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.
unsolved mysteries
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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.
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How a Newly Discovered Mineral Might Explain Weird Mantle Behavior
Scientists not only synthesized davemaoite but deformed it at lower mantle conditions. They found its strength and viscosity to be substantially lower than those of other minerals that make up the lower mantle.
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New Results Deepen the Mystery of Earth’s Early Magnetic Field
How was Earth’s early magnetic field produced? New experimental results and modeling show that the energy source could not have come from exsolution of lithophile elements from the core.
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Tree Rings Reveal a Puzzling Trend in Monsoon Intensity
Tree rings confirm that in northern Australia, the past 40 years have experienced more rain than any similar length of time in the past 600 years.
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Buscando terremotos en la ionosfera
Los terremotos pueden liberar ráfagas de energía eléctrica que se pueden sentir en la ionosfera, a kilómetros por encima de la Tierra. Sin embargo, la teoría sigue siendo controvertida.
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The Surprising Greenhouse Gas That Caused Volcanic Summer
Extended periods of volcanism known as flood basalt eruptions lead to volcanic winters, which are often followed by an extended period of warming. But it was more than just carbon dioxide that warmed the globe.
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Saturn’s Powerful Winds Explain Changes in the Length of Its Day
Atmospheric winds moving at more than 7,000 kilometers per hour distort Saturn’s magnetic field, revealing why spacecraft have measured changes in the length of a day on the ringed world.
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The Bumpy Search for Liquid Water at the South Pole of Mars
Studies since 2018 have provided competing explanations of bright radar reflections from the base of the south polar ice cap.
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Iodine-Laden Desert Dust Is Eating at Ozone Pollution
In a happy accident, scientists found a potential solution to an atmospheric chemistry mystery. Their findings could be a missing piece in the iodine cycle and in atmospheric models.