Tectonic plates started shifting earlier than previously thought
An enduring question in geology is when Earth's tectonic plates began pushing and pulling in a process that helped the planet evolve and shaped its continents into the ones that exist today.
Study suggests rainfall triggered 2018 Kīlauea eruption
In May 2018 Kīlauea volcano on the island of Hawaii erupted, touching off months of intense activity. Through August, incandescent lava from fissures spewed hundreds of feet in the air, and billowing ash clouds reached as high as six miles into the atmosphere.
A possible relationship between the red color of stalagmites and paleoclimatic changes is found
The CENIEH has participated in a study where spectroscopic techniques were used to investigate the cause of the red coloration of the stalagmites in Goikoetxe Cave and its possible use as an indicator of paleoclimatic changes in northern Spain.
New geochemical tool reveals origin of Earth’s nitrogen
Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and their colleagues used a new geochemical tool to shed light on the origin of nitrogen and other volatile elements on Earth, which may also prove useful as a way to monitor the activity of volcanoes.
Journey to the center of the Earth – First of its kind experiment uses diamond anvils to simulate the Earth’s core
In an effort to investigate conditions found at the Earth’s molten outer core, researchers successfully determined the density of liquid iron and sound propagation speed through it at extremely high pressures.
Timing of large earthquakes follows a ‘devil’s staircase’ pattern
At the regional level and worldwide, the occurrence of large shallow earthquakes appears to follow a mathematical pattern called the Devil's Staircase, where clusters of earthquake events are separated by long but irregular intervals of seismic quiet.
Heavy iron isotopes leaking from Earth’s core
Earth's molten core may be leaking iron, according to researchers who analyzed how iron behaves inside our planet.
The boundary between the liquid iron core...
Is the Earth’s inner core oscillating and translating anomalously?
The Earth's inner core, hidden 5150 km below our feet, is primarily composed of solid iron and is exposed to pressures between 329 and 364 GPa (which are ~3.3 to 3.6 million times that of atmospheric pressure) and temperatures of ~5000 to ~6000 K (Image 1).
Two ways that geological fault segments may overcome their separation
In complex fault zones, multiple seemingly disconnected faults can potentially rupture at once, increasing the chance of a large damaging earthquake.
Recent earthquakes including the...
Researchers unravel the mystery of non-cotectic magmatic rocks
Researchers at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa, have found the answer to an enigma that has had geologists scratching their heads for years.
Discovery of life in solid rock deep beneath sea may inspire new search for life on Mars
Newly discovered single-celled creatures living deep beneath the seafloor have given researchers clues about how they might find life on Mars.
Most of Earth’s carbon was hidden in the core during its formative years
Carbon is an essential building block for all living things on Earth and plays a vital role in many of the geologic processes that shape life on the planet, including climate change and ocean acidification.
Sediments may control location, magnitude of megaquakes
The world's most powerful earthquakes strike at subduction zones, areas where enormous amounts of stress build up as one tectonic plate dives beneath another.
Tree rings could pin down Thera volcano eruption date
Research led by the University of Arizona Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research has anchored a long sequence of tree rings, providing context for the civilizations that existed throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages.
Eclectic rocks influence earthquake types
New Zealand's largest fault is a jumble of mixed-up rocks of all shapes, sizes, compositions and origins.
