The world's unsolved problems
993 open questions across 14 fields, gathered from Wikipedia. Pick one and start thinking.
16 results in Geoscience · clear · surprise me
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Was there ever a collision of Earth with the hypothesized planet of Theia, which gave birth to the Moon? There is compelling evidence, such…
Was there ever a collision of Earth with the hypothesized planet of Theia, which gave birth to the Moon? There is compelling evidence, such as measures of a shorter duration of the Earth's rotation and lunar month in the past, that suggests the possibility...
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What is the long-term heat balance of Earth? How did its internal temperature decay since it formed by accretion of chondrites? How…
What is the long-term heat balance of Earth? How did its internal temperature decay since it formed by accretion of chondrites? How abundant are radiogenic elements in the interior? Did a "faint young Sun" ever warm a "snowball Earth"?
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Can the now widely available topographic data be used to derive past tectonic and climatic conditions (in the multi-million year scale)? Do…
Can the now widely available topographic data be used to derive past tectonic and climatic conditions (in the multi-million year scale)? Do we know enough about the erosion and transport processes? Does the stochasticity of meteorological and tectonic...
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Can classical geomorphological concepts such as peneplanation or retrogressive erosion be quantitatively understood? Old mountain ranges…
Can classical geomorphological concepts such as peneplanation or retrogressive erosion be quantitatively understood? Old mountain ranges such as the Appalachian or the Urals seem to retain relief for >108 years, while subglacial fluvial valleys under...
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What are the erosion and transport laws governing the evolution of the Earth's Surface? Rivers transport sediment particles that are at the…
What are the erosion and transport laws governing the evolution of the Earth's Surface? Rivers transport sediment particles that are at the same time the tools for erosion but also the shield protecting the bedrock. How important is this double role of...
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What controls the dynamics of storm tracks?
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Why do we have the number of tropical cyclones that we do?
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Mechanisms that cause oscillations in equatorial climate remain under intense study. The El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) of the…
Mechanisms that cause oscillations in equatorial climate remain under intense study. The El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) of the equatorial Pacific Ocean temperature is difficult to predict more than a few months in advance. The Quasi-Biennial...
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What are skyquakes?
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What causes Hessdalen lights?
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What is the true recovery timescale for deep-ocean acidification once (if) atmospheric CO2 is drawn down?
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The 'space problem'
How are granite magma chambers emplaced in the crust? What are the structures and locations of the magmatic systems that might cause supervolcanoes? What are the viscosities and densities of the magma chambers and the details of magma migration?
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What are the non-uniformities and rheological details of the mantle? What is the structure of the 660 km discontinuity and its relation to…
What are the non-uniformities and rheological details of the mantle? What is the structure of the 660 km discontinuity and its relation to the correct model of the polar drift?
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What is the precise nature of chemical heterogeneity associated with the Gutenberg discontinuity?
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What are the light alloying elements in the Earth's outer core and how are they distributed? What are the heterogeneities of the core and…
What are the light alloying elements in the Earth's outer core and how are they distributed? What are the heterogeneities of the core and their dynamical significance?
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Does the internal mantle structure provide the resonance for the Chandler wobble of the Earth's axis or is it some other external…
Does the internal mantle structure provide the resonance for the Chandler wobble of the Earth's axis or is it some other external mechanism? No available motions seem to be coherent drivers for the wobble period of 433 days.
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Data last refreshed 2026-10-20 03:01 UTC.