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Astronomy / Space - Earth Sciences - 02.12.2024
Researchers deal a blow to theory that Venus once had liquid water on its surface
A team of astronomers has found that Venus has never been habitable, despite decades of speculation that our closest planetary neighbour was once much more like Earth than it is today. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, studied the chemical composition of the Venusian atmosphere and inferred that its interior is too dry today for there ever to have been enough water for oceans to exist at its surface.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 27.11.2024
Climate impacts on European soils predicted by scientists
New research has revealed how tiny soil microbes are impacted by extreme weather events, offering new insights into the risks posed by climate change. As extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts, floods, and freezes become more common due to global heating, understanding how soil microbes - critical for healthy ecosystems - respond is crucial.
Astronomy / Space - Earth Sciences - 21.10.2024
’Time capsule’ lunar samples link the Moon’s past and present
Samples collected from the surface of the Moon by the crew of Apollo 16 more than 50 years ago have helped scientists reconstruct billions of years of lunar history. The research team's findings, published in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science, are based on analysis of a distinct set of lunar breccias that have never been scrutinised in detail before.
Astronomy / Space - Earth Sciences - 16.10.2024
Researchers propose age of Moon’s oldest impact basin, uncovering its ancient impact history
Scientists believe they could have pinpointed the age of the largest and oldest impact basin on the Moon to over 4.32 billion years ago. The Moon, like the Earth, has been bombarded by asteroids and comets since its formation, leaving behind craters and basins. However, the exact timing and intensity of most of these events, notably the oldest and largest basin on the Moon, have remained unclear to scientists-until now.
Earth Sciences - Electroengineering - 02.10.2024
’Missing link’ gamma-ray radiation from thunderclouds discovered
Groundbreaking research that used a NASA-equipped plane to fly over thunderclouds has described a new kind of radiation New research into the causes of lightning strikes, which could lead to better understanding and real-time forecasting of thunderstorms in the future, has been released today. Two studies published in Nature conclude that gamma ray generation from thunderstorms may be more common and take more forms than previously thought.
Astronomy / Space - Earth Sciences - 30.09.2024
New mission to create total solar eclipses in space
A UK team of researchers including UCL's Professor Lucie Green are working on the launch of a spacecraft mission which will allow us to view the Sun's atmosphere in more detail than ever before. The proposed MESOM mission will enable researchers to study the conditions that create solar storms, leading to improvements in forecasts of space weather on Earth.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 30.09.2024
A river is pushing up Mount Everest’s peak
Mount Everest is about 15 to 50 metres taller than it would otherwise be because of uplift caused by a nearby eroding river gorge, and continues to grow because of it, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The study, published in Nature Geoscience , found that erosion from a river network about 75 kilometres from Mount Everest is carving away a substantial gorge.
Earth Sciences - Physics - 25.09.2024
Research offers new insight into deep Earth processes
Sophisticated analysis of tiny bubbles of ancient gas trapped in volcanic rocks combined with new geophysical modelling has cast new light on long-held assumptions about the deep Earth. An international team of scientists led by researchers from SUERC and the University of Glasgow's School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, have uncovered surprising results in a new study of volcanic lavas which erupted in the Red Sea from the Afar mantle plume.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 17.09.2024
Antarctic krill can lock away similar levels of carbon as seagrass and mangroves
Small marine crustaceans are as valuable as key coastal habitats for storing carbon and should be similarly protected, according to new research. The study shows that a single species, Antarctic krill, store similar amounts of carbon to key 'blue carbon' habitats such as mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrasses.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 13.09.2024
Climate-change-triggered landslide caused Earth to vibrate for nine days
A landslide in a remote part of Greenland caused a mega-tsunami that sloshed back and forth across a fjord for nine days, generating vibrations throughout Earth, according to a new study involving UCL researchers. A landslide in a remote part of Greenland caused a mega-tsunami that sloshed back and forth across a fjord for nine days, generating vibrations throughout Earth, according to a new study involving UCL researchers.
Earth Sciences - 16.08.2024
Scientists investigate triggers of explosive volcanic eruptions in lab simulation study
Scientists at The University of Manchester have effectively simulated how bubbles grow in volcanic magma thanks to a novel pressure vessel that can mimic the eruption process in a laboratory setting. With most volcanic activity taking place underground unobserved, for the first time scientists have been able to capture vesiculation kinetics in basaltic magmas in real time.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 09.08.2024
Historic fires trapped in Antarctic ice yield key information for climate models
Pollutants preserved in Antarctic ice document historic fires in the Southern Hemisphere, offering a glimpse at how humans have impacted the landscape and providing data that could help scientists understand future climate change. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the British Antarctic Survey tracked fire activity over the past 150 years by measuring carbon monoxide trapped in Antarctic ice.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 09.08.2024
Mature forests vital in frontline fight against climate change
Older trees have important carbon capture role - countering existing theories that mature woodland has no capacity to respond to elevated carbon dioxide levels Mature forests have a key role to play in the fight against climate change - extracting carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and locking it into new wood, a new study reveals.
Earth Sciences - Chemistry - 08.08.2024
Record-breaking recovery of rocks that originated in Earth’s mantle could reveal secrets of planet’s history
Scientists have recovered the first long section of rocks that originated in the Earth's mantle, the layer below the crust and the planet's largest component. The rocks will help unravel the mantle's role in the origins of life on Earth, the volcanic activity generated when it melts, and how it drives the global cycles of important elements such as carbon and hydrogen, according to the team which includes researchers from Cardiff University.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 01.08.2024
Climate risks from exceeding 1.5°C reduced if warming swiftly reversed
Earth systems could be 'tipped' into unstable states if warming overshoots 1.5C target, but impacts could be minimised if warming is swiftly reversed. The Paris Agreement target to keep global warming below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels was set to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 31.07.2024
New intricate behaviours of deep-sea currents
A new study has revealed that changes in the ocean floor impacts currents, giving new insight into the deep-sea pathways of nutrients and pollutants. The study, published in Nature Geoscience by scientists at The University of Manchester and led by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), has found that currents sped up, slowed down, changed direction, and sometimes reversed direction completely, depending on the varying and uneven surfaces and features found on the ocean floor.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 18.07.2024
Trees reveal climate surprise - bark removes methane from the atmosphere
Microbes hidden within tree bark can absorb methane - a powerful greenhouse gas - from the atmosphere. Tree bark surfaces play an important role in removing methane gas from the atmosphere, according to a study published in Nature. While trees have long been known to benefit climate by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, this new research reveals a surprising additional climate benefit.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 10.07.2024
Mozambican Woodlands could store more than double the carbon previously estimated
The capacity of Mozambican woodlands to capture and store carbon is underestimated and potentially undervalued for their protection and restoration, finds new research from an international team of scientists including UCL researchers. The research, led by carbon data provider Sylvera and published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment , found that miombo woodlands, which span large areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, store 1.5 to 2.2 times more carbon than had previously been estimated by standard methods.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 10.07.2024
The Gulf Stream is wind-powered and could weaken from climate change
New evidence of changes to the Gulf Stream during the last ice age could indicate additional sensitivity to future climatic changes, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The research, published in Nature, found that during the last ice age about 20,000 years ago, the Gulf Stream was stronger than today because of more powerful winds across the subtropical North Atlantic.
Astronomy / Space - Earth Sciences - 05.07.2024
Repurposed technology used to probe new regions of Mars’ atmosphere
An antenna on ExoMars' Trace Gas Orbiter has been given a new lease of life, helping researchers delve into the Martian atmosphere like never before. Using the repurposed equipment, a team including Imperial College London researchers have measured parts of the Martian atmosphere that were previously impossible to probe.
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