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Environment - Earth Sciences - 18.09.2023
Environment - Earth Sciences - 21.08.2023
Earth Sciences - 27.07.2023 
Scientists crack the code of what causes diamonds to erupt
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.
Earth Sciences - 26.07.2023
Earth Sciences - Environment - 24.07.2023 
Stinky beach-invading seaweed predicted to spread north
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.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 14.07.2023 
Spot marking the beginning of the Anthropocene identified by UCL researchers
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.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 12.07.2023 
Crawford Lake chosen as the primary marker to identify the start of the Anthropocene epoch
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.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 11.07.2023 
Super salty water from the Indian Ocean helped end ice ages
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.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 10.07.2023 
Global cooling caused diversity of species in orchids, confirms study
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.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 04.07.2023 
World’s most threatened seabirds visit remote plastic pollution hotspots
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.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 23.06.2023
Environment - Earth Sciences - 15.06.2023
Environment - Earth Sciences - 12.06.2023 
Shrinking and warming of Antarctic deep ocean waters has ’far reaching consequences’ for global climate
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.
Earth Sciences - 09.06.2023 
Campi Flegrei volcano edges closer to possible eruption
The Campi Flegrei volcano in southern Italy has become weaker and more prone to rupturing, making an eruption more likely, according to a new study by researchers at UCL and Italy's National Research Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). The volcano, which last erupted in 1538, has been restless for more than 70 years, with two-year spikes of unrest in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s, and a slower phase of unrest over the last decade.
Earth Sciences - 09.06.2023 
Crust of Campi Flegrei volcano is weakening
The Campi Flegrei volcano in southern Italy has become weaker and more prone to rupturing, making an eruption more likely, according to a new study by researchers at UCL and Italy's National Research Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). The volcano, which last erupted in 1538, has been restless for more than 70 years, with two-year spikes of unrest in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s, and a slower phase of unrest over the last decade.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 27.04.2023 
Twilight zone at risk from climate change
Life in the ocean's "twilight zone" could decline dramatically due to climate change, new research suggests. The twilight zone (200m to 1,000m deep) gets very little light but is home to a wide variety of organisms and billions of tonnes of organic matter. The new study warns that climate change could cause a 20-40% reduction in twilight zone life by the end of the century.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 27.04.2023 
Ocean’s twilight zone at risk from climate change
Life in the ocean's "twilight zone" could decline dramatically due to climate change, suggests a new study involving UCL researchers. The twilight zone (200m to 1,000m deep) gets very little light but is home to a wide variety of organisms and billions of tonnes of organic matter. The new study, published in the journal Nature Communications , warns that climate change could cause a 20-40% reduction in twilight zone life by the end of the century.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 05.04.2023 
Ice sheets can collapse faster than previously thought possible
Ice sheets can retreat up to 600 metres a day during periods of climate warming, 20 times faster than the highest rate of retreat previously measured. An international team of researchers used high-resolution imagery of the seafloor to reveal just how quickly a former ice sheet that extended from Norway retreated at the end of the last Ice Age, about 20,000 years ago.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 16.03.2023 
Giant underwater waves affect the ocean’s ability to store carbon
Underwater waves deep below the ocean's surface - some as tall as 500 metres - play an important role in how the ocean stores heat and carbon, according to new research.
Earth Sciences - 16.03.2023
Earth Sciences
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New approach to critical zone science could help secure Earth’s life support systems
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.
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.
Mississippi mud reveals secrets of Antarctica’s ancient expansion
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.
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.
Diamond domino effect explains eruption spot secrets
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.
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.
Effect of volcanic eruptions significantly underestimated in climate projections
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.
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.
Urea in atmosphere revealing profound consequences for climate
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.
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.
The Campi Flegrei volcano in southern Italy has become weaker and more prone to rupturing, making an eruption more likely, according to a new study by researchers at UCL and Italy's National Research Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). The volcano, which last erupted in 1538, has been restless for more than 70 years, with two-year spikes of unrest in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s, and a slower phase of unrest over the last decade.
The Campi Flegrei volcano in southern Italy has become weaker and more prone to rupturing, making an eruption more likely, according to a new study by researchers at UCL and Italy's National Research Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). The volcano, which last erupted in 1538, has been restless for more than 70 years, with two-year spikes of unrest in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s, and a slower phase of unrest over the last decade.
Life in the ocean's "twilight zone" could decline dramatically due to climate change, new research suggests. The twilight zone (200m to 1,000m deep) gets very little light but is home to a wide variety of organisms and billions of tonnes of organic matter. The new study warns that climate change could cause a 20-40% reduction in twilight zone life by the end of the century.
Life in the ocean's "twilight zone" could decline dramatically due to climate change, suggests a new study involving UCL researchers. The twilight zone (200m to 1,000m deep) gets very little light but is home to a wide variety of organisms and billions of tonnes of organic matter. The new study, published in the journal Nature Communications , warns that climate change could cause a 20-40% reduction in twilight zone life by the end of the century.
Ice sheets can retreat up to 600 metres a day during periods of climate warming, 20 times faster than the highest rate of retreat previously measured. An international team of researchers used high-resolution imagery of the seafloor to reveal just how quickly a former ice sheet that extended from Norway retreated at the end of the last Ice Age, about 20,000 years ago.
Underwater waves deep below the ocean's surface - some as tall as 500 metres - play an important role in how the ocean stores heat and carbon, according to new research.
Activity deep in Earth affects the global magnetic field
Compass readings that do not show the direction of true north and interference with the operations of satellites are a few of the problems caused by peculiarities of the Earth's magnetic field.
Compass readings that do not show the direction of true north and interference with the operations of satellites are a few of the problems caused by peculiarities of the Earth's magnetic field.
