Building Blocks: Mass Extinctions
The ultimate example of an environmental change leading to the termination of a species is what's known as a mass extinction.
Treasure Trove: Commercial Uses of Sediment
Marine sediments are enormously important economically. Gravel and sand are obtained from the ocean for use as construction materials. In addition to offshore diamond deposits, tin and titanium are found in the ocean. Oil and natural gas resources a...
The Ocean's Memory: Sediments and Earth's Magnetic Field
As with climate changes, there have been some unexplained aberrations in Earth's magnetic field during the recent past. Marine sediments provide important information that may help scientists better understand those aberrations.
The Ocean's Memory: Terrigenous Sediments
Sediment is the debris that accumulates on the surface of the Earth as the result of chemical, physical and biological processes. Most sediment, known as terrigenous sediment, forms when rain falls on soil and washes it into rivers, which then carry...
Survivors: Long-Term Survivors
Despite the challenges of long-term survival on Earth, some phyla-including sponges, jellyfish, arthropods and mollusks-have endured for hundreds of millions of years, even in the most extreme environments.
The Ocean's Memory: Obtaining and Analyzing Sediment Samples
Despite its temporary nature, sediment remains uniquely valuable. As a result, oceanographers have worked hard to refine the process of obtaining and analyzing sediment samples.
The Ocean's Memory: Oil, Gas and Manganese Nodules
Sediment is a uniquely valuable commodity within the marine environment. Oil, natural gas, coal, diamonds, gravel, sand, tin and titanium are all associated with marine sediment. Perhaps the most famous potential deep sea deposits are manganese nodu...
The Ocean's Memory: Sediments and Past Climate
As sediments get laid down, they carry with them a record of the kind of environment in which they were formed. Scientists can read that record and learn valuable information about past climate and temperature change.