Ancient Human Civilization May Have Been Controlled by Dust
When early humans began to travel out of Africa and spread into Eurasia over a hundred thousand years ago, a fertile region around the eastern…
Geological Society of America
What the New Discovery of Ancient Super-Eruptions Indicates for the Yellowstone Hotspot
Throughout Earth’s long history, volcanic super-eruptions have been some of the most extreme events ever to affect our planet’s rugged surface. Surprisingly, even though these…
How Late Cretaceous Dinosaur-Dominated Ecosystems Were Structured
A topic of considerable interest to paleontologists is how dinosaur-dominated ecosystems were structured, how dinosaurs and co-occurring animals were distributed across the landscape, how they…
The Giant Geode of Pulpí – Unlocking the Mystery of the Giant Crystals
The geode of Pulpí is an 11-meter hollow ovoid with crystal-paneled walls. It is like those familiar couplets of stone interiors covered with bright crystallites,…
Microplastics in the Great Lakes: 1,941 Particles Per Pound of Sediment
From the Great Pacific garbage patch to inland rivers, plastics are among the most widespread contaminants on Earth. Microplastics—particles of plastic smaller than five millimeters—are…
Desiccation Cracks Provide Evidence of Water on Mars
As Curiosity rover marches across Mars, the red planet’s watery past comes into clearer focus. In early 2017 scientists announced the discovery of possible desiccation…