news 2023

A new way to monitor the flow of rivers from satellites could provide a valuable early warning system for flood risk. A new way to monitor the flow of rivers from satellites could provide a valuable early warning system for flood risk, scientists say. University of Glasgow researchers have developed the first method of measuring the speed of river flows by analysing video footage captured from orbit.

The return of bluefin tuna to Northern European waters is a conservation success story, but rising sea temperatures in their Mediterranean nursery grounds mean this recovery may be short-lived, according to new research led by the University of Southampton. Temperatures expected in the Mediterranean within the next 50 years are expected to drive juvenile tuna out of the Mediterranean, where they may be accidentally caught in existing sardine and anchovy fisheries - requiring fishery managers to adapt their methods to allow tuna nurseries to establish.

A fresh approach to urban agriculture could help Glasgow's 'food deserts' flourish into sources of healthy, affordable produce to help reduce inequality, new research suggests. A fresh approach to urban agriculture could help Glasgow's 'food deserts' flourish into sources of healthy, affordable produce to help reduce inequality, new research suggests.

Heat transferring from the surface to the deep ocean in the North Atlantic helped reduce climate swings during the last 1,000 years, according to a newly published paper led by researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and UCL. The paper, published in Science , presents records from North Atlantic sediments that allowed the researchers to investigate temperature changes in the surface and deep ocean throughout the last 1,200 years.

Stratospheric clouds over the Arctic may explain the differences seen between the polar warming calculated by climate models and actual recordings, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge and UNSW Sydney. Our study shows the value of increasing the detail of climate models where we can Deepashree Dutta The Earth's average surface temperature has increased drastically since the start of the Industrial Revolution, but the warming effect seen at the poles is even more exaggerated.

Research by Cardiff University has shown that the warmer, wetter winters in the UK caused by climate change are likely to impact the stability of insect populations in streams. The research, spanning four decades, has demonstrated that stream insects are affected by warmer, wetter winters caused by fluctuating climate over the Atlantic Ocean.

Researchers have shown how the principles of rogue waves - huge 30-metre waves that arise unexpectedly in the ocean - can be applied on a nano scale, with dozens of applications from medicine to manufacturing. Long considered to be a myth, rogue waves strike from comparably calm surroundings, smashing oil rigs and ships in their path.

Future plans to tackle the climate change's impacts on food security must integrate local knowledge to help preserve the Earth's critical zone, experts have warned. Future plans to tackle the climate change's impacts on food security must integrate local knowledge to help preserve the Earth's critical zone, experts have warned.

Study of microscopic fossils taken from Mississippi sediment cores reveals climate feedback that acted as temporary brake on an ancient cooling event Clues about the formation of major ice sheets on Antarctica have been found in mud cores drilled in Mississippi, providing an important lesson about a major climate cooling event, sometimes known as the Grande Coupure or great cut.

An international team of scientists led by the University of Southampton has discovered that the breakup of tectonic plates is the main driving force behind the generation and eruption of diamond-rich magmas from deep inside the Earth. Their findings could shape the future of the diamond exploration industry, informing where diamonds are most likely to be found.

The breakup of tectonic plates is the main driving force behind the generation and eruption of diamond-rich magmas from deep inside the Earth, a new study has found. Diamonds, which form under great pressures at depth, are hundreds of millions, or even billions, of years old. They are typically found in a type of volcanic rock known as kimberlite.

Sargassum seaweed - which wreaks annual havoc on coastal communities across the tropical Atlantic - is predicted to creep further north and into Europe in the coming decades. New research, led by the University of Southampton, has also concluded that sargassum is not the carbon sink it was initially hailed as.

A Canadian lake has been proposed as the official point marking the onset of the Anthropocene period by a committee led by a UCL academic. The Anthropocene is a proposed geological time period starting in the 1950s, defined by the impact of human activity on Earth. The term "Anthropocene" has been informally used by scientists for some time to refer to the modern era, but defining the point in time through observed geologic processes is an important step to officially recognising it as a new epoch in Earth's geologic timeline.

An international team of researchers has chosen the location which best represents the beginnings of what could be a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene Working Group have put forward Crawford Lake, in Canada, as a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Anthropocene.

An international team of scientists claim to have discovered the source of warm super salty water that rushed up the Atlantic Ocean 15,000 years ago, ushering in the end of the last ice age. Their study traces the history of ocean temperature and salinity during each ice age cycle of the last 1.5 million years.

Research shows global cooling of the climate 10 million years ago led to an explosion of diversity in terrestrial orchids. Research led by the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath looking at the evolution of terrestrial orchid species has found that global cooling of the climate appears to be the major driving factor in their diversity.

Analysis of global tracking data for 77 species of petrel has revealed that a quarter of all plastics potentially encountered in their search for food are in remote international waters - requiring international collaboration to address. Ocean currents cause big swirling collections of plastic rubbish to accumulate far from land Lizzie Pearmain The extensive study assessed the movements of 7,137 individual birds from 77 species of petrel, a group of wide-ranging migratory seabirds including the Northern Fulmar and European Storm-petrel, and the Critically Endangered Newell's Shearwater.

Researchers have found that the cooling effect that volcanic eruptions have on Earth's surface temperature is likely underestimated by a factor of two, and potentially as much as a factor of four, in standard climate projections. These small-magnitude eruptions may not have a measurable effect individually, but collectively, their effect is significant.

Areas of the ocean that are rich in marine life are having a bigger impact on our ecosystems and the climate than previously thought, new research suggests. Observations made by scientists at The University of Manchester found that the primary source of urea - a nitrogen-rich compound, vital for the growth and development of living organisms - comes from the ocean.

Deep ocean water in Antarctica is warming and shrinking at an alarming rate with significant consequences for the global climate and the world's oceans, according to new research involving the University of Southampton. Antarctic Bottom Water is the coldest, densest water mass on the planet, and it plays a crucial role in regulating the ocean's ability to store heat and capture carbon; 90 per cent of human-induced global heating and almost a third of the extra carbon released since the start of the industrial revolution has been absorbed by the ocean.