[Purdue University] Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid about the size of Mount Everest smacked into Earth near where the Yucatan Peninsula is today. That impact created the Chicxulub crater […]
dinosaurs
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release
Meteorite Which Wiped Out The Dinosaurs Also Created A Record-breaking Hydrothermal System
The meteorite which caused the extinction of the dinosaurs also created an underground environment suited to supporting new life, and new research suggests it lasted for millions of years longer […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Impact events, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Pioneering Research Sheds New Light On What Shaped Extinction Pattern Of Prehistoric Marine Life – And Size Clearly Mattered
Scientists have shown conclusively for the first time that tiny marine organisms in polar oceans survived the mass extinction event that wiped out prehistoric dinosaurs because they needed less energy […]
Posted inComets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
Chicxulub Asteroid Impact Sulfur Release Was Less Lethal In Dinosaur Extinction
Approximately 66 million years ago, the Chicxulub asteroid, estimated to be 10-15 kilometer in diameter, struck the Yucatán Peninsula (in current-day Mexico), creating a 200-kilometer-wide impact crater. This impact triggered […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
Massive Volcanic Eruptions Did Not Cause The Extinction Of Dinosaurs
Massive volcanic eruptions on the Indian peninsula have long been proposed as an alternative cause for the demise of the dinosaurs. This phase of active volcanism took place in a […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Habitable Zones, Press Release
New Research Reveals How El Nino Caused The Greatest Ever Mass Extinction
Mega ocean warming El Niño events were key in driving the largest extinction of life on planet Earth some 252 million years ago, according to new research.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
The Chicxulub Impactor Was A Carbonaceous-type Asteroid From Beyond Jupiter
[University of Cologne] Scientists have pinpointed the origin and composition of the asteroid that caused the mass extinction 66 million years ago, revealing it was a rare carbonaceous asteroid from […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Impact events, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release
Mass Extinction 66 million Years Ago Triggered Rapid Evolution Of Bird Genomes
Shortly after an asteroid slammed into Earth 66 million years ago, life for non-avian dinosaurs ended, but the evolutionary story for the early ancestors of birds began.
Posted inExtinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Impact events, Press Release
Ammonites’ Fate Sealed By The Meteor Impact That Wiped Out The Dinosaurs
Ammonites were not in decline before their extinction, scientists have found.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Press Release
Away Teams On Earth: Biosignatures From Feathers Reveal Traces Of Ancient Dinosaur Proteins
Editor’s note: we currently have three rovers on Mars – and other in orbit – searching in one way or another for biosignatures – chemical and/or geological traces that life […]