altered over time through geological processes, the Australian rocks have remained relatively unchanged since their inception 3.47 billion years ago. contains 16 protons and 16 neutrons in its nucleus ...

For the first time, researchers have been able to show hard data that a large injection of sulfur impacted Earth's atmosphere after an asteroid strike caused the planet's mass dinosaur extinction 66 ...

Ancient sediments that once resided on a lake bed and the ocean floor show sulfur isotope ratios unlike those found in other samples from the same time, calling into question accepted ideas about when ...

Organic debris slowly settles to the seabed, where it is consumed by microorganisms. Initially, some microbes use molecular oxygen to oxidize this organic matter, much like we do in the process of ...

A research team led by Prof. SHEN Yan'an from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has made significant progress in studying the sources and formation mechanisms of haze. Through ...

Research shows that variations in pyrite sulfur isotopes may not represent the global processes that have made them such popular targets of analysis and interpretation. A new microanalysis approach ...

Certain elements carry distinctive "fingerprints" in the form of isotope ratios—subtle variations in the weight of their atoms. If two rocks share the same isotopic fingerprint, it's a strong clue ...

American geologist and astronaut Harrison Hagan Schmitt takes rock samples from the surface of the moon during America's last lunar landing mission of the 20th century, Apollo 17, December 1972.