Earth Sciences
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Conversation
Discovery of a new mass extinction
This one triggered the dawn of the dinosaurs.
By Michael J Benton, University of Bristol Huge volcanic eruptions 233 million years ago pumped carbon dioxide, me...
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Topsoil needs a little more consideration
Study reveals impact of farming on soil lifespan.
Scientists have provided what they say is the first worldwide snapshot of how soil erosion may be affecting the longe...
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Watching a volcano make a comeback
Scientists analyse images over seven decades.
German and Russian scientists say they have documented the life cycle of a volcano for the first time, revealing that...
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The curious case of the wet meteorites
Scientists find rocky clues to why Earth has the water it has.
Scientists studying a rare type of meteorite have discovered that much of Earth’s water may have formed when our plan...
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Machine learning finds quake origin signatures
Historical seismic data may help understand future timing.
Combing through historical seismic data with a machine learning model, US researchers have unearthed distinct statist...
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History
Alfred Wegener and the continental drift
Astronomer’s geological theory didn’t please everyone.
The Earth Institute’s State of the Planet blog recently featured a story headlined “8 Surprising Facts About Marie Th...
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Conversation
A new way to analyse old things
Researchers unveil updated method of carbon dating.
By Chris Turney, Alan Hogg, Paula J Reimer and Tim Heaton Geological and archaeological records offer important in...
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Conversation
Tracking the birth of a supercontinent
Scientists find some old and intriguing clues.
By Huaiyu Yuan, Macquarie University Far beneath the city of Dongshen in northern China, we have discovered what m...
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Why biocrust is useful in the desert
Study highlights the value of tiny plants and organisms.
Miniscule plants and microscopic organisms growing on desert soils reduce water erosion by an average of 68% worldwid...
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Conversation
What will geologists make of COVID-19?
Academics ponder the view from the future.
By Rachael Holmes, Alice Fugagnoli and Jan Zalasiewicz, University of Leicester, UK COVID-19 is a major global sho...
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Microbes from millions of years ago
They’ve been hiding beneath the South Pacific Gyre.
Scientists studying sediments from the Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand have found bacteria that appear to have surv...
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Volcanoes aren’t always what they seem
A different kind of magma may lurk below.
Volcanoes are potentially dangerous, but this can be tempered by their consistency. Many produce similar eruptions ov...