“Wherever you are, you have under your feet the most precious object in the universe.” This line comes from the opening episode of BBC’s new documentary film series Earth: One Planet, Many Lives.
I watched this five-episode series over the past week and am excited to introduce some of its key takeaways in this edition of Core Elements. I also visited a museum founded by a fellow geologist in Canada after retirement. But first, let’s look at how new volcanic caves offer clues to big questions around life and geology.
Rasoul Sorkhabi
Editor, Core Elements
Volcanic Caves Reveal Hidden History of Earth and Life
Galyna Andrushko/ Shutterstock.com
Most of us are familiar with karst (limestone solution) caves, but there are other types of natural caverns: tectonic, boulder, glacier, sea, and volcanic caves. Volcanic caves are often called “lava tubes.”
How lava tubes form:
Of the world’s 15,00 active volcanoes, 50–70 erupt every year.
Lava tubes are the fastest-forming type of cave. They form as lava flows down an inclined surface. The top surface of the lava cools when it comes in contact with the air and solidifies to rock, while the inside of lava keeps flowing. When the inside drains out, a black tube of rock is left.
Lava tubes can range in size from hollows a few feet deep, to large chambers more than 150 feet tall.
Lava tubes can be single caves or a series of interconnected tubes. Some might even form tiers or a stack of caves.
What’s new: An interesting article in Smithsonian magazine reports on Italian speleologist (cave geologist) Francesco Sauro, his recent exploration of lava tubes, and why it matters for geology.
The Fagradalsfjall Volcano, 25 miles southwest of Reykjavik, erupted in 2021, but Sauro and his team had to wait for the lava tube to cool to less than 200 degrees Celsius.
In October 2022, they entered one of the caves, wearing metallurgical suits.
They collected samples, took photographs, and surveyed the freshly formed landscape.
Goals:
To study how quickly, and in what ways, microbial life makes a thriving habitat in a fresh, hot environment
To understand how diverse microorganisms interact with pristine minerals and survive by getting energy from oxidizing inorganic materials (rather than water and organic matter)
Why it matters:
This helps us understand the spread of microbial life in Earth’s earliest history.
Lava tubes are also used to train astronauts for future exploration of volcanic caves on the moon and Mars.
Go deeper: Read the full article here. You can also learn more about Francesco Sauro and his research from his TED Talk.
Sponsored
Minimize Uncertainty in Reservoir Models
When it’s critical for your pore scale analysis to be accurate, rely on microscopy solutions from ZEISS to solve multiscale and multi-physics challenges. Learn more in our on-demand webinar series.
This BBC Series Surveys Pivotal Events in Earth’s Biography
REDPIXEL.PL/Shutterstock.com
BBC recently released a five-episode series entitled Earth: One Planet, Many Lives presented by naturalist Chris Peckham. I got my hands on the DVD package and enjoyed watching it this past weekend.
Episode topics: Initially broadcast on BBC in 2023, the five episodes include:
Inferno: The Permian-Triassic Extinction (the Great Dying) resulted from the carbon-dioxide greenhouse effect after massive volcanic eruptions. Siberian traps of flood basalts are remnants of this volcanic killer.
Snowball: The most severe glacial period, the Snowball Earth, occurred between 720–635 million years ago, during a period aptly called the Cryogenian.
Green: Plants—from cyanobacteria’s “Great Oxidation Event” roughly 2.5 billion years ago, to the present conifer trees that can reach 100 meters tall—have changed the face of Earth from a barren rock into a vibrant green world.
Atmosphere: Earth’s unique atmosphere evolved to support life, because geological and biological processes joined hands to create it. These processes include meteorite impacts, Earth’s magnetic field, volcanic eruptions, chemical weathering, photosynthesis, animal respiration, soil, and water.
Human: The evolution of primates leading to hominins is a dramatic story of the Cenozoic era. Were it not for fruits (tiny dense packages of nutrients), primates and apes could not survive and thrive in the forest trees.
Post-viewing quiz: Here are some questions you may want to answer after watching the film. I will provide the answers next week.
Name one terrestrial species that originated in the Carboniferous but survived the Permian-Triassic mass extinction and is still extant?
How cold was the climate at the poles during the Snowball period?
What is crown shyness?
What atmospheric elements also make up DNA molecules?
How old is the oldest cave rock art and where is it preserved?
The bottom line: This film highlights the importance of rapid global climate changes over the history of Earth.
Go deeper: This website points to online sites where you can watch the BBC film. Here is the official trailer.
Canadian Rockies Earth Resources Center
Rick Green in front of his Canadian Rockies Earth Science Resource Center in Canmore (photo by Rasoul Sorkhabi)
Meet Rick Green, a physics graduate from the University of Victoria, a retired geophysicist from Canadian oil company Talisman Energy, and owner and founder of the Canadian Rockies Earth Resources Center (CRESRC) in the small Alpine town of Canmore in western Canada.
How it started: Green founded the center in 2015 and it's open to the public (by appointment only).
What is it: CRESRC is a geoscience museum, bookstore, and educational center focusing on the Canadian Rockies. For Green, it is a true labor of love.
My favorite part: I enjoyed all parts of the museum, but one area in particular that I liked was the ammonite fossil collection: I had never seen such huge and expensive ammonites.
If you go to Canmore, don’t forget to visit CRESRC on 829, 10th Street, #111. Here is their website.
👍 If you enjoyed this edition of Core Elements, consider supporting AAPG's brand of newsletters by forwarding to a friend or colleague and signing up for our other newsletters here.
➡️ Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Subscribe to Core Elements here.
AAPG thanks our advertisers for their support. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. If you're interested in supporting AAPG digital products, reach out to Melissa Roberts.
.png?upscale=true&width=220&upscale=true&name=Rasoul-Sorkhabi-Headshot-Signature%20(1).png)
