How Rocks Rusted on Earth and Turned Red
How did rocks rust on Earth and turn red? A Rutgers-led study has shed new light on the important phenomenon and will help address questions about the Late Triassic climate more than 200 million years ago, when greenhouse gas levels were high enough to be a model for what our planet may be like in the future.
Geologists Produce New Timeline of Earth’s Paleozoic Climate Changes
The temperature of a planet is linked with the diversity of life that it can support. MIT geologists have now reconstructed a timeline of the Earth's temperature during the early Paleozoic era, between 510 and 440 million years ago -- a pivotal period when animals became abundant in a previously microbe-dominated world.
A Lost Paradise in the Sahara Desert
Large parts of today's Sahara Desert were green thousands of years ago. Prehistoric engravings of giraffes and crocodiles testify to this, as does a stone-age cave painting in the desert that even shows swimming humans.
Mars Crater Offers Window on Temperatures 3.5 Billion Years Ago
Once upon a time, seasons in Gale Crater probably felt something like those in Iceland. But nobody was there to bundle up more than 3 billion years ago.
Understanding Origins of Arizona’s Sunset Crater Eruption 1,000 Years Ago
Around AD 1085 AD, along the southern rim of Northern Arizona's elevated Colorado Plateau a volcano erupted, forever changing ancient Puebloan fortunes and all nearby life.
Volcanic Eruptions Directly Triggered Ocean Acidification During Early Cretaceous
Around 120 million years ago, the earth experienced an extreme environmental disruption that choked oxygen from its oceans.
Crystals May Help Reveal Hidden Kilauea Volcano Behaviour
Scientists striving to understand how and when volcanoes might erupt face a challenge: many of the processes take place deep underground in lava tubes churning with dangerous molten Earth. Upon eruption, any subterranean markers that could have offered clues leading up to a blast are often destroyed.
Cluster of Alaskan Islands Could be a Super Volcano
Scientists suggest that a small group of volcanic islands in Alaska's Aleutian chain might be part of a single, undiscovered giant volcano.
Geoscientists Use Zircon to Trace Origin of Earth’s Continents
Geoscientists have long known that some parts of the continents formed in the Earth's deep past, but the speed in which land rose above global seas -- and the exact shapes that land masses formed -- have so far eluded experts.
Archipelago in Ancient Doggerland Survived Storegga Tsunami 8,000-Years-Ago
Doggerland, dubbed “Britain’s Atlantis” is a submerged landmass beneath what is now the North Sea, that once connected Britain to continental Europe.
Geoscientists Discover Ancestral Puebloans Survived From Ice Melt in New Mexico Lava Tubes
For more than 10,000 years, the people who lived on the arid landscape of modern-day western New Mexico were renowned for their complex societies, unique architecture and early economic and political systems.
Lost and Found: UH Geologists ‘Resurrect’ Missing Tectonic Plate
The existence of a tectonic plate called Resurrection has long been a topic of debate among geologists, with some arguing it was never real.
Study Into Earth’s Crust Finds Heat Source That May Stabilise Continents
Rocks from the Rio Grande continental rift have provided a rare snapshot of active geology deep inside Earth's crust, revealing new evidence for how continents remain stable over billions of years, according to a team of scientists.
Disproportionate Extinction of South American Mammals When Americas Collided
When the Isthmus of Panama rose from the sea to connect North and South America millions of years ago, mammals could cross the bridge in both directions.
Geoscientists Discovers Causes of Sudden Volcanic Eruptions
Tiny crystals, ten thousand times thinner than a human hair, can cause explosive volcanic eruptions.
