Author: admin

Last week, more than 70 experts in Earth’s geologic history, including geochronologists, astrochronologists, and paleoclimatologists, gathered in person and online at Carnegie Science’s Earth & Planets Laboratory for a workshop launching the Time-Integrated Matrix for Earth Sciences (TIMES) initiative, organized by Carnegie Staff Scientist Jennifer Kasbohm. TIMES is an ambitious decadal effort that aims to recalibrate global climate records from the last 100 million years on a unified, accurate, and precise timeline. 

 

On geological timescales, Earth’s climate is changing all the time, but occasionally, environmental perturbations severely disrupt Earth’s climate and atmosphere. While scientists have developed a handful of techniques that can date such disturbances to within 10,000 years of their occurrence, the field has largely struggled to standardize data collection and analysis in equal measure across the world’s many regions. Gaps in data are hindering scientists’ ability to fully understand the history of our home planet. 

 

 

Kasbohm, Thomas Westerhold—TIMES originator and Senior Scientist at the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM) at Germany’s University of Bremen—and their collaborators see this effort as an opportunity to remedy those challenges by bridging disciplines and institutions under a common scientific vision, which was outlined during the four-day gathering on five- and 10-year timelines. In accordance with the multidisciplinary, multi-generational, and international nature of the effort, the workshop included presentations on scientific tools and topics like radioisotopic dating, magnetostratigraphy, astrochronology, orbital solutions, climate proxy data modeling, science communication, and database usage. Their work built on the publication last December of “Timing Is Everything,” a white paper featured in the American Geophysical Union’s Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology journal outlining the need for such a collaborative understanding.

 

“When I first learned that Thomas was assembling a team of scientists to improve the ways we study Earth’s history, I jumped at the opportunity to get involved,” Kasbohm said. “As an Earth historian, I know how vital comprehensive, reliable data is in forming a clear picture of what past perturbations looked like, and how they shaped our world. TIMES presents a major opportunity for those of us who are interested in this work to come together and move forward with a mutual set of goals and guiding principles. I hope that when we all return to our labs, we’ll do so feeling empowered to see this initiative through, and far beyond the timelines we’re working within. If the workshop was any indication, the cohort is very energized to take on this work. I’m not alone in feeling that this effort will have outcomes for, and implications on, generations of research to come.”

 

While studying the Earth’s history is primarily a backward-looking endeavor, TIMES researchers anticipate that improving their understanding of past perturbations will improve their models for future climate pathways. Historical asteroid collisions and volcanic eruptions deposited large amounts of carbon dioxide into the planet’s atmosphere, triggering geologic responses. As present day human activity is spewing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, a stronger understanding of the past may shape how we can expect the Earth to respond, the planet’s capacity for resilience, and how mitigation strategies compare.

 

 

“Though Jenn has been a member of Carnegie’s scientific staff for just over a year, she has already demonstrated the vision and value she brings to our research community,” said Earth & Planets Laboratory Director Mike Walter. “We’re proud that EPL is hosting the TIMES cohort for its inaugural gathering and hope that Jenn’s leadership and collaboration with the other scientists will further enhance the geochronological research she’s pioneering in our lab.”

Speakers at the conference traveled from universities and research institutions as far as New Zealand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Colombia, and Japan, and virtual participation ensured attendees from still farther countries were able to participate. The gathering was made possible with support by the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research, the International Ocean Discovery Program’s U.S. Science Support Program, and Carnegie Science.

 

Read the White Paper

open_in_new

A discovery by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP), led by scientists at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), has provided us with the first evidence of magnetic reconnection in the Sun’s upper atmosphere

The discovery confirms theoretical models that have guided solar science for nearly 70 years and could significantly improve the ability to predict space weather events that impact Earth.

Understanding the mechanics of solar explosions

Magnetic reconnection is a physical process that occurs in plasma, where magnetic field lines are broken and reconfigured, releasing intense amounts of energy. On the Sun, this phenomenon is responsible for explosive events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which can eject charged particles into space and interfere with Earth’s satellites, communication networks, and even power grids.

While reconnection has been observed near Earth previously due to missions like NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS), capturing direct evidence in the solar corona has remained rare.  The Parker Solar Probe’s close approach to the Sun has finally enabled researchers to study this process where it originates.

Solar activity

On September 6, 2022, the Parker Solar Probe made a record-breaking approach to the Sun, entering regions of the corona never before explored by a spacecraft.

During this encounter, PSP flew through a massive solar eruption, collecting crucial data on plasma and magnetic fields. The data confirmed that the spacecraft had passed directly through a magnetic reconnection site within the Sun’s upper atmosphere.

This is the first time scientists have been able to sample and observe a reconnection event in the solar corona from such proximity. The findings were supported by concurrent observations from the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter, allowing a comprehensive analysis of the event.

Validating long-standing theories

The data collected during the PSP’s 2022 flyby matched predictions made by numerical models of magnetic reconnection that have existed since the mid-20th century. Previously, these models could only be partially tested using remote observations or simulations. The new findings confirm these models with real, high-resolution in-situ measurements.
These observations close a gap in understanding how reconnection operates across different environments, from Earth’s magnetosphere to the turbulent, high-energy regions of the Sun. The research also shows how energy is transferred and how particles are accelerated during these explosive events.

Connecting scales and predicting space weather

The research team, led by SwRI, will now investigate whether turbulence, magnetic fluctuations, or wave activity also accompany reconnection in the regions identified by PSP. This further clarifies how energy builds up and is suddenly released in the solar atmosphere.

Understanding the whole mechanism behind magnetic reconnection on the Sun could help scientists create more accurate models for predicting solar storms and their effects on Earth. With space weather becoming increasingly relevant to modern technology, these new findings will have practical applications for protecting satellites, astronauts, and infrastructure on the ground.

The Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018 as part of NASA’s Living with a Star program, was designed specifically to investigate solar phenomena that influence the Sun-Earth system. Managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre and operated by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, the spacecraft continues to make new contributions to heliophysics.

rare rock fragments

 

A Chinese research team has precisely dated the formation of the Moon’s Apollo Basin to 4.16 billion years ago through high-precision analysis of lunar soil collected by the Chang’e-6 mission. The finding extends the timeline of the Moon’s “impact storm” by at least 100 million years, providing new insights into the evolution of the Earth-Moon system. The results were published on Wednesday in the international journal Nature Astronomy, China Central Television reported. 

Led by Academician Xu Yigang of the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the research team identified three rare rock fragments, ranging from 150 to 350 micrometers, within a 3.5-gram lunar soil sample. Formed as impact-melted rocks during the Apollo Basin’s creation , these fragments serve as ideal “rock clocks” for recording impact events. 

By dating these fragments and integrating remote- sensing imagery and geochemical data, the team confirmed the Apollo Basin’s formation at 4.16 billion years ago, the report said.

The Moon’s surface is dotted with massive impact basins, most of which are remnants of collisions with small celestial bodies around 3.8 billion years ago. Scientists have long debated whether the solar system’s “impact storm” tapered off gradually or spiked suddenly in intensity between 4 and 3.8 billion years ago—a controversy driven by the lack of precise age data for key lunar basins. 

Located within the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin, the Apollo Basin is the region’s largest secondary impact structure, and its formation age may mark the onset of the Moon’s late-stage impact events.

This study not only pushes the onset of the lunar “impact storm” back by at least 100 million years but also shows that impact intensity declined gradually, rather than spiking abruptly. These findings are set to reshape our understanding of the Earth-Moon system’s evolutionary history, CCTV reported.

In July, the Global Times learned from the Chinese Academy of Sciences that four studies on the lunar samples from the far side of the moon returned by China’s Chang’e-6 mission have revealed respectively the lunar far side’s magmatic activity, ancient magnetic field, mantle water content, and mantle evolution, unveiling the evolutionary history of moon’s far side for the first time.

The findings of the four studies were published as cover articles in the international journal Nature, according to the CAS. 

They revealed volcanic activity on the lunar far side around 4.2 billion and 2.8 billion years ago, lasting for at least 1.4 billion years. They also obtained the first paleomagnetic data from the far side, showing that the lunar magnetic field may have rebounded around 2.8 billion years ago, suggesting the lunar dynamo did not decline steadily but experienced fluctuations. 

According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the black moon, which was given its name recently, is much different from other moons like the pink, harvest and blood moons.

Unlike other lunar events, you won’t be able to see the black moon.

What is the black moon?

The black moon is a new kind of moon which takes place in one of the moon’s eight phases.

The new moon occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, meaning it is invisible from Earth.

Unlike normal moons, the black moons’ illuminated side will face the sun, with the dark side facing Earth.

U.S. Naval Observatory shares that there are two types of black moons: the seasonal and monthly.

The seasonal black moon takes place once every 33 months, while the monthly black moon is when two new moons rise during one month.

The next seasonal black moon is set to take place on August 20, 2028, while the next monthly black moon will be on August 31, 2027.

Although you won’t be able to see the black moon, it does offer one big perk: better stargazing conditions.

As there will be no moonlight during the lunar event, it will mean that all light from the moon that typically blocks views of stars will not be there.

---

Recommended Reading:

---

Tips for stargazing

Here are some stargazing tips to help you make the most out of the black moon event:

• Make sure that you are in a dark sky area and have an unobstructed view towards the south
• Lie down on a blanket or sit in a lawn chair to ensure that you have a wide view of the sky
• Your naked eye is the best instrument to use to see meteors – don’t use binoculars or a telescope as these have narrow fields of view
• Allow your eyes to adapt to the dark and don’t look at any lights, or at your phone, to maintain your dark adaptation

The event is expected to take place in the early hours of Saturday, August 23, at around 6.06am GMT.