geology

The material, now part of an African mountain range, bolsters the idea that hydrothermal veins supported early forms of life.

Electrical storms, rather than meteorites as scientists had previously thought, could have unlocked phosphorus necessary for the development of ancient life, according to a new study.

An isotopic analysis of eggshell beads dating back more than 30,000 years indicates that they helped build networks that stretched for hundreds of kilometers.

The time period, which spans 770,000 to 126,000 years ago, started with a reversal of the planet’s magnetic field.

Researchers plan an oceanographic expedition to understand why a phytoplankton bloom developed as molten lava flowed into the sea east of Hawaii's Big Island.

Members of two geology societies voiced concerns about the school’s prohibition of same-sex relationships.

Scientists cultivate sulfate-reducing microbes from some of the oldest-known water on Earth.

Microbes were living on land as early as 3.22 billion years ago, fossilized rocks show, 500 million years earlier than previously documented.

A new estimate bumps up the area previously estimated to be covered by running water by more than 40 percent.

USGS scientists need approval from a political appointee before they can present research at two big geological conferences.

The reef has bounced back from “death events” in the past, but that doesn’t mean it will be resilient over the next few decades.

A new study counters the popular theory that after Mount Toba blew its top 74,000 years ago, humans almost went extinct.

Researchers find what appear to be 3.77 billion-year-old hints of microbial life hidden in Canadian rocks, but some scientists are not convinced.

Rock samples from deep within the Earth’s oceanic crust contain chemosynthetic microbial life.

Sea creatures buried alive roughly 340 million years ago have yielded the longest-preserved organic molecules ever discovered in a complete fossil.

Japanese lake sediments will help archaeologists better estimate the dates of artifacts and past events.

The US Geological Survey’s database, a compendium of biodiversity information, will be shut down this month due to a slashed 2012 budget.

Among the Ayta people of Mount Pinatubo it was a portent. A steam cloud that smelled like rotten eggs was rising from the peak.