Geology

Saturn’s rings are iconic, but new evidence presented by researchers from Monash University suggests Earth might once have sported one of its own. This ring would likely have caused climate chaos on the surface.

Stumbling on a giant gold nugget and never working again is something we’ve all daydreamed about, but how exactly do they form? A new experiment has found that earthquakes and electricity might be key ingredients.

Geologists have drilled deeper than ever into material from the Earth’s mantle – more than three quarters of a mile. The sample gives a glimpse into the geology and even life in a deep world normally beyond our reach.

A new study of ancient detrital zircons from inland Australia has found the first evidence that the Earth has had fresh water and dry land four billion years ago, much longer than previously thought. In fact, 500 million years further back in time.

The ancient Egyptians may have had help building the pyramids after all – not from aliens but a long-lost river. Evidence of a previously uncharted branch of the Nile has been found snaking along the pyramids, suggesting blocks were floated to sites.

The Krafla Magma Testbed "has the potential to be for geoscientists what the Large Hadron Collider has been for particle physicists." So say researchers working on the project to drill into a magma chamber to explore massive geothermal power.

A new simulation video from Herrenknecht AG shows off its Urban Vibro Trucks. The machines can deploy thumping devices from their mid-sections that send seismic waves beneath city landscapes to explore the terrain for geothermal development.

The hot interior of planets isn’t somewhere you’d expect to find snow, but “iron snow” could fall on Earth’s core. A new study has modeled the dynamics in the lab and found that iron snow could make magnetic fields switch on and off in some planets.

We only have to look up at the Moon to see the remains of a cataclysmic collision between two early planets, billions of years ago. Evidence may also be beneath our feet, as scientists suggest the remains of that ancient planet lurk near Earth’s core.

The cascading effects of a giant asteroid impact is credited for killing off the dinosaurs. Now scientists have identified a new factor – fine silicate dust that hung in the atmosphere for well over a decade, blocking sunlight and cooling the planet.

Scientists from Caltech and WHOI have found evidence that Earth’s core is leaking. High levels of a particular isotope of helium were found in lava flows in Canada, which the team proposes originated in the planet’s core.

About 66 million years ago, the reign of reptiles came to a dramatic end. Scientists have now predicted that mammals will meet their maker in a similar cataclysm in about 250 million years’ time, as the continents collide to form a new supercontinent.