The majority of large iron formations (IFs) were deposited leading up to Earth’s great oxidation episode (GOE). Following the GOE, IF deposition decreased for almost 500 Myr.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the third most potent greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane. It can also be oxidized by physical processes to form ozone-depleting substances. Atmospheric concentrations of […]
An international team of scientists recently published a study highlighting the potential role of iron sulfides in the formation of life in early Earth’s terrestrial hot springs. According to the […]
Serpentinization, the collective set of geochemical reactions initiated by the hydration of ultramafic rock, has occurred throughout Earth history and is inferred to occur on several planets and moons in […]
At the nearly pristine hydrothermal vents of the deep sea, highly endemic animals depend upon bacteria nourished by hydrothermal fluids that emerge as outflows from the seafloor. These animals are […]
Identification of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms in environmental samples is currently challenged by either the burden of additional sequencing required to obtain both 16S and 18S rRNA sequences or […]
The idea of secret worlds beneath the Earth has long been the stuff of science fiction. But new research reveals it’s not as far-fetched as it might appear. Worms and […]
The discovery of animal life below the seafloor at hydrothermal vents in the East Pacific Rise is reported in a Nature Communications paper. The research sheds new light on the […]
Researchers experimentally demonstrated that hydrothermal vent precipitates, located deep in the ocean, contains aligned nanopores that enable selective ion transport, thus facilitating osmotic energy conversion from ion gradients. A key […]
Various environmental factors, including H2 availability, metabolic tradeoffs, optimal growth temperature, stochasticity, and hydrology, were examined to determine if they affect microbial competition between three autotrophic thermophiles.
