Latest news with #volcanism
Forbes
10-07-2025
- Science
- Forbes
NASA Budget Cuts Could Have A Martian Silver Lining
With its active volcanism, Iceland is often used as a stand in for the surface of Mars. Bruce Dorminey Iceland is an astrobiologist's dream — rife with active volcanic landscapes, basaltic plains and lava tunnels that has repeatedly been used by NASA as a stand in for Mars. But at last week's European Astrobiology Institute's BEACON 25 conference in Reykjavik, most attendees were clamoring to get their hands on samples of the real thing. NASA's Perseverance rover — now perched on the rim of Jezero Crater in Mars' southern highlands, has collected some 41 subsurface samples just waiting for a sample return mission to retrieve them back to Earth. But that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon. Yet at least one planetary scientist refuses to be hamstrung by focusing on the funding hole in the Martian sample return donut. That's because even if there's a decades-long delay in getting the samples back to Earth, Perseverance's Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator has plenty of life left and can potentially use the time to explore beyond Jezero Crater's rim. Perseverance has dropped samples on the crater floor, but it has more samples now from the rim in its storage cache, Adomas Valantinas, a Brown University planetary scientist, tells me in Reykjavik. But it would have to return back to the crater floor, where the lander from the Mars sample return mission would touch down, because it's flat and is a good area for landing with no strong winds, he says. Thus, in what could be a bit of serendipity, if the sample return is postponed indefinitely, Perseverance is free to roam beyond the rim of Jezero Crater. Why beyond the rim? Beyond the crater rim, there is this area called Nili Planum, a flat terrain that contains a lot of volcanic minerals, says Valantinas. If you go 30 to 50 km south, also beyond the rim in the northeast Syrtis region there are a lot of minerals that could have been formed by hydrothermal activity, he says. So, going south beyond the rim, you also have rocks that are potentially 4.1-billion-years-old where the potential for a habitable environment was even greater, says Valantinas. As noted in his Reykjavik presentation, Valantinas and colleagues' findings have specifically been researching the 3.8-billion-year-old, 45-km-wide Jezero impact crater. The Jezero impactor hit about the same time that life first formed on Earth and when liquid water was stable on the Martian surface. We used observations from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to understand the composition of the Jezero Crater rim, and we also did numerical simulations to understand how materials moved post impact and where they were deposited, says Valantinas. Ancient Rocks Our study basically shows that the materials in the Jezero rim are diverse, and they may represent a habitable environment 3.8 billion years ago, because they not only contain primary minerals, but secondary alteration minerals when liquid water was present, says Valantinas. Why is geological diversity important? Diversity probably means more complex mineralogy and more complex chemistry, which could mean a more habitable environment, says Valantinas. If we were seeing the same three or four different minerals and no diversity in the composition, that would probably mean it wasn't a habitable environment, he says. What kind of atmosphere did Mars have when the Jezero impactor hit? The atmosphere was probably thick enough for liquid water to exist on the surface, says Valantinas. So, it probably had some nitrogen, carbon dioxide and probably some water vapor, he says. Perseverance has already found some of the oldest rocks ever sampled on the Martian surface. But we need to push the envelope of what we really understand about the history of the red planet, which has both frustrated and perplexed even its most ardent advocates. That's why retrieving these samples for analysis in the best labs the world has to offer is so crucial to humanity's understanding of solar system science. Icelandic landscape near the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. Bruce Dorminey Radiation Threat There's also the potential that a decades-long delay in retrieving the samples that the Perseverance rover has collected could be affected by incoming cosmic radiation. Most of the samples are now safely positioned inside the rover but there are others that have been left on the surface near the landing site of a future sample return mission. The idea being that if for whatever reason, the rover malfunctions and can't make it back to the Jezero Crater basin, there would still be a few samples prepositioned on the surface which a return lander could retrieve for the journey back to Earth. Perseverance collected the samples themselves using a coring mechanism to a depth of only about 7 cm in depth. But now these sample cores are above ground they are much more susceptible to the effects of surface radiation. Even at 7 cm of subsurface depth, you must think about corpuscular (subatomic particle) radiation and galactic radiation, which is also bombarding the surface, Jean-Pierre De Vera, a planetary scientist at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), tells me in Reykjavik. And after several years inside the rover on the surface, the samples' original subsurface organics could certainly be changed, says De Vera. I'll be in the Icelandic Highlands for a week sampling iron oxide minerals in every kind of environment, from cold springs to hot springs and rivers, says Valantinas. The idea is to use Iceland as an analog for processes that could have happened on ancient Mars, he says. Why is Iceland better than anywhere else? Iceland is a volcanic island with basalt as a kind of the bedrock material, says Valantinas. So, the weathering of the basalts leads to secondary minerals in Iceland, and similar secondary minerals are observed on Mars, he says. Meanwhile, astrobiologists worldwide are hoping that the Mars samples can find their way back to Earth in a timely manner. As for why the Mars is so important to astrobiology? We're busy looking for life on exoplanets and we have Mars here that's within reach, Benton Clark, senior research geochemist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. tells me in Reykjavik. All we need to do is to bring those samples back and we're going to learn so much more; maybe detect evidence of life, says Clark. Forbes Why Europe May Beat NASA To Life On Mars By Bruce Dorminey Forbes How NASA Can Avoid A False Positive Mars Microfossil Detection By Bruce Dorminey
Reuters
08-07-2025
- Science
- Reuters
Arizona fossils reveal an ecosystem in flux early in the age of dinosaurs
WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - Scientists have unearthed in Arizona fossils from an assemblage of animals, including North America's oldest-known flying reptile, that reveal a time of transition when venerable lineages that were destined soon to vanish lived alongside newcomers early in the age of dinosaurs. The remains of the pterosaur, roughly the size of a small seagull, and the other creatures were discovered in Petrified Forest National Park, a place famous for producing fossils of plants and animals from the Triassic Period including huge tree trunks. The newly found fossils are 209 million years old and include at least 16 vertebrate species, seven of them previously unknown. The Triassic came on the heels of Earth's biggest mass extinction 252 million years ago, and then ended with another mass extinction 201 million years ago that wiped out many of the major competitors to the dinosaurs, which achieved unquestioned supremacy in the subsequent Jurassic period. Both calamities apparently were caused by extreme volcanism. The fossils, entombed in rock rich with volcanic ash, provide a snapshot of a thriving tropical ecosystem crisscrossed by rivers on the southern edge of a large desert. Along with the pterosaur were other new arrivals on the scene including primitive frogs, lizard-like reptiles and one of the earliest-known turtles - all of them resembling their relatives alive today. This ecosystem's largest meat-eaters and plant-eaters were part of reptile lineages that were flourishing at the time but died out relatively soon after. While the Triassic ushered in the age of dinosaurs, no dinosaurs were found in this ecosystem, illustrating how they had not yet become dominant. "Although dinosaurs are found in contemporaneous rocks from Arizona and New Mexico, they were not part of this ecosystem that we are studying," said paleontologist Ben Kligman of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, who led the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, opens new tab. "This is peculiar, and may have to do with dinosaurs preferring to live in other types of environments," Kligman added. This ecosystem was situated just above the equator in the middle of the bygone supercontinent called Pangaea, which later broke apart and gave rise to today's continents. Pterosaurs, cousins of the dinosaurs, were the first vertebrates to achieve powered flight, followed much later by birds and bats. Pterosaurs are thought to have appeared roughly 230 million years ago, around the same time as the earliest dinosaurs, though their oldest-known fossils date to around 215 million years ago in Europe. The newly identified pterosaur, named Eotephradactylus mcintireae, is thought to have hunted fish populating the local rivers. Its partial skeleton includes part of a tooth-studded lower jaw, some additional isolated teeth and the bones of its elongated fingers, which helped form its wing apparatus. Its wingspan was about three feet (one meter) and its skull was about four inches (10 cm) long. It had curved fangs at the front of its mouth for grabbing fish as it flew over rivers and blade-like teeth in the back of the jaw for slicing prey. The researchers said Eotephradactylus would have had a tail, as all the early pterosaurs did. Eotephradactylus means "ash-winged dawn goddess," recognizing the nature of the rock in which it was found and the position of the species near the beginning of the pterosaur lineage. Mcintireae recognizes Suzanne McIntire, the former Smithsonian fossil preparator who unearthed it. The turtle was a land-living species while the lizard-like reptile was related to New Zealand's modern-day Tuatara. Also found were fossils of some other reptiles including armored plant-eaters, a large fish-eating amphibian and various fish including freshwater sharks. The ecosystem's biggest predators were croc relatives perhaps 20 feet (six meters) long, bigger than the carnivorous dinosaurs inhabiting that part of the world at the time. On land was a four-legged meat-eating reptile from a group called rauisuchians. In the rivers dwelled a semi-aquatic carnivore from a group called phytosaurs, built much like a crocodile but with certain differences, such as nostrils at the top of the head rather than the end of the snout. Rauisuchians, phytosaurs and some other lineages represented in the fossils disappeared in the end-Triassic extinction event. Frogs and turtles are still around today, while pterosaurs dominated the skies until the asteroid impact 66 million years ago that ended the age of dinosaurs. "The site captures the transition to more modern terrestrial vertebrate communities," Kligman said.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Detect Deep, Rhythmic Pulse Coming From Inside the Earth
Scientists have discovered a heartbeat-like pulse emanating from inside the Earth beneath the continent of Africa, which they believe will one day rip the continent into pieces. In a new study published today in the journal Nature Geoscience, a team of European and African scientists explain how they used chemical signatures to examine this inner-Earth heartbeat, explaining that molten chunks of mantle — the rocky layer found between the Earth's surface and core — are surging together through rift zones, or weak areas of volcanos where magma is likeliest to break through our planet's crust. These internal surges have settled into rhythmic bursts of pulsing plumes. Which, while fascinating to imagine, effectively means that bursts of molten rock are pushing against the African continent's crust — and over millions of years, will likely tear the continent apart, making way for a new ocean basin. Researchers focused on the Afar region of Ethiopia, a volcanic area where multiple rift zones are located, collecting and analyzing around 130 samples of volcanic rock. "We found that the mantle beneath Afar is not uniform or stationary," said Emma Watts, a Swansea University geologist and lead author of the study, in a statement. "It pulses, and these pulses carry distinct chemical signatures." As the Independent notes, the research is significant because while scientists have believed for some time that the region's mantle was being pushed against its crust and causing it to expand, they didn't quite know why. This new research offers scientists a deeper understanding of that process. What's more, it reveals that the Earth's plates actually have a huge influence on the movements of the molten magma located beneath them. "These pulses appear to behave differently depending on the thickness of the plate, and how fast it's pulling apart," said study co-author Tom Gernon, a geologist at the University of Southampton, in a statement. "In faster-spreading rifts like the Red Sea, the pulses travel more efficiently and regularly like a pulse through a narrow artery." Excitingly, the researchers believe their discovery will pave the way for more breakthroughs in how we understand and study volcanic activity, the dynamic inner workings of our planet, and what activity found today means for Earth's future. "This has profound implications," said the University of Southampton's Derek Keir, an earth sciences professor and study co-author, in a statement, "for how we interpret surface volcanism, earthquake activity, and the process of continental breakup." More on planet Earth: A Strange Darkness Is Spreading Throughout the Oceans
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'Pulsing, like a heartbeat': Rhythmic mantle plume rising beneath Ethiopia is creating a new ocean
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Rhythmic pulses of molten rock are rising beneath eastern Africa, according to a new study. The pulsing plume of hot mantle beneath Ethiopia, driven by plate tectonics, is slowly pulling the region apart and forming a new ocean near the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, researchers reported June 25 in the journal Nature Geoscience. "We have found that the evolution of deep mantle upwellings is intimately tied to the motion of the plates above," Derek Keir, an Earth scientist at the University of Southampton and the University of Florence, said in a statement. "This has profound implications for how we interpret surface volcanism, earthquake activity, and the process of continental breakup." The mantle plume lies under Ethiopia's Afar region, at the intersection of three tectonic plates. All of the rifts between these plates are different ages, and they are changing at different rates; some are in the process of forming new oceans, while others are pulling apart the crust beneath Africa. But the structure and motion of the plume, as well as the forces driving these movements, aren't well understood. To investigate the structure of the crust and the mantle plume beneath it, the scientists studied the chemical compositions of more than 130 samples of volcanic rocks from the Afar region. These samples provided information about the depth and composition of melted rock beneath the surface. The team also used computer models to determine how the region might respond to different kinds of mantle plumes and compared those responses to existing geological data. A single mantle plume lies beneath all three rifts, the researchers found, but its chemical composition is not uniform. Further, the molten rock surges upward rhythmically, leaving behind distinct chemical signatures. "The chemical striping suggests the plume is pulsing, like a heartbeat," Tom Gernon, an Earth scientist at the University of Southampton, said in the statement. "These pulses appear to behave differently depending on the thickness of the plate, and how fast it's pulling apart. In faster-spreading rifts like the Red Sea, the pulses travel more efficiently and regularly like a pulse through a narrow artery." RELATED STORIES —Study reveals 'flawed argument' in debate over when plate tectonics began —There's a 'ghost' plume lurking beneath the Middle East — and it might explain how India wound up where it is today —Africa is being torn apart by a 'superplume' of hot rock from deep within Earth, study suggests Varying spacing between the stripes in different rifts suggests that the mantle plume responds differently depending on the tectonic plates above. In places where the lithosphere — the crust and upper mantle — is thicker, the mantle flow is impeded, and the striping is more condensed. Under a thinner lithosphere, the stripes are more spread out. The findings could help scientists understand volcanic activity at the surface. "The work shows that deep mantle upwellings can flow beneath the base of tectonic plates and help to focus volcanic activity to where the tectonic plate is thinnest," Keir said in the statement. Future work in the Afar region could involve investigating the rate of mantle flow beneath the various plates, Keir added.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Earth Is Pulsing Beneath Africa Where The Crust Is Being Torn Apart
A deep, rhythmic pulse has been found surging like a heartbeat deep under Africa. At the Afar triple junction under Ethiopia, where three tectonic plates meet, molten magma pounds the planet's crust from below, scientists have discovered. There, the continent is slowly being torn asunder in the early formation stages of a new ocean basin. By sampling the chemical signatures of volcanoes around this region, a team led by geologist Emma Watts of Swansea University in the UK hoped to learn more about this wild process. "We found that the mantle beneath Afar is not uniform or stationary – it pulses, and these pulses carry distinct chemical signatures," says Watts, who was at the University of Southampton in the UK when the research was conducted. "These ascending pulses of partially molten mantle are channeled by the rifting plates above. That's important for how we think about the interaction between Earth's interior and its surface." Related: Our planet's surface is in a constant state of renovation. The tectonic plates into which the planetary crust is divided aren't fixed in position, but shift and collide and even slip underneath one another. The places at which they meet are usually hotspots of geological evolution, quite literally, rampant with volcanic activity that is reshaping the surface from below. The Afar junction is the point at which the Arabian, Nubian, and Somalian plates meet, each departing in their own directions to leave a widening gap under the Afar Triangle. Eventually, the crust will become so thin here that the surface will drop below sea level, creating a new ocean basin off the Red Sea. Scientists suspect that mantle upwelling is playing a role in this continental breakup process, but our understanding of how it works is limited. We can't exactly just dig down to have a close look, so Watts and her colleagues went for the next best thing: looking at material that has been disgorged onto Earth's surface from the mantle by way of volcano. They collected 130 samples of volcanic rock from around the Afar region and the Main Ethiopian Rift, and conducted chemical analyses. They used these analyses combined with existing data to conduct advanced modeling to understand what's going on with the activity under the Triangle. The results showed distinct chemical bands or stripes that repeat across the rift system, delivered by a single, asymmetrical plume of material shaped by its environment and pushing upwards from the mantle. "The chemical striping suggests the plume is pulsing, like a heartbeat," says geologist Tom Gernon of the University of Southampton in the UK. "These pulses appear to behave differently depending on the thickness of the plate, and how fast it's pulling apart. In faster-spreading rifts like the Red Sea, the pulses travel more efficiently and regularly like a pulse through a narrow artery." If the team's model is correct, it suggests that mantle plumes and upwellings can be shaped by the dynamics of the tectonic plates above them – a finding that could be used to inform future research into the activity that is continually remodeling our planet. "We have found that the evolution of deep mantle upwellings is intimately tied to the motion of the plates above. This has profound implications for how we interpret surface volcanism, earthquake activity, and the process of continental breakup," says geophysicist Derek Keir of the University of Southampton and the University of Florence in Italy. "The work shows that deep mantle upwellings can flow beneath the base of tectonic plates and help to focus volcanic activity to where the tectonic plate is thinnest. Follow-on research includes understanding how and at what rate mantle flow occurs beneath plates." The research has been published in Nature Geoscience. Strange Cellular Entity Challenges Very Definition of Life Itself Sharks Do Something Bizarre When Turned Upside Down, And We Don't Know Why Orcas' Strange Beauty Routine Revealed by Scientists For The First Time
