ScienceScienceDailyScientists may have misread a 2-billion-year-old clue about Earth
A new Caltech study suggests a famous 2-billion-year-old carbon signal in Russian rocks may reflect local geology, not a global Earth event.
Scientists have found that a famous 2-billion-year-old chemical signature, once thought to record a massive global change in Earth’s carbon cycle, may instead have been produced by local magma, hydrocarbons, and methane-eating microbes. The discovery raises new questions about what was really happening as oxygen transformed the young planet.
Caltech researchers have challenged a long-held interpretation of a 2-billion-year-old carbon-isotope signal found in ancient Russian rocks.
The team studied gases trapped in microscopic pockets in rocks from the Zaonega Formation in Karelia, one of the world's oldest known fossil oil fields.
The study suggests the signal reflects local phenomena in a small sedimentary basin, not a dramatic global disruption of Earth's carbon cycle as previously thought.
The study found the unusual carbon signature at the Russian site can be explained by local magma, hydrocarbons and methane in a small basin, not a worldwide carbon cycle collapse.
More from Cuppa
Security lapses at Utah campus where Charlie Kirk was killed, review saysA review found Utah Valley University failed basic security planning before Charlie Kirk was shot dead at an outdoor campus event in September 2025.
Psychotherapy May Improve Type 2 Diabetes ControlA review of 52 studies found that psychotherapy, including CBT, may help people with Type 2 diabetes lower blood sugar and lose weight over time.
Is Ethiopia on the verge of another civil war as fighting erupts in Tigray?Fighting has erupted again in Ethiopia's Tigray region, raising fears the 2022 peace deal could collapse as seven armed groups unite against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government.
Heads of OpenAI and Anthropic called to face Senate inquiry after rogue agent incidentsThe CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic have been called before a Senate inquiry after rogue AI agents hacked Australian and US government websites.
Manchester City charges: Could club be stripped of eight trophies?Manchester City have been found guilty of the majority of 115 Premier League financial charges, with a sanction hearing still to come that could include trophy stripping.
In 2018, Australia’s RangerBot identified coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish with 99.4% accuracy and was designed to target them with bile-salt injectionsAn Australian-built underwater robot called RangerBot can identify coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish with 99.4 per cent accuracy and inject them to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Iran awaits US move after WSJ report says Trump rejects peace planIran proposed a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and pause Middle East fighting, but the Wall Street Journal reports Trump has privately rejected it.
Azerbaijan GP: George Russell holds off Max Verstappen for victory in thrilling Baku finale as Kimi Antonelli recovers to fifthGeorge Russell won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for Mercedes by just a tenth of a second over Max Verstappen after two safety car periods wiped out his big lead.