Free Republic

More than 3.8 billion years ago, in a time period called the Hadean eon, our planet Earth was constantly bombarded by asteroids, which caused the large-scale melting of its surface rocks. Most of these surface rocks were basalts, and the asteroid impacts produced large pools of superheated impact melt of such composition. These basaltic pools were tens of kilometres thick, and thousands of kilometres in diameter. “If you want to get an idea of what the surface of Earth looked like at that time, you can just look at the surface of the Moon which is covered by a vast...

A sixth-century "mini" ice age may have been "the straw that broke the camel's back" that led to the final disintegration of the Western Roman Empire, a new study claims...By studying rocks carried by icebergs from Greenland all the way to Iceland's west coast, a team of researchers has uncovered what they believe is more evidence for the severity of this mini ice age. Their findings, published April 8 in the journal Geology, point to the prolonged cooling being a key factor in the eventual decline of the Western Roman Empire — although not all historians agree...Economic crisis, government corruption,...

The longest molecules ever found on Mars have been unearthed by NASA's Curiosity rover, and they could mean the planet is strewn with evidence for ancient life. Molecule chains containing up to twelve carbon atoms linked together were detected in a 3.7 billion-year-old rock sample collected from a dried-up Martian lakebed named Yellowknife Bay, according to a study published March 24 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. These long carbon chains are thought to have originated from molecules called fatty acids, which, on Earth, are produced by biological activity. While fatty acids can form without biological...

A vast, ancient crater in the western United States may be home to one of the most significant mineral discoveries of the century. Published in the journal Science Advances, researchers have identified a geological formation beneath this site that could dramatically reshape the global landscape for clean energy technology. A Supervolcano’s Legacy Becomes a Resource Powerhouse The McDermitt Caldera, measuring 45 by 35 kilometers, was formed 16.4 million years ago following a catastrophic volcanic eruption. Over time, a lake developed inside the caldera, collecting thick layers of volcanic ash and mineral-rich sediments. These conditions gave rise to lithium-bearing clay minerals,...

This week, an unusually strong earthquake swarm occurred at an Azores volcano which last erupted a little over 300 years ago. Meanwhile, in Japan, the alert level was raised at the Kirishima volcano, suggesting an increased risk that it may soon erupt. And, in Indonesia, it appears that a new batch of magma has intruded underneath the highly potentially dangerous Mount Awu volcano. This video will discuss these stories and list the 47 actively erupting volcanoes around the planet via the analysis of a geologist. This video's thumbnail image displays the erupting Santiaguito lava dome (Santa Maria volcano) in Guatemala....

If you look at a map of Earth's gravity, you will see a huge blue spot south of India, indicating a region where gravity is weaker than average. This spot is called the Indian Ocean Geoid Low (IOGL), and it is the largest gravity anomaly on our planet.A gravity anomaly is a difference between the actual gravity measured at a location and the theoretical gravity expected for a perfectly smooth and spherical Earth. But Earth's gravity isn't perfectly uniform and variations in mass distribution beneath the surface cause fluctuations in gravitational pull.Gravity anomalies can be caused by variations in the...

According to the Bible, Noah's Ark saved humanity and all the animals from certain annihilation during an ancient flood. Now, 5,000 years after those floodwaters supposedly receded, scientists claim to have discovered the location of the famous boat. An international team of researchers claims that a boat-shaped mound 18 miles (30km) south of Mount Ararat in Turkey is actually the fossilised remains of a wooden vessel. The Durupinar Formation is a 163-metre (538ft) geological structure made of a type of iron ore called limonite. It has long captivated researchers due to the fact that its shape and structure almost match...

The internet is once again going crazy with conspiracy theories after an image of a perfect 'square structure' was found on the surface of Mars. So grab your tinfoil hats, as it's time to investigate further. One of our closest planetary neighbours and likely the best contender to support human life in our solar system (after Earth, of course), Mars has long been a source of major fascination for humans. Major Hollywood blockbusters have seen humanity colonise it, H.G. Wells made it the home of hostile invaders and Donald Trump has even promised to plant the US flag on it....

Scientists have identified mysterious formations deep in Earth’s mantle, raising new questions about the planet’s interior. These strange shapes, often referred to as “blobs,” or “sunken worlds,” resemble ancient fragments of Earth’s mantle but appear in places where such material shouldn’t exist. The discovery, published recently in Scientific Reports, was made possible through a new imaging technique called full-waveform inversion. This method combines data from multiple seismographs into a single, detailed image of Earth’s interior. Unlike traditional seismic imaging, which stitches together data from individual earthquakes, this advanced approach provides a clearer picture of what lies beneath the surface. Use...

Scientists have identified a mechanism through which important metals, crucial to the manufacturing of renewable energy technologies, are passed from the Earth’s mantle to the crust. The team, including researchers from Cardiff University, has discovered a ‘Goldilocks zone’ at the base of the Earth’s crust where the temperate is just right at around 1000°C for metals to be transported to shallower levels near the surface, where they can be mined. The metals in question – most notably copper, cobalt, tellurium, and platinum – are highly-sought after due to their use in electrical wiring and technologies such as battery storage devices,...

A HUGE sinkhole at a coastal beauty spot in the north of England has revealed a hidden underground beach.A HUGE sinkhole at a coastal beauty spot in the north of England has revealed a hidden underground beach. However, the hole has grown wider every year since its discovery. The sinkhole is now so big a hidden beach has been revealed with the sea forcing its way through a crack in one of the cliff walls. The clifftop region is managed by the National Trust they have warned walkers and dog owners to avoid the area. Beach artist and former GP...

Think of the red bluffs and cliffs of the Grand Canyon as Earth's history textbook, explained Barra Peak, lead author of the new study and a graduate student in geological sciences at CU Boulder. If you scale down the canyon's rock faces, you can jump back almost 2 billion years into the planet's past. But that textbook is also missing pages: In some areas, more than 1 billion years' worth of rocks have disappeared from the Grand Canyon without a trace. It's a mystery that goes back a long way. John Wesley Powell, the namesake of today's Lake Powell, first...

There is an ongoing disaster in north America which is not only ongoing but getting worse. And despite its geologic origin, it has been largely ignored by the public. This video discusses the sudden changing of many remote streams and rivers from a clear blue to a toxic orange color. This is not due to acid mine drainage or illegal dumping of waste, but instead something worse. [Thumbnail Photo Credit: Josh Koch, U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain]North America's Ongoing, Ignored Disaster | 5:22GeologyHub | 327K subscribers | 267,025 views | November 30, 2024

Shortly after the devastating eruption, some gophers went on a very confusing day trip. A member of the gopher recovery team getting to work. Image credit: Mike Allen/UCR When Mount St Helens erupted in 1980, the resulting lava, ash, and debris turned the landscape barren for miles around. It was clear the land would take a long time to recover from the eruption. But one team of scientists had an idea about how they could help speed up the process; sending a few gophers there on a day trip. Plant life struggled to return to the area around Mount St...

New findings from Colorado’s rock formations provide physical evidence supporting the Snowball Earth theory, which suggests Earth was once frozen entirely, down to the equator. This study offers insights into a key phase of climate and life evolution. Credit: SciTechDaily.com Evidence from Colorado suggests glaciers once covered Earth to the equator, supporting the Snowball Earth theory. This discovery provides insight into early climate shifts and the evolution of life. Geologists have discovered compelling evidence in Colorado that hundreds of millions of years ago, enormous glaciers blanketed Earth as far as the equator, turning the planet into an icicle drifting through...

Analysis of samples collected by a Chinese mission found basalt (volcanic rock formed after an eruption) fragments dating back more than 4.2 billion years. The findings were published in the Nature and Science journals on Friday. While scientists already knew of volcanic activity on the near side of the moon, which we can see from Earth, the "dark side" is very different in its geology, and remains largely unexplored. The rock and dust samples - the first to be retrieved from the far side of the Moon - were collected by the Chang’e-6 spacecraft, following a nearly two-month long mission...

A geography professor at a leading British university has described the study of rocks and the natural world as racist and linked the academic field to 'white supremacy'. Kathryn Yusoff, who lectures at the prestigious Queen Mary University of London, said that the geology as a subject was 'riven by systematic racism' and influenced heavily by colonialism. The study of prehistoric life through fossils was also branded as an enabler for racism, with the professor referring to the field of palaeontology as 'pale-ontology'.

An incredible coincidence resulted in Desert Drifter and I standing atop a mysterious and gargantuan block of stone in the middle of a forest.This thing had many secrets, but one stands out above all else. The history of this block, truly is puzzling.Had I not seen it with my own two eyes, I might not have believed it was real.I found Colossal, Impossible Geometry with Desert Drifter | 36:52thePOVchannel | 185K subscribers | 1,085,298 views | September 19, 2024

NASA has released the clearest view of Mars yet, showing stunning blue rocks littering the Martian landscape. The footage, captured by the Perseverance rover as it continu s to explore the Red Planet, also revealed 'first of its kind' geological formation resting atop the dried remains of an ancient lakebed. Dark blue, jagged boulders of volcanic basalt were spotted surrounding the speckled white rock, which was found to have a mineral composition unlike anything NASA has ever seen before on Mars. ...Most of the bluish-black rocks seen on the surface of Mars, like those on 'Mount Washburn,' are volcanic basalt....

(Image Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU) NASA’s Perseverance Rover has made a striking new discovery—a black-and-white striped rock on the Martian surface dubbed “Freya Castle,” unlike anything previously seen on the Red Planet. This unique find has sparked excitement among scientists and space enthusiasts, offering a fresh puzzle in the ongoing quest to understand Mars’ geological history. “Team scientists and the internet alike were amazed when Perseverance spotted a black-and-white striped rock unlike any seen on Mars before,” Athanasios Klidaras, a Perseverance team member and doctoral student at Purdue University, wrote in an update published by NASA. “Is this a sign of exciting...