New tool pinpoints oil reserves

(Phys.org) —A tool to precisely pinpoint where petroleum and gas reserves have accumulated has been created by an international team of scientists, including a geologist from the University of California, Davis.

Hoodoos—key to earthquakes?

In the absence of long-term instrumental data, fragile rock formations, called hoodoos, may be key to understanding seismic hazard risk. In this study, researchers consider two hoodoos in Red Rock Canyon region to put limits ...

A 3.45-billion-year-old diet

Researchers are providing new information about the 'diet' of microorganisms on the early Earth. By studying 3.45-billion-year-old rocks, the team uncovered clues about ancient microbial metabolism.

Solution to ancient rock puzzle posited

A superplume, or massive episode of volcanic eruptions that related to extensive melting of the Earth's mantle, could explain the puzzling reappearance of major iron formations long after the rise in atmospheric oxygen about ...

Earth's oldest fossils boost hopes for life on Mars

(PhysOrg.com) -- Microfossils found in Australia show that more than 3.4 billion years ago, bacteria thrived on an Earth that had no oxygen, a finding that boosts hopes life has existed on Mars, a study published Sunday says.

Oldest fossils ever found may not be fossils after all

(PhysOrg.com) -- A rock formation in Western Australia was the site of great excitement a couple of decades ago when it revealed evidence of the oldest fossils of bacteria ever found, but a new study casts doubt on those ...

Ancient volcano may have caused mass extinction

A previously unknown giant volcanic eruption that led to global mass extinction 260million years ago has been uncovered by scientists at the University of Leeds.

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