Earth scientists often face huge challenges when researching the earth’s history: many significant events occurred such a long time ago that there is little direct evidence available. Consequently, researchers often […]
Oceanography
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Mid-Devonian Ocean Oxygenation Enabled The Expansion Of Animals Into Deeper-water Habitats
The oxygenation history of Earth’s surface environments has had a profound influence on the ecology and evolution of metazoan life.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Sample Return, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Extreme Earth Life: Flatworm Cocoons Discovered In Abyssal Depths Of Over 6,000 Meters
Editor’s note: when we begin to robotically explore the ice-covered oceans of Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Mimas etc. we’ll need to make the most of the visits. Learning how to best […]
Posted inMicrobiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Galactic Forcing Increases Origination Of Marine Microplankton
The continuous flux of Galactic cosmic rays that bombard Earth’s atmosphere creates ionizing radiation that can damage the DNA of living organisms.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Parameter Space Exploration of Low-to-moderate-temperature Hydrothermal Systems on Ocean Worlds Using a Monte Carlo Framework
We explore the hydrogeologic and physical conditions necessary to sustain hydrothermal activity within the shallow subseafloors of ocean worlds, exploring wide ranges of multiple parameters using a Monte Carlo framework.
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Sample Return, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Dynamic Deep Marine Oxygenation During The Early And Middle Paleozoic
The Early Paleozoic radiation of diverse animal life is commonly connected to a well-ventilated global ocean. Yet the oxygenation history of Paleozoic deep oceans remains debated.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Extremophile Adaptation: How A Deep Sea Worm Survives High Arsenic And Sulfide Levels
A deep sea worm that inhabits hydrothermal vents survives the high levels of toxic arsenic and sulfide in its environment by combining them in its cells to form a less […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Rare Deep-Sea Hydrothermal System Discovered In The Western Pacific Producing Massive Hydrogen Emissions
Hydrogen-producing hydrothermal systems in the deep ocean are rare but critical to understanding Earth’s internal processes and the conditions that may have fostered life’s origins.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Orbital Planetary Biosphere Tracking: Climate-driven Shift In Antarctic Plankton
Combining 25 years of space-based data with ocean sampling, scientists have uncovered a change in the microscopic organisms that underpin the Southern Ocean’s food chain and carbon storage.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Revisiting The Eoarchean Akilia Quartz-pyroxene Rock With Potassium Isotopes: Implications For Early-ocean Sedimentation
The Eoarchean quartz-pyroxene rock from Akilia Island in Greenland has been proposed as one of Earth’s oldest banded iron formations (BIF) and a potential host for the earliest biosignatures.