Beautiful Earth

a landscape of a river in the forefront and a forest of green trees and bare trees in the background
Mills River in the Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

Credit: Syracuse University

a swim diver in water with ice above their head
Researcher dives under diatom-coated sea ice in the Ross Sea

Credit: Aaron Toh; courtesy of Amy Osborne (PolarTREC 2019)

aurora of green in the sky
Nathaniel B. Palmer at Davis Station anchorage

Credit: Scott Crabbe

Dramatic image of arctic ice in the middle of arctic ocean with beautiful sky in the background.
Sunlight reflecting on the ice-free water of Canada Basin is an indicator of warming in the western Arctic Ocean.

Credit: Zhangxian Ouyang, University of Delaware

Image of glowing lava flowing.
Basaltic trachyandesite pahoehoe lava, which is 1975 degrees F (1080 degrees C), slowly stretches as it inflates.

Credit: Michael S. Helfenbein, Yale University

lava flows
Lava flows from Russia’s Tolbachik volcanoes during an eruption in 2012.

Credit: Benjamin R. Edwards

Steaming lava glowing
Steaming lava glows during a nighttime eruption at Toludskoye lava field in Russia.

Credit: Benjamin R. Edwards

volcano erupting
The appropriately named Caliente lava dome erupts on the western flank of Guatemala’s Santa María volcano.

Credit: Jeffrey Johnson, Department of Geosciences, Boise State University

Image of huge storm cloud in distance.
The shape of a severe storm such as the one pictured here is a major factor in whether the storm will produce hail and how large the hailstones are.

Credit: ©UCAR; image by Carlye Calvin

Castle Rock, a natural geologic landmark near McMurdo Station in Antarctica

Credit: Joshua Swanson; Source: U.S. Antarctic Program photo library

The Milky Way Galaxy is seen over the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array west of Socorro, New Mexico.

Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF, Jeff Hellerman (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported -- CC BY 3.0).

A caribou skull
A caribou skull glistens white against the tundra of northern Alaska.

Credit: Daniel Ackerman

A stand of aspen trees
A stand of aspen trees scatters sunlight on Boulder Mountain in Utah. Aspens are one of many trees under study as NSF researchers evaluate the impacts of global warming.

Credit: Martin Venturas, University of Utah

Sun streams into the entrance of Deer Cave
Sun streams into the entrance of Deer Cave in Gunung Mulu National Park, Borneo.

Credit: Syria Lejau, Gunung Mulu National Park

A rocky outcrop rises over the Alaskan tundra.
A rocky outcrop rises over the Alaskan tundra.

Credit: Daniel Ackerman

Green Bank Telescope in the summer.

Credit: NSF/GBO 20; photo by Jill Malusky

Close up image of purple flowers with beautiful sky in the background.
Chamaenerion latifolium, commonly called dwarf fireweed, near Savoonga, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska.

Credit: Photo by Wendi Pillars

ALVIN water robot
The iconic submersible ALVIN has made more than 5,000 dives. With its latest upgrades, ALVIN can reach as deep as 21,000 feet below the ocean’s surface.

Credit: Luis Lamar, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Corona Arch in Utah
Corona Arch in Utah, like many rock arches, “sings” imperceptibly as vibrations pass through it. The vibrations were revealed by NSF-funded scientists recording the tiny motions using seismometers.

Credit: Alison Starr, University of Utah