Turning glass into clay

The magic mineral and microbial processes that transform volcanic glass into clay have been identified, adding important knowledge to how clay is formed.

New analysis explains formation of bulge on farside of moon

(PhysOrg.com) -- A bulge of elevated topography on the farside of the moon--known as the lunar farside highlands--has defied explanation for decades. But a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Santa ...

Eruptive characteristics of Oregon's Mount Hood analyzed

A new study has found that a mixing of two different types of magma is the key to the historic eruptions of Mount Hood, Oregon's tallest mountain, and that eruptions often happen in a relatively short time - weeks or months ...

As the World Churns

(PhysOrg.com) -- "Terra firma." It's Latin for "solid Earth." Most of the time, at least from our perspective here on the ground, Earth seems to be just that: solid. Yet the Earth beneath our feet is actually in constant ...

African desert rift confirmed as new ocean in the making

(PhysOrg.com) -- In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed the rift was the beginning of a new ocean as two parts of the African continent pulled ...

Scientists offer new theory for largest known mass extinction

The largest mass extinction in the history of the earth could have been triggered off by giant salt lakes, whose emissions of halogenated gases changed the atmospheric composition so dramatically that vegetation was irretrievably ...

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