About 66 million years ago, an asteroid slammed into the planet, wiping out all non-avian dinosaurs and about 70% of all marine species.
Extinction events
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Press Release
How Survivors Spanned The Globe After Earth’s Biggest Mass Extinction
Scientists don’t call it the “Great Dying” for nothing. About 252 million years ago, upward of 80% of all marine species vanished during the end-Permian mass extinction – the most […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Extinction events, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ray Ionisation Of A Post-impact Early Earth Atmosphere: Solar Cosmic Ray Ionisation Must Be Considered In Origin-of-life Scenarios
Cosmic rays (CR), both solar and Galactic, have an ionising effect on the Earth’s atmosphere and are thought to be important for prebiotic molecule production. In particular, the H2-dominated atmosphere […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Impact events, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Press Release
Hunga Volcano Eruption Cooled, Rather Than Warmed, Earth’s Southern Hemisphere
When Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai, an underwater volcano near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean, erupted in 2022, scientists expected that it would spew enough water vapor into the stratosphere to […]
Posted inComets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
The Atmospheric Entry of Cometary Impactors
Cometary impacts play an important role in the early evolution of Earth, and other terrestrial exoplanets.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report
Climate Crisis That Accompanied The Great Dying Mass Extinction Event
The mass extinction that ended the Permian geological epoch, 252 million years ago, wiped out most animals living on Earth. Huge volcanoes erupted, releasing 100,000 billion metric tons of carbon […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Extinction events, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Radiation
Violent Supernovae May Have Triggered At Least Two Earth Extinctions
At least two mass extinction events in Earth’s history were likely caused by the “devastating” effects of nearby supernova explosions, a new study suggests.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
A Terrestrial “Life Oasis” From The End-Permian Mass Extinction Period
A new study reveals that a region in China’s Turpan-Hami Basin served as a refugium, or “Life oasis” for terrestrial plants during the end-Permian mass extinction, the most severe biological […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Plants Struggled For Millions Of Years After The World’s Worst Climate Catastrophe
A team of scientists from University College Cork (UCC) , the University of Connecticut, and the Natural History Museum of Vienna have uncovered how plants responded to catastrophic climate changes […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release
Earth’s Oldest Impact Crater Found, Rewriting Planetary History
Curtin University researchers have discovered the world’s oldest known meteorite impact crater, which could significantly redefine our understanding of the origins of life and how our planet was shaped.