ScienceDaily: Geology News

Expedition to study ancient continental breakup west of Spain

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:42:42 EDT

An international team of scientists has embarked on a shipboard expedition to study how the Earth's crust was pulled apart in an area beneath the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Spain.

Earth's mantle affects long-term sea-level rise estimates

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:37:37 EDT

New findings reveal that the U.S. shoreline -- from Virginia to Florida -- has been uplifted by more than 210 feet, meaning less ice melted than expected. This is big news for scientists who use the coastline to predict future sea-level rise.

Origins of human culture linked to rapid climate change

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:14:14 EDT

Rapid climate change during the Middle Stone Age, between 80,000 and 40,000 years ago, sparked surges in cultural innovation in early modern human populations, according to new research.

Geochemist aids development of geologic time scale for study of Earth's history

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:49:49 EDT

The Geologic Time Scale 2012, or GTS2012, is the latest understanding of Earth's history, and the means by which geoscientists around the world investigate the rock record.

The mammoth's lament: How cosmic impact sparked devastating climate change

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:55:55 EDT

Researchers have found evidence of a major cosmic event near the end of the Ice Age. The ensuing climate change forced many species to adapt or die.

Earth's iron core is surprisingly weak

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:54:54 EDT

Researchers have used a diamond anvil cell to squeeze iron at pressures as high as 3 million times that felt at sea level to recreate conditions at the center of Earth. The findings could refine theories of how the planet and its core evolved.

Roots of future tropical rainfall: Sea level influenced tropical climate during the last ice age

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:04:04 EDT

How will rainfall patterns across the tropical Indian and Pacific regions change in a future warming world? Climate models generally suggest that the tropics as a whole will get wetter, but the models don't always agree on where rainfall patterns will shift in particular regions within the tropics.

Origins of life: In early Earth, iron helped RNA catalyze electron transfer

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:56:56 EDT

A new study shows how complex biochemical transformations may have been possible under conditions that existed when life began on the early Earth. The study shows that RNA is capable of catalyzing electron transfer under conditions similar to those of the early Earth.

GPS solution provides three-minute tsunami alerts

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:58:58 EDT

Researchers have shown that, by using global positioning systems (GPS) to measure ground deformation caused by a large underwater earthquake, they can provide accurate warning of the resulting tsunami in just a few minutes after the earthquake onset. For the devastating Japan 2011 event the analysis of the GPS data and issue of a detailed tsunami alert would have taken no more than three minutes.

Topography of Eastern Seaboard muddles ancient sea level changes

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:20:20 EDT

The distortion of the ancient shoreline and flooding surface of the US Atlantic Coastal Plain are the direct result of fluctuations in topography in the region and could have implications on understanding long-term climate change, according to a new study.

World's biggest ice sheets likely more stable than previously believed

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:25:25 EDT

A new study suggests that the previous connections scientists made between ancient shoreline height and ice volumes are erroneous and that perhaps our ice sheets were more stable in the past than we originally thought. The study found that the Earth's hot mantle pushed up segments of ancient shorelines over millions of years, making them appear higher now than they originally were millions of years ago.

Clam fossils divulge secrets of ecologic stability

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:40:40 EDT

Clam fossils from the middle Devonian era now yield a better paleontological picture of the capacity of ecosystems to remain stable in the face of environmental change, according to new research.

Oldest evidence of split between Old World monkeys and apes: Primate fossils are 25 million years old

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:15:15 EDT

Two fossil discoveries from the East African Rift reveal new information about the evolution of primates, according to a new study.

Fall warming on Antarctic Peninsula driven by tropically forced circulation

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:14:14 EDT

New research shows that, in recent decades, fall is the only period of extensive warming over the entire Antarctic Peninsula, and it is mostly from atmospheric circulation patterns originating in the tropics.

Research helps paint finer picture of massive 1700 earthquake

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:06:06 EDT

In 1700, a massive earthquake struck the west coast of North America, but a lack of local documentation has made studying this historic event challenging. Now, researchers have helped unlock this geological mystery using a fossil-based technique. Their work provides a finer-grained portrait of this earthquake and the changes in coastal land level it produced, enabling modelers to better prepare for future events.

Could carbon dioxide be injected in sandstone? Would it stay there?

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:53:53 EDT

As carbon dioxide levels in the Earth's atmosphere top 400 parts per million, options such as storing the greenhouse gas in porous sandstone rock formations found in abundance on the sea floor are of increasing interest. But how do we know if carbon dioxide can be safely injected into spongy sandstone, and that once it is there, that it will stay there?

Impacts of strong solar flares

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:35:35 EDT

Given a legitimate need to protect Earth from the most intense forms of space weather -- great bursts of electromagnetic energy and particles that can sometimes stream from the sun -- some people worry that a gigantic "killer solar flare" could hurl enough energy to destroy Earth, but this is not actually possible.

Western Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami hazard potential greater than previously thought

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:37:37 EDT

Earthquakes similar in magnitude to the 2004 Sumatra earthquake could occur in an area beneath the Arabian Sea at the Makran subduction zone, according to recent research.

Moon and Earth have common water source

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:20:20 EDT

New research finds that water inside the moon's mantle comes from the same source as water on Earth. The Moon is thought to have formed after a giant impact to a still-forming Earth 4.5 million years ago. These new findings suggest that Earth may have had water at the time of that impact, and some of that water may have been transferred to the moon.

Geologists study mystery of 'eternal flames'

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:07:07 EDT

"Eternal flames" fueled by hydrocarbon gas could shine a light on the presence of natural gas in underground rock layers and conditions that let it seep to the surface, according to new research.

Landsat thermal sensor lights up from volcano's heat

Mon, 06 May 2013 18:17:17 EDT

As the Landsat Data Continuity Mission satellite flew over Indonesia's Flores Sea April 29, it captured an image of Paluweh volcano spewing ash into the air. The satellite's Operational Land Imager detected the white cloud of smoke and ash drifting northwest, over the green forests of the island and the blue waters of the tropical sea. The Thermal Infrared Sensor on LDCM picked up even more.

Scaling up gyroscopes: From navigation to measuring Earth's rotation

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:12:12 EDT

Researchers discuss “large ring laser gyroscopes” that are six orders of magnitude more sensitive than gyroscopes commercially available.

As climate changes, boreal forests to shift north and relinquish more carbon than expected

Sun, 05 May 2013 14:59:59 EDT

New research maps how Earth's myriad climates -- and the ecosystems that depend on them -- could move from one area to another as global temperatures rise. The approach foresees big changes for one of the planet's great carbon sponges. Boreal forests will likely shift north at a steady clip this century. Along the way, the vegetation will relinquish more trapped carbon than most current climate models predict.

Brighter clouds, cooler climate? Organic vapors affect clouds, leading to previously unidentified climate cooling

Sun, 05 May 2013 14:58:58 EDT

Scientists have shown that natural emissions and humanmade pollutants can both have an unexpected cooling effect on Earth's climate by making clouds brighter.

'Dark oxidants' form away from sunlight in lake and ocean depths, underground soils

Fri, 03 May 2013 13:29:29 EDT

All forms of life that breathe oxygen -- even ones that can't be seen with the naked eye, such as bacteria -- must fight oxidants to live. But neutralizing environmental oxidants such as superoxide was a worry only for organisms that dwell in sunlight -- in habitats that cover a mere 5 percent of the planet. That was the only place where such environmental oxidants were thought to exist. Now researchers have discovered the first light-independent source of superoxide. The key is bacteria common in the depths of the oceans and other dark places.

Hearing the Russian meteor, in America: Sound arrived in 10 hours, lasted 10 more

Fri, 03 May 2013 10:50:50 EDT

How powerful was February's meteor that crashed into Russia? Strong enough that its explosive entry into our atmosphere was detected almost 6,000 miles away in Lilburn, Ga., by infrasound sensors -- a full 10 hours after the meteor's explosion. A researcher has modified the signals and made them audible, allowing audiences to "hear" what the meteor's waves sounded like as they moved around the globe on February 15.

Lava erupting on sea floor linked to deep-carbon cycle

Thu, 02 May 2013 19:22:22 EDT

Scientists have found unsuspected linkages between the oxidation state of iron in volcanic rocks and variations in the chemistry of the deep Earth. Not only do the trends run counter to predictions from recent decades of study, they belie a role for carbon circulating in the deep Earth.

Studying meteorites may reveal Mars' secrets of life

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:32:32 EDT

In an effort to determine if conditions were ever right on Mars to sustain life, a team of scientists has examined a meteorite that formed on the Red Planet more than a billion years ago.

Scientists retrieve temperature data from Japan Trench observatory

Wed, 01 May 2013 10:13:13 EDT

With the successful retrieval of a string of instruments from deep beneath the seafloor, an international team of scientists has completed an unprecedented series of operations to obtain crucial temperature measurements of the fault that caused the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

What happened to dinosaurs' predecessors after Earth's largest extinction 252 million years ago?

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:49:49 EDT

Predecessors to dinosaurs missed the race to fill habitats emptied when nine out of 10 species disappeared during Earth's largest mass extinction 252 million years ago.

First snapshot of organisms eating each other: Feast clue to smell of ancient Earth

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:41:41 EDT

Tiny 1,900-million-year-old fossils from rocks around Lake Superior, Canada, give the first ever snapshot of organisms eating each other and suggest what the ancient Earth would have smelled like.

Dinosaur predecessors gain ground in wake of world's biggest biodiversity crisis

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:40:40 EDT

Newly discovered fossils from 10 million years after Earth's greatest mass extinction reveal a lineage of animals thought to have led to dinosaurs taking hold in Tanzania and Zambia in the mid-Triassic period, many millions of years before dinosaur relatives were seen in the fossil record elsewhere on Earth.

Climate change will raise the sea level in the Gulf of Finland

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:49:49 EDT

The Finnish Meteorological Institute has updated its estimates concerning the impact of rising sea levels on the Finnish coast. Post-glacial rebound and changes in the Earth’s gravity field protect the Finnish coast against rising sea levels, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia. In the Gulf of Finland, the sea level is starting to rise.

Earth's center is 1,000 degrees hotter than previously thought, synchrotron X-ray experiment shows

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:23:23 EDT

The temperature near Earth's center is 6,000 degrees Celsius, 1,000 degrees more than given in an experiment 20 years ago. This experiment with synchrotron X-rays confirms geophysical models that explain Earth's magnetic field and the creation and intense activity of hot-spot volcanoes. The scientists also established why the earlier experiment had produced lower temperature figures.

Rethinking early atmospheric oxygen: Possibility of more dynamic biological oxygen cycle on early Earth than previously supposed

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:52:52 EDT

Using a quantitative model, a research team of biogeochemists has provided a new view on the relationship between the earliest accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere, arguably the most important biological event in Earth's history, and its relationship to the sulfur cycle. Their model, the researchers argue, is one step toward a more integrated view of how Earth's crust, mantle and atmosphere interact in the global sulfur cycle.

Ancient Earth crust stored in deep mantle

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:27:27 EDT

Scientists have long believed that lava erupted from certain oceanic volcanoes contains materials from the early Earth's crust. But decisive evidence for this phenomenon has proven elusive. New research now demonstrates that oceanic volcanic rocks contain samples of recycled crust dating back to the Archean era 2.5 billion years ago.

Unique sulfur isotopes in plume lavas reveal deep mantle storage of archean crust

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:26:26 EDT

Scientists have found evidence that material contained in young oceanic lava flows originated at the Earth’s surface in the Archean (>2.45 billions years ago). The new finding helps constrain the timing of the initiation of plate tectonics, the origin of some of the chemical heterogeneity in the Earth’s mantle, and may shed light on how the chaotically convecting mantle could preserve such material for so long.

What planets are made of: Findings establish counterintuitive potential planet-forming materials

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:54:54 EDT

Scientists have made a startling prediction that challenges existing chemical models and current understanding of planetary interiors -- magnesium oxide, a major material in the formation of planets, can exist in several different compositions.

Ice tubes in polar seas -- 'brinicles' or 'sea stalactites' -- provide clues to origin of life

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:23:23 EDT

Life on Earth may have originated not in warm tropical seas, but with weird tubes of ice -- sometimes called "sea stalactites" -- that grow downward into cold seawater near the Earth's poles, scientists are reporting.

Iron in primeval seas rusted by bacteria

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:07:07 EDT

Researchers have been able to show for the first time how microorganisms contributed to the formation of the world's biggest iron ore deposits. The biggest known deposits -- in South Africa and Australia -- are geological formations billions of years old. They are mainly composed of iron oxides -- minerals we know from the rusting process. These iron ores not only make up most of the world demand for iron -- the formations also help us to better understand the evolution of the atmosphere and climate, and provide important information on the activity of microorganisms in the early history of life on Earth.

New NASA satellite takes the Salton Sea's temperature

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:58:58 EDT

A new NASA image may look like a typical black-and-white image of a dramatic landscape, but it tells a story of temperature. The dark waters of the Salton Sea pop in the middle of the Southern California desert. Crops create a checkerboard pattern stretching south to the Mexican border.

Geochemical method finds links between terrestrial climate and atmospheric carbon dioxide

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:49:49 EDT

Scientists used a new chemical technique to measure the change in terrestrial temperature associated with a major shift in global atmospheric CO2 concentrations nearly 34 million years ago. Their results provide further evidence that the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide and Earth's surface temperature are inextricably linked.

Measuring the hazards of global aftershock

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:26:26 EDT

The entire world becomes an aftershock zone after a massive magnitude (M) 7 or larger earthquake -- but what hazard does this pose around the planet?

Superstorm Sandy shook the U.S., literally

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:39:39 EDT

When superstorm Sandy turned and took aim at New York City and Long Island last October, ocean waves hitting each other and the shore rattled the seafloor and much of the United States – shaking detected by seismometers across the country, researchers found.

Helping to forecast earthquakes in Salt Lake Valley

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:21:21 EDT

Salt Lake Valley, home to the Salt Lake City segment of the Wasatch fault zone and the West Valley fault zone, has been the site of repeated surface-faulting earthquakes (of about magnitude 6.5 to 7).

Research aims to settle debate over origin of Yellowstone volcano

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:14:14 EDT

A debate among scientists about the geologic formation of the supervolcano encompassing the region around Yellowstone National Park has taken a major step forward, thanks to new evidence.

New technique measures evaporation globally

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:46:46 EDT

Researchers have developed the first method to map evaporation globally using weather stations, which will help scientists evaluate water resource management, assess recent trends of evaporation throughout the globe, and validate surface hydrologic models in various conditions.

Scientists use islands to gauge rainfall's effect on landscapes

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:49:49 EDT

Researchers have used volcanic islands to measure how rainfall sets the pace of landscape formation.

How carbon moves within planet plays big role in planetary atmosphere formation

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:29:29 EDT

A new study suggests that the way carbon moves from within a planet to the surface plays a big role in the evolution of a planet's atmosphere. Mars, which likely released much of its carbon as methane, might have been warm enough to support liquid water.

Rapid climate change and the role of the Southern Ocean

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:37:37 EDT

Scientists have discovered new clues about past rapid climate change. The research concludes that oceanographic reorganizations and biological processes are linked to the supply of airborne dust in the Southern Ocean and this connection played a key role in past rapid fluctuations of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, an important component in the climate system.

The resilience of the Chilean coast after the earthquake of 2010

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 06:44:44 EDT

In February 2010, a violent earthquake struck Chile, causing a tsunami 10 m in height. Affecting millions of people, the earthquake and giant wave also transformed the appearance of the coastline: the dunes and sandbars were flattened, and the coast subsided in places by up to 1 m. But although the inhabitants are still affected for the long term, the shore system quickly rebuilt itself.

How life may have first emerged on Earth: Foldable proteins in a high-salt environment

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 06:40:40 EDT

Scientists may be a step closer to understanding how life first emerged on Earth billions of years ago. Researchers have produced data supporting the idea that 10 amino acids believed to exist on Earth around 4 billion years ago were capable of forming foldable proteins in a high-salt (halophile) environment. Such proteins would have been capable of providing metabolic activity for the first living organisms to emerge on the planet between 3.5 and 3.9 billion years ago.

Discovery of 1,800-year-old 'Rosetta Stone' for tropical ice cores

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:24:24 EDT

Scientists report a set of ice cores from Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru which can serve as a "Rosetta Stone" for studying other ice cores from around the world.

A comet, not an asteroid, may have killed the dinosaurs, experts propose

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:24:24 EDT

In a geological moment about 66 million years ago, something killed off almost all the dinosaurs and some 70 percent of all other species living on Earth. Only those dinosaurs related to birds appear to have survived. Most scientists agree that the culprit in this extinction was extraterrestrial, and the prevailing opinion has been that the party crasher was an asteroid. Not so, say two researchers who favor another explanation, asserting that a high-velocity comet led to the demise of the dinosaurs.

Origin of life: Power behind primordial soup discovered

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:22:22 EDT

Researchers may have solved a key puzzle about how objects from space could have kindled life on Earth.

NASA flies radar south on wide-ranging expedition

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:59:59 EDT

A versatile NASA airborne imaging radar system is showcasing its broad scientific prowess for studying our home planet during a month-long expedition over the Americas. The campaign is addressing a broad range of science questions, from the dynamics of Earth's crust and glaciers to the carbon cycle and the lives of ancient Peruvian civilizations. Flights are being conducted over Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru.

Rocky mountains originated from previously unknown oceanic plate

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:14:14 EDT

The mountain ranges of the North American Cordillera are made up of dozens of distinct crustal blocks. A new study clarifies their mode of origin and identifies a previously unknown oceanic plate that contributed to their assembly. Geologists were able to locate the remnants of several deep-sea trenches that mark subduction sites at which oceanic plates plunge at a steep angle into the mantle and are drawn almost vertically into its depths.

Earth is 'lazy' when forming faults like those near San Andreas

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:42:42 EDT

Some geoscientists have taken an uncommon, “Earth is lazy” approach to modeling fault development in the crust and it is providing new insights into how faults grow. In particular, this group is studying irregularities along strike-slip faults, the active zones where plates slip past each other such as at the San Andreas Fault of southern California.

Congestion in Earth's mantle: Mineralogists explain why plate tectonics stagnates in some places

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 16:55:55 EDT

Seismic measurements show that in some regions of the Earth's mantle, plate tectonics stagnates. The causes of the 'congestion' of the subducted plate are still unknown. In a new study, mineralogists from Germany explain the phenomenon for the first time.

New evidence ancient asteroid caused global firestorm on Earth

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:42:42 EDT

A new look at conditions after a Manhattan-sized asteroid slammed into a region of Mexico in the dinosaur days indicates the event could have triggered a global firestorm that would have burned every twig, bush and tree on Earth and led to the extinction of 80 percent of all Earth's species, says a new study.