Upcoming explorations for habitability in the ocean worlds of the solar system can greatly benefit from searching beyond parameters such as water, organics, nitrogen, phosphate, and silicate and being able […]
About 66 million years ago, an asteroid slammed into the planet, wiping out all non-avian dinosaurs and about 70% of all marine species.
Researchers involving RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Southwestern Germany, are unraveling mysteries of a bygone era: As part of current studies, they are investigating how life could have developed on the early […]
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 […]
Terrestrial geothermal springs, reminiscent of early Earth conditions, host diverse and abundant populations of Archaea.
Hydrothermal environments—where chemical interactions between heated water and rock take place—are of great interest for astrobiology as they may create habitable environments and preserve signs of life.
Geothermal features, such as hot springs and mud volcanoes, host diverse microbial life, including many extremophile organisms. The physicochemical parameters of the geothermal feature, such as temperature, pH, and heavy […]
A new study from USGS describes a previously unknown process of marine mineral formation in the Arctic Ocean, driven by frictional heating along tectonic faults rather than by hydrothermal activity.
Due to its size and tidal heating, Europa may potentially possess active volcanism and hydrothermal circulation at its seafloor.
Recently, a Chinese research team reported the discovery of abiotic organic compounds in the oceanic crust of the Southwest Indian Ridge and proposed a molecular mechanism for organic condensation.
