13,000 Years Ago, a Firestorm Covered 10% of Earth's Surface, Triggering an Ice Age [Science Alert, February 2022]

Title:

13,000 Years Ago, a Firestorm Covered 10% of Earth's Surface, Triggering an Ice Age

 

Author:

David Nield

 

Published:

Science Alert, 7 February 2022

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-firestorm-bigger-than-the-one-that-killed-the-dinosaurs-triggered-an-ice-age-13-000-years-ago

 

From the article:

At a point some 12,800 years ago, a tenth of Earth's surface suddenly became covered in roaring fires.  

 

The firestorm rivalled the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, and it was likely caused by fragments of a comet that would have measured around 100 kilometers (62 miles) across.

 

The 6th Mass Extinction Really Has Begun, Scientists Warn in Newly Published Study [ScienceAlert, January 2022]

Title:

The 6th Mass Extinction Really Has Begun, Scientists Warn in Newly Published Study

 

Author:

Peter Dockrill

 

Published:

ScienceAlert, 18 January 2022

https://www.sciencealert.com/new-evidence-confirms-the-sixth-mass-extinction-has-already-begun-scientists-warn

 

From the article:

The signs of death are everywhere, if you look. For years, scientists have rung the alarm bell, warning that grave declines in animal biodiversity around the globe herald the onset of what will be Earth's sixth mass extinction.

 

ALSO SEE

 

The Sixth Extinction: fact, fiction or speculation?

Scholarly Article published in Biological Reviews, 10 January 2022

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12816

'New hidden world' discovered in Earth's inner core [Live Science, October 2021]

Title:

'New hidden world' discovered in Earth's inner core 

 

Author:

Joanna Thompson 

Published:

Live Science, 28 October 2021

https://www.livescience.com/earth-inner-core-mushy

From the article:

For over half a century, the scientific community thought that Earth's inner core was a solid ball of compressed iron alloy surrounded by a liquid outer core. But new research, published Sept. 20 in the journal Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, suggests that the firmness of the planetary ball ranges from hard to semisoft to liquid metal.

Earth tipped on its side (and back again) in 'cosmic yo-yo' 84 million years ago [Live Science, October 2021]

Title:

Earth tipped on its side (and back again) in 'cosmic yo-yo' 84 million years ago 

 

Author:

Harry Baker

 

Published:

Live Science, October 2021]

https://www.livescience.com/earth-tipped-on-side-and-back-again

From the article:

Earth has not always been upright. Turns out, the planet's crust tipped on its side and back again around 84 million years ago, in a phenomenon that researchers have dubbed a "cosmic yo-yo."

Research led by Australian National University - Earth has a hidden layer, and no one knows exactly what it is - by Stephanie Pappas

Title:

Earth has a hidden layer, and no one knows exactly what it is 

 

Author:

Stephanie Pappas

 

Published:

Live Science, 8 March 2021

https://www.livescience.com/new-earth-layer-solid-inner-core.html

 

From the article:

Earth might have more layers than scientists thought.  

 

New research finds that there may be a hidden layer inside the Earth's solid inner core — an inner-inner core, if you will. The precise nature of this layer is mysterious, but it could have something to do with changes in the structure of iron under extreme temperatures and pressure. The study reveals that there is more complexity to the inner core than previously appreciated, said Jo Stephenson, a doctoral student in seismology at Australian National University in Canberra, who led the research.  

 

"It's not just a solid ball of iron," Stephenson told Live Science.

A global environmental crisis 42,000 years ago (Scholarly Article - Science, Feb 2021) - a provocative analysis

Title:

A global environmental crisis 42,000 years ago

 

Authors:

Alan Cooper, Chris S.M. Turney, Jonathan Palmer [et al] 

Published:

Science, Volume 371, Issue 6531, pp. 811-818 (19 February 2021)

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6531/811

 

Abstract:

Geological archives record multiple reversals of Earth’s magnetic poles, but the global impacts of these events, if any, remain unclear. Uncertain radiocarbon calibration has limited investigation of the potential effects of the last major magnetic inversion, known as the Laschamps Excursion [41 to 42 thousand years ago (ka)]. We use ancient New Zealand kauri trees (Agathis australis) to develop a detailed record of atmospheric radiocarbon levels across the Laschamps Excursion. We precisely characterize the geomagnetic reversal and perform global chemistry-climate modeling and detailed radiocarbon dating of paleoenvironmental records to investigate impacts. We find that geomagnetic field minima ~42 ka, in combination with Grand Solar Minima, caused substantial changes in atmospheric ozone concentration and circulation, driving synchronous global climate shifts that caused major environmental changes, extinction events, and transformations in the archaeological record.

 

 See also:

 Title:

 Ancient trees show when the earth's magnetic field last flipped out

 

Author:

Nell Greenfieldboyce

 

Published:

WUWM, 18 February 2021

https://www.wuwm.com/post/ancient-trees-show-when-earths-magnetic-field-last-flipped-out#stream/0

 

New Research Is Rewriting The Very Timeline of How Earth Was Born

Title:
New Research Is Rewriting The Very Timeline of How Earth Was Born

Author:
Michelle Starr

Published:
Science Alert, 25 July 2020
https://www.sciencealert.com/new-research-is-rewriting-the-very-timeline-of-how-earth-was-born

From the article:
According to an analysis in February 2020, there's evidence that most of Earth took just 5 million years to come together - several times shorter than current models suggest.

This revision is a significant contribution to our current understanding of planetary formation, suggesting that the mechanisms may be more varied than we think, even between planets of the same type, located in the same neighbourhood - rocky planets, such as Mars and Earth.

See also the scholarly article:
Iron isotope evidence for very rapid accretion and differentiation of the proto-Earth
Martin Schiller, Martin Bizzarro, & Julien Siebert
Science Advances, Volume 6, Number 7, eaay7604, 12 February 2020

Imperial College London - The Entire Earth Is Vibrating Less Due to COVID-19 Lockdowns, Study Reveals

Title:
The Entire Earth Is Vibrating Less Due to COVID-19 Lockdowns, Study Reveals

Author:
Michelle Starr

Published:
Science Alert, 23 July 2020
https://www.sciencealert.com/covid-lockdown-has-dramatically-reduced-humans-seismic-pollution

From the article:
We humans are a rowdy, disruptive bunch. Our very day-to-day living causes the planet to hum. Quite literally - driving and travelling, digging and construction, industry, and even sports events all contribute to a constant background hum of high-frequency seismic noise.

Now, thanks to global lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is experiencing the most dramatic reduction in that anthropogenic seismic noise in recorded history.

"This quiet period is likely the longest and largest dampening of human-caused seismic noise since we started monitoring the Earth in detail using vast monitoring networks of seismometers," said seismologist Stephen Hicks of Imperial College London in the UK.

Plato was right: Earth is made, on average, of cubes

Title:
Plato was right: Earth is made, on average, of cubes

By:
University of Pennsylvania

Published:
Phys.org, 20 July 2020
https://phys.org/news/2020-07-plato-earth-average-cubes.html

From the article:
In a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team from the University of Pennsylvania, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and University of Debrecen uses math, geology, and physics to demonstrate that the average shape of rocks on Earth is a cube.

New insight into the origin of water on the earth (Phys.org, 17 July 2020)

Title:
New insight into the origin of water on the earth

By:
Hokkaido University

Published:
Phys.org, 17 July 2020
https://phys.org/news/2020-07-insight-earth.html

From the article:
Scientists have found the interstellar organic matter could produce an abundant supply of water by heating, suggesting that organic matter could be the source of terrestrial water.

See also:
Hideyuki Nakano [et al.]. Precometary organic matter: A hidden reservoir of water inside the snow line, Scientific Reports (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64815-6

Curtin University - Plate tectonics research rewrites history of Earth's continents

Title:
Plate tectonics research rewrites history of Earth's continents

By:
Curtin University

Published:
Phys.org, 8 July 2020
https://phys.org/news/2020-07-plate-tectonics-rewrites-history-earth.html

From the article:
Curtin University-led research has found new evidence to suggest that the Earth's first continents were not formed by subduction in a modern-like plate tectonics environment as previously thought, and instead may have been created by an entirely different process.

Published in the journal Geology, the research team measured the iron and zinc isotopes in rock sourced from central Siberia and South Africa and determined that the composition of these rocks may have formed in a non-subduction environment.

Earth's magnetic field can change 10 times faster than previously thought, study suggests

Title:
Earth's magnetic field can change 10 times faster than previously thought, study suggests

Published:
Sky News, 6 July 2020
https://news.sky.com/story/earths-magnetic-field-can-change-10-times-faster-than-previously-thought-study-suggests-12022267

From the article:
Researchers at universities in the UK and the US have provided new insights into how the swirling molten iron 1,740 miles (2,800km) below the Earth's surface influences the planet's magnetic field.

The Search For Earth's Underground Oceans - The water stored in the inner layers of Earth may be more plentiful — and important — than scientists previously thought

Title: 
The Search For Earth's Underground Oceans
 
Author:
Steve Nadis
 
Published:
Discovery Magazine, 11 June 2020
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/the-search-for-earths-underground-oceans
 
From the article:
Early in Jacobsen’s career, his research adviser was Joseph Smyth, a geologist who had demonstrated that a mineral called wadsleyite could, in theory, hold significant amounts of water. Wadsleyite and its relative, ringwoodite, are the two main components of the transition zone between Earth’s upper and lower mantle — about 250 to 410 miles below the surface. When he embarked on his own research in the mid-1990s, Jacobsen wanted to know: How much water might actually be stored in these abundant minerals?

Half of Earth's Land Can Still Be Saved From Human Damage, Study Reveals [Science Alert, 15 June 2020]

Title:
Half of Earth's Land Can Still Be Saved From Human Damage, Study Reveals

Author:
Peter Dockrill

Published:
Science Alert, 15 June 2020
https://www.sciencealert.com/half-of-earth-s-land-is-still-significantly-untouched-by-humans-study-finds

From the article:
There's simply no denying the fact that humans have drastically altered, developed, and ransacked much of the natural world for our own ends. But how much of the planet's surface remains free of our often malign influence?

See also:
Global human influence maps reveal clear opportunities in conserving Earth’s remaining intact terrestrial ecosystems
by: Riggio, J. [et al.].
Global Change Biology, 5 June 2020

Scientists detect widespread structures near Earth’s core - first comprehensive view of the core-mantle boundary over a wide area

Title:
Scientists detect widespread structures near Earth’s core

Published:
National Herald, 13 June 2020
https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/science-and-tech/scientists-detect-widespread-structures-near-earths-core

From the article:
Analysing thousands of recordings of seismic waves, or sound waves travelling through the Earth, scientists have detected widespread, heterogenous structures - areas of unusually dense, hot rock - at the core-mantle boundary than previously known.

ScienceAlert, 19 May 2020 - Yes, a Solar Minimum Is Coming. No, It's Not Going to Mess Up The World

Title:
Yes, a Solar Minimum Is Coming. No, It's Not Going to Mess Up The World

Author:
Micelle Starr

Published:
ScienceAlert, 19 May 2020
https://www.sciencealert.com/we-re-about-to-experience-solar-minimum-here-s-what-that-really-means

From the article:
"Because we are normal people living in normal times, normal things are happening. Like news tabloids reporting that the Sun is in "lockdown", and that Earth is doomed to crazy weather famine and… earthquakes, for some reason.

Well, you can relax. Nothing the Sun is currently doing is going to create freezing weather, famine, or earthquakes. While humans are experiencing things that are decidedly not okay, the Sun is doing nothing unusual whatsoever."

Popular Mechanics, 15 May 2020 - The Magnetic North Pole Is Rapidly Moving Because of Some Blobs

Title:
The Magnetic North Pole Is Rapidly Moving Because of Some Blobs

Author:
Jennifer Leman

Published:
Popular Mechanics, 15 May 2020
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a32496561/why-magnetic-north-pole-moving/

Key points of article:
* Earth's magnetic north pole has shifted away from Canada and closer to Siberia at a rapid pace in recent years. 
* Researchers believe two massive blobs of molten iron in Earth's outer core may have spurred the runaway pole. 
* There's no telling where it will end up.

Forbes, 7 May 2020 - Earth’s Magnetic North Pole Is Shifting Dramatically From A Powerful Tug Of War

Title:
Earth’s Magnetic North Pole Is Shifting Dramatically From A Powerful Tug Of War

Author:
Eric Mack

Published:
Forbes, 7 May 2020

From the article:
"It’s become increasingly clear in recent years that Earth’s magnetic north pole has been moving towards Russia at rather fast clip.  

Now a team of researchers believe they’ve identified the forces that are causing the shift, which has implications for everyday navigation and mapping systems, among other things."

To read this article:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2020/05/07/earths-magnetic-north-pole-is-shifting-dramatically-from-a-powerful-tug-of-war/#561084a51ffe

On a lighter (& more peaceful) note: Find Your Serenity in These Awe-Inspiring Views of Earth From Space

Title:
Find Your Serenity in These Awe-Inspiring Views of Earth From Space

Author:
Michelle Starr

Published:
ScienceAlert, 20 March 2020

From the article:
"From our vantage point here on the surface, it might not seem like it sometimes, but we live on a breathtakingly gorgeous world. And it's incredibly special. Of all the over 4,000 exoplanets scientists have found out there in the wider galaxy so far, none is exactly like Earth."

Michelle Starr also says:
"Astronauts, when they look back down on Earth, report intense emotions and a shift in perception on seeing that sight, in person, with their own eyes. They feel suffused with wonder, a deep understanding that we humans are all inhabiting this world together, with all our struggles and striving. That we are all connected.  

This is called the Overview Effect, and while looking at pictures and videos taken from space cannot capture it entirely, there's something wonderfully soothing and serene about gazing at our planet from a perspective we don't usually enjoy."

Included in this article are a number of beautiful videos to watch.

To read this article & watch videos:
https://www.sciencealert.com/find-your-serenity-in-these-awe-inspiring-views-of-earth-from-space