In The News: Department of Geoscience

Deeper Blue

Researchers from the University of Nevada Las Vegas have published findings in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, highlighting how by looking at marine food web fossils, we can get a glimpse into the future of climate change effects.

Tech Explorist

To find evidence of prehistoric microbial life and to better understand the processes that formed the surface of Mars, scientists wish to analyze Martian samples with high-tech lab equipment on Earth. The majority of the samples will be made up of rock. Still, scientists are also interested in studying regolith, or broken rock and dust, not only for what it can reveal about Mars’ geological processes and environment but also help astronauts prepare for some of the difficulties they will encounter. Regolith is fascinating to scientists and engineers because it can impact everything from solar panels to spacesuits.

NASA

NASA’s Perseverance rover snagged two new samples from the Martian surface on Dec. 2 and 6. But unlike the 15 rock cores collected to date, these newest samples came from a pile of wind-blown sand and dust similar to but smaller than a dune. Now contained in special metal collection tubes, one of these two samples will be considered for deposit on the Martian surface sometime this month as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign.

CNN

More than a year and a half after its first flight on Mars, the Ingenuity helicopter has set a new record.

Newsweek

Mankind's crucial fossil fuels—coal, natural gas and crude oil—all unfortunately contain large amounts of carbon. But why is that and where does it come from?

Eco Watch

Certain metals are essential to producing renewable energy products, and tellurium (Te) is one that is becoming more widely used in the manufacturing of photovoltaic cells for solar panels.

The Scientist

Five major El Niño events per century could lead to fewer fishes that thrive in cold water and more terrestrial birds in eastern coastal ecosystems.

Science Daily

What a tangled web we weave. Well, when it comes to the climate crisis' impact on marine food webs, we apparently didn't know the half of it. That's according to a new UNLV study which compared ancient and modern ocean ecosystems in a bid to understand how to make them healthier and more resilient.

Nature World News

Have we damaged marine life too much for it to recover?

Popular Science

While manatees in the United States today are more associated with the state of Florida, a relative of theirs once swam the seas along North America’s Pacific coast. Millions of years ago, the Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) grazed in the kelp forests along the Northern Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. This marine mammal is part of the Sirenia order that includes present-day manatees. It could weigh up to four tons and grow to lengths of 26 to 30 feet—much longer than today’s manatees. It grazed along the Northwest’s mighty kelp forests, which today stretches from Baja California, Mexico up the Pacific coastline to Alaska. The sea cow ate huge quantities of kelp from the upper canopy of kelp forests, which allowed needed sunlight to travel down to the forest’s understory.

Phys.org

What a tangled web we weave. When it comes to the impact of the climate crisis on marine food webs, we apparently have not known the half of it. That's according to a new University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) study, which compared ancient and modern ocean ecosystems in a bid to understand how to make them healthier and more resilient.

Interesting Engineering

Researchers claim they have discovered a rare mineral that comes directly from Earth's lower mantle- the region between the planet's core and crust - in a new study published in Science.