Updated: 2025-02-03 21:38:42
Scientist have concluded water did not arrive as early during Earth's formation as previously thought, an insight that bears directly on the question of when life originated on the planet. The finding is significant because the data reported by the study support the idea that water arrived towards the final stages of Earth's development into a planet from dust and gas, what geologists refer to as late accretion.
Updated: 2025-01-29 21:21:01
An international research team has investigated the influence of the forces exerted by the Zagros Mountains in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on how much the surface of the Earth has bent over the last 20 million years. Their research revealed that in the present day, deep below the Earth's surface, the Neotethys oceanic plate -- the ocean floor that used to be between the Arabian and Eurasian continents -- is breaking off horizontally, with a tear progressively lengthening from southeast Turkey to northwest Iran. Their findings show how the evolution of the Earth's surface is controlled by processes deep within the planet's interior.
Updated: 2025-01-27 05:44:29
Dating key tectonic events in Japan's geological history has long been often challenging due to poor microfossil preservation from intense heat due to metamorphism. Researchers tackled this by using Re--Os isotope geochronology on Besshi-type volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits (Makimine and Shimokawa deposits) associated with sediment-covered mid-ocean ridges. Their findings revealed the timing of ridge subduction -- when one tectonic plate was forced beneath another -- a process that shaped Japan's landscape and provided new insights into its geological evolution.
Updated: 2025-01-27 04:35:36
Using syrup and baking soda, research has demonstrated the formation mechanism of rootless cones, small volcanic landforms commonly found on Earth and Mars. The study clarified, through an experimental approach, that a self-organization process determines the spatial distribution and size of these landforms. This research will enhance our understanding of explosive eruption phenomena caused by the interaction of lava and water and provide new insights into geological phenomena on the red planet.
Updated: 2025-01-23 05:21:52
The magnitude 7.9 Bonin Islands earthquake sequence, which ruptured deep within the earth near the base of the upper mantle, did not include an aftershock that extended to record depths into the lower mantle, according to a new study.
Updated: 2025-01-22 05:56:20
Deeply hidden in Earth's mantle there are two huge 'islands' with the size of a continent. New research shows that these regions are not only hotter than the surrounding graveyard of cold sunken tectonic plates, but also that they must be ancient: at least half a billion years old, perhaps even older. These observations contradict the idea of a well-mixed and fast flowing Earth's mantle, a theory that is becoming more and more questioned.
Updated: 2025-01-21 05:58:08
A new study provides compelling new evidence that a colossal 'megaflood' refilled the Mediterranean Sea, ending a period during which the Med was a vast expanse of salt flats. The study suggests the Zanclean Megaflood ended the Messinian Salinity Crisis, which lasted between 5.97 and 5.33 million years ago.
Updated: 2025-01-08 19:37:29
New research has identified the probable locations for critical metals needed to support a green economy.
