The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has provided the first opportunity to study the atmospheres of terrestrial exoplanets and estimate their surface conditions.
volcano
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
A Potentially Volcano-Covered Earth-Size World Discovered
Astronomers have discovered an Earth-size exoplanet, or world beyond our solar system, that may be carpeted with volcanoes. Called LP 791-18 d, the planet could undergo volcanic outbursts as often […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Mars, Press Release
Away Team Exploration Of Lava Caves Informs The Search For Life On Mars
In August 2019, Chloe Fishman crawled into a cave beneath the largest active volcano on the planet. Along with scientists from NASA and other institutions, she had come to Hawaii’s […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release
Rare Opportunity To Study Short-lived Volcanic Island Reveals Sulfur-metabolizing Microbes
In 2015, a submarine volcano in the South Pacific erupted, forming the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai island, destined to a short, seven-year life.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Venus
Massive Volcanism May Have Altered Ancient Venus’ Climate
Volcanic activity lasting hundreds to thousands of centuries and erupting massive amounts of material may have helped transform Venus from a temperate and wet world to the acidic hothouse it […]
Posted inHabitable Zones
Dinosaurs' Ascent Was Driven By Volcanoes Powering Climate Change
The rise of dinosaurs coincided with environmental changes driven by major volcanic eruptions over 230 million years ago, a new study reveals. The Late Triassic Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) saw […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Sample Return
Astrobiologist Kennda Lynch Uses Analogs On Earth to Find Life On Mars
If we find life on the Red Planet, we’ll have astrobiologists like Dr. Kennda Lynch to thank. Lynch is an astrobiologist and geomicrobiologist studying life in extreme environments on Earth […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Extinction events, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Volcanic Eruptions Directly Triggered Ocean Acidification During The Early Cretaceous
Around 120 million years ago, the earth experienced an extreme environmental disruption that choked oxygen from its oceans. Known as oceanic anoxic event (OAE) 1a, the oxygen-deprived water led to […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Press Release
Can Volcanism Build Hydrogen-Rich Early Atmospheres?
Hydrogen in rocky planet atmospheres has been invoked in arguments for extending the habitable zone via N2-H2 and CO2-H2 greenhouse warming, and providing atmospheric conditions suitable for efficient production of […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Citizen Science / Open Science, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Ultra-small Microbes Exhibit Extreme Survival Skills In Ethiopia's Mars-like Wonderland
The first study of ultra-small bacteria living in the extreme environment of Ethiopia’s Dallol hot springs shows that life can thrive in conditions similar to those thought to have been […]