If life is abundant in the universe, atmospheric methane may be the first sign of life beyond Earth detectable by astronomers. Although nonbiological processes can generate methane, a new study by scientists at UC Santa Cruz ...
Astrobiology
Mar 28, 2022
1
731
Thank goodness for the Earth's crust: It is, after all, that solid, outermost layer of our planet that supports everything above it.
Earth Sciences
Jun 26, 2020
4
739
The discovery of Tamu Massif, a gigantic volcano located about 1,000 miles east of Japan, made big news in 2013 when researchers reported it was the largest single volcano documented on earth, roughly the size of New Mexico.
Earth Sciences
Jul 8, 2019
0
197
In countless grade-school science textbooks, the Earth's mantle is a yellow-to-orange gradient, a nebulously defined layer between the crust and the core.
Earth Sciences
May 20, 2019
0
156
It is well known that life on Earth and the geology of the planet are intertwined, but a new study provides fresh evidence for just how deep—literally—that connection goes. Geoscientists at Caltech and UC Berkeley have ...
Earth Sciences
May 10, 2019
8
578
Since the plate tectonics revolution of the 1960s, scientists have known that new seafloor is created throughout the major ocean basins at linear chains of volcanoes known as mid-ocean ridges. But where exactly does the erupted ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 27, 2013
10
0
Australian geologists have used plate tectonic modeling to determine what most likely caused an extreme ice-age climate in Earth's history, more than 700 million years ago.
Earth Sciences
Feb 8, 2024
0
230
An international team of researchers including scientists from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel has produced the first global estimate of mercury emissions from hydrothermal sources at mid-ocean ridges ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 18, 2023
0
28
The oceanic lithosphere, which constitutes the top layer including Earth's crust and mantle below the oceans, has long intrigued scientists due to its peculiar behavior. This layer appears to glide over a weaker region below ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 26, 2023
0
40
Earthquakes and volcanism occur as a result of plate tectonics. The movement of tectonic plates themselves is largely driven by the process known as subduction. The question of how new active subduction zones come into being, ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 19, 2023
0
236
