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Categories: Geoscience: Geology, Space: Astrophysics

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Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geology
Published

Superdeep diamonds provide a window on supercontinent growth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Diamonds contain evidence of the mantle rocks that helped buoy and grow the ancient supercontinent Gondwana from below, according to new research. These findings demonstrate that superdeep diamonds can provide a window through space and time into the supercontinent growth and formation process.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology
Published

Researchers probe molten rock to crack Earth's deepest secrets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team re-created molten rock conditions deep within the Earth and measured the spin states of iron atoms within that rock melt. An iron atom's spin state drives its magnetic behavior and reactivity in chemical reactions, and can influence whether iron prefers to be in the molten or solid rock. 

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Astronomers detect most distant fast radio burst to date      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team has spotted a remote blast of cosmic radio waves lasting less than a millisecond. This 'fast radio burst' (FRB) is the most distant ever detected. Its source was pinned down by the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) in a galaxy so far away that its light took eight billion years to reach us. The FRB is also one of the most energetic ever observed; in a tiny fraction of a second it released the equivalent of our Sun's total emission over 30 years.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Black holes could come in 'perfect pairs' in an ever expanding Universe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have shown it's theoretically possible for black holes to exist in perfectly balanced pairs -- held in equilibrium by a cosmological force -- mimicking a single black hole.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

California supervolcano is cooling off but may still cause quakes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New high-resolution images of the Long Valley Caldera indicate that the subsurface environment is cooling off, releasing gas and fluids that contribute to seismic activity.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ancient diamonds shine light on the evolution of Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Formed millions to billions of years ago, diamonds can shine light into the darkest and oldest parts of the Earth's mantle. The analysis of ancient, superdeep diamonds dug up from mines in Brazil and Western Africa, has exposed new processes of how continents evolved and moved during the early evolution of complex life on Earth. These diamonds that were formed between 650 and 450 million years ago on the base of the supercontinent Gondwana, were analysed by an international team of experts, and have shown how supercontinents such as Gondwana were formed, stabilised, and how they move around the planet.

Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Grasping the three-dimensional morphology of kilonovae      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An advanced new three-dimensional (3D) computer simulation of the light emitted following a merger of two neutron stars has produced a similar sequence of spectroscopic features to an observed kilonova. '

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Ice sheet surface melt is accelerating in Greenland and slowing in Antarctica      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Surface ice in Greenland has been melting at an increasing rate in recent decades, while the trend in Antarctica has moved in the opposite direction, according to researchers.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Geoscience: Earth Science Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General
Published

Scientists, philosophers identify nature's missing evolutionary law      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new article describes 'a missing law of nature,' recognizing for the first time an important norm within the natural world's workings.   In essence, the new law states that complex natural systems evolve to states of greater patterning, diversity, and complexity. In other words, evolution is not limited to life on Earth, it also occurs in other massively complex systems, from planets and stars to atoms, minerals, and more.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

NASA's Webb captures an ethereal view of NGC 346      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

One of the greatest strengths of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is its ability to give astronomers detailed views of areas where new stars are being born. The latest example, showcased here in a new image from Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), is NGC 346 -- the brightest and largest star-forming region in the Small Magellanic Cloud.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

'Starquakes' could explain mystery signals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are an astronomical mystery, with their exact cause and origins still unconfirmed. These intense bursts of radio energy are invisible to the human eye, but show up brightly on radio telescopes. Previous studies have noted broad similarities between the energy distribution of repeat FRBs, and that of earthquakes and solar flares. However, new research has looked at the time and energy of FRBs and found distinct differences between FRBs and solar flares, but several notable similarities between FRBs and earthquakes. This supports the theory that FRBs are caused by 'starquakes' on the surface of neutron stars. This discovery could help us better understand earthquakes, the behavior of high-density matter and aspects of nuclear physics.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Finding explanation for Milky Way's warp      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Though scientists have long known through observational data that the Milky Way is warped and its edges are flared like a skirt, no one could explain why. Now, astronomers have performed the first calculations that fully explain this phenomenon, with compelling evidence pointing to the Milky Way's envelopment in an off-kilter halo of dark matter. 

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Stellar fountain of youth with turbulent formation history in the center of our galaxy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An unexpectedly high number of young stars has been identified in the direct vicinity of a supermassive black hole and water ice has been detected at the center of our galaxy.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: General
Published

Plate tectonic surprise: Geologist unexpectedly finds remnants of a lost mega-plate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Geologists have reconstructed a massive and previously unknown tectonic plate that was once one-quarter the size of the Pacific Ocean. The team had predicted its existence over 10 years ago based on fragments of old tectonic plates found deep in the Earth’s mantle. To the lead researchers surprise, she found that oceanic remnants on northern Borneo must have belonged to the long-suspected plate, which scientists have named Pontus. She has now reconstructed the entire plate in its full glory.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Pulsars may make dark matter glow      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The central question in the ongoing hunt for dark matter is: what is it made of? One possible answer is that dark matter consists of particles known as axions. A team of astrophysicists has now shown that if dark matter consists of axions, it may reveal itself in the form of a subtle additional glow coming from pulsating stars.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Climate change brings earlier arrival of intense hurricanes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has revealed that since the 1980s, Category 4 and 5 hurricanes (maximum wind speed greater than 131 miles per hour) have been arriving three to four days earlier with each passing decade of climate change.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Scientists discover the highest energy gamma-rays ever from a pulsar      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have detected the highest energy gamma rays ever from a dead star called a pulsar. The energy of these gamma rays clocked in at 20 tera-electronvolts, or about ten trillion times the energy of visible light. This observation is hard to reconcile with the theory of the production of such pulsed gamma rays, as the international team reports.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Plot thickens in hunt for ninth planet      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A pair of theoretical physicists are reporting that the same observations inspiring the hunt for a ninth planet might instead be evidence within the solar system of a modified law of gravity originally developed to understand the rotation of galaxies.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology
Published

Ancient carbon in rocks releases as much carbon dioxide as the world's volcanoes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has overturned the traditional view that natural rock weathering acts as a carbon sink that removes CO2 from the atmosphere. Instead, this can also act as a large CO2 source, rivaling that of volcanoes.

Chemistry: General Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Volcanic ash effects on Earth systems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To bridge the knowledge gap between volcanologists and atmospheric scientists working on climate change and observing global systems, researchers have characterized volcanic ash samples from many explosive eruptions of a broad compositional range.