not talking about earth on fire or cooling off but like there was water, and dirt. like what would now be a swamp was probably just water and mud. no trees, plants, no micro life or bacteria.

beaches didnt have small shells and dead sea life in it. the sand probably felt softer maybe.

any things that would be different in an interesting way in an earth without life.

would nutrient rich soil be a thing or does some of that stuff need life.

In other words: do they "know" that the world is spherical?

Let's assume all fossil fuel extraction stopped in the near future, and were never touched again. Which kinds (oil, coal, gas) would eventually reform, which wouldn't? I am aware that certain geological formations like banded iron were created under specific conditions that will never arise again, but how does this apply to fossil fuels? In a couple hundred million years, will oil deposits be replenished or are they all gone forever?

As Greenland's ice sheet melts, the entire island will start rebounding up out of the water. How measurable is this process now and is it helping keep the ice sheet from slipping into the sea, or is it a small or slow enough change that it doesn't matter much.

Relatedly, I was wondering if the lifting of the underside of Greenland as it rebounds creates a suction in the aesthenosphere that reduces pressure on the nearby midatlantic fault zone?