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News

3 July, 2004

Cassini arrives at Saturn, now in orbit around Saturn. Images of Saturn's Rings and Titan's Surface show new, emerging detail. Visit the Official NASA Saturn Exploration Website for more images and information.

Mineral Spectral Data Available Online

30 June, 2004

With development of thermal emission spectrometers and acquisition of data from space, airborne and surface spectrometers, libraries of mineral spectral data have become available. JPL distributes Aster TES Data compiled from several sources for > 2000 minerals, available at this website. Arizona State University (ASU) distributes a library of > 150 rock forming minerals, available here. USGS Spectroscopy Data is here

New Mars Images Show Pebbly Sandstones

29 June, 2004

New Images from Opportunity Rover show laminated to thinly bedded, sulphate rich rocks with thin, pebbly layers, most likely layed down in a lake/ocean environment. See the NASA images here

New Mars Rover Data Discovers Deposit of Hematite

29 June, 2004

Spirit Rover discovers a deposit of hematite on the opposite side of Mars. Hematite is usually formed in water. See the BBC news here.

Images of Endurance Crater Show Surface Strewn with Spherules

15 June, 2004

Latest images from Opportunity Rover of Endurance Crater show a surface strewn with spherules derived from outcropping sedimentary rocks. Scientists have determined the spherules are precipitated from percolating ground water through the hematite rich sedimentary rocks. See the image here and latest Mars news from NASA here. See the BBC news item here

Cassini-Huygens Nears Saturn

15 June, 2004

The Cassini-Huygens Mission nears Saturn to begin its most detailed exploration of Saturn and its Moons yet. Images of Saturn's Moon Phoebe show a highly cratered icy surface while Saturn itself is banded into dark and light layers due to cloud belts. See the BBC news here and NASA's Official Website here.

Latest Data From Mars Confirms Water Deposited Sediments in the Past

6 June, 2004

Latest data from Mars, images layered sedimentary rocks on the edge of Endurance crater. New microimages show cross bedding in sediments. See the NASA findings here.

New Period Added to Geological Time Scale

6 June, 2004

From the BBC: "Geologists have added a new period to their official calendar of Earth's history - the first in 120 years. The Ediacaran Period covers some 50 million years of ancient time on our planet from 600 million years ago to about 542 million years ago." See the news here.

Discovery of V. guizhouena Fossil Points to Beginning of Complex Life Earlier than Previously Thought

6 July, 2004

Discovery of V. guizhouena fossil points to beginning of complex organisms much earlier than previously thought. The rocks have been dated to belong to the Ediacaran period. See the BBC news here.

New NASA Space Telescope Probes Planets

29 May, 2004

From BBC News: "NASA is excited by the latest findings from its $2bn space telescope launched last August. It cannot see objects the size of planets directly, but its infrared detectors can penetrate the dusty clouds around very young stars probing the regions in which planets are forming. See the BBC News item here.

Ancient Life Discovered in Archean Basalts

23 April, 2004

Life on Earth existed from the earliest times, beginning with the Archean. Indications of bacteria are found in Archean basalts. Small, tube like forms, representing bacterial eating their way through volcanic rock, are present in Greenstones dated at 3.5 billion years from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. See the Scripps news here.

New Giant Dinosaur Discoveries in Argentina and USA

16 April, 2004

A Sauropod, the largest of dinosaurs, is the largest ever discovered. "Professor Cifelli led the team that examined bones unearthed in south-eastern Oklahoma in 1994. When they were first catalogued, he said he thought they might be the trunks of prehistoric trees." See the BBC news here. Possibly the largest meat eating dinosaur is discovered in the Pantagonian Desert, Argentina. See the BBC news here. "An Argentine villager has dug up the bones of what may be the largest dinosaur species yet uncovered.Local palaeontologists said the dinosaur was a herbivore measuring up to 51 metres (167 ft) long - beating its nearest rival, the 100-tonne Argentinosaurus huinculensis, by a good eight metres (26 ft). " See the BBC news here. A nesting ground containing thousands of fossilized eggs near near Auca Mahuida in the Patagonia desert in southern Argentina. See the news here. A Baby T.Rex is uncovered in the USA. See the news here

Sue Goes on Display in Chicago

16 April, 2004

Sue, the infamous T.Rex, discovered in the Black Hills of South Dakota by Sue Hendrickson goes on Display for the first time in Chicago. Sue is the most complete and well preserved T.Rex ever discovered. "The Field used the unveiling to announce that the fossilised bones had provided some scientific surprises about the ferocious species during the nearly three years it took to reassemble the creature bone-by-bone. One was the presence of a wishbone, the first ever found in a T.rex and additional proof for those who believe dinosaurs are related to birds. The wishbone is a structure unique to fowl. In addition, the fossil is the first of a T.rex ever found with an ear drum bone called a stapes - also found in birds - that helps transmit sound to the inner ear." See the BBC News here.

Giant Fossil Trilobite Discovered

16 April, 2004

A fossil trilobite twice as large as any previously known trilobite is discovered in Manitoba, Canada. This trilobite represents a new species that is previously unknown. Trilobites were abundant during the Paleozoic and are an important fossil for dating rocks from this period. See the BBC news here. Another find indicates Trilobites were an important food source for larger animals. This specimen is found preserved in the gut of an unknown animal. See the BBC news here.

Australian Geologist Jobs Booming

1 April, 2004

A recent survey of employment for geologists within Australia shows the industry undergoing a boom in employment opportunities. By far the majority of jobs are in Western Australia, either Perth based or Remote. See todays job opportunities here.

Geoscientific Completes Landsat Project

29 March, 2004

Geoscientific Mineral Resources, the Remote Sensing Company, completes a major project providing and interpreting Landsat Images to a Toronto based diamond explorer. "To date this has been our largest single order and entailed the supply of 24 x LANDSAT 7 satellite images of various places in the DRC as well as 59 x ‘LANDSAT 7 satellite image print sets with interpretations’ of certain areas the client was looking at for the detection of diamondiferous kimberlites & alluvials." Visit their website at www.geoscientific.net.

Asteroid Near Miss

25 March, 2004

NASA detects asteroid nearby. The asteroid is approx. 30m in diameter and will come as close as 43,000km or 3.4 Earth's. See the official news here.

Mars Rover Images Layered Sedimentary Rocks

20 February, 2004

Opportunity uses its micro imaging camera to view layered sedimentary rocks. The rocks are laminated and contain rounded nodules or spherules. See the images here

Huge Diamond Discovered in Dying Star

20 February, 2004

A huge diamond, the size of our moon is discovered in a dying star. The white dwarf was similar to our own Sun, as it reached the end of its life, it slowly cooled and crystallized into solid crystalline carbon. See the news item here.

Visit the Mars Rovers Science Site at Cornell University to Get Latest Mars Geological Interpretations

1 Feb., 2004

The Mars Rovers, Opportunity and Spirit are rolling on the surface of Mars. The first geological results are in. Using the MiniTEM, a thermal spectrometer, opportunity confirms crystalline hematite at landing site. Rover results show an array of elements in the soil, primarily silica and iron, with chlorine and sulphur. The surprise package was the presence of Olivine, which does not survive weathering well. Is it in the underlying rocks? Visit Cornell University Mars Science Site for the latest Science Results.

Opportunity Rover Perfect Landing on Mars

25 January, 2004

NASA's Opportunity Rover touches down on the surface of Mars with a perfect landing in an area called Meridiani Planum. This area contains extensive deposits of a mineral called crystalline hematite, which normally forms in the presence of water. See the NASA press release here. Spirit Rover strikes problems... "Spirit's flight software is not functioning normally. It appears to have rebooted the rover's computer more than 60 times in the past three days. A motor that moves a mirror for the rover's infrared spectrometer was partway through an operation when the problem arose, so the possibility of a mechanical problem with that hardware will be one theory investigated." NASA Press Release

Spirit Rover First Analysis of Martian Soil

23 Jan, 2004

Mars Sprit Rover analyzes Mars soil for the first time. A small patch of Mars soil, located at Gusev Crater, a possible ancient lake, was analyzed using Spirit's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, Moessbauer spectrometer and microscopic imager . Amounts of the mineral olivine, possibly volcanic in origin, suprised NASA geologists. The most abundant elements detected were silicon and iron with significant levels of chlorine and sulfur. See the NASA press release here.

BHP/BP Strike Oil in Gulf of Mexico

15 Jan, 2004

BHP announce a new oid discovery in the Gulf of Mexico. Puma-1 well, in deep water, intersected a 500m oil column. BHP have a 33.34% interest and BP , the operator, 51.66%. See the news here

Mars Beagle 2 Lost, Spirit Rover Successfully Lands

January 4, 2004

Mars explorer Beagle 2 fails to establish contact upon landing on Christmas morning. Spirit Rover has succesfully landed this morning and reports indicate all is functioning normally. Visit NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers Web Site here.

Radioactive Decay of Potassium Most Likely Source of Heat in Earths Core

30 October, 2003

Radioactive decay of potassium is the most likely heat source in the Earth's core. The core consists primarily of molten iron, but the amount of heat generated since the Earth's formation requires some form of radioactive decay to sustain. See paper from Nature here.

Worlds Fastest Supercomputer Conducts Research into Solid Earth Processes

17 October, 2003

NEC's Earth Simulator, the world's fastest and biggest supercomputer, based at the Marine Science and Technology Center in Kanagawa, Japan, conducts research into Solid Earth Processes. Current projects include earthquake dynamics, mantle convection, solid earth simulation and earth's magnetic field. See the Earth Simulator Web Site here

Methane Release Possible Reason for Permian Mass Extinction

12 September, 2003

Oxygen starvation from the release of huge amounts of methane is proposed as a cause for the Permian mass extinction. See the news report.

Images from Mars Global Surveyor Indicate Recent Fluvial Activity on Mars

10 September, 2003

Mars Global Surveyor images show signs of recent fluvial activity on Mars. See the report here.

Researchers at Imperial College Propose Granites are Derived from Mantle Basaltic Magmas

9 September, 2003

New research at Imperial College confirms granitic rocks are likely derived from differentiation of mantle basaltic magmas. See the research paper here.

NASA Researchers Map Fluvial Deposits on Mars

26 August, 2003

Geological mapping of Mars using new high resolution data from Mars Global Surveyor programs is showing new insights into the fluvial evolution of Mars. See the research at NASA Geodynamics Branch.

Large Scale Strike-Slip Zone on Venus Indicates Tectonic Activity

24 August, 2003

Geological mapping of a zone of structural deformation on Venus indicates large scale strike-slip deformation consistent with some form of horizontal tectonic movement. See the Imperial Colllege research paper here.

New Dinosaur Species Discovered

2 August, 2003

A new species of Sauropod is discovered sitting on a shelf in a South African University. The 215 million-year-old specimen, named Antetonitrus ingenipes, is significantly older than any previously known sauropod, a class of plant-eating dinosaurs with four legs and long necks. See the National Geographic Report here

Oldest Planet Detected

19 July, 2003

The Hubble Space Telescope has possibly found the oldest planet yet detected. Scientists postulate the planet formed some 10 billion years ago. Events have led the planet to stray into more open space where it has finally been detected. The existence of planets in the Early Universe indicates the Universe must be abundant in planetary systems. See the BBC news item here.

Core Formed From Molten Earth by Density Separation

6 July, 2003

Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory into formation of the Earth's core indicates the primordial Earth was probably mostly molten when the metallic core formed by gravity settling of metals from the initial silicate/metal melt. This is the theory forwarded by geologists and geophyscists for many years and is the expected result. See the research results here.

Possible Sol Type Planetary System Discovered

5 July, 2003

Astronomers at the Anglo-Australian Observatory have discovered a planetary system similar to ours. The system contains a gas giant similar in size and orbit to Jupiter and a Sun similar to our own. This leads astronomers to theorize that other Terra-type planets may exist. The system is 95 light years away, relatively close compared to other systems. See the BBC news item here.

NASA Launches Spirit Rover to Mars

12 June, 2003

NASA successfully launches the Sprit Rover to Mars. The Spirit Rover will be able to spend months roving the surface of Mars, sampling and analyzing surface rocks and minerals. Where previous rovers were restricted to a small vicinity around the landing site, the Spirit Rover has no such restriction and will be able to freely move around the planets surface, providing the most accurate analysis of the surface to date. Visit NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Official Web Site for more information.