geology Archives

An example of stromatolites investigated in the study found in the Cheshire Formation of the Belingwe greenstone belt, Zimbabwe. Photo credit: Professor Axel Hofmann

Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Impact Of Volcanic Activity On Early Marine Life

by Keith CowingMarch 3, 2025

Analysis of fossilised rocks known as stromatolites from more than two-and-a-half billion years ago has provided new insights into the conditions on Earth before the evolution of oxygen.

Solidification regimes of the Martian core for different bulk core sulfur concentrations. a Iron snow. b Simultaneous iron snow and Fe3S crystalizing from the center. c Bottom-up crystallization of Fe4+xS3.

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Mars, Press Release

What Is It Like In The Core Of Mars?

by Keith CowingMarch 1, 2025March 1, 2025

Researchers from the University of Bayreuth and the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, have subjected a blend of iron and sulphur to extreme conditions resembling the deep interior of Mars. They […]

Accurate magnification of microbes on the surface of the rock material.Under the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program infrastructure, the Outokumpu project has also investigated the binding of bacteria and fungi collected from the deep borehole to rock surfaces. An electron microscope image of oblong microbial cells originating in the Outokumpu bedrock on the surface of serpentinite. -- Credit Mari Raulio, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Press Release

Wide Variety Of Organic Compounds Found Deep Within The Outokumpu Borehole

by Keith CowingFebruary 12, 2025September 18, 2025

Volatile organic compounds (VOC), were usually associated with poor indoor air, were discovered in Finland in a borehole more than two kilometres deep. Previously, groundwater dating back tens of millions […]

NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image of its 26th collected rock sample, “Silver Mountain,” using its onboard Sample Caching System Camera (CacheCam), located inside the rover underbelly. It looks down into the top of a sample tube to take close-up pictures of the sampled material and the tube as it’s prepared for sealing and storage. This image was acquired on Jan. 28, 2025 — sol 1401, or Martian day 1,401 of the Mars 2020 mission — at the local mean solar time of 18:49:01.-- NASA/JPL-Caltech larger image

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

Mars Perseverance Collects A Noachian-aged Outcrop Sample

by Keith CowingFebruary 7, 2025February 7, 2025

The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover continues to live up to its name, pushing forward in search of ancient Martian secrets. Following a brief period of system verification and remote testing, […]

Captured by the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 4, 2021, this impact crater was found in Cerberus Fossae, a seismically active region of the Red Planet. Scientists matched its appearance on the surface with a quake detected by NASA’s InSight lander. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Astrogeology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

InSight Finds Marsquakes From Meteoroids Go Deeper Than Expected

by Keith CowingFebruary 5, 2025February 5, 2025

With help from AI, scientists discovered a fresh crater made by an impact that shook material as deep as the Red Planet’s mantle.

SO2 mixing ratio at 70 km in the atmosphere of Venus as a function of latitude (Marcq et al. 2020). The red line represents a median value; the red bars show one statistical dispersion. The color pattern depicts % of observations. The data were obtained from the Venus Express SPICAV-UV observations (Table 16.1) -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Venus

Sulfur on Venus: Atmospheric, Surface, and Interior Processes

by Keith CowingFebruary 5, 2025February 5, 2025

Sulfur-bearing species play critical roles in atmospheric physical-chemical processes, atmosphere-surface interactions, and the geological evolution of Venus. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of(1) Instrumental data on the abundance and […]

A mud volcano at the seafloor where methane-rich fluids from the subsurface are emitted to the water column. These ecosystems are at the interface between the subsurface and surface realms and are often oases of life in the deep ocean. Credit Mandy Joye/UGA

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Insights From The First Global Appraisal Of Microbiomes In Earth’s Subsurface Environments

by Keith CowingFebruary 5, 2025February 4, 2025

Which microbes thrive below us in darkness – in gold mines, in aquifers, in deep boreholes in the seafloor – and how do they compare to the microbiomes that envelop […]

High-resolution seismic image of the subsurface beneath seafloor craters (A) Seismic line crossing the field of craters in a SW-NE direction as shown Fig. 2E. Circle insets show details of the reflective polarity of the main bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs) identified at regional scale in the study area. BSR-1 is characterized by a reverse polarity with respect to the seafloor polarity whereas BSR-2 has the same polarity as the seafloor. Both are breached and collapsed by fluid escape pipes beneath the crater fields A and B. (B) Detail of subsurface beneath the craters showing a fluid escape pipe breaching the two BSRs. HAR: High Amplitude Reflector within the pipes. -- Science Reports via PubMed

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Giant Pit Craters On The Seafloor Above Magma-induced Hydrothermal Vent Complexes

by Keith CowingFebruary 3, 2025February 2, 2025

Massive injection of 13C depleted carbon to the ocean and atmosphere coincided with major environmental upheaval multiple times in the geological record. For several events, the source of carbon has […]

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 […]

This illustration depicts a lake of water partially filling Mars’ Gale Crater, receiving runoff from snow melting on the crater’s northern rim. Evidence of ancient streams, deltas and lakes that NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover mission has found in the patterns of sedimentary deposits in Gale Crater suggests the crater held a lake such as this more than three billion years ago, filling and drying in multiple cycles over tens of millions of years. Larger image

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Signatures of Ice-Free Ancient Ponds and Lakes Found on Mars

by Keith CowingJanuary 27, 2025January 27, 2025

Researchers have discovered two sets of ancient wave ripples on Mars, signatures of long-dried bodies of water preserved in the rock record. Wave ripples are small undulations in the sandy […]