Tim Lowenstein News Today

150-million-year-old geological events revealed in seawater and sea salt chemistry. Read more here. (Photo : Cameron Spencer / Getty Images)Seawater chemistry shows evidence of geological events from 150 million years ago.

Scientists have just probed into the last 150 million years of Earth's geological history by analyzing the chemistry of microscopic pockets of water preserved in crystals of sea salt.

 E-Mail BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- A million years ago, dry seasons became more frequent and forests retreated before the encroaching savanna. Meanwhile, clustered around a nearby lake, our ancient ancestors fashioned stone tools. During the long press of years, mud and sediment in that East African lake turned to stone, trapping pollen and microscopic organisms in its lattice. Today, researchers like Kennie Leet analyze samples of these ancient sediments, known as sediment cores, to create a pictur...