Deep Earth & Tectonics
This outermost, rigid layer of the Earth encompasses the entire crust and the very topmost portion of the upper mantle.
lithosphere
This scale, ranging from 1 to 5, is used to measure and categorize the sustained wind speed and intensity of hurricanes.
Saffir-Simpson scale
This term describes the power of a greenhouse gas to trap heat in the atmosphere over a specific time horizon, calculated relative to carbon dioxide.
global warming potential
In Stranger Things, this character loves Eggo waffles, has telekinetic powers, and was raised in Hawkins Lab.
Eleven
This Italian plumber is Nintendo's official mascot and is famous for jumping on Goombas to save Princess Peach.
Mario
Discovered in 1909, this seismic boundary marks the sharp jump in earthquake wave velocity that separates the Earth's crust from the underlying mantle.
Moho
This type of rapid, deadly mudflow or debris flow occurs on the slopes of a volcano, typically triggered by melting snow and ice during an eruption.
lahar
These ancient air bubbles trapped deep within polar ice sheets serve as natural historical archives, allowing scientists to directly measure atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from hundreds of thousands of years ago.
ice cores
In Outer Banks, this is the slang nickname given to the working-class residents of the island, which includes John B and his friends.
Pouges
This block-building sandbox game is officially the best-selling video game of all time.
Minecraft
At a depth of roughly 660 kilometers, this specific mineral—which makes up the majority of the upper mantle—undergoes a massive phase change due to intense pressure.
ringwoodite
This specific type of highly destructive, fast-moving current of superheated gas, ash, and rock can reach speeds over 400 miles per hour during a volcanic eruption.
pyroclastic flow
This specific, long-term cyclical variation in Earth’s orbit, axial tilt, and wobble dictates the timing of ice ages by altering the seasonal distribution of solar energy hitting the planet.
Milankovitch cycles
This is the name of the fictional Virginia town where Elena, Stefan, and Damon live in The Vampire Diaries.
Mystic Falls
In The Legend of Zelda series, this is the actual name of the green-clad hero you control.
Link
his highly irregular, distinct seismic layer sits directly above the core-mantle boundary and features severe earthquake wave velocity drops of up to 30%.
ULVZ
This intense, localized downdraft of air during a thunderstorm hits the ground and spreads out violently in all directions, causing damage similar to a tornado.
microburst
This critical ecological tipping point occurs when thawing Arctic permafrost decays rapidly, releasing massive quantities of carbon dioxide and methane, which triggers a self-reinforcing warming loop.
permafrost feedback
In the show Smallville, this fictional green mineral from Clark Kent's destroyed home planet can strip away his powers and severely weaken him.
kryptonite
This yellow, electric-type creature is the official mascot of the global Pokémon franchise.
Pikachu
Abbreviated as LLSVPs, these two massive, continent-sized structures sit at the very base of Earth's mantle—one under Africa and one under the Pacific.
LLSVPs
Named after the Japanese word for "harbor wave," these massive ocean waves are most commonly generated by under-sea megathrust earthquakes at subduction zones.
tsunami
This specific climate proxy measurement, which analyzes the ratio of heavy-to-light oxygen isotopes in the calcium carbonate shells of fossilized marine organisms, is used by paleoclimatologists to reconstruct past global temperatures and ice sheet volumes.
delta-O-18
In the hit Netflix series Wednesday, this is the name of the boarding school for outcasts that Wednesday Addams is sent to attend.
Nevermore Academy
This is the name of the fictional, dystopian underwater city where the events of the original BioShock game take place.
Rapture