Coral reefs have long been celebrated as biodiversity hotspots – but new research shows they have also played a much deeper role: conducting the rhythm of Earth’s carbon and climate […]
Oceanography
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return
Ancient Rocks Reveal Themselves As Carbon Sponges
Sixty-million-year-old rock samples from deep under the ocean have revealed how huge amounts of carbon dioxide are stored for millennia in piles of lava rubble that accumulate on the seafloor.
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
AI World Model To Simulate The Earth System
Climate change is already reshaping global weather patterns and ecosystems around the world. In the long-term, its consequences could range from further substantial increases in the number of extreme weather […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Icy Worlds, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Space Dust Reveals Arctic Ice Conditions Before Satellite Imaging
Arctic sea ice has declined by more than 42% since 1979, when regular satellite monitoring began. As the ice grows thinner and recedes, more water is exposed to sunlight.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Small Aquatic Systems Found To Fix 15% Of Earth’s Nitrogen
Nitrogen is vital for all known life. Yet most nitrogen on Earth is in the atmosphere as di-nitrogen gas, which many organisms can’t use. Fortunately, there are microbes that can […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Fats Provide Clues To Life At Its Limits In The Deep Sea
In their study, first author Palash Kumawat of the Geosciences Department at the University of Bremen and his colleagues used lipid biomarker analyses to decipher the survival strategies of the […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
An Autonomous Robotic Glider Will Circle And Explore Our Ocean Planet
Editor’s note: When we start to mount Astrobiology missions to explore ocean worlds we’ll need ways for our robotic submersibles to observe and interact with whatever life forms they may […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return
Hydrothermal Plumes As Invisible Transport Pathways For Iron
The study [Iron’s irony: speciation, complexation & microbial processing of Fe in hydrothermal plumes, Communications Earth & Environment, Nature (open access)] synthesizes existing research and reinterprets it to explain how […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The First Animals On Earth May Have Been Sea Sponges, Study Suggests
A team of MIT geochemists has unearthed new evidence in very old rocks suggesting that some of the first animals on Earth were likely ancestors of the modern sea sponge.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Extremophile Hotspots Linked To Containerized Industrial Waste Dumping In A Deep-sea Basin
Editor’s note: Over the past several decades our definition of “life as we know it” on Earth has undergone a paradigm shift as we have discovered various “extremophiles” living in […]