Geology

What weighs 2,600 pounds, would fill a Smart Car to overflowing, and comes to ASU from all over the world? --by Robert Burnham

ASU geologists Paul Knauth and Don Burt have some ideas about Mars that don’t quite jive with those of many of their colleagues. They say that scientists really know nothing about the first 400 to 500 million years of the history of Planet Earth. And we know nothing about Mars in the same time period. Mars could’ve been an Eden. But we have no record of any of that. --by Skip Derra

Through the Earthscope program, scientists are installing hundreds of seismometers across the U.S. to record earthquakes from around the world and to help them understand what lies beneath the Earth's surface. --by Diane Boudreau

Inner core. Outer core. Mantle. Crust. Most of us learned the layers of planet Earth in elementary school. But how do geologists really know what kind of stuff makes up these layers that lie so deep below? --by Diane Boudreau

Miles below the surface of the planet, Earth is astir with life--microbial life. A team of ASU researchers is working to understand how these organisms get energy. Their work may have applications ranging from finding petroleum resources to cleaning up the environment. --by Nikki Staab

A kilometer-deep sample of rock from Australia tells scientists about the atmosphere billions of years ago. But how do they know how old the rock really is? --by Diane Boudreau

An international research team has discovered traces of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere about 50 million years before expected. The results came as a surprise to the scientific community. --by Diane Boudreau

New research from the Deep Time Drilling Project indicates that traces of oxygen appeared in Earth's atmosphere earlier than previously thought. The discovery places the traces at 50 to 100 million years before the "Great Oxidation Event." --by Carol Hughes

Long used in spas as a beauty treatment, French green clay may have more power than people realize. ASU researchers are studying the antibacterial properties of this clay in the hopes that it may be used to heal as well as beautify. Here is some more dirt on the stuff we call clay. --by Margaret Coulombe

People have touted the healing properties of clays for thousands of years. But do they really have an effect? It turns out that certain clays can kill dangerous bacteria. ASU researchers are studying this clay and trying to figure out what makes it so special. --by Margaret Coulombe