News

Researchers may have uncovered the reason why some of Earth’s earliest animals were commonly preserved as fossils – even though they were essentially fragile ‘bags of goo’ – while later soft-bodied creatures have largely disappeared from the fossil record. The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, say that the reason may lie in the evolu…

We are delighted to announce that Professor Richard Harrison and Dr Adriano Gualandi have received awards from the American Geophysical Union.The honourees were awarded by the AGU for their excellence in scientific research, education, communication and outreach, having made outstanding contributions to the Earth and space sciences community.Rich, …

By Owen Weller-Gibbs

Scientists have discovered several 518-million-year-old fossils that reshape the origins of the group of animals that contains starfish, and found that they ate their food using tentacles, and not passively using their gills as previously thought. The fossilised animals, discovered in southwestern China and named Yujingia glutenotunica, are thought…

One of the oldest known 3D fossils of an animal has been discovered in a sheep field in the Norwegian Arctic, the first new major site of its kind anywhere in Europe in decades. The fossil dates from around 560 million years ago, during the Ediacaran Period, when complex forms of life first appeared on Earth. The fossil, known as Charnia, looks mor…

Many congratulations to Professor Marie Edmonds on her appointment as the next Head of the School of Physical Sciences.Professor Edmonds, currently Head of the Department of Earth Sciences, will begin her four-year term on 1 October, succeeding Professor Nigel Peake."It has been an honour to serve as Head of Department over the last two years, and …

Dr. Nicole Shibley is a physicist and Assistant Professor jointly based between the Department of Earth Sciences and Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. Her research explores the physical processes governing ocean-ice interactions on Earth and on icy moons in our solar system.  Here she is interviewed by Dr Erin Martin-Jones.…

After taking a career break, Luke Hepworth was unsure that he’d be able to find his way back into academia. Now, with funding from the Daphne Jackson Trust, Luke has a fellowship at Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences doing what he loves – studying the rocks of Rùm in Scotland.What’s your research about?I work on the kind of rocks that never e…

Tiny, invisible swirls and twirls – not much bigger than a coin – deep below the ocean’s surface are silently shaping some of the biggest forces steering our climate: sea level rise, fisheries collapse, extreme flooding, and how much carbon dioxide the ocean absorbs.An international research team, led by the University of Cambridge, found that deep…

Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth remains the stuff of science fiction. Scientists will probably never be able to directly sample deep mantle rocks, but they are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to examine Earth’s interior. A new map created by Cambridge earth scientists reveals a hidden landscape of broad, flattened mountains…

Congratulations to Alexandra Turchyn and Rich Harrison, who have each been awarded prestigious ERC Advanced Grants to investigate fundamental questions about Earth’s climate, its long‑term habitability and the origins of life in the universe. Earth’s geological thermostat and the role of the ocean crust weatheringAlexandra Turchyn’s project investi…

Today we are excited to celebrate the grand opening of the Sedgwick Building’s top floor after extensive works to remove asbestos and renovate the space. Following an opening ceremony, staff and students explored the newly refurbished area. The space incorporates offices for staff and graduate students, meeting rooms, library storage and a common a…

In April, PhD students Philippa Slay and Issy Siggers joined the first year fieldtrip to Arran as demonstrators. In this blog post, they recount the trip's highlights – from the mapping day in Glen Sannox, to fossil archosaur tracks and the infamous 'Doon' igneous sill. It was Day 1 of the Arran fieldtrip, and we started the morning admiring pillow…

Beneath Iceland, an enormous blob of hot rock slowly rises from deep within the mantle, delivering magma to one of the most volcanically active places on Earth.But the influence of the Iceland Plume goes far beyond volcanic activity. Over millions of years, the plume has pulsed rhythmically, causing the seabed to rise and fall, possibly diverting t…

A new atlas charts the global distribution of unusual, critical‑metal‑bearing igneous rocks, finding that they often form near the thick and ancient cores of the world’s major continents.Researchers from Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences mapped occurrences of CO2-rich igneous rocks – the world’s primary source of rare earth elements – findin…