Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geology
Published

Desert dust collected from glacier ice helps document climate change      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers are using dust trapped in glacier ice in Tibet to document past changes in Earth's intricate climate system -- and maybe one day help predict future changes.

Ecology: Trees Geoscience: Geology
Published

Evolution of tree roots may have driven mass extinctions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study has found evidence that the evolution of tree roots over 300 million years ago triggered mass extinction events through the same chemical processes created by pollution in modern oceans and lakes.

Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Earth's oldest stromatolites and the search for life on Mars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The earliest morphological traces of life on Earth are often highly controversial, both because non-biological processes can produce relatively similar structures and because such fossils have often been subjected to advanced alteration and metamorphism. Stromatolites, layered organo-sedimentary structures reflecting complex interplays between microbial communities and their environment, have long been considered key macrofossils for life detection in ancient sedimentary rocks; however, the biological origin of ancient stromatolites has frequently been criticized.