Basalt is a fine-grained, mafic igneous rock composed predominantly of plagioclase feldspar (typically labradorite) and clinopyroxene, with common accessory minerals such as olivine, Fe-Ti oxides, and, less frequently, orthopyroxene. It is the principal constituent of oceanic crust and many large igneous provinces, forming from low-viscosity, low-silica (≈45–53% SiO₂) magmas derived by partial melting of the upper mantle. Basaltic melts are typically tholeiitic or alkaline, with relatively high MgO, FeO, and CaO contents, and they crystallize under rapid cooling conditions, yielding a microcrystalline to glassy groundmass with possible phenocrysts of olivine, pyroxene, or plagioclase.
Some of the most extraordinary gems ever found belong to a rare class of diamonds known as CLIPPIRs (Cullinan-like, Large, Inclusion-Poor, Pure, Irregular, Resorbed). They make up less than 1% of all diamonds on Earth and ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 20, 2026
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The European Space Agency's Mars Express has spotted a swath of metallic-looking waves filling Mars's large Kaiser Crater—an ancient and otherworldly dune field sculpted by wind.
Planetary Sciences
Jul 15, 2026
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37
In the Pilbara of Western Australia, some of Earth's oldest rocks lie beneath the sky, as they have for billions of years. They are dark, weathered volcanic rocks, close to 3.5 billion years old, cut by veins and stewed by ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 24, 2026
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14
Using MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of researchers led by former MPIA (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany) Ph.D. student Sebastian Zieba (Center ...
Astronomy
May 4, 2026
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411
Observations of the Rimae Bode region on the moon reveal five distinct types of terrain and identify several potential landing sites for China's first crewed mission, according to research titled "Geology of Rimae Bode region ...
Space Exploration
Mar 9, 2026
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45
What do the rumblings of Iceland's volcanoes have in common with the now peaceful volcanic islands off Scotland's western coast and the spectacular basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland?
Earth Sciences
Aug 27, 2025
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80
A 2.35-billion-year-old meteorite with a unique chemical signature, found in Africa in 2023, plugs a major gap in our understanding of the moon's volcanic history.
Planetary Sciences
Jul 8, 2025
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151
We are going back 55 million years. That was when Greenland and Norway began to drift apart, causing the Atlantic Ocean to open up. The Earth's crust between them became thinner and thinner, and enormous amounts of lava poured ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 7, 2025
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31
Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs), located far from subduction zones, are typically thought to be unaffected by subduction processes. However, some MORBs display arc-like geochemical signatures—including negative Nb anomalies ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 15, 2025
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25
Basalt samples returned by the Chang'e-6 mission have revealed volcanic events on the lunar farside at 2.8 billion years ago (Ga) and 4.2 Ga, according to research conducted by Prof. Li Qiuli's lab at the Institute of Geology ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 15, 2024
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