For decades, a lunar whodunit has puzzled scientists: Did the Moon’s internal layers flip during its formation? Old data might hold the evidence to solve this cold case.
geology
Posted inNews
Cracking Soils Could Accelerate Climate Change
Climate change is expected to lead to more frequent and intense drought, which in turn causes soil to crack, releasing more carbon dioxide and further warming the planet.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Beneath the Ice: Greenland’s Geology Revealed in New Map
Advances in remote sensing offered an opportunity to redraw Greenland’s geologic map for the first time in 15 years.
Posted inNews
What’s Next for the Anthropocene?
Researchers weigh in on the meaning and aftermath of the decision to reject designating “Anthropocene” as an official geological epoch.
Posted inNews
From First Continents to Fancy Countertops
A new study suggests melting gabbros may have helped form Earth’s first continents, riling a long-standing debate.
Posted inNews
Giant Impacts Might Have Triggered Snowball Earth Events
Running into the right space rock at the right time may have been enough to tip Earth into a runaway cold spell.
Posted inNews
A Long-Lost Tropical Island Lies Off Brazil’s Coast
An undersea volcanic plateau in the southwestern Atlantic was a tropical island 45 million years ago.
Posted inNews
Volcanic Lightning May Have Retooled the Nitrogen Needed for Life
Early Earth’s volcanoes could have spurred lightning that transformed atmospheric nitrogen, creating molecules that would have been necessary for life to emerge.
Posted inNews
Last Chance Lake Harbors the Highest Known Levels of Phosphate
Bodies of water such as this might have functioned as cradles of life, given their unique biogeochemistry.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Law and Order for Friction and Faults: One Law to Rule Them All
Faults are made of complex materials with complex behaviors, and having a single model that can predict these behaviors is an advance in understanding deformation and the earthquake cycle.