Earth Sciences news
Earth's early ocean cooled more than a billion years earlier than thought (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The scalding-hot sea that supposedly covered the early Earth may in fact never have existed, according to a new study by Stanford University researchers who analyzed isotope ratios in 3.4 ...
Deep creep means milder, more frequent earthquakes along Southern California's San Jacinto fault
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 08, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (6) |
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With an average of four mini-earthquakes per day, Southern California's San Jacinto fault constantly adjusts to make it a less likely candidate for a major earthquake than its quiet neighbor to the east, the ...
Earthquakes actually aftershocks of 19th century quakes
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 04, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (19) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When small earthquakes shake the central U.S., citizens often fear the rumbles are signs a big earthquake is coming. Fortunately, new research instead shows that most of these earthquakes ...
African desert rift confirmed as new ocean in the making
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 02, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (36) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed the rift was the beginning of a new ocean as two parts of the African continent pulled ...
Previously Unknown Volcanic Eruption Helped Trigger Cold Decade
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 29, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (27) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of chemists from the U.S. and France has found compelling evidence of a previously undocumented large volcanic eruption that occurred exactly 200 years ago, in 1809.
Ancient ocean chemistry: Effects of biological oxygen production 100 million years before it accumulated in atmosphere
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 29, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (13) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists widely accept that around 2.4 billion years ago, the Earth's atmosphere underwent a dramatic change when oxygen levels rose sharply. Called the "Great Oxidation Event" (GOE), the ...
Volcanoes played pivotal role in ancient ice age, mass extinction
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 26, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (14) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers here have discovered the pivotal role that volcanoes played in a deadly ice age 450 million years ago.
Geologist analyzes earliest shell-covered fossil animals
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 22, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
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The fossil remains of some of the first animals with shells, ocean-dwelling creatures that measure a few centimeters in length and date to about 520 million years ago, provide a window on evolution at this ...
Killer algae a key player in mass extinctions
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 19, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (17) |
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Algae, not asteroids, were the key to the end of the dinosaurs, say two Clemson University researchers. Geologist James W. Castle and ecotoxicologist John H. Rodgers have published findings that toxin producing ...
West Antarctic ice sheet may not be losing ice as fast as once thought
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 19, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (10) |
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New ground measurements made by the West Antarctic GPS Network (WAGN) project, composed of researchers from The University of Texas at Austin, The Ohio State University, and The University of Memphis, suggest ...
Jupiter's Moon Europa Has Enough Oxygen For Life
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 16, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (93) |
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New research suggests that there is plenty of oxygen available in the subsurface ocean of Europa to support oxygen-based metabolic processes for life similar to that on Earth. In fact, there may be enough ...
Deep-Sea Microbes May Answer Long-Standing Question About Earth's Nitrogen Cycle
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 15, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have identified an unexpected metabolic ability in a symbiotic community of deep-sea microorganisms. It may help solve a lingering mystery about the world's nitrogen cycle.
Giant impact near India -- not Mexico -- may have doomed dinosaurs
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 15, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (41) |
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A mysterious basin off the coast of India could be the largest, multi-ringed impact crater the world has ever seen. And if a new study is right, it may have been responsible for killing the dinosaurs off 65 ...
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Greenland ice cap melting faster than ever
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
2 hours ago |
4.3 / 5 (6) |
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Satellite observations and a state-of-the art regional atmospheric model have independently confirmed that the Greenland ice sheet is loosing mass at an accelerating rate, reports a new study in Science.
Record high temperatures far outpace record lows across US (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
3 hours ago |
2.7 / 5 (7) |
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Spurred by a warming climate, daily record high temperatures occurred twice as often as record lows over the last decade across the continental United States, new research shows. The ratio of record highs ...
