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Categories: Geoscience: Geology, Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published New step in tectonic squeeze that turns seafloor into mountains
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers describe zircons from the Andes mountains of Patagonia. Although the zircons formed when tectonic plates were colliding, they have a chemical signature associated with when the plates were moving apart. The researchers think that the unexpected signature could be explained by the mechanics of underlying tectonic plates that hasn't yet been described in other models.
Published We've had bird evolution all wrong
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Genomic anamolies dating back to the time of the dinosaurs misled scientists about the evolutionary history of birds.
Published New geological study: Scandinavia was born in Greenland
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The oldest Scandinavian bedrock was 'born' in Greenland, according to a new geological study. The study helps us understand the origin of continents and why Earth is the only planet in our solar system with life.
Published Researchers name prehistoric amphibian ancestor discovered in Smithsonian collection after Kermit the Frog
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have uncovered the fossilized skull of a 270-million-year-old ancient amphibian ancestor in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The team of researchers described the fossil as a new species of proto-amphibian, which they named Kermitops gratus in honor of the iconic Muppet, Kermit the Frog.
Published From the Mediterranean into the Atlantic: The Gibraltar arc is migrating to the west
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Oceans are subject to continuous change, mostly over extremely vast periods of time running into millions of years. Researchers have now used computer simulations to demonstrate that a subduction zone originating in the Western Mediterranean will propagate into the Atlantic under the Strait of Gibraltar. According to their model, this will create a new Atlantic subduction zone 50 million years into the future, which will then move down into the Earth's mantle. The new geodynamic model explains the evolution of the Gibraltar subduction zone and its likely development, which will contribute to the renewal of the Atlantic Ocean floor.
Published Harnessing hydrogen at life's origin
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new report uncovers how hydrogen gas, the energy of the future, provided energy in the past, at the origin of life 4 billion years ago. Hydrogen gas is clean fuel. It burns with oxygen in the air to provide energy with no CO2. Hydrogen is a key to sustainable energy for the future. Though humans are just now coming to realize the benefits of hydrogen gas (H2 in chemical shorthand), microbes have known that H2 is good fuel for as long as there has been life on Earth. Hydrogen is ancient energy.
Published Even inactive smokers are densely colonized by microbial communities
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Everything is everywhere -- under certain conditions microbial communities can grow and thrive, even in places that are seemingly uninhabitable. This is the case at inactive hydrothermal vents on the sea floor. An international team is presently working to accurately quantify how much inorganic carbon can be bound in these environments.
Published Surprising insights about debris flows on Mars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The period that liquid water was present on the surface of Mars may have been shorter than previously thought. Channel landforms called gullies, previously thought to be formed exclusively by liquid water, can also be formed by the action of evaporating CO2 ice, according to a new study.
Published Sulfur and the origin of life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shines a spotlight on sulfur, a chemical element that, while all familiar, has proved surprisingly resistant to scientific efforts in probing its role in the origin of life.
Published Alaska dinosaur tracks reveal a lush, wet environment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A large find of dinosaur tracks and fossilized plants and tree stumps in far northwestern Alaska provides new information about the climate and movement of animals near the time when they began traveling between the Asian and North American continents roughly 100 million years ago.
Published Mars attracts: How Earth's interactions with the red planet drive deep-sea circulation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have used the geological record of the deep sea to discover a connection between the orbits of Earth and Mars, past global warming patterns and the speeding up of deep ocean circulation. The patterns they discover suggest that warming seas could produce deep whirpools in ocean currents.
Published Scientists propose new theory that explains sand ripples on Mars and on Earth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Sand ripples are symmetrical. Yet wind -- which causes them -- is very much not. Furthermore, sand ripples can be found on Mars and on Earth. They would be even more fascinating if the same effect found on Mars could be found here on Earth as well. What if one unified theory could explain their formation on both planets?
Published New study reveals insight into which animals are most vulnerable to extinction due to climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a new study, researchers have used the fossil record to better understand what factors make animals more vulnerable to extinction from climate change. The results could help to identify species most at risk today from human-driven climate change.
Published Rock weathering and climate: Low-relief mountain ranges are largest carbon sinks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For many hundreds of millions of years, the average temperature at the surface of the Earth has varied by not much more than 20 degrees Celsius, facilitating life on our planet. To maintain such stable temperatures, Earth appears to have a 'thermostat' that regulates the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide over geological timescales, influencing global temperatures. The erosion and weathering of rocks are important parts of this 'thermostat.'
Published Fossil named 'Attenborough's strange bird' was the first in its kind without teeth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new fossil, named 'Attenborough's strange bird' after naturalist and documentarian Sir David Attenborough, is the first of its kind to evolve a toothless beak. It's from a branch of the bird family tree that went extinct in the mass extinction 66 million years ago, and this strange bird is another puzzle piece that helps explain why some birds -- and their fellow dinosaurs -- went extinct, and others survived to today.
Published Geologists explore the hidden history of Colorado's Spanish Peaks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team has collected dozens of samples from across southeastern Colorado, and their results could help to answer an enduring mystery: What made Colorado's High Plains so high?
Published Mercury rising: Study sheds new light on ancient volcanoes' environmental impact
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Massive volcanic events in Earth's history that released large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere frequently correlate with periods of severe environmental change and mass extinctions. A new method to estimate how much and how rapidly carbon was released by the volcanoes could improve our understanding of the climate response, according to an international team.
Published Slimming down a colossal fossil whale
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A 30 million year-old fossil whale may not be the heaviest animal of all time after all, according to a new analysis by paleontologists. The new analysis puts Perucetus colossus back in the same weight range as modern whales and smaller than the largest blue whales ever recorded.
Published 80 mph speed record for glacier fracture helps reveal the physics of ice sheet collapse
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research documents the fastest-known large-scale breakage along an Antarctic ice shelf. A 6.5-mile crack formed in 2012 over 5-and-a-half minutes, showing that ice shelves can effectively shatter -- though the speed is limited by seawater rushing in. The results help inform large-scale ice sheet models and projections of future sea level rise.
Published UBC Okanagan researchers look to the past to improve construction sustainability
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are revisiting old building practices -- the use of by-products and cast-offs -- as a way to improve building materials and sustainability of the trade. A technique known as rammed earth construction uses materials that are alternatives to cement and are often more readily available in the environment. One such alternative is wood fly ash, a by-product of pulp mills and coal-fired power plants.