biodiversity Archives

A Terrestrial biomes and marine bioregions of the BioSCape study area (the Greater Cape Floristic Region) in the South-Western corner of South Africa and (B–D) Airborne data coverage by four of the airborne instruments over the study area. (B–D are screengrabs from the BioSCape Data Portal, popo.jpl.nasa.gov/mmgis-aviris/?mission = BIOSCAPE). -- University of California - Merced

Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Orbital Recon: How Life On Earth Can Be Measured From Space

by Keith CowingFebruary 7, 2025February 7, 2025

Measurements and data collected from space can be used to better understand life on Earth.

The underwater volcano Borealis Mud Volcano was discovered in the summer of 2023. Last year, the researchers were back at the volcano. Credit Jørn Berger-Nyvoll / UiT

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Underwater Mud Volcanos Are A Haven For Marine Organisms

by Keith CowingJanuary 28, 2025January 28, 2025

The underwater volcano Borealis Mud Volcano is located in the Barents Sea and was first discovered by researchers at UiT The Arctic University of Norway in 2023. The discovery received […]

Several key access “windows” provide entry points to the crustal biosphere: 1 Hydrothermal vents at mid-ocean ridges (MORs), featuring both diffuse and focused high-temperature flows (up to ~400°C) and event plumes associated with seafloor eruptions; 2 Warm water seeps (

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Subseafloor Crustal Biosphere: Ocean’s Hidden Biogeochemical Reactor

by Keith CowingJanuary 7, 2025January 7, 2025

Underlying the thick sediment layer in ocean basins, the flow of seawater through the cracked and porous upper igneous crust supports a previously hidden and largely unexplored active subsurface microbial […]

The greening of Antarctica Larger image -- NASA

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Icy Worlds, Press Release

Ice World Orbital Recon: Increased Plant Cover On Earth’s Antarctic Peninsula

by Keith CowingDecember 6, 2024December 6, 2024

The white, monochromatic vistas of Antarctica, a continent practically synonymous with ice, are becoming more verdant—at least around some of its edges. According to an analysis of 35 years of […]

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Plant Biology, Press Release, Space Stations, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Orbital Recon: EMIT Collects Data On Terrestrial Plant Communities

by Keith CowingDecember 2, 2024November 30, 2024

Editor’s note: when we begin to survey new worlds up close with reconnaissance spacecraft – from orbit – we will need an array of sensors capable of gleaning as much […]

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Orbital Recon: EMIT Scans The Amazon River in Northern Brazil

by Keith CowingDecember 1, 2024November 30, 2024

Editor’s note: when we begin to survey new worlds up close with reconnaissance spacecraft – from orbit – we will need an array of sensors capable of gleaning as much […]

Image shows a type of plankton called Foraminifer – microscopic organisms, the size of a grain of sand – which float with fellow microorganisms close to the surface of the ocean. Credit Bernat Heszler, University of Bristol

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean World Update: Sea Life On Earth Will Struggle To Survive Future Global Warming

by Keith CowingNovember 14, 2024November 14, 2024

A new study highlights how some marine life could face extinction over the next century, if human-induced global warming worsens.

Dynamical Systems At Work on Earth -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

A Dynamical Systems Perspective On The Celestial Mechanical Contribution To The Emergence Of Life

by Keith CowingNovember 4, 2024November 4, 2024

Biological activities are often seen entrained onto the day-night and other celestial mechanical cycles (e.g., seasonal and lunar), but studies on the origin of life have largely not accounted for […]

a, Mantle melting is predicted to last 5 Myr or more. b, A rheological transition in the crust on timescales of ~105 years throttles ascent of magmas from deeper storage regions. c, SCION sensitivity tests for the end-Permian with median Siberian Traps co-eruptive outgassing and cryptic degassing ranging from 1013 to 3 × 1013 mol CO2 yr−1 for 2, 4, 6 or 8 Myr, showing that maintaining a given level of warming requires a minimum CO2 flux; if cryptic degassing satisfies this flux, the duration of warming depends on the duration of cryptic degassing and cumulative emissions. d, The combined influence of prolonged mantle melting and declining surface volcanism decouples CO2 flux from volcanic output, with high cryptic CO2 fluxes during early and waning phases of LIP emplacement. During early emplacement, magmas solidify in the cold lithosphere, exsolving gas. During late emplacement, the rheologic shift shown in b inhibits eruptions, but cryptic degassing continues from magmas solidifying in the lower crust and mantle lithosphere.

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Carbon Dioxide Release From Magma Deep Beneath Ancient Volcanoes Was A Hidden Driver Of Earth’s Past Climate

by Keith CowingOctober 31, 2024October 31, 2024

An international team of geoscientists led by a volcanologist at Rutgers University-New Brunswick has discovered that, contrary to present scientific understanding, ancient volcanoes continued to spew carbon dioxide into the […]

Batillipes pennaki, found in Brazil, is a marine species of tardigrade (photo: André Garraffoni)

Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Press Release

Tardigrades Are Less Cosmopolitan And More Diverse Than Has Been Thought

by Keith CowingOctober 25, 2024October 25, 2024

Tardigrades are microscopic invertebrates measuring between 0.2 mm and 1.1 mm in length. They are close relatives of arthropods (spiders, insects, crustaceans), and can live in wide variety of environments. […]