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quartz

Simulations of crack initiation in a quartz grain.
Posted inEditors' Highlights

CO2 Reduces the Onset of Fracturing at the Nanoscale in Quartz

by François Renard 9 February 20238 February 2023

Large scale molecular dynamics simulations unravel the coupled processes at work during fracturing and flow of carbon dioxide and water in quartz grains at the nanoscale.

A circular hole drilled into Gale Crater on Mars.
Posted inNews

Unraveling the Mystery of a Rare Mineral on Mars

by Clarissa Wright 7 September 20223 January 2023

The discovery of tridymite in Mars’s Gale Crater triggered debate about the rare mineral’s origins. A research team recently suggested a scenario with explosive implications.

Photo of rock outcrop showing foliation-parallel quartz veins.
Posted inEditors' Vox

The Kinetics of the Seismic Cycle

by Randolph T. Williams and Åke Fagereng 7 June 202214 September 2022

Large earthquakes are necessarily punctuated by some degree of strength recovery, such as “fault healing”, but does quartz cementation during fluid-fault interactions facilitate that process?

The Sun sets at Stonehenge
Posted inNews

State-of-the-Art Technology, Serendipity, and Secrets of Stonehenge

Richard Sima, freelance science writer by Richard J. Sima 8 September 202129 March 2023

The first comprehensive analysis of what the sarsen stones are made of came about with new technology—and good old-fashioned luck.

Greenery forefronts an image of a dust storm clouding the horizon
Posted inNews

Dusting Off the Arid Antiquity of the Sahara

Sarah Derouin, Science Writer by Sarah Derouin 14 October 20192 March 2023

New research on the geochemistry of Canary Islands paleosols shows that the Sahara has been an arid dust producer for at least 4.8 million years.

New mathematical modeling suggests lightning strikes may leave traces similar to those of meteorites
Posted inResearch Spotlights

Lightning Strikes May Leave Traces Like Those of Meteorites

Sarah Stanley, Science Writer by Sarah Stanley 20 September 20174 October 2021

Scientists have long interpreted shocked quartz as definitive evidence of a past meteorite impact, but the shock wave caused by lightning striking granite also produces this distinctive feature.

New lab experiments offer insight into the formation of the slickenline patterns that often appear on faults
Posted inResearch Spotlights

Lab Experiments Show How Fault Surfaces Get Groovy

Sarah Stanley, Science Writer by Sarah Stanley 16 June 201718 October 2022

Formation of nanometer-scale quartz beads could promote linear “slickenline” patterns and facilitate fault movement.

Water flows along a knickpoint in the Luquillo Mountains.
Posted inResearch Spotlights

How Do Tropical Forests Slow Knickpoints in Rivers?

by W. Yan 1 July 201627 April 2022

Using Puerto Rico's Luquillo Mountains as a case study, scientists use the region's geological history to study how knickpoints—areas where there's a sharp change in the river's slope—move over time.

Micrograph of a recrystallized quartz aggregate from a high-temperature shear zone in Italy’s Truzzo granite, showing a grain boundary migration microstructure.
Posted inResearch Spotlights

Despite Dryness, Quartz Grains Can Deform in Earth's Crust

by Terri Cook 6 June 20161 October 2021

A comparison of water content in undeformed and deformed quartz indicates that grains may change shape via weakening processes that cannot be duplicated in laboratory experiments.

Posted inResearch Spotlights

Trace Element Holds the Key to Deformation of Continents

by E. Betz 8 January 201510 May 2022

Studies of titanium in quartz grains could help scientists gain a better understanding of our planet's shifting surface.

Features from AGU Journals

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHTS
Geophysical Research Letters
“Neural Networks Map the Ebb and Flow of Tiny Ponds”
By Sarah Derouin

EDITORS' HIGHLIGHTS
Community Science
“Collaboration Helps Overcome Challenges in Air Quality Monitoring”
By Muki Haklay

EDITORS' VOX
Reviews of Geophysics
“What We Know and Don’t Know About Climate Tipping Elements”
By Seaver Wang

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