Geology
Welcome to the Geology News section, your gateway to the latest updates and discoveries in the dynamic field of geology. Here, we bring you cutting-edge research, breakthrough findings, and notable developments that deepen our understanding of Earth’s processes and history.
Archaeology
New study shifts the dating of major Bronze Age events
A new study published in the journal PLOS ONE presents new evidence that the volcanic eruption of Minoan Thera (modern-day Santorini) occurred before the reign of Pharaoh Ahmose I, overturning long-held views of Bronze Age chronology.
Geology
Mystery of the Maka Lahi Rock finally solved
In 2024, researchers from Australia's University of Queensland discovered a giant 1,200-tonne rock more than 200 metres inland on the island of Tongatapu.
Geology
The ethereal fire of blue lava
Despite the name, blue lava is not actually molten lava, but rather an extremely rare natural phenomenon caused by the combustion of sulphuric gases emitted from certain volcanoes and fumarole vents.
EUROPE
Buxton’s tuffa calcite terraces
One of Turkey’s most impressive geological wonders is Pamukkale (meaning "cotton castle"), renowned for its sinter terraced formations created by calcite-rich springs.One of Turkey’s most impressive geological wonders is Pamukkale (meaning "cotton castle"), renowned for its sinter terraced formations created by calcite-rich springs.
Archaeology
Rare formations of cave pearls found in the Ain Joweizeh spring system
Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have uncovered formations of cave pearls during a study of the Ain Joweizeh spring system near Jerusalem.
Iceland volcano eruption opens a rare window into the Earth beneath our feet
The recent Fagradalsfjall eruption in the southwest of Iceland has enthralled the whole world, including nature lovers and scientists alike.
Researchers open lunar time capsule from Apollo 17 mission
Scientists from NASA have opened a lunar time capsule from the Apollo 17 mission conducted in 1972.
Cosmic cataclysm may have caused downfall of the Hopewell Culture
Researchers from the University of Cincinnati have found evidence of a cosmic cataclysm 1,500 years that may be responsible for the downfall of the...
Scientists have shown how the freezing of a ‘slushy’ ocean of magma may be responsible for the composition of the Moon’s crust.
Scientists from the University of Cambridge and the Ecole normale supérieure de Lyon, have proposed a new model of crystallisation where crystals remained suspended in liquid magma over hundreds of millions of years as the lunar ‘slush’ froze and solidified.
Study pinpoints timing of Chicxulub asteroid impact
Groundbreaking study confirms time of year when asteroid wiped out dinosaurs and 75 percent of life on Earth.
A groundbreaking study led by researchers at...
“Volcanic winter” likely contributed to ecological catastrophe 250 million years ago
A team of scientists has identified an additional force that likely contributed to a mass extinction event 250 million years ago.
The world’s oldest mercury poisoning revealed in Copper Age Iberia
A recent paper published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology and in which researchers from the University of Seville participate, explores the complex relationship between humans and mercury over time.
Researchers present evidence that a cosmic impact destroyed a biblical city in the Jordan Valley
In the Middle Bronze Age (about 3600 years ago or roughly 1650 BCE), the city of Tall el-Hammam was ascendant.
Extreme volcanism did not cause the massive extinction of species in the late Cretaceous
A study published in the journal Geology rules out that extreme volcanic episodes had any influence on the massive extinction of species in the late Cretaceous.
Pictograms are first written accounts of earthquakes in pre-Hispanic Mexico
The Codex Telleriano Remensis, created in the 16th century in Mexico, depicts earthquakes in pictograms that are the first written evidence of earthquakes in the Americas in pre-Hispanic times, according to a pair of researchers who have systematically studied the country’s historical earthquakes.
Ancient meteorite found in England could reveal the origins of life on Earth
A 4.6-billion-year-old meteorite found in a field in Gloucestershire, England, is likely a remnant of cosmic debris left over from the birth of the solar system and could answer questions about how life began on Earth.
Comet strike 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 civilisation, research suggests.
The ‘Great Dying’
The Paleozoic era culminated 251.9 million years ago in the most severe mass extinction recorded in the geologic record.
New research uncovers continental crust emerged 500 million years earlier than thought
The first emergence and persistence of continental crust on Earth during the Archaean (4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago) has important implications for plate tectonics, ocean chemistry, and biological evolution, and it happened about half a billion years earlier than previously thought, according to new research being presented at the EGU General Assembly 2021.
Human land use wasn’t always at nature’s expense
Nearly three-quarters of Earth's land had been transformed by humans by 10,000 BC, but new research shows it largely wasn't at the expense of the natural world.

