fossils Archives

NASA ID: PIA25122 Larger image Credit: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Fossils & Paleontology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Orbital View Of Pilbara, Australia Where Some Of Earth’s Oldest Fossils Can Be Found

by Keith CowingJuly 12, 2024July 7, 2024

The Pilbara in northwestern Australia exposes some of the oldest rocks on Earth, over 3.6 billion years old. The iron-rich rocks formed before the presence of atmospheric oxygen, and life […]

At Crystal Geyser, Utah, travertine rocks form in the presence of microbial communities. Small layered features called stromatolites can be seen growing, which likely form by the direct activity of microorganisms. These and other ‘biosignatures’, such as fossils of bacterial cells, can be seen preserved in the youngest upper layers of the travertine. Surprisingly, these signs of life are quickly erased due to crystal transformations and continued growth. These processes help explain why ancient carbonate rocks are often missing important signs of life, and helps us understand what kinds of biosignatures might be found in similar environments beyond Earth. Image courtesy of Jon Lima-Zaloumis/ASU

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, People Of Astrobiology, Press Release

Research On How Rocks Preserve Signs Of Life Honors Late ASU Mentor Jack Farmer

by Keith CowingJune 28, 2024June 28, 2024

Building from his PhD work at Arizona State University, Jon Lima-Zaloumis is developing methods to look for signs of active life occurring in extreme environments, namely in the Earth’s atmosphere […]

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Press Release

Ocean’s Loss of Oxygen Caused Massive Jurassic Extinction. Could it Happen Again?

by Keith CowingJune 27, 2024June 27, 2024

Researchers have discovered a clue in Italian limestone that helps explain a mass extinction of marine life millions of years ago, and may provide warnings about how oxygen depletion and […]

Adaptation to the harsh conditions of a geologic period of global glaciation may have sparked the development of multicellular life. (image: Michael Schiffer/Unsplash)

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Extinction events, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Why The Harsh Snowball Earth Kick-started Our Earliest Multicellular Ancestors

by Keith CowingJune 27, 2024June 27, 2024

For a billion years, single-celled eukaryotes ruled the planet. Then around 700 million years ago during Snowball Earth — a geologic era when glaciers may have stretched as far as […]

Ammonites basking under the Late Cretaceous sun. CREDIT Callum Pursall (@cpursall on X)

Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Impact events, Press Release

Ammonites’ Fate Sealed By The Meteor Impact That Wiped Out The Dinosaurs

by Keith CowingJune 27, 2024June 27, 2024

Ammonites were not in decline before their extinction, scientists have found.

Pyrite sulfur δ34S values as a function of the natural logarithm of pore water sulfate concentration (r2 = 0.52). Colors correspond to TOC concentration. The solid black line is the line of best fit, with the equation y = −8.4ln([SO4]) − 3.4. The two dashed black lines are parallel to the line of best fit and run 20 ‰ above it and 16 ‰ below it. -- Johns Hopkins University

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

An Unlikely Hero In The Evolution Of Life On Earth: Worms

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2024June 5, 2024

One of Earth’s most consequential bursts of biodiversity—a 30-million-year period of explosive evolutionary changes spawning innumerable new species—may have the most modest of creatures to thank for the vital stage […]

Thin-section micrograph illustrating micritic crust at surface of stromatolite -- GSA

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

New Vestiges Of The First Life On Earth Discovered In Saudi Arabia

by Keith CowingJune 3, 2024June 3, 2024

Stromatolites are the earliest geological record of life on Earth. These curious biotic structures are made of algae carpets growing toward the light and precipitating carbonates.

Field camp on Errant Glacier in the central Transantarctic Mountains Credit: John Goodge

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Press Release

Mountain Building In Antarctica Linked To A Major Extinction Event 500 Million Years Ago

by Keith CowingJune 3, 2024June 3, 2024

As life on Earth rapidly expanded a little over 500 million years ago during the “Cambrian explosion,” Earth had tectonic plates slowly crashing into each other, building mountains and starting […]

Ediacaran time period -- University of Cambridge

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Earth’s Earliest Sea Creatures Drove Evolution By Stirring The Water

by Keith CowingJune 3, 2024June 3, 2024

A study involving the University of Cambridge has used virtual recreations of the earliest animal ecosystems, known as marine animal forests, to demonstrate the part they played in the evolution […]

A dolomite sample from the Cambrian Muav formation as seen through a microscope. Multiple generations of mineral-growth can be seen. In the study we used a laser-ablation system to sample specific mineral fabrics and measure their U- and Pb compositions. -- Uri Ryb

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ancient Earth’s Ocean Oxygenation Timeline Revealed

by Keith CowingApril 5, 2024April 5, 2024

New study introduces a pioneering application of dolomite U-Pb geochronology, shedding new light on the evolution of ancient marine environments. By uncovering discrepancies in dolomite samples U-Pb ratios, the team […]