Category Environment/Geology

A simulation of iron-60 atoms dispersed by multiple supernovae close to the solar system 2.2 million years ago. Some of that iron still lies at the bottom of the oceans and on the moon.

In 2016, researchers published “slam dunk” evidence, based on iron-60 isotopes in ancient seabed, that supernovae buffeted the Earth – one of them about 2.6 million years ago. Melott has followed up since those findings with an examination of the effects of the supernovae on Earth’s biology. In new research to appear in Astrophysical Journal, the KU researcher and colleagues argue the estimated distance of the supernova thought to have occurred roughly 2.6 million years ago should be cut in half.

“There’s even more evidence of that supernova now,” he said...

Don R. Baker et al, A metasomatic mechanism for the formation of Earth’s earliest evolved crust, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2017.01.022

More than 90% of Earth’s continental crust is made up of silica-rich minerals, eg, feldspar and quartz. But where did this silica-enriched material come from? And could it provide a clue in the search for life on other planets? Conventional theory holds that all of the early Earth’s crustal ingredients were formed by volcanic activity. Now, McGill University earth scientists Don Baker and Kassandra Sofonio have published a theory with a twist: some chemical components of this material settled onto Earth’s early surface from the steamy atmosphere that prevailed at the time.

First, a bit of ancient geochemical history: Sc...

‘Our team combined a catalyst we recently discovered with new and exciting chemistry to find the first high-yield, low-cost method of manufacturing butadiene,’ says Dionisios Vlachos, Director of the University of Delaware’s Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation. Credit: University of Delaware/ Jeffrey Chase

Findings by scientists could transform the multi-billion-dollar plastics and rubber industries used for manufacturing tires, toys and myriad other products. These items are produced from butadiene, a molecule traditionally made from petroleum or natural gas. But those humanmade materials could get a lot greener soon, thanks to the ingenuity of a team of scientists from three U.S. research universities...

Professor Fernando Uribe-Romo and his team of students created a way to trigger a chemical reaction in a synthetic material called metal-organic frameworks (MOF) that breaks down carbon dioxide into harmless organic materials. Think of it as an artificial photosynthesis process similar to the way plants convert carbon dioxide and sunlight into food. But instead of producing food, Uribe-Romo’s method produces solar fuel. Credit: Bernard Wilchusky

Process produces energy at the same time. A chemistry professor in Florida has just found a way to trigger the process of photosynthesis in a synthetic material, turning greenhouse gases into clean air and producing energy all at the same time...