news 2022

Rock samples from the Jezero crater analysed by the Perseverance rover show evidence of liquid water and signatures that could be organic compounds. A study published in Science analyses multiple rocks found at the bottom of Jezero Crater on Mars, where the Perseverance rover landed in 2020, revealing significant interaction between the rocks and liquid water.

Rock coasts, which make up over half the world's coastlines, could retreat more rapidly in the future due to accelerating sea level rise. This is according to new research led by Imperial College London and supported by researchers from the University of Glasgow. The researchers modelled likely future cliff retreat rates of two rock coasts in the UK, based on forecasts of sea level rise for different greenhouse gas emissions and climate change scenarios.

The Winchcombe meteorite, a rare carbonaceous meteorite which crashed onto a driveway in Gloucestershire, has been found to contain extra-terrestrial water and organic compounds that reveal insights into the origin of Earth's oceans. A new study led by experts from the Natural History Museum and the University of Glasgow reports the orbital history and first laboratory analyses of the Winchcombe meteorite, which was recovered only hours after its spectacular fireball lit up the skies over the UK in February 2021.

Imperial scientists have shared how working directly with mountain communities could drive adaptation to the loss of their main water sources. Nearly two billion people globally rely on mountain water for drinking and irrigation, but this water source is under threat due to global heating. Mountainous regions are particularly impacted by the effects of the climate crisis , with melting glaciers and snow adding to water scarcity in regions such as the Himalayas, Central Asia, and Andes.

Water security in mountain regions relies on an understanding of the interlinks of water supply and demand that goes far beyond the study of glacier melt. Current information on how the communities which depend on water from mountain snow and ice will be affected by climate change is limited, according to new research published in Nature Sustainability.

An unexpected river under the Antarctic ice sheet affects the flow and melting of ice, potentially accelerating ice loss as the climate warms. The 460km-long river is revealed in a new study, which details how it collects water at the base of the Antarctic ice sheet from an area the size of Germany and France combined.

A toxin which makes pigs vomit is the surprising key which has unlocked the century-old mystery of the origins of a Martian meteorite, and the possible identity of the Black student who discovered it. In 1931, an unusual stone stored in the geological collection of Purdue University in the USA was identified as a pristine example of a meteorite - a piece of space rock blasted from the surface of Mars millions of years ago before being pulled into the Earth's atmosphere.

Oxygen levels in the Earth's atmosphere are likely to have -fluctuated wildly- one billion years ago, creating conditions that could have accelerated-the development of early animals, say researchers. Scientists believe atmospheric oxygen-developed in three stages, starting with what is known as the Great Oxidation Event-around two billion years ago, when oxygen first appeared in the-atmosphere.

Electric charge released into fog changes how water droplets behave, first-of-its-kind research from the universities of Bath and Reading has revealed. Real world experiments have demonstrated that releasing charge led to detectable changes in the size and number of fog droplets. The new results are published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters .

An international team of researchers has revealed new evidence for the possible existence of liquid water beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars. Scientists from the University of Sheffield are part of an international team of researchers that have revealed new evidence for the possible existence of liquid water beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars The findings provide the first independent line of evidence, using data other than radar, that there is liquid water beneath Mars- south polar ice cap Like Earth, Mars has thick water ice caps at both poles.

The problem of how phosphorus became a universal ingredient for life on Earth may have been solved by researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Cape Town, who have recreated primordial seawater containing the element in the lab.

After centuries without volcanic activity, Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula sprang to life in 2021 when lava erupted from the Fagradalsfjall volcano. New research involving the University of Cambridge helps us see what is going on deep beneath the volcano by reading the chemistry of lavas and volcanic gases almost as they were erupted.

An international research team has announced the discovery of two "super-Earth" planets orbiting a star 100 light-years from Earth. The team, which includes astronomers at the University of Birmingham detected the planets orbiting LP 890-9, a small, cool star located about 100 light-years from Earth.

New research reveals more about the magnitude of January eruption, as researchers call for better preparedness The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha-apai volcano in January created an initial wave 90 metres high - almost the height of the Statue of Liberty (93m) University of Bath tsunami expert calls for better warning systems to detect volcanic eruptions, saying systems are 30 years behind comparable earthquake detection tools The initial t

New research suggests that super-eruptions occur when huge accumulations of magma deep in the Earth's crust, formed over millions of years, move rapidly to the surface, disrupting pre-existing rock. Researchers from the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) and the University of Bristol led an international team of scientists to make the discovery using a model for crustal flow.

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha-apai eruption in January was unique in observed science, creating waves that reverberated around Earth, reaching 100km into the ionosphere. The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha-apai submarine volcano on 15 January 2022 was one of the most explosive volcanic events of the modern era, a new study has confirmed.

The eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai on 15 January 2022 created waves that reverberated around the earth and reached 100km into the ionosphere. The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai submarine volcano in January 2022 was one of the most explosive volcanic events of the modern era, a new study has confirmed.

The unusual behaviour of sulphur in Venus- atmosphere cannot be explained by an -aerial- form of extra-terrestrial life, according to a new study. Even if -our- Venus is dead, it-s possible that Venus-like planets in other systems could host life Paul Rimmer Researchers from the University of Cambridge used a combination of biochemistry and atmospheric chemistry to test the -life in the clouds- hypothesis, which astronomers have speculated about for decades, and found that life cannot explain the composition of the Venusian atmosphere.

Scientists say they have identified the exact mechanism responsible for the exceptional tsunami that spread quickly across the world after the colossal eruption of the Tonga volcano earlier this year. In a new paper , an international team including researchers from Cardiff University say the exceptional event was caused by acoustic-gravity waves (AGWs) triggered by the powerful volcanic blast, which travelled into the atmosphere and across the ocean as the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted.

Layers of haze particles are responsible for the different blue hues of the ice giants Neptune and Uranus. Neptune and Uranus have much in common - they have similar masses, sizes, and atmospheric compositions - yet Neptune looks distinctly bluer than its planetary neighbour Uranus. New research led by Professor Patrick Irwin, Department of Physics , University of Oxford suggests that a layer of haze that exists on both planets is behind the different hues of blue.