6 of Earth's Greatest Unsolved Mysteries

While over 8 billion people have called Earth home for thousands of years, there are still many great mysteries that scientists have yet to unravel. Join Olivia Gordon for a new episode of SciShow, and learn about 6 fascinating things about our planet we haven't solved yet!

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Sources:

Plate Tectonics

Messinian Salinity Crisis

True Polar Wander

Core Temperature

Supercontinent Cycle
Murphy et al 2009

Flood Basalts

[icybear]

tbh scishow is a breath of fresh air in these bizzare times, thanks guys

[lizslilcorneroftheinstitution]

I wanted to say that I’ve noticed Olivia seems to be more comfortable in the videos, it certainly gives the videos more spark!☺️ Keep up the great work... I love seeing how the hosts develop with time! Just don’t leave as soon as you hit the peak of hosting!

[MeleeTiger]

Imagine how different the world would be if modern humans lived on a supercontinent?
Like not just how it would look, but how culture and politics would have been shaped by less boundaries?

[Darquilibrium]

“ ‘Bedrock’ of geology.” Ha, really like that... Pungea.

[seanwebb]

This isn't my home. I'm just visiting. Thanks for all the fish.

[XFC]

Shout-out to Olivia for being such a great host 🙌🏻

[Hydrosized]

Two years ago I hadn’t heard of Hank Green. Now I see him seven days a week!

[hunterhofmann]

Hey, SciShow, can you turn on captions for us Deaf and HoH folks?

[TK]

The theory that I find makes the most sense, is that plate tectonics really kicked off after the Thea/Earth impact that formed the Moon. Since Thea appears to have hit us at an off angle, some models suggest said impact fractured the Earth's crust like the shell of hard boiled egg. The broken pieces of shell/crust after cooling down remained separate and have been jostling/rubbing/sub-ducting ever since.

[purplealice]

I once read a scenario that when the Mediterranian disappeared, erosion from the ocean wore down the land bridge that was blocking the Strait of Gibraltar. Once that happened, there was an enormous salt-water waterfall pouring into the Mediterranian basin. That must have been awesome to see, from far enough away.

[zw]

Pangaea breaking up, which is proposed to be in that time period, would cause a major wobble in the Earth's spin. Enjoyed that group of wonders!

[anatexis_the_first]

I'm studying geology and this video tickled all my sweet spots! =D
Really, *really* interesting stuff!

[omegalightning]

Sounds like Earth's history isn't...





Written in stone.

[fawnyturnbull]

"The minor wobbles and the major twists - hallelujah, hallelujah.."

[rsmorex]

Make a movie about it... a young Greek kid goes on a quest to find out why the water is draining, fish dying, and salt crystallizing and to save the Mediterranean Sea

[Call-me-Al]

I'm here for science puns and science facts, sometimes in that order :D

[richardhaselwood]

1:13... Oh please. Put 2 geologists in a room and you'll get 4 opinions

[jamiewells]

The Mediterranean Sea really said “alright ima head out”

[msdosfloppy]

Imagine if Gibraltar closed today. We'd never let that happen and just open it right back up again.

[chrisboucher]

Utterly fascinating, thank you everyone!