City Handle a Hurricane?
September 1 , 2010, by Remy Melina and Robert Roy Britt
The National Hurricane Center warns that the Hurricane Earl may swing by dangerously close to the U.S. East Coast before curving back out to sea. While the odds are it won’t strike New York City directly,… View Full Article »
Why Do Hurricanes Often Curve Out to Sea?
August 31 , 2010, by Remy Melina, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
The forecast path of Hurricane Earl, expected to run parallel to the U.S. East Coast before heading offshore, is a typical one for Atlantic storms to follow.
The reason: They are steered away from land… View Full Article »
What's Sea Ice?
August 30 , 2010, by Lily Norton, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
The term "sea ice" has been sending shivers down many spines with the growing threat of global warming, but many non-scientists still misunderstand what sea ice really is.
Sea ice is a thin, fragile,… View Full Article »
What If Hurricane Katrina Hit New Orleans Today?
August 26 , 2010, by Amber Angelle, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
Five years ago, Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans with a 28-foot (8.5 meter) storm surge and 2 feet (61 centimeters) of rainfall. The water easily breached the city's old levee system in about 50 places… View Full Article »
What's Wildcat Mining?
August 25 , 2010, by Remy Melina, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
The recent accident in Chile that trapped 33 miners underground for almost three weeks and counting has drawn attention to the dangers of wildcat mining, or the operation of illegal mines.
Such illegal… View Full Article »
What Happens Inside a Landfill?
August 25 , 2010, by Molika Ashford, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
Grease-soaked napkins, cat food cans and banana peels can go many places after you throw them out — recycling centers, incinerators or even a compost pile. But more than half of America's garbage is… View Full Article »
Which US Cities Are Most Vulnerable to Hurricanes?
August 24 , 2010, by Karen Rowan, Life's Little Mysteries Managing Editor
When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and other areas of the Gulf Coast five years ago this week, becoming the most economically destructive storm in history, it highlighted our vulnerability to… View Full Article »
How Are Earthquakes Measured?
August 20 , 2010, by Brett Israel
The familiar Richter scale (which is not a physical device but rather a mathematical formula) is no longer widely used by scientists — or the media — to report an earthquake's size.
Today, an earthquake's… View Full Article »
Where Are the Oldest Rocks on Earth Found?
August 13 , 2010, by Benjamin Radford, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
You don't need to go to a museum to find really, really old things. Ordinary rocks, for example, may be millions or billions of years old, and are free for the taking. But rocks you're likely find along… View Full Article »
