High-temperature and high-pressure experiments involving a diamond anvil and chemicals to simulate the core of the young Earth demonstrate for the first time that hydrogen can bond strongly with iron […]
astrogeology
Earth's Carbon Deficit Caused By Early Loss Through Irreversible Sublimation
Carbon is an essential element for life but its behavior during Earth’s accretion is not well understood. Carbonaceous grains in meteoritic and cometary materials suggest that irreversible sublimation, and not […]
Early Earth's Hot Mantle May Have Led To An Archean Water World
A vast global ocean may have covered early Earth during the early Archean eon, 4 to 3.2 billion years ago, a side effect of having a hotter mantle than today, […]
Modeling Stellar Abundance Patterns Resulting From The Addition Of Earthlike Planetary Material
The literature on precision differential abundances (PDAs) in stars is extensive. Surveys include sun-like stars in the solar neighborhood, binary systems, and Galactic clusters. Numerous references as well as a […]
New study of Earth's Crust Shows Global Growth Spurt Three Billion Years Ago
Curtin University researchers have used ancient crystals from eroded rocks found in stream sediments in Greenland to successfully test the theory that portions of Earth’s ancient crust acted as ‘seeds’ […]
In Situ Geochronology For The Next Decade: Mission Designs For The Moon, Mars, And Vesta
Geochronology, or determination of absolute ages for geologic events, underpins many inquiries into the formation and evolution of planets and our Solar System. Absolute ages of ancient and recent magmatic […]
Statistics of the Chemical Composition of Solar Analog Stars and Links to Planet Formation
The Sun has been found to be depleted in refractory (rock-forming) elements relative to nearby solar analogs, suggesting a potential indicator of planet formation. Given the small amplitude of the […]
Effect Of Mantle Oxidation State And Escape Upon The Evolution Of Earth's Magma Ocean Atmosphere
The magma ocean period was a critical phase determining how Earth atmosphere developed into habitability. However there are major uncertainties in the role of key processes such as outgassing from […]
Accretion Disk's Magnetic Field Controlled The Composition Of The Terrestrial Planets
Chondrites, the building blocks of the terrestrial planets, have mass and atomic proportions of oxygen, iron, magnesium, and silicon totaling ≥90% and variable Mg/Si (∼25%), Fe/Si (factor of ≥2), and […]
Lithologic Controls on Silicate Weathering Regimes of Temperate Planets
The atmospheres of temperate planets may be regulated by geochemical cycles. Silicate weathering provides essential negative feedback to the carbonate-silicate cycle (carbon cycle) to maintain temperate climates on Earth and […]
