Lunar orbiting data show that terrestrial oxygen rains down periodically on the Moon, enticing researchers with an opportunity to study Earth's ancient atmosphere.
early Earth
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Deciphering the Bay of Bengal's Tectonic Origins
New magnetic and gravity data suggest that the boundary between continental and oceanic crust lies beneath northern Bangladesh, along the line of an Early Cretaceous spreading center.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Becoming Habitable in the Habitable Zone
Scientists explore how interactions between a rocky planet's climate, mantle, and core can affect its evolution and determine whether it could sustain life.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Understanding the Formation and Primordial Evolution of the Earth
The processes that formed the infant Earth set the stage for its subsequent evolution into the dynamic and habitable planet we know today.
Posted inNews
Ancient Start of Animal Evolution Wasn't Delayed by Low Oxygen
New research finds that Earth had sufficient oxygen 1.4 billion years ago for animals to evolve. Therefore, low oxygen levels probably didn't hold back evolution, as scientists have long thought.
Posted inNews
Earth's Water Came from Space Dust During Planetary Formation
A new analysis of lava from the deep mantle indicates that water-soaked dust particles, rather than a barrage of icy comets, asteroids, or other bodies, delivered water to the newly forming Earth.
Posted inNews
Tiny Mineral Grains Could Drive Plate Tectonics
Scientists turn to granular scales to explain how plate tectonics may have evolved billions of years ago.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Archean Rocks in the Acasta Gneiss Complex
Studying Archean-age gneissic and schistic rocks in northwestern Canada, researchers determined that the source of these rocks formed 4.3 billion years ago.