The finding that an unusual iron oxide forms at extremely high pressures suggests that hydrogen and oxygen — two elements that strongly influence Earth's evolution — are generated in the mantle. See Letter p.241
Nature 534 183 doi: 10.1038/534183a
Tag Archives: Earth
The leap second: Because our clocks are more accurate than the Earth
(credit: Toni Verdú Carbó)
We've recently been treated to that extra day in February that reminds us that 2016 is a leap year. Introduced by Julius Caesar, the leap day is necessary because the orbital year is not exactly equal to the 365 days of our calendar year. Without the adjustment, this year’s spring-like Christmas would...
Scientists say supernovae spread fallout when human ancestors walked the earth
Researchers say they’ve found evidence of supernova explosions that spewed radioactive fallout over Earth during the age when humanity’s ancestors were...
Measurement of the Earth tides with a MEMS gravimeter
The ability to measure tiny variations in the local gravitational acceleration allows, besides other applications, the detection of hidden hydrocarbon reserves, magma build-up before volcanic eruptions, and subterranean tunnels. Several technologies are available that achieve the sensitivities required for such applications (tens of microgal per hertz1/2): free-fall gravimeters, spring-based gravimeters, superconducting gravimeters, and atom interferometers. All of these devices can observe the Earth tides:...
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly heads back down to Earth after a year in space
Earth science: Another energy source for the geodynamo
Magnesium is not usually considered to be a constituent of Earth's core, but its presence there has now been proposed to explain an ongoing enigma — the identity of the energy sources that drive our planet's magnetic field. See Letter p.387
Nature 529 288 doi: 10.1038/529288a
Earth science: Another energy source for the geodynamo
Magnesium is not usually considered to be a constituent of Earth's core, but its presence there has now been proposed to explain an ongoing enigma — the identity of the energy sources that drive our planet's magnetic field. See Letter p.387
Nature 529 288 doi: 10.1038/529288a