[University of Oxford] Researchers from the University of Oxford have uncovered evidence that Mars once hosted enormous, Earth-like magmatic systems deep beneath its surface – despite the planet lacking the […]
Plate Tectonics
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Earth’s ‘Boring Billion’ Years Created The Conditions For Complex Life
A study led by researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of Adelaide has revealed how the breakup of an ancient supercontinent 1.5 billion years ago transformed Earth’s […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Venus
The Punctuated Evolution of the Venusian Atmosphere From a Transition in Mantle Convective Style and Volcanic Outgassing
A key question in the planetary sciences centers on the divergence between the sibling planets, Venus and Earth. Venus currently does not operate with plate tectonics, and its thick atmosphere […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Comets and Asteroids, Fossils & Paleontology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
Understanding The Structure Of Ancient Earth
A team of researchers has made strides in understanding the formation of massif-type anorthosites, enigmatic rocks that only formed during the middle part of Earth’s history. These plagioclase-rich igneous rock […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Intelligence & Language, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues
Geoscientists Dig Into Why We May Be Alone In The Milky Way (Tectonics)
New research by University of Texas at Dallas geoscientist Dr. Robert Stern and a colleague suggests a geological explanation for why conclusive evidence for advanced extraterrestrial (ET) civilizations has not […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Press Release, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Interior Convection Regime, Host Star Luminosity, And Predicted Atmospheric CO2 Abundance In Terrestrial Exoplanets
Terrestrial planets in the Habitable Zone of Sun-like stars are priority targets for detection and observation by the next generation of powerful space telescopes.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Impact events, Moon, Status Report
A Giant Impact Origin For The First Subduction on Earth
Hadean zircons provide a potential record of Earth’s earliest subduction 4.3 billion years ago. It remains enigmatic how subduction could be initiated so soon after the presumably Moon-forming giant impact […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
Exoplanet Mineralogy
This chapter begins with some basic concepts regarding the structure and mineralogy of rocky planets, how to read and construct ternary diagrams, and why partial melting occurs when plate tectonics […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report
Some Tectonic Concepts Relevant to the Study of Rocky Exoplanets
We’ll examine plate tectonics on Earth — its features and forces — and examine some concepts that may allow astronomers to ask useful questions regarding numeric models that putatively predict […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
The Early Earth As An Analogue For Exoplanetary Biogeochemistry
Planet Earth has evolved from an entirely anoxic planet with possibly a different tectonic regime to the oxygenated world with horizontal plate tectonics that we know today.