Mantle rocks in Papua New Guinea contain curious geochemical signatures that scientists have traditionally interpreted as evidence of billions-year-old melting. New evidence suggests otherwise.
Geochemistry
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Climate and Currents Shaped Japan’s Hunter-Gatherer Cultures
New climate records from a peat bog show how two neighboring cultures responded differently to shifts in climate and ocean currents.
Posted inScience Updates
Clues from the Sea Paint a Picture of Earth’s Water Cycle
New instrumentation and growing modeling needs in the Earth sciences are driving a renewed effort to compile and curate seawater oxygen isotope data in a centralized, accessible database.
Posted inNews
Krypton Isotopes Provide New Clues to Planets’ Pasts
To trace how crucial ingredients for life arrived at Earth, scientists track noble gases. Now, improved methods are drawing new clues from krypton, the most cryptic of noble gases.
Posted inFeatures
Is Earth’s Core Rusting?
If subduction carries hydrous minerals deep into Earth’s mantle, they may “rust” the iron outer core, forming vast sinks of oxygen that can later be returned to the atmosphere.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Paired Gas Measurements: A New Biogeochemical Tracer?
A technique that measures the ratio of carbon dioxide produced to oxygen consumed could improve predictions of soil’s response to climate change.
Posted inNews
Hot Springs Suggest How the Tibetan Plateau Became the Roof of the World
Helium isotopes found in water samples provide a snapshot of what lies beneath the plateau and stimulate debate within the geosciences community.
Posted inNews
Magma Lingers at Different Depths on the Basis of Its Water Content
The discovery, gleaned from observations of volcanoes on four continents, could help constrain models of volcanic eruptions.
Posted inNews
The Galápagos Islands: The Ultimate Outdoor Soil Science Laboratory
A new study has spurred further research into the impacts of soil formation on modern-day problems like heavy metal contamination in agricultural soils.
Posted inNews
Geochemical Data from Polynesian Artifacts Pack Pofatu Database
A new resource may help match artifacts with their original stone sources—“a really a niche part of archaeology that requires geological expertise.”