How do paleontologists reconstruct environments from the ancient past?
Science Spotlight
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Magnificent Dom Pedro aquamarine to go on view in the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum
The National Museum of Natural History will permanently display the Dom Pedro Aquamarine, which is the largest single piece of cut-gem aquamarine in the world, beginning Dec. 6.
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Fossil pollen used to augment climate record of Egypt’s Nile Delta
Ancient pollen and charcoal preserved in deeply buried sediments in Egypt’s Nile Delta document the region’s ancient droughts and fires, including a huge drought 4,200 years ago associated with the demise of Egypt’s Old Kingdom.
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Melting snow likely created fan deposits inside Martian craters, geologists say
Accumulations of drifting snow are the most plausible explanation for the presence of a number of puzzling alluvial fan deposits found inside large impact craters on Mars
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New mapping of Mars shows Medusae Fossae Formation older than once thought
Recent geologic mapping of the Medusae Fossae Formation on Mars—an intensely eroded deposit near the northern edge of the cratered highlands—has revealed a wider distribution of its western component than was previously recognized.
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Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano active again
According to the weekly report of the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program, gas-and-ash plumes rose nearly one mile above the crater of Mexico’s Popocatépetl volcano from April 25 to 27. On April 28 incandescent fragments ejected...
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A restless volcano
Restless volcano. This Feb. 10 satellite radar image shows the summit of Alaska’s Cleveland Volcano and a new lava dome within the volcano’s summit crater (which is about 200 meters across). The weekly bulletin of...
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Learn about the ash that comes from volcanoes with Dr. Liz Cottrell, a geologist from the National Museum of Natural History
