Digging water channels in mineral stishovite

Stishovite has the same chemical formula as silica quartz (SiO2) but it has much higher density. While SiO2 is abundant on Earth's crust, it is also a major component of basalt, a type of igneous rock that is rich in iron ...

Carbon dioxide, not water, triggers explosive basaltic volcanoes

Geoscientists have long thought that water—along with shallow magma stored in Earth's crust—drives volcanoes to erupt. Now, thanks to newly developed research tools at Cornell, scientists have learned that gaseous carbon ...

Study presents new clues about the rise of Earth's continents

Continents are part of what makes Earth uniquely habitable for life among the planets of the solar system, yet surprisingly little is understood about what gave rise to these huge pieces of the planet's crust and their special ...

Seeing through sediment reveals Red Sea tectonics

Geologists have long contested the structure of the Red Sea. Many regard it as an extended rift basin where two continental plates are actively moving apart, while others see it as a fully developed ocean with a mid-ocean ...

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