A new study published in Scientific Reports shows how higher latitude ecosystems recovered after the World’s most cataclysmic extinction event 252 million years ago. “Life on the sea floor had […]
Extinction events
Posted inExtinction events, Impact events, Press Release
End-Cretaceous Cooling and Mass Extinction Driven by a Dark Cloud Encounter
We have identified iridium in an ~5 m-thick section of pelagic sediment cored in the deep sea floor at Site 886C, in addition to a distinct spike in iridium at […]
Posted inExtinction events, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Mini-Neptunes Might Host Life Under Right Conditions
Researchers with the NASA Astrobiology Institute’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory Lead Team at the University of Washington have described how mini-Neptune planets could become viable for life around M-Dwarf stars. M-dwarfs […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Icy Worlds, Status Report
Fossils Explain How Life Coped During Snowball Earth
Researchers have discovered what they think are fossils of a unique red algae species that lived about 650 million years ago during a brief respite between some of the most […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Extinction events
Did A Methane Burst Cause the end-Permian Extinction?
The end-Permian extinction is associated with a mysterious disruption to Earth’s carbon cycle. Here we identify causal mechanisms via three observations. First, we show that geochemical signals indicate superexponential growth […]
Posted inExtinction events
Ancient Food Webs Show Modern Structure After Mass Extinction
Researchers have pieced together a highly detailed picture of feeding relationships among 700 mammal, bird, reptile, fish, insect, and plant species from a 48 million year old lake and forest […]
Posted inExtinction events, Habitable Zones
Acidic Rain: A Possible Cause of End-Permian Mass Extinction?
Rain as acidic as undiluted lemon juice may have played a part in killing off plants and organisms around the world during the most severe mass extinction in Earth’s history. […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Press Release
Global Extinction: Gradual Doom as Bad as Abrupt
The deadliest mass extinction of all took a long time to kill 90 percent of Earth’s marine life–and it killed in stages–according to a newly published report. It shows that […]
Posted inComets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Impact events, Press Release
Ocean Asteroid Impact Could Deplete Earth’s Protective Ozone Layer for Years
An asteroid crashing into the deep ocean could have dramatic worldwide environmental effects including depleting the Earth’s protective ozone layer for several years, a Planetary Science Institute researcher has found.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Impact events, Press Release
Tiny Shelled Creatures Shed Light On Extinction And Recovery 65 Million Years Ago
An asteroid strike may not only account for the demise of ocean and land life 65 million years ago, but the fireball’s path and the resulting dust, darkness and toxic […]