Showing 20 articles starting at article 221

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Geoscience: Geology, Space: The Solar System

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study offers a glimpse into the possible impact of climate change on coastal wetlands 50 years or longer into the future. Scientists are usually forced to rely on computer models to project the long-term effects of rising seas, but an unexpected set of circumstances enabled a real-world experiment along the Gulf Coast.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

This study reports widespread mineral carbonation of mantle rocks in an oceanic transform fueled by magmatic degassing of CO2. The findings describe a previously unknown part of the geological carbon cycle in transform faults that represent one of the three principal plate boundaries on Earth. The confluence of tectonically exhumed mantle rocks and CO2-rich alkaline basalt formed through limited extents of melting characteristic of the St. Paul's transform faults may be a pervasive feature at oceanic transform faults in general. Because transform faults have not been accounted for in previous estimates of global geological CO2 fluxes, the mass transfer of magmatic CO2 to the altered oceanic mantle and seawater may be larger than previously thought.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have uncovered the first direct evidence that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet shrunk suddenly and dramatically at the end of the Last Ice Age, around eight thousand years ago. The evidence, contained within an ice core, shows that in one location the ice sheet thinned by 450 meters -- that's more than the height of the Empire State Building -- in just under 200 years.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Rocks once buried deep in ancient subduction zones -- where tectonic plates collide -- could help scientists make better predictions of how these zones behave during the years between major earthquakes, according to a research team.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Inspired during field work in South Australia's Flinders Ranges, geoscientists have proposed that all-time low volcanic carbon dioxide emissions triggered a 57-million-year-long global 'Sturtian' ice age.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Saturn's moon Mimas harbors a global ocean beneath its icy shell, discovered through analysis of its orbit by Cassini spacecraft data. This ocean formed just 5-15 million years ago, making Mimas a prime candidate for studying early ocean formation and potential for life. This discovery suggests life-essential conditions might exist on seemingly inactive moons, expanding our search for life beyond Earth.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A carbon monoxide (CO)-runaway gap identified in the atmospheres of Earth-like planets can help expand the search for habitable planets. This gap, identified through atmospheric modeling, is an indicator of a CO-rich atmosphere on Earth-like planets orbiting Sun-like stars. CO is an important compound for the formation of prebiotic organic compounds, which are building blocks for more complex molecules for the formation of life.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

China's Chang'e-5, the first lunar sample return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, delivered 1.73 kilograms of regolith from the Oceanus Procellarum, a plane named for its vast size. The sample landed with CE-5 in late 2020 and included a new mineral, Changesite-(Y), as well as a perplexing combination of silica minerals. Researchers now compare CE-5's material composition to other lunar and Martian regolith samples and examine potential causes and origins for the lunar sample's unique makeup.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Seattle fault zone is a network of shallow faults slicing through the lowlands of Puget Sound, threatening to create damaging earthquakes for the more than four million people who live there. A new origin story, proposed in a new study, could explain the fault system's earliest history and help scientists improve hazard modeling for the densely populated region.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Circumpolar Current works as a regulator of the planet's climate. Its origins were thought to have caused the formation of the permanent ice in Antarctica about 34 million years ago. Now, a study has cast doubt on this theory, and has changed the understanding of how the ice sheet in Antarctic developed in the past, and what this could mean in the future as the planet's climate changes.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have shown new atmospheric detail in a set of 15 exoplanets similar to Neptune. While none could support humanity, a better understanding of their behavior might help us to understand why we don't have a small Neptune, while most solar systems seem to feature a planet of this class.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Theoretical predictions have been confirmed with the discovery of an outflow of molecular gas from a quasar when the Universe was less than a billion years old.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Geoscientists have uncovered a missing link in the enigmatic story of how the continents developed- - a revised origin story that doesn't require the start of plate tectonics or any external factor to explain their formation. Instead, the findings rely solely on internal geological forces that occurred within oceanic plateaus that formed during the first few hundred million years of Earth's history.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Although solar flares have been classified based on the amount of energy they emit at their peak, there has not been significant study into differentiating flares since slow-building flares were first discovered in the 1980s. Scientists have now shown that there is a significant amount of slower-type flares worthy of further investigation.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The next generation of advanced telescopes could sharpen the hunt for potential extraterrestrial life by closely scrutinizing the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets, new research suggests.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Meteorites are fragments of asteroids which find their way to Earth as shooting stars and provide information on the origins of our solar system. A team of researchers has examined the so-called Winchcombe meteorite and demonstrated the existence in it of nitrogen compounds such as amino acids and heterocyclic hydrocarbons -- without applying any chemical treatment and by using a new type of detector design.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ground-penetrating radar on board NASA's Mars Perseverance rover has confirmed that the Jezero Crater, formed by an ancient meteor impact just north of the Martian equator, once harbored a vast lake and river delta. Over eons, sediment deposition and erosion within the crater shaped the geologic formations visible on the surface today. The discovery of lake sediments reinforces the hope that traces of life might be found in soil and rock samples collected by Perseverance.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

TOI-1136, a dwarf star located more than 270 light years from Earth, is host to six confirmed exoplanets and a seventh as yet unconfirmed candidate. The system has provided a rich source of information on planet formation and evolution in a young solar system. Researchers used a variety of tools to compile radial velocity and transit timing variation readings to derive highly precise measurements of the exoplants' masses, orbital information and atmospheres.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Hydrothermal vents and manganese nodule fields in the deep oceans contain more biodiversity than expected.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows that atmospheric pressure fluctuations that pull gases up from underground could be responsible for releasing subsurface methane into Mars' atmosphere; knowing when and where to look for methane can help the Curiosity rover search for signs of life.