After more than two and a half years of driving and exploring, Perseverance is closing in on an eagerly anticipated destination: the margin carbonate unit.
geology
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Can One Hear Supercontinents In The Tides Of Ocean Planets?
Recent observations and theoretical progress made about the history of the Earth-Moon system suggest that tidal dissipation in oceans primarily drives the long term evolution of orbital systems hosting ocean […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release
Ancient Carbon In Rocks Releases As Much Carbon Dioxide As The World’s Volcanoes
A new study led by the University of Oxford has overturned the view that natural rock weathering acts as a CO2 sink, indicating instead that this can also act as […]
Posted inPress Release
Tricorder Tech: Away Teams Are Using A “Pre-Tricorder” Spectrometer In The Field – Today
When we start to roam around other worlds we’re going to need the sort of things that a Star Trek “Tricorder” does. Indeed, we need these tools now as we […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release
Deep Cycling Of Carbon And Chlorine Were Likely Flipped In Earth’s Early History
New research led by Macquarie University earth scientist Dr Chunfei Chen sheds new light on geological processes from up to three billion years ago and marks a significant shift in […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Press Release
Cracks In Martian Mud Suggest Sustained Wet-Dry Cycling On Early Mars
Scientists aren’t entirely sure how life began on Earth, but one prevailing theory posits that persistent cycles of wet and dry conditions on land helped assemble the complex chemical building […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Impact events, Press Release
Earth’s Most Ancient Impact Craters Are Disappearing
Earth’s oldest craters could give scientists critical information about the structure of the early Earth and the composition of bodies in the solar system as well as help to interpret […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mercury, Status Report
First Observationally-Constrained Estimates Of Carbon In Mercury’s Near Surface
A striking feature of the surface of Mercury is the low-reflectance material (LRM), areas exhibiting 20-30% lower average reflectance that are often associated with impact craters, especially the ejecta and […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Press Release
Iron-rich Rocks Unlock New Insights Into Earth’s Planetary History
Visually striking layers of burnt orange, yellow, silver, brown and blue-tinged black are characteristic of banded iron formations, sedimentary rocks that may have prompted some of the largest volcanic eruptions […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release
Ice World Exploration: New Map Unlocks Deep Digital Data Of Antarctica’s History
Today marks a ground-breaking transformation in global Antarctic research, and a new way we understand the frozen continent.