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Hand sample of Dresser Formation stromatolite with domical topography (arrowed). Image credit: Hickman-Lewis et al., doi: 10.1130/G50390.1.

3.5-Billion-Year-Old Australian Stromatolites Have Biogenic Origin, New Research Confirms

Nov 7, 2022 by News Staff

Stromatolites are solid, laminar structures reflecting complex interplays between microbial communities and their environment. Hand sample of Dresser Formation...

Images of graphite, lonsdaleite, and diamond in ureilite meteorites: (A) reflected light image showing folded crystalline graphite, with fold morphology defined by graphite cleavage; different shading in the graphite is produced by axial planar kink bands; (B) reflected light image (stacked foci) showing an example of the inherited fold morphology preserved in lonsdaleite; (C) cathodoluminescence map of the same area as (B) indicating different phases of carbon, where the green regions are lonsdaleite and the red areas on the periphery (including the purple dashed circle) are cubic diamond (blue is the cathodoluminescence response from olivine); (D) scanning TEM image of a region cut out of the area indicated by yellow circle in (C), highlighting dark lonsdaleite crystals. Image credit: Tomkins et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2208814119.

Strange Meteoritic Diamonds Came from Mantle of Destroyed Dwarf Planet, Study Says

Sep 13, 2022 by News Staff

Lonsdaleite, a rare hexagonal form of diamond found in ureilite meteorites, formed shortly after an inner solar system dwarf planet collided with a large...

Schematic model of fluvial systems both before and after the development of land plants: before the Devonian period, minimal land plants, rapid channel migration and river systems dominated by braided rivers led to rapid sediment transfer, minimal development of mud-sized particles and minor deposition of mudrocks along continental margins; in contrast, after the Devonian, the expansion of vascular land plants led to the development of meandering rivers and the dramatic slowing of sediment transfer to marine environments; the red dashed line represents a generalized sediment transport path that is more sinuous post-Devonian and less sinuous pre-Devonian; these diametric depositional systems influenced the isotopic composition of sediment available for reworking and melting in magmatic systems along destructive plate boundaries. Image credit: Spencer et al., doi: 10.1038/s41561-022-00995-2.

Emergence of Land Plants Altered Composition of Earth’s Continental Crust, Researchers Say

Aug 31, 2022 by News Staff

The evolution of land plants took place about 430 million years ago (Silurian period), when North America and Europe were conjoined in a landmass called...

(A) the Milky Way Galaxy with superimposed spiral arms and geological events: the arm and the Solar System rotate clockwise at different rates; the ‘+’ number denotes the number of times Earth has passed through that arm; (B) model of the Oort cloud showing cometary nuclei; (C) schematic reconstruction of early Earth impact process; (D) early crustal nuclei development. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ESO / R. Hurt / Kirkland et al., doi: 10.1130/G50513.1.

Transits through Milky Way’s Spiral Arms Helped Form Early Earth’s Continental Crust, Study Says

Aug 24, 2022 by News Staff

New research led by Curtin University geologists suggests that regions of space with dense interstellar clouds may send more high-energy comets crashing...

An artist’s impression of where an asteroid hit the surface of Mars 5-10 million years ago, ejected NWA 7034 and its transit to the Earth. Image credit: Curtin University.

Planetary Scientists Identify Home Crater of Famous Martian Meteorite

Jul 13, 2022 by Natali Anderson

New research shows that the Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034, known more commonly as ‘Black Beauty,’ was ejected between 5 and 10 milliom...

Dr. Oliver Warr collecting sample in Moab Khotsong, South Africa. Image credit: Oliver Warr.

1.2-Billion-Year-Old Groundwater System Found in South African Mine

Jul 6, 2022 by News Staff

Geologists have discovered 1.2-billion-year-old groundwater about 3 km below surface in Moab Khotsong, a gold- and uranium-producing mine in South Africa....

Hackmanite turns purple under UV irradiation, and the color fades back to white in a few minutes under regular white light. Image credit: Mika Lastusaari.

Natural Aluminosilicate Minerals Change Color Under UV Light

Jun 22, 2022 by News Staff

Hackmanite, tugtupite, and scapolite change their color from white to purple, pink, and blue, respectively, under UV irradiation, according to a team of...

$A polished section of the Martian meteorite Miller Range (MIL) 03346: (A) photograph of the interior of MIL 03346,230; note the yellow tint in the left region of the sample, marked by dotted lines; mineral grains in the yellow-tinted region are heavily affected by aqueous alteration; (B) BSE image of the same section as in (A); light gray olivine grains, marked with arrows, are situated in the altered areas; the white boxes show locations for detailed images in (C) to (F); (C) BSE image of the upper left olivine grain, marked with a box in (B); iddingsite veins are cutting through a fractured olivine grain; augite grains and a fine-grained mesostasis (dark gray) containing titanomagnetite (bright, skeletal grains) are also shown in the figure; (D) photograph of the upper left olivine grain, same as in (C); iddingsite veins have a dark red color; (E) BSE image showing details of the upper right olivine grain; the grain is fractured and crosscut by iddingsite veins that are predominantly oriented east to west in the image; (F) photograph of the same grain as in (E), where the dark red iddingsite veins have been outlined. Image credit: Martell et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abn3044.$

1.3-Billion-Year-Old Martian Meteorite Had Limited Exposure to Water, Study Finds

May 13, 2022 by News Staff

Using neutron and X-ray tomography, a team of planetary researchers from Lund University and elsewhere examined a section of Miller Range (MIL) 03346,...

830-Million-Year-Old Microorganisms Found in Australian Halite

May 11, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists from West Virginia University have found ancient cells of prokaryotes and eukaryotes within fluid inclusions in halite crystals from the Neoproterozoic...

Lake Snow Eagle lies in a canyon in East Antarctica covered by a thick ice sheet. Image credit: University of Texas Institute for Geophysics.

Huge Subglacial Lake Discovered in East Antarctica

May 10, 2022 by News Staff

Named Lake Snow Eagle, the newly-discovered subglacial lake is approximately 42 km in length and 370 km2 in area, making it one of the largest subglacial...

Hadean Earth. Image credit: Alec Brenner.

3.8-Billion-Year-Old Zircons Offer Clues to When Earth’s Plate Tectonics Began

Apr 26, 2022 by News Staff

The nature of Earth’s earliest crust and crustal processes remains enigmatic due to the almost complete lack of a rock record older than 4 billion years...

A sample of glass that recorded at 2,370 degrees Celsius. Image credit: Gavin Tolometti.

Scientists Confirm Discovery of ‘Hottest Rock on Earth’

Apr 15, 2022 by News Staff

Cubic zirconia from the 28-km- (17.4-mile) wide Mistastin Lake crater in Canada required >2,370 degrees Celsius melt, which is hottest recorded on Earth’s...

This diamond from Botswana contains tiny inclusions of davemaoite. Image credit: Aaron Celestian, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

New Mineral Found inside Deep-Mantle Diamond: Davemaoite

Nov 17, 2021 by News Staff

Calcium silicate perovskite (CaSiO3) is arguably the most geochemically important phase in the Earth’s lower mantle, because it concentrates elements...

(A) location map for glass localities in Chile: (1) southwest of La Calera; (2) near the town of Pica; (3) Puquio de Núñez; (4) Quebrada de Chipana; and (5) Quebrada Guatacondo. (B) concentration of glassy slabs (dark masses) at the Chipana locality. Largest example in this view is 0.4 m across. Image credit: Schultz et al., doi: 10.1130/G49426.1.

Massive Comet Exploded over Atacama Desert 12,000 Years Ago, Study Suggests

Nov 8, 2021 by News Staff

According to a study published in the journal Geology, samples of glassy slabs found in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile, contain tiny fragments with...

Putirka & Xu present the first estimates of rock types on exoplanets that once orbited polluted white dwarfs -- stars whose atmospheric compositions record the infall of formerly orbiting planetary objects. Image credit: NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. da Silva / M. Zamani & M. Kosari, NSF’s NOIRLab.

Rocky Exoplanets are More Diverse and Exotic than Previously Thought

Nov 3, 2021 by News Staff

Most rocky exoplanets are exotic in composition and mineralogy, according to an analysis of the chemical composition of the so-called ‘polluted’ white...

The supercontinent Nuna about 1.59 billion years ago. Image credit: Alexandre DeZotti.

Mantle beneath Earth’s Continents Experienced Large-Scale Heating Two Billion Years Ago

Sep 24, 2021 by News Staff

New research from the University of Adelaide sheds light on why cold eclogites — high-pressure, metamorphic rocks that consist primarily of garnet...

An artistic conception of the early Earth. Image credit: Simone Marchi / NASA.

Earth’s Continental Crust First Emerged 3.7 Billion Years Ago

Apr 29, 2021 by News Staff

Reconstructing the emergence and weathering of Earth’s continental crust in the Archean eon is crucial for our understanding of early ocean chemistry,...

Schmitz et al argue that the mid-Ordovician ice age was caused by global cooling, triggered by extra dust in the atmosphere of Earth from the breakup of a giant asteroid in the main asteroid belt. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Major Meteoritic Event Occurred over Antarctica 430,000 Years Ago

Apr 1, 2021 by News Staff

Researchers have found meteoritic spherules on top of Walnumfjellet in the Sør Rondane Mountains, Antarctica. The breakup of a giant asteroid in the main...

An illustration of early Earth, as it would have looked around 4 billion years ago. Image credit: Lucy Entwisle.

Lightning Strikes Played Role in Creating Prebiotic Phosphorus on Early Earth, Study Suggests

Mar 18, 2021 by News Staff

Phosphorus is one of the key elements for life, involved in biomolecules such as DNA, RNA, phospholipids, and adenosine triphosphate. Phosphide minerals...

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