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Scientists have discovered hundreds of giant sand bodies beneath the North Sea that appear to defy fundamental geological principles and could have important implications for energy and carbon storage. Using high-resolution 3D seismic (sound wave) imaging, combined with data and rock samples from hundreds of wells, researchers The University of Manchester in collaboration with industry, identified vast mounds of sand - some several kilometres wide - that appear to have sunk downward, displacing older, lighter and softer materials from beneath them.

Scientists have used clues locked into tree rings to reveal major changes in the Amazon's rainfall cycle over the last 40 years which show that wet seasons are getting wetter and dry seasons drier. Oxygen isotope signals in rings from two Amazon tree species allowed the international research team led by the University of Leeds to reconstruct seasonal changes in rainfall for the recent past.

New research has revealed that construction activity is now a dominant source of black carbon emissions in central London.

Scientists have uncovered new evidence to suggest that Earth is leaking gases from deep inside its mantle - even in regions without any volcanic activity. Led by researchers at The University of Manchester, the study reveals that invisible, odourless gases like helium and argon are slowly seeping hundreds of kilometres up through Earth's crust, reaching underground water supplies thousands of meters beneath our feet.

Researchers have used cutting-edge satellite technology to shed light on the global mystery of the unexplained seismic signals that "shook the Earth" for nine days. In September 2023, scientists observed a bizarre series of global seismic signals, which appeared every 90 seconds over nine days - and then repeated a month later.

Sophisticated chemical analysis of volcanic gases from Kenya have provided the first evidence that a vast mass of deep Earth material lies beneath East Africa. An international team of scientists led by Professor Fin Stuart from the University of Glasgow, working in partnership with the Kenya Geothermal Development Company, has discovered surprising results in a new study of gases from the Menengai geothermal field in central Kenya.

An aluminium tab from a drinks can found encased in a new form of rock on the Cumbrian coastline has helped provide scientists with a shocking new insight into the impact of human activity on the Earth's natural processes and materials. Researchers from the University of Glasgow have found that slag, an industrial waste product produced by the steel industry, is turning into solid rock in as little as 35 years.

A new method of predicting where people lost in the wilderness may be found based on simulations of their decision-making processes could help mountain rescue teams save lives in the future. Researchers from the University of Glasgow have developed a sophisticated computer system to model the actions of simulated people lost in outdoor environments.

Fast-moving underwater avalanches, known as turbidity currents, are responsible for transporting vast quantities of microplastics into the deep sea, according to new research published today. The findings, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology , show that these powerful flows could be capable of traveling at speeds of up to eight meters per second, carrying plastic waste from the continental shelf to depths of more than 3,200 meters.

Estimates of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from volcanoes may have been significantly underestimated, according to new research by The University of Manchester. Published in the journal, Science Advances , s cientists have developed an advanced sensor that can detect volcanic gases with rapid speed and precision.

Scientists explore a seafloor area newly exposed by iceberg A-84; discover vibrant communities of ancient sponges and corals. An international team of scientists have uncovered a thriving underwater ecosystem off the coast of Antarctica that had never before been accessible to humans. The team, including researchers from the University of Cambridge, were working in the Bellingshausen Sea off the coast of Antarctica when a massive iceberg broke away from the George VI Ice Shelf in January of this year.

A wide diversity of marine life, that may include previously unknown species, flourishes in a region of ocean once hidden beneath a thick cover of ice, finds a recently-returned Antarctic expedition co-led by a UCL researcher. The expedition, in partnership with Schmidt Ocean Institute, examined and mapped the unseen submarine environment off the Antarctic Peninsula, in an area that was until recently covered by a massive ice shelf and that in late 2024 shed a colossal iceberg from its floating edge.

Researchers show that 'Marsquakes' are caused by seismic signals from meteoroid impacts reaching farther and deeper than previously known. Two international studies involving researchers from Imperial College London's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the Center for Space and Habitability  at the  University of Bern in Switzerland, used artificial intelligence (AI) to spot a link between the seismic activity caused by  meteoroid impacts and "Marsquakes" recorded by NASA's InSight mission.

Curation teams process the sample return capsule from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission in a cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. The sample return capsule from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, Sept.

A series of more than 100 small earthquakes in Surrey in 2018 and 2019 might have been triggered by oil extraction from a nearby well, suggests a new study by UCL researchers. The earthquakes, which occurred in Newdigate and surrounding areas from April 2018 until early 2019, were recorded as being between 1.34 and 3.18 magnitude, and were linked to cracks in walls and ceilings and other damage to people's homes, with reports of houses and beds shaking.

A new study has unveiled the key mechanisms that preserve organic carbon in the ocean-a poorly understood but vital process, which influences the Earth's climate, carbon cycles, and formation of fossil fuels. Organic carbon typically breaks down in most environments. Yet, vast amounts remain preserved in marine sediments, a mystery that has puzzled scientists for decades.

Past climate change shifts ocean currents and winds, altering heat and carbon exchange in the Southern Ocean, study finds Human-induced climate change is causing shifts in the world's largest ocean current and westerly wind systems also seen during periods of ice age and warmer intervals in Earth's history, researchers claim.

Scientists from our Geography department have made a major breakthrough in understanding one of the most powerful forces shaping the ocean floor: turbidity currents. These dense, fast-moving underwater flows of sediment and water carve out deep-sea canyons and transport vast amounts of sediment, organic carbon, and nutrients across the ocean floor to the deep-sea.

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.

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.