A new study suggests that tiny, mineral grains—squeezed and mixed over millions of years—set in motion the chain of events that plunge massive tectonic plates deep into the Earth's interior.
Earth Sciences
Jan 19, 2021
1
893
Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid the size of a small city smashed into the earth. This impact, the one that would lead to the end of the dinosaurs, left a scar several miles underground and more than 115 miles wide.
Earth Sciences
Oct 24, 2018
6
109
Measurements of an element in Earth and Moon rocks have just disproved the leading hypotheses for the origin of the Moon.
Space Exploration
Sep 12, 2016
37
1787
Rain as acidic as undiluted lemon juice may have played a part in killing off plants and organisms around the world during the most severe mass extinction in Earth's history.
Earth Sciences
Nov 22, 2013
5
0
(Phys.org) —It's a pressing question: How will the Earth's climate respond to future increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2)? Throughout geologic history, evidence of rapid, large-scale increases in atmospheric CO2 ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 4, 2013
1
0
(Phys.org) —NASA and international researchers have discovered that Earth's moon has more in common than previously thought with large asteroids roaming our solar system.
Space Exploration
Mar 25, 2013
13
0
More than 200 million years ago, a massive extinction decimated 76 percent of marine and terrestrial species, marking the end of the Triassic period and the onset of the Jurassic. This devastating event cleared the way for ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 22, 2013
2
0
(Phys.org)—Rocks dating back 3.4 billion years from south-west Greenland's Isua mountain range have yielded valuable information about the structure of the Earth during its earliest stages of development. In these rocks, ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 9, 2012
5
0
(Phys.org)—Exoplanet hunters estimate that there could be billions of super-Earths—planets with a mass of up to ten times that of Earth—orbiting stars in the Milky Way alone. But do super-Earths really deserve their ...
Astronomy
Sep 25, 2012
27
0
Around 250 million years ago, at the end of the Permian geologic period, there was a mass extinction so severe that it remains the most traumatic known species die-off in Earth's history. Although the cause of this event ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 9, 2012
1
0
