Two-billion-year-old salt rock reveals rise of oxygen in ancient atmosphere
A 2-billion-year-old chunk of sea salt provides new evidence for the transformation of Earth's atmosphere into an oxygenated environment capable of supporting life as we
Category : Geology
HeritageDaily – Geology news and geology press releases from across the globe
Mass extinction with prior warning
Mass extinctions throughout the history of the Earth have been well documented. Scientists believe that they occurred during a short period of time in geological
Germany was covered by glaciers 450,000 years ago
The timing of the Middle Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles and the feedback mechanisms between climatic shifts and earth-surface processes are still poorly understood.
Volcanic eruption influenced Iceland’s conversion to Christianity
Memories of the largest lava flood in the history of Iceland, recorded in an apocalyptic medieval poem, were used to drive the island's conversion to
Workers discover ancient coastline in West London
Engineers working on Britain’s new high speed railway have discovered an ancient, sub-tropical coastline dating back 56 million years.
Ash from dinosaur-era volcanoes linked with shale oil, gas
Nutrient-rich ash from an enormous flare-up of volcanic eruptions toward the end of the dinosaurs' reign kicked off a chain of events that led to
New study reveals the secret of magmas that produce global treasures
South Africa's history and economy has been built on its rich natural treasures of a number of precious metals, stones and minerals.
A mineral blueprint for finding Burgess Shale-type fossils
Scientists have identified a mineral signature for sites that are more likely to contain rare fossils that preserve evidence of soft tissue -- essential information
Meteorite analysis shows reduced salt is key in Earth’s new recipe
Scientists have found the halogen levels in the meteorites that formed the Earth billions of years ago are much lower than previously thought.
Geophysicists uncover new evidence for an alternative style of plate tectonics
When renowned University of Toronto (U of T) geophysicist J. Tuzo Wilson cemented concepts in the emerging field of plate tectonics in the 1960s, he
An international group of scientists reveals the mystery about the origin of gold
An international group of scientists, with the participation of the University of Granada (UGR), has shed new light on the origin of gold, one of
Why did the Earth’s ancient oceans disappear?
We think of oceans as being stable and permanent. However, they move at about the same speed as your fingernails grow. Geoscientists at CEED, University
Yellowstone spawned twin super-eruptions that altered global climate
A new geological record of the Yellowstone supervolcano's last catastrophic eruption is rewriting the story of what happened 630,000 years ago and how it affected
Research sheds new light on early turquoise mining in Southwest
Turquoise is an icon of the desert Southwest, with enduring cultural significance, especially for Native American communities. Yet, relatively little is known about the early
Ancient, lost, mountains in the Karoo reveals the secrets of massive extinction event
Millions of years ago, a mountain range that would have dwarfed the Andes mountains in South America, stretched over what is currently the southern-most tip
Volcanic eruptions linked to social unrest in Ancient Egypt
Around 245 BCE Ptolemy III, ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt, made a decision that still puzzles many historians: After pursuing a successful military
Researchers document one of planet’s largest volcanic eruptions
Washington State University researchers have determined that the Pacific Northwest was home to one of the Earth's largest known volcanic eruptions, a millennia-long spewing of
Lost continent of Zealandia: Scientists return from expedition to sunken land
After a nine-week voyage to study the lost, submerged continent of Zealandia in the South Pacific, a team of 32 scientists from 12 countries has arrived in
Diamonds show Earth still capable of ‘superhot’ surprises
Diamonds may be ‘forever’ but some may have formed more recently than geologists thought. A study of 26 diamonds, formed under extreme melting conditions in
Earthquake faults may have played key role in shaping the culture of ancient Greece
The Ancient Greeks may have built sacred or treasured sites deliberately on land previously affected by earthquake activity, according to a new study by the
Dust deposits give new insights into the history of the Sahara
The Sahara is the world's largest desert and dust source with significant impacts on trans-Atlantic terrestrial and large-scale marine ecosystems.
Sea cave preserves 5,000-year snapshot of tsunamis
An international team of scientists digging in a sea cave in Indonesia has discovered the world's most pristine record of tsunamis, a 5,000-year-old sedimentary snapshot