geology – The Loh Down On Science

Astro Glassblowing

March 6, 2024 Jason Lee

Deserts covered in GLASS – sounds like the latest sci-fi film universe! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In Chile’s Atacama Desert, the sand is littered with football-sized, green-black glass chunks. But these aren’t human artifacts. What sculpted this glass garden? Geologist Peter Schultz at

Diamonds in a Hurry!

February 8, 2023 Alessandra Zito

Diamonds are forever…and take forever to make! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Diamonds — SO divine! But they take billions of years to form and mining is dangerous. Who can wait that long for luxury? Dougal McCulloch and colleagues at R-M-I-T University in Melbourne,

Astro Glassblowing

March 4, 2022 Jason Lee

Lava Music

May 3, 2021 Alessandra Zito

Wow! I LAVA this song! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Volcanoes rumble and grumble all the time, creating extremely low-frequency sounds. But – listen! Are they actually playing the “music of the night?” Jeffrey Johnson from Boise State University and an international team explored

Diamonds in the Deep

February 12, 2020 Evelyn Hoover

Are diamonds a geologists’ best friend? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Our planet’s volume is eighty percent mantle–the rock layer between Earth’s crust and inner core. But the mantle extends down thousands of kilometers, and we can only dig down TWELVE. Can we learn

Hobbit Miss-tery

August 30, 2019 Loh Down Staff

News flash! Hobbits are real! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, taking you to Indonesia’s Flores Island. In 2003, archeologists unearthed a fossilized female skeleton there. The ancient human was only three feet tall. But she was an adult, so the scientists dubbed her “the

Underage Volcano

June 11, 2019 Kellen Kartub

Don’t erupt — but is that a fake I.D.?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Taupo is an active volcano in New Zealand. But scientists can’t pin down its age! The usual method is to carbon date nearby trees that perished during the eruption. All

Rock Fans

January 25, 2019 Loh Down Staff

First there were crop circles, now there are… rock circles? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In California’s Death Valley, a remote dry lakebed holds a secret! Rocks scattered across its parched surface have mysterious trails etched behind them. It seems the rocks move! But

Fantasy Islands

July 24, 2018 Loh Down Staff

What do island paradises and diapers have in common? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, with the poop on coral-reef islands! These islands build up from sediment deposited over time. But where does that sediment come from? Sometimes, from parrotfish! To be specific, parrotfish poop!

Golden Fleece

February 7, 2018 Anny Celsi

There’s gold in them thar … sheep??? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Remember Jason and the Argonauts, from Greek mythology – or from the crazy 1963 movie? Sailing to the ends of the earth in search of a Golden Fleece? What the heck is