Earth’s interior may be cooling down faster than we thought

The extremely hot interior of the Earth is slowly cooling down, but exactly how fast remains unknown. By studying how well a common deep-Earth mineral conducts heat, researchers from Carnegie and ETH Zurich have found that the planet’s interior may be … Continue reading Earth’s interior may be cooling down faster than we thought

Study finds ancient ocean life helped build the great mountain ranges

Scientists led by the University of Aberdeen have concluded that the great mountain ranges of the world produced by the collision of Earth’s tectonic plates reached their great heights thanks to lubricating graphite, which resulted from an abundance of… Continue reading Study finds ancient ocean life helped build the great mountain ranges

Ancient Martian lake and river delta clear in Perseverance photos

Jezero crater on Mars was chosen as the landing site for the Perseverance rover because satellite images suggested it was once an ancient lake. NASA scientists have now found more direct evidence of the location’s watery past, as photos snapped by the … Continue reading Ancient Martian lake and river delta clear in Perseverance photos

Curiosity might not have landed in a lake after all, says new model

NASA’s Curiosity rover has been exploring Gale crater for nine years, and the sediments it’s been studying look an awful lot like those left behind from an ancient lake. But now new research from the University of Hong Kong proposes a much drier explan… Continue reading Curiosity might not have landed in a lake after all, says new model

How the Moon, microbes and longer days may have given us more oxygen

Most of us have at some point in our busy lives wished there were more hours in the day. That wish actually came true billions of years ago as the Earth’s rotation slowed down – and now a new study hypothesizes that this is why we have so much oxygen n… Continue reading How the Moon, microbes and longer days may have given us more oxygen

Mars InSight reveals first crust-to-core snapshot of Red Planet

NASA’s Mars InSight has provided … well, insight, into the inner workings of the Red Planet. By monitoring “marsquakes” over the past two years the instrument has allowed scientists to measure the thickness and composition of Mars’ crust, mantle and co… Continue reading Mars InSight reveals first crust-to-core snapshot of Red Planet

Modern-day Venus may play host to an alien form of tectonic activity

A new study has revealed that tectonic activity on Venus may have caused sections of the planet’s upper crust to become fragmented into smaller bodies that, over vast swathes of time, barge past each other like chunks of pack ice on a body of water. Th… Continue reading Modern-day Venus may play host to an alien form of tectonic activity

Ancient coral reveals world’s slowest earthquake lasted 32 years

Most earthquakes last seconds to minutes, but others will rumble along slowly for days, weeks or even months, at low frequencies that may not be felt at the surface. Now, researchers in Singapore have discovered the slowest earthquake ever found, which… Continue reading Ancient coral reveals world’s slowest earthquake lasted 32 years

Diamond liquid impurities provide new insights into ancient Earth

Geologists have studied tiny pockets of fluids trapped inside diamonds to get a better understanding of how old humanity’s favorite rocks might be. In doing so, they identified three distinct periods of diamond formation in Africa over the past few bil… Continue reading Diamond liquid impurities provide new insights into ancient Earth

Paleomagnetism suggests supercontinent cycle began two billion years ago

Geologists have pieced together an uncertain part of Earth’s ancient history. A team in Australia has found new evidence that suggests the cycle of supercontinents forming and breaking up only started about two billion years ago.Continue ReadingCategor… Continue reading Paleomagnetism suggests supercontinent cycle began two billion years ago