The versatile mineral could contain evidence of the evolution of land plants and their effect on the sedimentary system.
geochemistry
Widespread “Forever Chemicals” in Subsurface Environments
Massive use of materials containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in commercial and industrial sectors has led to their widespread occurrence in subsurface environments.
Tiny “Pancakes” Suggest Some Asteroids May Stay Active
Analysis of a meteorite that fell in Costa Rica shows that its parent body may resemble the asteroid Bennu.
Old Igneous Rocks Hold the Key to Crustal Thickness Evolution
The chemical composition of orogenic igneous rocks and their zircons is sensitive to crustal thickness and can be used to quantify the evolution of Moho depths beneath continents back in time.
Glacier Advance and Retreat: Insights From the Top of the World
New dating of glacial features reveals predictable glacier behavior in response to climate warming and cooling in the Everest region in the past 8,000 years.
A Post-Impact Deep Freeze for Dinosaurs
New research supports the hypothesis that dinosaurs were done in by climate change after an asteroid impact kicked up a massive plume of sulfur gases that circled the globe for several decades.
Toxic “Forever Chemicals” Accumulate Above the Water Table
PFAS pose a public health risk, but there are major gaps in our knowledge of how these chemicals move through the ground.
A New Look at Preindustrial Carbon Release from the Deep Ocean
New research could help inform future studies of how the release of carbon dioxide from the Southern Ocean might affect global climate change.
A New, Fast Computational Tool for Magmatic Phase Equilibria
Thermodynamic calculations in multiphase, multicomponent magmatic systems can be slow and buggy. A new parallel architecture solves the free energy minimization problem much faster than alternatives.
Earth’s Lower Mantle Is Drier Than Previously Thought
Scientists have long known that the two layers of Earth’s mantle have different chemical compositions. Now, modeling shows that different water concentrations may keep them from mixing.