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Discovery of a New Rock Type Originating from the Old Slug Heap

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French lens slug heap

Caroline Bancoilly/Alamie

Nearly two decades ago, New Scientist conducted a thought experiment titled “Imagine Earth Without People,” projecting how our planet would evolve over millennia in the absence of humanity. This intriguing exploration highlighted the environmental impacts of our species without relying on speculative dread. The takeaway was clear: while it would take considerable time, nature would eventually reclaim its landscapes, leaving scant evidence of our existence. “What’s humbling and paradoxical is that Earth forgets us so swiftly,” the piece concluded.

This reflection resurfaced when I encountered a recent research article in Geology, where researchers from the University of Glasgow unveiled a geological process indicating that the Earth may never truly forget us.

The team investigated the geology of Derwent Howe along the coast of Cumbria, England, a site that served as a major iron and steel hub for about 125 years from the 1850s. This location generated massive amounts of industrial waste known as slag, with approximately 27 million cubic meters deposited along a two-kilometer stretch of coastline. While the slag heaps persist, they are steadily eroded by oceanic forces.

During their fieldwork, researchers discovered outcrops comprised of unusual sedimentary rock types. Formerly sandy shores had their geology altered quite recently, clearly indicating detrital formations made of fragments from other rocks and minerals. A closer examination revealed that this material was derived from the slag heaps, suggesting a cycle where the slag erodes, enters the ocean, and rapidly solidifies into rocks onshore.

Remarkably, this process occurs much faster than typical rock formation, which usually spans thousands or millions of years. Here, however, it seems to transpire in mere decades.

Rock industrial waste on the Cambria coastline is turning into rocks in just a few decades, research reveals

University of Glasgow

Even more astonishingly, the researchers uncovered two artifacts embedded in this rapid rock formation. One was a penny minted in 1934, and the other was a pull tab from an aluminum beverage can, less than 36 years old. This suggests that calcification can happen in mere decades, leading the team to propose a new geological process termed the “anthropomorphized rock cycle.”

Researchers suggest that this is an entirely new geological process: anthropomorphized rock cycle.

“What’s remarkable is we’ve found that human-made materials can integrate into natural systems and dissolve over decades,” explained Amanda Owen, the team leader, to the University of Glasgow news team. “This challenges our understanding of rock formation and implies that the waste created during the modern era will have a lasting impact on our future.”

Much like with Derwent Howe, this phenomenon extends worldwide. A similar rock was discovered near Bilbao, Spain in 2022, though dating it proved challenging. David Brown, a team member, noted that slag waste presents a worldwide occurrence that will turn into rocks wherever it interacts with ocean waves.

At first glance, this might seem problematic. The environmental implications of such processes remain ambiguous. However, this discovery could indeed have a silver lining. If industrial waste solidifies into rock formations, that may offer a neat, albeit indirect, way to manage it. Rocks from Derwent Howe also revealed remnants of clothing, plastics, car tires, and fiberglass. Perhaps this process could serve as a rapid disposal method for our discarded remnants.

The study yields varied conclusions. For years, Earth scientists have debated the designation of a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene, to acknowledge that humanity has superseded natural processes as the primary influence on Earth’s systems. I’m a strong advocate for this designation, as it underscores the myriad perturbations in natural processes that have kept our planet habitable for millennia. Yet, last year, the International Geological Union opted not to endorse the Anthropocene due to controversy regarding its inception.

Now more than ever seems the right moment to reconsider that decision. Our impact on Earth’s surface marks the beginning of a new geological chapter that commenced roughly 175 years ago, observable by future civilizations. If this isn’t a new geological era, then what is?

Graham’s Week

What I’m reading

I’m listening to an anthology of comedic poems by Tim Key on audiobook.

What I’m watching

Wimbledon, the Women’s Euro, and later this month, the British and Irish Lions Rugby Test Series against Australia.

What I’m working on

I’m tending to my vegetable garden. As a beginner, I’m learning from my mistakes. How can you tell when beetroots are ready to be harvested?

Graham Lawton is a staff writer for New Scientist and the author of Must Not Grumble: The Surprising Science of Everyday Ailments. You can follow him @grahamlawton

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Bacteria discovered in asteroid samples, originating from Earth

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Bacteria on a sample of asteroid Ryugu observed using an electron microscope

Matthew J. Genge et al. 2024

Rocks brought back to Earth from the asteroid Ryugu appear to be inhabited by microorganisms. But researchers say these microbes almost certainly came from Earth, not space. The contamination is a wake-up call for future sample-return missions, such as NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance, to search for extraterrestrial life.

In 2020, the Japanese space probe Hayabusa2 returned to Earth carrying 5.4 grams of rock collected from the 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid Ryugu. After landing in Australia, the sample capsule was transported to a custom-built facility in Sagamihara, Japan. There, the capsule itself was first opened in a vacuum chamber inside a clean room and then moved to a room filled with pressurized nitrogen for long-term storage. From there, a portion of the sample can be placed in a container filled with nitrogen and sent to researchers.

One of these samples was sent to the UK for research. Matthew Genge Imperial College London and colleagues. Genge and his team initially scanned the samples using X-rays, but found no evidence of bacteria.

Samples from asteroid Ryugu collected by Hayabusa2

JAXA

After 3 weeks, the samples were transferred to resin and further examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after another week. When Genge and his colleagues first looked at the sample and saw what appeared to be thread-like bacteria, his students “almost fell off their chairs” at the prospect of discovering extraterrestrial life. . “It was an exciting moment, but we also had in the back of our minds from previous research that bacteria tend to colonize rocks,” Genge said.

By tracking bacterial growth with follow-up SEM measurements, they found that bacterial populations varied in a manner similar to known microorganisms. Their familiar shape, combined with their absence in the first X-ray scan, makes it very likely that they were terrestrial in origin, Genge says.

He believes the samples may have become contaminated after being embedded in the resin. The experiment was conducted at a facility on Earth that also handles space rocks. Rock specimens often contain bacteria that are adapted to live within them. “All it takes is one bacterium or one bacterial spore for this to happen,” he says. “For example, when we’re preparing meteorite samples, we don’t usually see this kind of colonization happening, and that’s because the probability of it happening is so low. In this case , one bacterium fell onto the sample and started multiplying.”

But Genge added that this should serve as a warning for future sample return missions. “Finding microbes in samples returned from space should be the gold standard for discovering extraterrestrial life. If we were to do that, we would fly to Mars, collect samples, and bring them back. “If we found microorganisms in it, we would say that was the clincher,” Genge says. “But our findings really show that we have to be very careful in interpreting the samples because they are susceptible to contamination with terrestrial bacteria.”

Javier Martin Torres Researchers at the University of Aberdeen in the UK agree that changes in the microbial filament population suggest a terrestrial origin, but this does not exclude the possibility that they came from elsewhere. . “If you want to be sure that these microorganisms are not of extraterrestrial origin, you need to do DNA sequencing,” he says.

Scientists already knew that bacteria could survive very well in meteorite samples that fell to Earth, but this raises the possibility that bacteria could also survive on materials elsewhere in the solar system. It only strengthens it. “The microorganisms can use organic matter within the meteorite to sustain themselves. They’re feeding on an extraterrestrial snack,” Genge says. “So there may be an ecosystem on Mars. It’s a fairly sparse ecosystem, but it’s an ecosystem that’s supported by manna from the sky and by meteorites that fall on the surface.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

DESI seeks proof of dark energy originating from black holes

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According to the popular inflationary universe theory, at the beginning of the Big Bang, a mysterious energy caused an exponential expansion of the early universe, creating all known matter. That ancient energy shared important characteristics with the dark energy of the current universe. “Where in the later universe will we see gravity as strong as it was at the beginning of the universe?'' The answer lies at the center of a black hole. What happened during inflation could also be reversed, with the matter of a massive star becoming dark energy again during gravitational collapse – like a mini-Big Bang played in reverse. A new study strengthens the evidence for this scenario using recent data. dark energy spectrometer (DESI).

A view of the accretion disk surrounding a supermassive black hole and the jet-like structures flowing out of the disk. The black hole's extreme mass bends space-time so that the backside of the accretion disk can be seen as an image above and below the black hole. Image credit: Science Communication Lab, DESY.

“If a black hole contains dark energy, it could merge with the expanding universe and grow faster,” said Dr. Kevin Croker, an astronomer at Arizona State University.

“We can't know the details of how this is happening, but we can see evidence that it's happening.”

Data from the first year of DESI's planned five-year study shows intriguing evidence that the density of dark energy has increased over time.

This provides a compelling clue to support this idea of ​​what dark energy is. Because that increase in time matches how the amount and mass of black holes has increased over time.

“When I first got involved in this project, I was very skeptical,” said Boston University professor Steve Arlen.

“But I remained open-minded throughout the process, and when I started doing the cosmological calculations, I said, 'This is a really cool mechanism for creating dark energy.'”

To look for evidence of dark energy from black holes, astronomers used tens of millions of distant galaxies measured by DESI.

The instrument looks into the past billions of years and collects data that can be used to determine with great precision how fast the universe is expanding.

Furthermore, these data can be used to infer how the amount of dark energy changes over time.

The researchers compared these data to how many black holes have been created by large star explosions throughout the history of the universe.

“The two phenomena were consistent with each other. When a new black hole was created by the death of a massive star, the amount of dark energy in the universe increased in the right way,” said Dr. Duncan Farrar, a physicist at New York University. said. Hawaii.

“This makes the theory that black holes are the source of dark energy more plausible.”

This study complements a growing literature investigating the possibility of cosmological coupling in black holes.

A 2023 study reported cosmological coupling in a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy.

This study encouraged other teams to investigate the effects of black holes in different parts of the universe.

“These papers explore the relationship between dark energy and black holes in terms of their growth rate,” said astrophysicist at Healthpeak Properties and former general counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. said Dr. Brian Cartwright.

“Our new paper links dark energy to when black holes are born.”

The main difference in the new paper is that most of the black holes involved are younger than those studied previously.

These black holes were born at a time when star formation, which tracks black hole formation, was well underway, not just beginning.

Professor Roger Windhorst from Arizona State University said: “This happened fairly late in the universe and is informed by recent measurements of black hole formation and growth observed by the Hubble and Webb Space Telescopes. ” he said.

“The next question is where are these black holes and how have they been moving around for the past eight billion years? Scientists are now working to suppress this,” Croker said. the doctor said.

Science needs more research and observation tools, and now that DESI is online, this exploration of dark energy is just beginning.

“Whether or not we continue to support the black hole hypothesis, this only brings further depth and clarity to our understanding of dark energy,” Professor Ahlen said.

“I think it's great as an experimental endeavor. You can have preconceptions or not, but we're based on data and observation.”

Regardless of what future observations yield, the research being conducted now represents a major shift in dark energy research.

“Essentially, whether black holes are dark energy is no longer just a theoretical question, coupled with the universe in which they live. This is now an experimental question,” said Gregory of the University of Michigan.・Professor Tarr said.

of study Published in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.

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Kevin S. Crocker others. 2024. The temporal evolution of DESI dark energy is harvested by cosmologically coupled black holes. JCAP 10:094;Doi: 10.1088/1475-7516/2024/10/094

This article is adapted from the original release by the University of Michigan.

Source: www.sci.news