Imagine reading by the light of an exploded star, brighter than a full moon – it might be fun to think about, but this scene is the prelude to a […]
Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ocean Worlds Exploration and the Search for Life
This is a community draft white paper for submission to the Decadal Survey in Planetary Science and Astrobiology, reflecting the views of the NASA Astrobiology Program’s Research Coordination Network for […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Mineralogy of a Sulfate-rich Inverted Channel in the Atacama Desert, Chile: Clues to its Formation and Preservation
We have performed a stratigraphic and mineralogical analysis of a vertical transect across a ridge located at the distal end of a system of eroded alluvial deposits in the northern […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Dusty Iron in the Ancient Oceans
A recent study examines the affect of dust-borne iron on primary productivity in the oceans of the ancient Earth.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ocean Anoxia during a Biocrisis on the Ancient Earth
A recent study provides new constraints on the timing of ocean anoxia during the Smithian-Spathian boundary (SSB), which represents a period of ‘biocrisis’ for Earth’s marine ecosystems as they recovered […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Press Release
Geoscientists Document 300 Million Year Old Atmospheric Dust
Dust plays a crucial role in the life and health of our planet. In our modern world, dust-borne nutrients traveling in great dust storms from the Saharan Desert fertilize the […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Hunting for Alien Life at the Bottom of the Arctic Ocean
A team of oceanographers are heading out on a voyage of discovery this month, exploring in detail for the first time a hydrothermal vent field in the Arctic Ocean. They […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Press Release
Rethinking Sulfide in the Ancient Oceans
Researchers supported in part by the Exobiology Program have provided new information about the oxygenation history of the Earth’s oceans during the mid-Proterozoic using uranium (U) isotope data. The team […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Atacama Desert Microbes May Hold Clues To Life On Mars
Microbial life on Mars may potentially be transported across the planet on dust particles carried by wind, according to a study conducted in the Atacama Desert in North Chile, a […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Press Release
Drop Of Ancient Seawater Rewrites Earth's History
The remains of a microscopic drop of ancient seawater has assisted in rewriting the history of Earth’s evolution when it was used to re-establish the time that plate tectonics started […]