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Strange Discovery: Venus Features a Lava Tube

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We are gaining knowledge about Venus, a high-pressure planet

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There is compelling evidence that vast underground tunnels have been formed from lava on Venus. These formations are unusually wide and distinct from those found on other celestial bodies.

It is generally accepted that underground tunnels, carved through lava, exist as lava tubes on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. Smaller, low-gravity planets tend to develop more porous tubes as their rocky walls are less susceptible to collapse due to weaker gravity. For instance, the Moon has such large tubes that scientists have proposed utilizing them as habitats for astronauts, shielding them from intense solar winds.

Researchers have observed indications of these lava tubes on Venus, evident from surface holes that may have been formed by the underground features or by other geological activities associated with its active fault lines.

Recently, Barbara de Tofoli from the University of Padova in Italy along with her colleagues uncovered direct evidence of these lava tubes on Venus. Remarkably, despite Venus’s similarities to Earth regarding its mass and gravity, its lava tubes appear to be surprisingly wide, with a volume comparable to those found on the Moon.

“While Earth has a small number of lava tubes, Mars has a slightly larger count, and the Moon has even more. Venus disrupts this trend by featuring incredibly large tubes, indicating its potential significance,” she stated at the Europlanet Science Congress in Helsinki, Finland, earlier this month.

De Tofoli and her team used radar and mapping data from previous missions to examine the alignment of these pits near large volcanoes. They identified four distinct sites where alternative geological explanations, such as structural activities, were implausible. The pits were also found to align with the steepest sections of volcanic slopes, consistent with the movement of lava. Their depth-to-width ratio corresponded with known lava tubes.

The unexpectedly large size of these tubes, especially their width, implies that the extreme conditions on Venus, characterized by high temperatures and pressure, can influence the movement of molten rock beneath the surface. “Due to the extremely high pressure, the floor of these tubes is not eroded as intensely as it typically is on other planets; instead, it remains largely flat throughout the tube.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Archaeologists uncover ancient human occupation of Saudi Arabia’s lava tube caves spanning 7,000 years

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New archaeological excavations show that the Umm Jirsan lava tubes in Halat Khyber, northwestern Saudi Arabia, have been repeatedly visited by humans from at least the Neolithic period to the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age (10,000 to 3,500 years ago). The stage of residence has become clear.

Photos of Umm Jilsan Cave and its interior.Image credit: Stewart other., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299292.

Intensified field research in northern Arabia over the past decade has highlighted the richness and diversity of the region's archaeological and paleontological record.

Human settlement in northern Arabia during the Pleistocene appeared to be sporadic and associated with periods of improved climate, but by the Holocene people had settled in the area more consistently through dry periods. I was able to.

“Our discoveries at Umm Jilsan provide a rare glimpse into the lives of the ancient peoples of Arabia, revealing repeated stages of human occupation and the pastoralism that once flourished here. It sheds light on people's activities,” said Griffith archaeologist Dr Matthew Stewart. University and the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology.

“This site probably served as an important transit point along pastoral routes, linking major oases and facilitating cultural exchange and trade.”

Rock art and animal records attest to the pastoral use of Umm Jilsan and the surrounding area, providing a vivid picture of an ancient way of life.

Depictions of cows, sheep, goats, and dogs confirm prehistoric livestock practices and herd composition in the area.

Isotope analysis of animal remains collected from lava tubes shows that livestock primarily grazed wildflowers and shrubs, while humans maintained a protein-rich diet and increased their consumption of C3 plants over time. has increased significantly, suggesting the emergence of oasis agriculture.

Professor Michael Petraglia, an archaeologist from Griffith University, the University of Queensland, and the Smithsonian Institution, said: “Subterranean localities are of global importance in archeology and Quaternary science, but our research is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia. “This is the first comprehensive study.”

This discovery highlights the immense potential of interdisciplinary research in caves and lava tubes, providing a unique window into Arabia's ancient past.

“Umm Jilsan was probably not a permanent settlement, but a valuable transit point for people traveling between oasis settlements,” the authors said.

“Lava tubes and other natural shelters are valuable resources for communities surviving in difficult environments, and further research shows that they are important archaeological sources of information about the history of human occupation in Arabia. ”

“Our research into Arabia's hidden past uncovers thousands of years of human habitation in and around the Umm Jirsan lava tubes, revealing ancient lifestyles and environmental changes in this harsh desert environment. shed light on the adaptation of

team's paper Published in an online journal PLoS ONE.

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M. Stewart other. 2024. First evidence of human occupation of Arabia's lava tubes: Archeology of Umm Jirsan Cave and Surroundings, Northern Saudi Arabia. PLoS ONE 19 (4): e0299292; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299292

Source: www.sci.news

Confining Atoms in a Small Tube Creates a Strange “Primary Gas”

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A single atom of krypton trapped in a Buckminsterfullerene cage

University of Nottingham

The krypton atoms become stuck in a “traffic jam” inside the carbon nanotube, unable to pass through each other, allowing scientists to more easily observe how the krypton atoms interact. Researchers hope that this “primary energetic body” can shed light on fundamental physical forces.

Andrey Klobistov and his colleagues at the University of Nottingham, UK, have discovered that the narrow space restricts movement and makes it easier to observe the inside of carbon nanotubes, which are just 1.5 nanometers thick (one-half millionth the width of a human hair). He spent years studying chemical reactions. They have now developed a way to do the same thing with atoms of the rare gas krypton, creating a so-called one-dimensional gas.

The researchers used a buckminsterfullerene molecule, a spherical cage made of 60 carbon atoms, with a krypton atom trapped inside. These molecules are sucked into the carbon nanotube by van der Waals forces, weak attractive forces caused by fluctuations in the electron cloud surrounding the atomic nucleus. Once filled, the tube is heated to 1200 °C and the cage is destroyed. The carbon atoms are absorbed into the nanotube, leaving behind a string of krypton atoms.

A single atom of krypton confined in a Buckminsterfullerene cage inside a nanotube, observed with an electron microscope

University of Nottingham

Klovistov said the result is like a “traffic jam” in which atoms can be observed slowly, rather than flying around at up to 400 meters per second, as they often do in three-dimensional gases. The group used a transmission electron microscope to image atoms, allowing them to accurately measure the distances between them.

“They fundamentally change their behavior,” Klovistov said. “This is a very interesting system. We can track their trajectories, how they move and how they interact. This is a great toy to play with with noble gases. “We can gain a fundamental understanding of the behavior of atoms under extreme confinement.”

Other researchers have already observed that krypton atoms form pairs held together by van der Waals forces. This phenomenon is difficult to observe in unconstrained atoms and can also occur within nanotubes. Klobistov said future experiments will be “full of surprises.”

Future research will investigate how temperature affects primary gas. If you reduce the temperature of a gas in three-dimensional space, it will condense into a liquid and then solidify, but there is no guarantee that the same rules will apply in his one dimension.

“Maybe there's no such thing as a 1D liquid, it's just a 1D solid. It's a bit of a voyage of discovery,” says Klobistov.

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Source: www.newscientist.com