What Created the Mysterious Giant Troughs on Asteroid Vesta? New Theory Proposed
The troughs on Vesta have long been a topic of scientific speculation. The asteroid Vesta is the second largest asteroid in our solar system. With…
Geology
Movie Mars on Earth: Wadi Rum as a Stand-In for the Red Planet
Several filmmakers have used the desert landscapes of Wadi Rum as a stand-in for the Red Planet. Wadi Rum looks like few other places on…
Earth’s Oceans Were Stressed Before Abrupt, Prehistoric Global Warming
Shelled organisms helped buffer ocean acidification by consuming less alkalinity from seawater. Third recent Northwestern study to detect calcification stress before and across ancient ocean…
The Arctic Ocean’s Deep Past Provides Clues to Its Imminent Future Under a Global Warming Regime
Nitrogen isotopes reveal that stratification of Arctic waters will prevent surface plankton from receiving enough nutrients to grow abundantly. As the North Pole, the Arctic…
Volcanoes Act as a Safety Valve for Earth’s Long-Term Climate – Stabilizing Surface Temperatures
Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered that extensive chains of volcanoes have been responsible for both emitting and then removing atmospheric carbon dioxide…
Substantial Water Reservoir on Mars? Earthly Rocks Point Way To Water Hidden on the Red Planet
A combination of a once-debunked 19th-century identification of a water-carrying iron mineral and the fact that these rocks are extremely common on Earth, suggests the…
“Great Unconformity” Puzzle: Geologists Dig Into Grand Canyon’s Mysterious Gap in Time
A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder reveals the complex history behind one of the Grand Canyon’s most well-known geologic features: A…
Selenium May Support Microbial Life Deep in Earth’s Continental Crust
International drilling efforts over the last decades into the seafloor have provided increasing evidence for the existence of an extensive deep biosphere below the seafloor….
Lava Lamp Tectonics: Giant Blobs of Subducted Sediment Float Up Through Deep Earth
A University of Wyoming professor has used computer modeling to propose that sand and mud subducted off the coast of California around 75 million years…
Geologists Discover That NASA Rover Has Been Exploring Surface Sediments, Not Ancient Lake Deposits
In 2012, NASA landed the rover Curiosity in the Gale crater on Mars because the crater was thought by many scientists to be the site…
Erupted Sea Glass Allows Geologists to Take Earth’s Inner Temperature
The results could help scientists unravel the processes underlying plate tectonics. If the Earth’s oceans were drained completely, they would reveal a massive chain of…
A New Method to Preventing Human-Induced Earthquakes Caused by the Oil and Gas Industry
Applied in the field, a new model reduced quakes from oil and gas processes; could help manage seismic events from carbon sequestration. When humans pump…
A “Golden Nail” – Quarry Near Salzgitter, Germany Becomes Global Geological Reference Point
Research team with Goethe University participation successfully proposes former quarry in Lower Saxony as Global Stratotype Section and Point. The international team of geoscientists led…
Arrival of Land Plants 400 Million Years Ago Changed Earth’s Climate Control System
The arrival of plants on land about 400 million years ago may have changed the way the Earth naturally regulates its own climate, according to…
New Evidence of Extreme Climate Change Thousands of Years Ago Revealed by Ancient Ostrich Eggshell
Evidence from an ancient eggshell has revealed important new information about the extreme climate change faced by human early ancestors. The research shows parts of…
A Comet Strike 13,000 Years Ago May Have Sparked Key Shift in Human Civilization
A cluster of comet fragments believed to have hit Earth nearly 13,000 years ago may have shaped the origins of human civilization, research suggests. Possibly…
Why Are There Gold Deposits at All? Scientists Discover the Answer
Why are gold deposits found at all? Gold is famously unreactive, and there seems to be little reason why gold should be concentrated, rather than…
A Potential Goldmine: “Fool’s Gold” Contains a Newly Discovered Type of Real Gold
The mineral pyrite was historically nicknamed fool’s gold because of its deceptive resemblance to the precious metal. The term was often used during the California gold rush…
