Showing 20 articles starting at article 241

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Geoscience: Geology, Geoscience: Landslides

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study suggests there may be a layer of surprisingly fluid rock ringing the Earth, at the very bottom of the upper mantle.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Countless meteorites have struck Earth in the past and shaped the history of our planet. It is assumed, for example, that meteorites brought with them a large part of its water. The extinction of the dinosaurs might also have been triggered by the impact of a very large meteorite. It turns out that the marketing 'gag' of the 'Domaine du Météore' winery is acutally a real impact crater. Meteorite craters which are still visible today are rare because most traces of the celestial bodies have long since disappeared again.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Data captured from seismic waves caused by earthquakes has shed new light on the deepest parts of Earth's inner core, according to seismologists.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

56 million years ago, the Earth experienced one of the largest and most rapid climate warming events in its history: the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which has similarities to current and future warming. This episode saw global temperatures rise by 5-8°C. It was marked by an increase in the seasonality of rainfalls, which led to the movement of large quantities of clay into the ocean, making it uninhabitable for certain living species. This scenario could be repeated today.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new technique provides fresh insight into the process by which the materials that formed Earth's core descended into the depths of our planet, leaving behind geochemical traces that have long mystified scientists.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research on friction between faults could aid in predicting the world's most powerful earthquakes. Researchers discovered that fault surfaces bond together, or heal, after an earthquake. A fault that is slow to heal is more likely to move harmlessly, while one that heals quickly is more likely to stick until it breaks in a large, damaging earthquake. Tests allowed them to calculate a slow, harmless type of tremor. The discovery alone won't allow scientists to predict when the next big one will strike but it does give researchers a valuable new way to investigate the causes and potential for a large, damaging earthquake to happen, and guide efforts to monitor large faults like Cascadia in the Pacific Northwest.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

What role could rifted margins play in the transition to a carbon-neutral economy? Researchers summarize the current state of knowledge about the so-called rifting of continents. Rifting is the term researchers use to describe the process by which continental plates break and new oceans are formed.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Hydrothermal vents have been identified as a previously undiscovered source of dissolved black carbon in the oceans, furthering the understanding of the role of oceans as a carbon sink.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Cornell University researchers have unearthed precise, microscopic clues to where magma is stored, offering a way to better assess the risk of volcanic eruptions.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have discovered a new layer of partly molten rock under the Earth's crust that might help settle a long-standing debate about how tectonic plates move. The molten layer is located about 100 miles from the surface and is part of the asthenosphere, which is important for plate tectonics because it forms a relatively soft boundary that lets tectonic plates move through the mantle. The researchers found, however that the melt does not appear to notably influence the flow of mantle rocks. Instead, they say, the discovery confirms that the convection of heat and rock in the mantle are the prevailing influence on the motion of the plates.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Rocks, rain and carbon dioxide help control Earth's climate over thousands of years -- like a thermostat -- through a process called weathering. A new study may improve our understanding of how this thermostat responds as temperatures change.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A 'back-projection' technique reveals new details of the volcanic eruption in Tonga that literally shook the world.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists are working to understand the cause and how the events of the LPME unfolded by focusing on mercury from Siberian volcanoes that ended up in sediments in Australia and South Africa.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

By analyzing meteorites, researchers have uncovered the likely far-flung origin of Earth's volatile chemicals, some of which form the building blocks of life.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Europe lacks groundwater -- a lot of groundwater. The continent has already been suffering from a severe drought since 2018. This is confirmed by satellite data.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study finds that microorganisms live in richly diverse and interdependent communities in high-temperature geothermal environments in the deep sea. By constructing genomes of 3,635 Bacteria and Archaea from 40 different rock communities, researchers discovered at least 500 new genera and have evidence for two new phyla. Samples from the deep-sea Brothers volcano were especially enriched with different kinds of microorganisms, many endemic to the volcano. The genomic data from this study also showed that many of these organisms depend on one another for survival. Some microorganisms cannot metabolize all of the nutrients they need to survive so they rely on nutrients created by other species in a process known as a 'metabolic handoff.'

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research into the durability and age of an ancient asteroid made of rocky rubble and dust, revealed significant findings that could contribute to potentially saving the planet if one ever hurtled toward Earth.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

On the short-lived island of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai, researchers discovered a unique microbial community that metabolizes sulfur and atmospheric gases, similar to organisms found in deep sea vents or hot springs.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Las Vegas, with its rapid urbanization and desert landscape, is highly vulnerable to flooding. For this reason, flood managers have built an extensive system of drainage ditches and detention basins to protect the public. Now, a new study shows how intentional engineering and urban development are interacting with climate change to alter the timing and intensity of flood risk.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

New findings begin to fill major gaps in understanding about how geological faults behave and appear as they deepen, and they could eventually help lead future researchers to develop better earthquake models on strike-slip faults, regions with frequent and major earthquakes.