All articles tagged with #geology
Everest’s summit rocks are Ordovician limestone from the Qomolangma Formation that formed in an ancient sea and host fossils of trilobites, ostracods and crinoids, anchoring the summit to a marine environment long before the Himalayan uplift. The fossils survive in rocks that were squeezed and lifted during the India–Asia collision, reinforcing a long-running geological narrative rather than a single new discovery.
New computer models suggest mantle-wave driven uplift after Gondwana's breakup raised East Antarctica high enough by about 45 million years ago to form mountain glaciers and seed the Antarctic ice sheet long before the Arctic froze; the study shows elevation and latitude are as important as CO2 cooling in glaciation and cautions that warming today can erode ice faster than it can regrow.
Olympus Mons on Mars rises about 21 kilometers (70,000 feet) and spans roughly 370 miles, making it the largest volcano in the solar system and, by some measures, the tallest mountain. Its gentle slopes and the thin Martian atmosphere mean the summit rises near space; its last major eruption is dated around 25 million years ago, so it’s considered dormant rather than extinct. The volcano grew large thanks to Mars’s low gravity, lack of plate tectonics, and a long eruptive history within the Tharsis region alongside other giant volcanoes, though the exact origin of its base cliffs and whether it could erupt again remain subjects of active research.
Seismic data from NASA's InSight reveal a long-lived magma system beneath Mars' crust, with an upper basalt layer and a deep ultramafic region formed by transcrustal magmatism; this process, not requiring plate tectonics, could have helped Mars stay warm and water-rich in the past, hinting at possible habitability.
A new study argues that deep-Earth mantle waves, triggered during the Gondwana breakup, uplifted East Antarctica around 45 million years ago. This uplift raised elevations high enough for snow to persist, allowing the East Antarctic ice sheet to form by about 34–35 million years ago and contribute to global cooling. The Arctic, lacking similar high terrain, lagged behind by roughly 25 million years, with climate and CO2 declines later driving ice-age conditions. The work suggests geology helped set the stage for ice sheets long before climate alone made the poles cold.
Trump is set to speak beneath Mount Rushmore for the 250th independence celebration, but geologists say there’s no room on the granite to add a fifth face, making any presidential carving impossible, despite past flirtations and symbolic gestures like a model of Trump and a stalled congressional bill.
Plate tectonics–driven simulations of the Alps, Pyrenees and Baetic mountains suggest deep mantle rocks rose and interacted with water to release hydrogen, which then accumulated in porous rock layers—making the Alps and Pyrenees plausible natural hydrogen reservoirs. The Baetic range, by contrast, uplifted and eroded too rapidly for large hydrogen volumes to form or be retained. If validated, this approach could guide searches for other natural hydrogen sources to support a hydrogen-powered economy.
Dating of zircon crystals in rocks at the Miralga Impact Structure (North Pole Dome) in Western Australia places the asteroid impact at about 3.02 billion years ago, making it the oldest known Earth impact site and linking the event to the Late Heavy Bombardment era while shedding light on early crust formation and nearby signs of ancient life.
A new study dates minerals from the North Pole Dome crater in Western Australia to about 3.0 billion years ago, down from the earlier 3.47 billion-year estimate. While still the oldest known impact crater on Earth, it is roughly 800 million years older than the next-oldest confirmed crater, Yarrabubba. The researchers used zircon and other minerals in shatter cones and a shocked quartz vein, noting that later tectonic and thermal activity could produce younger features, which helps explain why previous dating may have overestimated the age.
A small hydrothermal explosion at Biscuit Basin created three new vent groups and a newly boiling pool, sent hot water and sediment into the Firehole River, and occurred near Black Diamond Pool; no injuries were reported due to Biscuit Basin’s ongoing closure since July 2024. Scientists are analyzing seismic and infrasonic data to identify warning signs and improve hazard detection at Yellowstone, offering a rare opportunity to study hydrothermal hazards and advance prediction methods.
A small hydrothermal explosion at Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone, on June 13, 2026, created multiple new vents and steam-filled pools, with hot water reaching the Firehole River at about 194°F (90°C). By June 18 a new ground feature had become a vigorously boiling pool roughly 21 by 17 feet, and close-range monitoring captured this eruption on cameras about 100 meters away. The incident, following a larger 2024 blast, underscores the unpredictable, hazardous hydrothermal activity in the region and the ongoing need for monitoring to identify potential precursors.
Mineral dating of rocks from Western Australia’s North Pole Dome using zircon and apatite clocks pins the crater-forming impact at about 3.024 billion years ago, making it the oldest confirmed Archean impact structure on Earth and offering a rare window into Earth’s violent youth; later mineral ages record subsequent geological activity separate from the impact.
About 66 million years ago, a 10–15 km asteroid hit the Yucatán, creating the Chicxulub crater (~180 km across) and releasing energy equivalent to about 5 billion Hiroshima bombs. The impact ejected vast material, lofting dust, soot, and aerosols that blocked sunlight and likely caused a prolonged “impact winter,” leading to the mass extinction of non-avian dinosaurs and roughly 75% of species. Survival was uneven: around 12% of land species persisted, while freshwater life fared better (~90%). The crater’s link to the extinction was established in the 1990s, with 2016 drilling confirming deep-Earth material in the peak ring; scientists continue debating the exact roles of soot versus sulfur and how long the dark interval lasted.
A Curtin University-led study using geological analysis and ice-sheet modeling suggests Stonehenge's Altar Stone originated in northeast Scotland and was carried by glaciers about 200 miles to Dogger Bank, after which prehistoric communities hauled it roughly 250 more miles to Wiltshire, for a total journey of about 450 miles — implying a carefully planned, multi-stage transport rather than ice doing the whole trek.
Geologists analyzing 21 baddeleyite grains in lunar breccia NWA 12593 found evidence of a separate, ultra-high-temperature impact around 3.486 billion years ago, implying a prolonged bombardment of the inner Solar System after the Late Heavy Bombardment and aligning with Earth and Vesta records; the findings offer clues about how such catastrophic events may have influenced the environment when life was emerging on Earth.