geology Archives - Page 18 of 32 - Astrobiology

Overview of our models for gas disk and particles evolution in different disk regions. The blue and yellow particles represent silicates with and without refractory carbon. The light blue particles represent icy pebbles. The pink particles show the oxygen atoms which are formed by the destruction of oxygen molecules because of the FUV radiation which is described as red arrows. The light blue dashed line is the snow line. Icy pebbles enclosing many small silicates drift to the snow line (blue dashed line) from the outer region. Orange upper and lower layers are FUV-exposed regions, where oxygen atoms exist. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Effect of Different Stickiness Between Icy and Silicate Particles on Carbon Depletion in Protoplanetary Disks

by Keith CowingOctober 12, 2024October 12, 2024

Earth and other rocky bodies in the inner Solar System are significantly depleted in carbon compared to the Sun and interstellar medium (ISM) dust.

Cryptic terrain in Australe Scopuli on Mars (Larger image) -- ESA

Astrogeology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release

Mars Is A World Shaped By Ice

by Keith CowingOctober 9, 2024October 9, 2024

ESA’s Mars Express has captured an astonishing array of landforms emerging from a thick winter blanket of frost as spring arrives in the south polar region of Mars. Some of […]

This picture shows many tiny cells in which DNA is abundantly included inside the cells. First, the microbial cells were detected in fractures in the rock sample using an infrared imaging technique called O-PTIR spectroscopy. After that, they were stained with a green solution and analyzed using both a scanning electron microscope and then fluorescent microscopy. The combination of readings from these three imaging techniques enabled the researchers to confirm the indigenous and living microbial cells in the 2-billion-year-old rock fissure. -- University of Tokyo

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

A 2-billion-year-old Rock Is Home To Living Microbes

by Keith CowingOctober 4, 2024October 4, 2024

Pockets of microbes have been found living within a sealed fracture in 2-billion-year-old rock. The rock was excavated from the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa, an area known for […]

This simulation was run in a uniformly 90% ice crust (Fig. 1a) at the equator and shows total vertical displacement after 1 Gyr of relaxation. The black lines are the initial state of the simulation, and the solid colour shows the final state of the simulation. In this case, the crater has only shallowed by ~70 m from an initial depth of 2,400 m (seen as the solid colour at the centre of the crater slightly offset from the black line), for a relaxation percentage of

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Ceres, Comets and Asteroids, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

An Ancient And Impure Frozen Ocean On Ceres Implied By Its Ice-rich Crust

by Keith CowingSeptember 30, 2024September 29, 2024

Ceres is a key object in understanding the evolution of small bodies and is the only dwarf planet to have been orbited by a spacecraft, NASA’s Dawn mission.

Sampling site PE01 from Cueva Paso Esqueleto (PE) -- Nature

Analog Studies, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

Decoding Organic Compounds In Lava Tube Sulfates To Understand Potential Biomarkers In The Martian Subsurface

by Keith CowingSeptember 30, 2024September 29, 2024

Exploring molecular biomarkers in lava tube speleothems offers insights into environmental dynamics, biogeochemical processes, and subsurface life, with implications for astrobiology, particularly in Martian analog environments.

a–c Raman measurement of the HV wall near a fluid channel. a Overlay of the Raman map with the corresponding SEM image. The Raman map is a superimposed image of three specific peaks. The Raman map shows that the brucite and Mg-carbonate crystals are discretely located in the wall, while carbonate ions were present in all regions, indicating the adsorption of carbonate ions by the brucite. b Raman spectra of surface crystals (blue) and HV wall (red) at the positions shown in (a, c). c Map of three specific Raman peaks, red: 442.6 cm−1 (brucite lattice vibration, A1g, width 47.5 cm−1), blue: 1109.7 cm−1 (carbonate, width 73.4 cm−1), and green: 3420.7 cm−1 (interlayered water, width 98.8 cm−1). The corresponding peaks are shown in the spectra in (b). -- Nature Communications

Analog Studies, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving

Nanostructures In The Deep Ocean Floor Hint At Life’s Origin

by Keith CowingSeptember 27, 2024September 27, 2024

Researchers led by Ryuhei Nakamura at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan and The Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) of Tokyo Institute of Technology have discovered inorganic […]

“At this time in Mars’ history, we think CO2 is everywhere, in every nook and cranny, and water percolating through the rocks is full of CO2 too,” Joshua Murray says. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Mars’ Missing Atmosphere Could Be Hiding In Plain Sight

by Keith CowingSeptember 27, 2024September 27, 2024

Mars wasn’t always the cold desert we see today. There’s increasing evidence that water once flowed on the Red Planet’s surface, billions of years ago. And if there was water, […]

This color image from NASA Voyager 2 was reconstructed by making a computer composite of three black and white images taken through red, green, and blue filters. Details on Triton surface unfold dramatically in this sequence of approach images. Larger image

Icy Worlds, Neptune, Status Report, Triton, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Trans- And Post-Capture Orbital Evolution Of Triton

by Keith CowingSeptember 26, 2024September 26, 2024

Triton is a unique moon in our Solar System, being the only large moon to orbit on a retrograde and highly inclined orbit. As a result, it is thought that […]

Key elements in the magma temperature-cloud feedback that drives the oscillations in cloudiness and surface temperature. Changes in the color of the magma ocean surface indicate variations in surface temperature (brighter denotes higher temperature). Changes in the brightness of the clouds represent variations in the shortwave opacity of the cloud (brighter denotes higher optical depth). The thicknesses of downward yellow rays indicate shortwave radiation before and after being attenuated by the clouds. The thicknesses of the blue arrows in the upper-right direction indicate ascending vapor fluxes. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report

Extreme Weather Variability on Hot Rocky Exoplanet 55 Cancri e Explained by Magma Temperature-Cloud Feedback

by Keith CowingSeptember 26, 2024September 26, 2024

Observations of the ultra-short period rocky exoplanet 55 Cancri e (55 Cnc e) indicate that the planet’s dayside infrared radiation fluctuates by a factor of at least six on sub-weekly […]

Schematic of the 1D thermal evolution model used in this work. 𝑄𝑅 is the radiated flux, 𝑄𝑀𝑂 is the heat flux from the magma ocean, 𝑄𝑀𝑆 the heat flux from the magma mush, 𝑄𝑆 the flux from solid rock and 𝑄𝑐 the flux from the core. 𝑄𝐻 is the heat removed from the day-side and added to the night-side when we include horizontal heat transport. 𝑄𝑇 is the tidal heating when tidal dissipation is included in the model. The light blue line is the geotherm of the mantle while the line "L" (dark blue line) is the mantle liquidus and "S" (green line) is the mantle solidus. The pressure increases in the downward direction while the temperature increases to the right. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Thermal Evolution Of Lava Planets

by Keith CowingSeptember 20, 2024September 20, 2024

Rocky planets are thought to form with a magma ocean that quickly solidifies. The horizontal and vertical extent of this magma ocean depends on the interior thermal evolution of the […]