Elegantly modeling Earth"s abrupt glacial transitions
Proxy data—indirect records of the Earth's climate found in unlikely places like coral, pollen, trees and sediments—show interesting oscillations approximately every 100,000 years starting about one million years ago. Strong changes in global ice.....»»
Volcanic "cryptic carbon" emissions may be a hidden driver of Earth"s past climate
An international team of geoscientists led by a volcanologist at Rutgers University-New Brunswick has discovered that, contrary to present scientific understanding, ancient volcanoes continued to spew carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from deep with.....»»
Modeling study addresses future algal blooms and human impact
What does the future hold for our lakes globally—clear waters or widespread algal blooms? A new study is the first to model and project algal blooms on a global scale under different socio-economic and climate scenarios. Conducted by the UK Centre.....»»
Gold bugs: New fossil arthropod preserved in fool"s gold
A team of researchers led by Associate Professor Luke Parry, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, have unveiled a spectacular new 450-million-year-old fossil arthropod (the group that contains spiders, centipedes, and insects). Besides.....»»
Engineered bacterial protein offers efficient rare earth metal separation
A newly discovered protein naturally houses an unusual binding site that can differentiate between rare earth elements, and researchers at Penn State have made it even better. Rare earth elements are key components used in everything from modern tech.....»»
Tracking a disappearing mantle plume in ancient Samoa: Researchers shed light on a 30-million-year gap
When plumes of magma well up through Earth's lithosphere, they create volcanoes, islands, seamounts, and other features on the surface. Telltale hot spot tracks form as tectonic plates move over these plumes, marking plume locations and the movement.....»»
Dinosaurs thrived after ice, not fire, says a new study of ancient volcanism
201.6 million years ago, one of the Earth's five great mass extinctions took place, when three-quarters of all living species suddenly disappeared. The wipeout coincided with massive volcanic eruptions that split apart Pangaea, a giant continent then.....»»
Hera asteroid mission"s CubeSat passengers signal home
The two CubeSat passengers aboard ESA's Hera mission for planetary defense have exchanged their first signals with Earth, confirming their nominal status. The pair were switched on to check out all their systems, marking the first operation of ESA Cu.....»»
How Earth"s Early Life Thrived amid Catastrophic Asteroid Impacts
A gigantic space rock that slammed into Earth more than three billion years ago grievously wounded the biosphere—and then helped it heal.....»»
Plans to Destroy the International Space Station Preview a Bigger Orbital Junk Problem
A special spacecraft will guide the space station through Earth’s atmosphere, but what about other large pieces of space debris?.....»»
Novel self-cleaning electrode developed for alkaline-earth metal peroxide synthesis
Metal peroxide (MO2, M=Ca, Sr, Ba) is an alternative to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). It has excellent oxidative properties, superior chemical stability, high purity, and is easy to store and transport. It has been widely used in wastewater treatment and.....»»
Did some of Earth"s water come from the solar wind?
The source of Earth's water is an enduring mystery that extends to exoplanets and the notion of habitability. In broad terms, Earth's water was either part of the planet from the beginning of its formation in the solar nebula or delivered later, mayb.....»»
4 astronauts return to Earth after being delayed by Boeing"s capsule trouble and Hurricane Milton
Four astronauts returned to Earth on Friday after a nearly eight-month space station stay extended by Boeing's capsule trouble and Hurricane Milton......»»
Saturn"s moon Titan has insulating methane-rich crust up to six miles thick
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is the only place other than Earth known to have an atmosphere and liquids in the form of rivers, lakes and seas on its surface. Because of its extremely cold temperature, the liquids on Titan are made of hydrocarbons li.....»»
4 large asteroids, including a skyscraper-size "city killer," will zoom past Earth in a 12-hour span today (Oct. 24)
4 large asteroids, including a skyscraper-size "city killer," will zoom past Earth in a 12-hour span today (Oct. 24).....»»
Blasts from the past: New insights from old space storms
On 4 August 1972, a burst of solar plasma rocked Earth's magnetic field after hurtling through space for about 14.6 hours—the fastest sun-to-Earth plasma journey ever recorded. The resulting space storm, one of several that occurred from 2 to 11 Au.....»»
Fall back to Earth with Falcon 9 payload fairings in stunning new SpaceX video
Fall back to Earth with Falcon 9 payload fairings in stunning new SpaceX video.....»»
Virgo and Scorpio: How Earth Meets Water in This Unique Union
Virgo and Scorpio: How Earth Meets Water in This Unique Union.....»»
Massive buildings are actually slowing down Earth’s rotation
So called human-built megastructures may actually be slowing down the Earth’s rotation. This isn’t exactly new information, but it has recently been making the rounds … The post Massive buildings are actually slowing down Earth’s rota.....»»
A meteorite strike 3 billion years ago may have helped kickstart life on Earth
Three billion years ago, Earth was a lifeless husk. At least, that’s what some scientists believe. However, that lifeless husk may have found a healthy … The post A meteorite strike 3 billion years ago may have helped kickstart life on Earth.....»»
"Paleo-robots" provide an experimental approach for understanding how fish started to walk on land
The transition from water to land is one of the most significant events in the history of life on Earth. Now, a team of roboticists, paleontologists and biologists is using robots to study how the ancestors of modern land animals transitioned from sw.....»»