What appears to be a single volcanic eruption is often the result of complex processes operating deep beneath the surface, where magma moves, evolves, and changes over long periods of […]
volcano
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report
Three eruptions At The Fagradalsfjall Volcano In Iceland Show Rapid And Predictable Microbial Community Establishment
How natural environments transition from uninhabited to inhabited is an incompletely understood question in ecology.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report
Rock Vapour Is Opaque: Implications For Dynamics And Observations Of Lava Planets
Extreme instellation on lava planets causes the rocky surface to melt and vaporize. Because the rock vapour composition is intrinsically tied to the mantle, atmospheric characterization of lava planets can […]
![The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over one of Earth’s most extreme environments: the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia. [If you go to the original ESA posting] Zoom in or click on the circles to explore this image at its full 10 m resolution.](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Astrobiology-Analog-Site-Copernicus.jpg?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAnalog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Astrobiology Analog Site: Copernicus Sentinel-2 Views The Danakil Depression In Ethiopia
Located in northeastern Ethiopia, near the border with Eritrea, the Danakil Depression lies between the Danakil Alps on the east and the Ethiopian Plateau on the west. It is a […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Venus
Eruption Column Modelling Of Explosive Volcanism On Venus
Volcanism on Venus has never been directly observed, but several measurements indicate present-day activity. Volcanism could potentially play a role in climatic processes on Venus, especially in the sulfur cycle […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Status Report
Contrasting Genomic Responses of Hydrothermal Vent Animals and Their Symbionts to Population Decline After the Hunga Volcanic Eruption
Genetic bottlenecks are evolutionary events that reduce the effective size and diversity of natural populations, often limiting a population’s ability to adapt to environmental change.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mars, Press Release
Volcanic Emissions Of Reactive Sulfur Gases May Have Shaped Early Mars Climate, Making It More Hospitable To Life
While the early Mars climate remains an open question, a new study suggests its atmosphere may have been hospitable to life due to volcanic activity which emitted sulfur gases that […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Europa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Answers To The Existence Of Alien Life Might Be Found In Earth’s Deep-sea Volcanoes
While popular culture commonly depicts extraterrestrial life as little green men with large, oval-shaped heads, it’s most likely that if there is life beyond our planet and within our solar […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Venus
The Venus Explorer for Reduced Vapours in the Environment (VERVE)
The answer to whether tiny bacterial lifeforms really do exist in the clouds of Venus could be revealed once-and-for-all by a UK-backed mission.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report
Constraining Ongoing Volcanic Outgassing Rates and Interior Compositions of Extrasolar Planets with Mass Measurements of Plasma Tori
We present a novel method of constraining volcanic activity on extrasolar terrestrial worlds via characterization of circumstellar plasma tori.