Imperfect Diamonds Paved Road to Historic Deep Earth Discoveries
31 new-to-science minerals have turned up (including triazolite, discovered in Chile, thought to have derived in part fr…
December 2019
Gold Nugget Turns Out To be Four-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite
The Marborough meteorite. photo: (Melbourne Museum) Back in May 2015, an Australian prospector set off to scour the Ma…
Mysterious Tectonic Fault Zone Found Off California
MARS cable in Monterey Bay with pink portion used for sensing. Nearly 3,000 feet (900 metres) below the surface of Mo…
Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser, the World's Tallest, Erupted a Record Number
Steamboat Geyser erupt The Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park erupted 47 times this year, blowing past the…
What is Green Obsidian?
Green obsidian is a type of natural glass that gets its name from its green color. It is a rare and valuable gemstone that i…
Iron 'Snow' Discovered in the Earth's Core
The Earth's inner core is hot, under immense pressure and snow-capped, according to new research that could help sc…
The World’s Oldest Forest Has 385-Million-Year-Old Tree Roots
The World’s Oldest Forest Has 385-Million-Year-Old Tree Roots. The rooting system of the ancient tree Archaeopteris at th…
Study Explores the Density of the Tectonic Plates and Why They Sink in the Earth's Mantle
A schematic summary of the effect of the convergence rate. Upper image shows a slow convergence rate allows thermal difus…
Hard as a Rock? Maybe Not, Say Bacteria That Help Form Soil
This transition, from solid bedrock to pulverized rock in subsoil, probably occurs on land around the globe. A new study …
Beach Scavenger Finds 'Lump of Whale Vomit Worth £500,000'
Ambergris or "whale poo/vomit" Surachet Chanchu, a beach scavenger in southern Thailand, struck gold. Chanc…
Earth's Magnetic North Pole Continues Drifting, Crosses Prime Meridian
Earth's Magnetic North Pole Continues Drifting, Crosses Prime Meridian. Global map of declination and the dip pole lo…
Ancient Whale Fossil Show How the Mammals Moved to Life in the Ocean
Cervical and thoracic vertebrae of the Aegicetus gehennae specimen. Image credits Gingerich et al., , PLOS ONE. A new…
Deepest Point of Earth's Continents Found in Antarctica
A trough beneath Denman Glacier is the deepest continent point in the world, measuring more than 2 miles beneath sea le…
Giant Penguins Gave Up Flight and Started Swimming 66 Million Years Ago
When Penguins Ruled After Dinosaurs Died Penguins weren't always the petite, tuxedo-sporting birds we know and …
Stormquakes: Powerful Storms Cause Seafloor Tremors
Stormquakes offshore North America (shown as red circles) and seismic stations (shown as triangles) from 2006 to 2015. So…
Over 800 Mammoth Bones Discovered in Massive Fossil Stash in Mexico
Mammoth skull and tusks found in the pitfall. Image: Edith Camacho, INAH. Archaeologists said Wednesday they have made…
Fossil of 99m-year-old Bird With Unusually Long Toes Found
This photograph shows a nearly 100-million-year-old bird foot featuring a very long toe preserved in amber. The specimen…
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