Research suggests that the spherical structures, smaller than grains of sand, may be microtektites, but additional investigations are needed to verify their identity.
carbonates
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Detecting Carbonates on the Surface of Mars
A new study shows how a warm, wet climate weathered rocks on early Mars.
Posted inFeatures
The Carbon Market Potential of Asbestos Mine Waste
Researchers have devised new methods to turn toxic asbestos mine tailings into innocuous piles of carbonate rock and draw down atmospheric carbon dioxide at the same time.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Old Idea Spurs New Research into Origins of Carbonate Mudstones
Using modern techniques, scientists tested an old hypothesis about carbonate mud production to shift the thinking about rocks that are used as seawater archives and a source of petroleum.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Tiny Marine Shells Reveal Past Patterns in Ocean Dynamics
A 400,000-year calcium carbonate record from the ocean floor sheds light on deep-ocean circulation and on mechanisms driving climate patterns and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Carbonate Melting Enhances Mantle CO2 Fluxes in Old Ocean Basins
The amount of CO2 segregated from the mantle by carbonate melting beneath old oceanic crust may equal that emitted along the mid-ocean ridge system, thereby contributing to the global carbon cycle.
Posted inNews
Boiled or Raw, Snail Shells Keep an Environmental Archive
Snail shells discovered at archaeological sites might still accurately record past weather and vegetation despite being the leftovers of a past meal.
Posted inNews
Giant Snails’ Century-Old Shells Recorded Monsoon Rainfall
Researchers explored past precipitation in India using shells from very large land snails collected there in 1918 and preserved in a British museum.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Diagnosing Cryptic Remagnetization in Sedimentary Rocks
To understand the ancient movement of Earth’s tectonic plates, comprehensive magnetic and petrographic studies are needed to detect secondary magnetization in carbonates and other sedimentary rocks.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Ancient Ocean Floor Seashells Improve Model of Past Glaciers
More accurate reconstruction of ice sheets over the past 150,000 years could help scientists predict future climate change.