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Categories: Archaeology: General, Geoscience: Geology
Published How the rising earth in Antarctica will impact future sea level rise



The rising earth beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet will likely become a major factor in future sea level rise, a new study suggests.
Published Link between global warming and rising sea levels



A new study suggests that Earth's natural forces could substantially reduce Antarctica's impact on rising sea levels, but only if carbon emissions are swiftly reduced in the coming decades. By the same token, if emissions continue on the current trajectory, Antarctic ice loss could lead to more future sea level rise than previously thought.
Published Underwater mapping reveals new insights into melting of Antarctica's ice shelves



Clues to future sea level rise have been revealed by the first detailed maps of the underside of a floating ice shelf in Antarctica. An international research team deployed an unmanned submersible beneath the Dotson Ice Shelf in West Antarctica.
Published Recent volcanic 'fires' in Iceland triggered by storage and melting in crust



Scientists have detected geochemical signatures of magma pooling and melting beneath the subsurface during the 'Fagradalsfjall Fires', that began on Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula in 2021. Samples show that the start of the eruption began with massive pooling of magma, contrasting initial hypothesis for magma ascent straight from the mantle.
Published A blue miracle: How sapphires formed in volcanoes



Sapphires are among the most precious gems, yet they consist solely of chemically 'contaminated' aluminum oxide, or corundum. It is widely assumed that these crystals with their characteristically blue color come from deep crustal rocks and accidentally ended up on the Earth's surface as magma ascended. Geoscientists have now been able to show that the sapphire grains found in the Eifel (Germany) formed in association with volcanism.
Published New study supports stable mantle chemistry dating back to Earth's early geologic history and over its prodigious evolution



A new analysis of rocks thought to be at least 2.5 billion years old helps clarify the chemical history of Earth's mantle -- the geologic layer beneath the planet's crust. The findings hone scientists' understanding of Earth's earliest geologic processes, and they provide new evidence in a decades-long scientific debate about the geologic history of Earth. Specifically, the results provide evidence that the oxidation state of the vast majority of Earth's mantle has remained stable through geologic time and has not undergone major transitions, contrary to what has been suggested previously by other researchers.
Published Nanoscopic imaging aids in understanding protein, tissue preservation in ancient bones



A pilot study shows that nanoscopic 3-D imaging of ancient bone not only provides further insight into the changes soft tissues undergo during fossilization, it also has potential as a fast, practical way to determine which specimens are likely candidates for ancient DNA and protein sequence preservation.
Published Hot traces in rock



Fluids circulating underground change rocks over the course of time. These processes must be taken into account if they are to be used as a climate archive. Researchers have used 380-million-year-old limestones from Hagen-Hohenlimburg to show in detail which climate information is still preserved in the rock.
Published Evidence for butchery of giant armadillo-like mammals in Argentina 21,000 years ago



Cut marks on fossils could be evidence of humans exploiting large mammals in Argentina more than 20,000 years ago, according to a new study.
Published Scientists discover missing piece in climate models



As the planet continues to warm due to human-driven climate change, accurate computer climate models will be key in helping illuminate exactly how the climate will continue to be altered in the years ahead.
Published First ever 3D reconstruction of 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth chromosomes thanks to serendipitously freeze-dried skin



An international research team has assembled the genome and 3D chromosomal structures of a 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth -- the first time such a feat has been achieved for any ancient DNA sample. The fossilized chromosomes, which are around a million times longer than most ancient DNA fragments, provide insight into how the mammoth's genome was organized within its living cells and which genes were active within the skin tissue from which the DNA was extracted. This unprecedented level of structural detail was retained because the mammoth underwent freeze-drying shortly after it died, which meant that its DNA was preserved in a glass-like state.
Published The plague may have caused the downfall of the Stone Age farmers



Ancient DNA from bones and teeth hints at a role of the plague in Stone Age population collapse. Contrary to previous beliefs, the plague may have diminished Europe's populations long before the major plague outbreaks of the Middle Ages, new research shows.
Published Archaeologists report earliest evidence for plant farming in east Africa



A trove of ancient plant remains excavated in Kenya helps explain the history of plant farming in equatorial eastern Africa, a region long thought to be important for early farming but where scant evidence from actual physical crops has been previously uncovered.
Published Building materials for water-rich planets in the early solar system



Age data for certain classes of meteorite have made it possible to gain new findings on the origin of small water-rich astronomical bodies in the early solar system. These planetesimals continually supplied building materials for planets -- also for the Earth, whose original material contained little water. The Earth received its actual water through planetesimals, which emerged at low temperatures in the outer solar system, as shown by computational models carried out by an international research teach with participation by earth scientists.
Published Ancient dingo DNA shows modern dingoes share little ancestry with modern dog breeds



A study of ancient dingo DNA revealed that the distribution of modern dingoes across Australia, including those on K'gari (formerly Fraser Island), pre-dates European colonization and interventions like the dingo-proof fence.
Published Extinct humans survived on the Tibetan plateau for 160,000 years



Bone remains found in a Tibetan cave 3,280 m above sea level indicate an ancient group of humans survived here for many millennia.
Published Organic material from Mars reveals the likely origin of life's building blocks



Two samples from Mars together deliver clear evidence of the origin of Martian organic material. The study presents solid evidence for a prediction made over a decade ago that could be key to understanding how organic molecules, the foundation of life, were first formed here on Earth.
Published Layers of carbonate provide insight into the world of the ancient Romans



Archaeologists face a major challenge when they intend to acquire information about buildings or facilities of which only ruins remain. This was a particular challenge for the remnants of the Roman water mills in Barbegal in Southern France, dating back to the 2nd century CE. This unique industrial complex consisted of 16 water wheels placed in parallel rows. Little could at first be deduced about the site from these now scant ruins -- except that the wheels were supplied by an aqueduct that brought water from the surrounding hills. Researchers have now unraveled the history of the mill complex using calcium carbonate deposits that are now stored in the Archaeological Museum of Arles. These deposits had formed towards the end of the roughly 100-year operational life of the Barbegal water mills on the sides and base of the wooden supply system that conveyed the water to the wheels.
Published Investigating newly discovered hydrothermal vents at depths of 3,000 meters off Svalbard



Hydrothermal vents can be found around the world at the junctions of drifting tectonic plates. But there are many hydrothermal fields still to be discovered. During a 2022 expedition of the MARIA S. MERIAN, the first field of hydrothermal vents on the 500-kilometer-long Knipovich Ridge off the coast of Svalbard was discovered.
Published Why the harsh Snowball Earth kick-started our earliest multicellular ancestors



Why did multicellularity arise? Solving that mystery may help pinpoint life on other planets and explain the vast diversity and complexity seen on Earth today, from sea sponges to redwoods to human society. A new article shows how specific physical conditions -- especially ocean viscosity and resource deprivation -- during the global glaciation period known as Snowball Earth could have driven eukaryotes to turn multicellular.