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Viruses are circulating in the atmosphere of our planet. Image credit: Arek Socha.

Study: Viruses are Circulating in Earth’s Atmosphere — and Falling from It

Feb 8, 2018 by News Staff

Viruses fall back to Earth via dust storms and precipitation, according to new research published in the International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal. Viruses...

A schematic showing the processes involved in deep-sea mining for the three main types of mineral deposit. Image credit: Design Studio, University of Exeter.

Deep-Sea Mining Could Destroy Marine Ecosystems, Study Says

Jan 23, 2018 by News Staff

Mining on the ocean floor could do irreversible damage to marine ecosystems, according to a new study from the University of Exeter and Greenpeace Research...

Mount Etna, with Catania in the foreground. Image credit: Ben Aveling / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Small Volcanic Crystals Could Help Predict Eruptions

Jan 23, 2018 by News Staff

Tiny crystals of clinopyroxenes that form deep in volcanoes may be the key for advance warnings before volcanic eruptions, according to a team of vulcanologists...

Enoto et al describe how gamma rays from lightning react with the air to produce radioisotopes and even positrons. Image credit: Teruaki Enoto, Kyoto University.

Lightning Strikes Produce Antimatter Particles in Earth’s Atmosphere

Nov 23, 2017 by News Staff

Scientists from Japan and Singapore report in the November 23 issue of the journal Nature that they observed positron (antimatter counterpart of the electron)...

A smoking volcano. Image credit: Bela Marie.

Catastrophic Volcanic Eruption Occurred in Pacific Northwest 16.5 Million Years Ago, Geologists Say

Oct 11, 2017 by News Staff

The Pacific Northwest, a geographic region in western North America, was home to one of the planet’s most powerful known volcanic eruptions, according...

Based on various lines of geological and geophysical evidence, particularly those accumulated in the last two decades, Nick Mortimer et al argue that Zealandia is not a collection of partly submerged continental fragments but is a coherent 4.9 million km2 continent. NC - New Caledonia; WTP - West Torres Plateau; CT - Cato Trough; Cf - Chesterfield Islands; L - Lord Howe Island; N - Norfolk Island; K - Kermadec Islands; Ch - Chatham Islands; B - Bounty Islands; An - Antipodes Islands; Au - Auckland Islands; Ca - Campbell Island. Image credit: Nick Mortimer et al, doi: 10.1130/GSATG321A.1.

Zealandia: Researchers Return from Expedition to Earth’s Seventh Continent

Sep 28, 2017 by News Staff

Earlier this year, Zealandia was confirmed as Earth’s seventh continent, but little is known about it because it’s 94% submerged under water. After...

A ‘Blue Marble’ image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA’s Earth-observing satellite Suomi NPP (named in honor of Verner E. Suomi of the University of Wisconsin). This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth’s surface taken on January 4, 2012. Image credit: NASA / NOAA / GSFC / Suomi NPP / VIIRS / Norman Kuring.

Researchers Produce Estimate of Earth’s Elemental Composition

Sep 20, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, has produced the most comprehensive estimate yet of Earth’s composition...

Chesapeake Bay near the Rappahannock River Mouth, VA. Image credit: University of Delaware.

Researchers Find ‘Acid Zone’ in Chesapeake Bay

Aug 28, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers led by University of Delaware Professor Wei-Jun Cai has discovered a ‘pH minimum zone’ that occurs at a depth of 30-50 feet (10-15...

An example of seafloor bathymetry data that the team used to identify a paleo-subglacial channel, grounding line landforms, volcanic seamounts and other features used in the study. Image credit: Lauren Simkins, Rice University.

Ancient River System Discovered in East Antarctica

Aug 22, 2017 by News Staff

The newly-discovered river system was active as recently as 15,000 years ago beneath an area formerly covered by the East Antarctic ice sheet, according...

Antarctica. Image credit: Angie Agostino.

91 New Subglacial Volcanoes Discovered in West Antarctica

Aug 15, 2017 by News Staff

A team of geoscientists from the University of Edinburgh, UK, has discovered an extensive volcanic range beneath West Antarctica’s massive ice sheet. Location...

The Mount Bromo volcano on the island Java of Indonesia. Image credit: Jan-Pieter Nap / CC BY-SA 3.0.

End-Triassic Volcanism Triggered Dawn of Dinosaurs

Jun 21, 2017 by News Staff

According to new research led by the University of Oxford, episodic volcanic activity is likely to have played a key role in triggering the end-Triassic...

The Dead Sea, Israel. Image credit: David Shankbone / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Oldest Evidence of Humans’ Impact on Geological Processes Found in Israel

Jun 5, 2017 by News Staff

What is being reported as the earliest indication of humans’ impact on the Earth’s geology and ecosystems has been found in the Dead Sea, Israel —...

Artist’s conception of early Earth. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / Francis Reddy.

Early Earth was Barren, Smooth and Almost Entirely under Water, Research Suggests

May 8, 2017 by News Staff

About 4 billion years ago (Hadean eon), our planet was entirely different than it is now. It was barren, smooth and almost entirely under water with a...

Bathymetric map of recent Hawaiian volcanism, highlighting the Loa and Kea tracks. Solid lines represent the geochemically distinct Loa (blue) and Kea (red) volcanic trends. The dashed lines are an estimate of the future projection of these trends based on the team’s hypothesis. Before the emergence of the Loa and Kea tracks, Kea-type lavas were overlain by Loa-type lavas at Ko’olau and Kaua’i. The encircled number indicates the approximate age at which Loa trend lavas first appeared at Ko’olau. Image credit: Jones et al, doi: 10.1038/nature22054.

Geoscientists Finally Solve Mystery of Hawaiian Volcanoes

May 6, 2017 by News Staff

New research has solved a long-standing mystery of how the world’s biggest and most active volcanoes formed in Hawaii. Bathymetric map of recent Hawaiian...

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

Geologists Find Remnants of Early Earth’s Crust in Canada

Mar 17, 2017 by News Staff

An analysis of rock samples collected from the Superior Province, the region in Canada just north of the Great Lakes, suggests the samples contain components...

Archean Earth. Image credit: Francis Reddy, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Scientists Propose New Contributing Cause for ‘Great Oxidation Event’

Mar 14, 2017 by News Staff

In the Archean Eon, more than 2.3 billion years ago, Earth’s atmosphere spent about a million years filled with a methane-rich haze; and this haze drove...

The last glacial period occurred from 110,000 to 11,700 years ago. Image credit: Mauricio Anton.

Simple Rule Accurately Predicts when Ice Age Ends

Feb 23, 2017 by News Staff

According to an international research team led by University College London Professor Chronis Tzedakis, a simple rule can accurately predict when Earth’s...

Meet Zealandia, Earth’s New Continent

Feb 14, 2017 by Natali Anderson

Zealandia — a 4.9 million km2 region of the southwest Pacific Ocean — was once part of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana and today it is...

ESA’s Swarm satellites have led the discovery of a jet stream in the liquid iron part of Earth’s core about 1,870 miles beneath the surface. In addition, Swarm data show that this jet stream is speeding up. Image credit: ESA.

Researchers Discover Jet Stream in Earth’s Molten Iron Core

Dec 20, 2016 by News Staff

A jet stream within the Earth’s core has been discovered by researchers using data from ESA’s Swarm satellite mission. ESA’s Swarm satellites have...