Answers to Earth Science Questions

With so many active volcanoes around the world how does the pollution from industry over the last 150 years compare...

Where does all the sand in the Sahara desert come from?

The Hunstanton cliffs are made up of layers of white chalk, red chalk and the main part is sandstone at the base. Why...

Is it true that lightning never strikes in the same place twice?

Since the Antarctic is landlocked, is it believed that underneath the ice but above the land (in other words sandwiched...

When fireworks are released into the air they turn into smoke and dust. Is there any danger from this?

The Earth's core is basically molten and the Earth is in the region of four billion or so years old. How come it...

Could you tell me if the ozone hole is now getting smaller since CFCs have been banned?

I was curious about the scaremongering we're hearing about the ice caps melting and flooding everywhere. I thought...

Did oil or natural petroleum deposits really come from primordial forests? With the thousands of barrels of oil taken...

I come from Dorset and there's a hill with a pond up there. The strange thing is that it never dries out. Why is...

I've been hearing a lot about when you get frost on your car first thing in the morning and people saying that it...

If clouds are made up of water, why do they differ in colour, from fluffy white to dark and black?

Given that as altitude increases, temperature decreases, does this means that when precipitation falls from clouds it...

It's well known in the USA that bees are dying. This is having profound effects on certain types of agriculture....

Please can you calculate how much extra fuel will be burned by a motorist during the current World Cup campaign as a...

What happens to the great hollows that we're leaving below the sea beds when you extract all this oil and gas?

When people measure carbon dioxide, a lot of the time it is measured in weight. They'll say that your car releases...

How long would a flip in the Earth's magnetic field take, and how might it affect technology?

We know that we're living on a nuclear furnace and heat's being made all the time in the core. Is there no...

What is global dimming?

Are there any immediate effects of sun spots on the weather, such as when solar bursts occur? What about long term...

You can predict the weather months in advance, but sometimes the weather forecasters don't even get it right next...

We're having a nasty dust storm at the moment, which brings me to my question: What causes wind gusts?