News

After centuries without volcanic activity, Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula sprang to life in 2021 when lava erupted from the Fagradalsfjall volcano. New research involving the University of Cambridge helps us visualize what is going on deep beneath the volcano by reading the chemistry of lavas and volcanic gases almost as they were erupted. The study…

Professor Sasha Turcyhn was announced as American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) 2022 Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology Willi Dansgaard Award recipient. Being selected as a Section Honoree is bestowed upon individuals for meritorious work or service toward the advancement and promotion of discovery and solution science. AGU, a nonprofit organization…

A new study, involving scientists from the University of Cambridge, has found that the evolution of land plants caused a sudden shift in the composition of Earth’s continents.The research, which is published in the journal Nature Geoscience, investigated the effects of land plant evolution on Earth’s chemical composition over the past 700 million y…

The Department of Earth Sciences hosted its first Sutton Trust Summer School on the 16th August. Year 12 students from across the country had the chance to experience studying the subject at Cambridge through an immersive week-long programme.The Sutton Trust is an educational charity which aims to improve social mobility and address educational dis…

Close to a million years ago our planet’s climate changed, as the intensity of the great ice ages increased. Now scientists at the University of Cambridge have found that this climatic shift was associated with a decrease in oxygen and an increase in carbon storage in the deep ocean, causing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to decline. The findings…

Volcanic activity has started up again on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula -- less than a year after lava stopped spewing from what was thought to be a relatively quiet corner of the island. A group of volcano seismologists from our Department are heading out to Iceland this weekend, beginning three weeks of fieldwork spread across the country. Tom Wi…

Climate change is threatening marine species and ecosystems with rising temperatures and extreme weather. Now scientists from Cambridge and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Science have observed how sea snails living on rocky shores are coping with climate change, through studying 130 years of data from dog whelk shells.As the level of carbon…

Plumes of hot rock rising from nearly three thousand kilometres beneath our feet contain clues as to the contents of mysterious superstructures lying atop the Earth’s core, show new findings presented today at the Goldschmidt conference.  Many of the most violent outpourings of volcanic activity in history tapped into a plumbing system that extends…

New research involving the University of Cambridge shows that prehistoric megatooth sharks — the biggest sharks that ever lived — were the ultimate top predators, operating higher up the food chain than any other marine predators through history. The study, published in Science Advances, shows that Megalodon — the largest of the megatooth sharks, c…

The unusual behaviour of sulphur in Venus’ atmosphere cannot be explained by an ‘aerial’ form of extra-terrestrial life, according to a new study. Research from the University of Cambridge used a combination of biochemistry and atmospheric chemistry to test the ‘life in the clouds’ hypothesis, which astronomers have speculated about for decades, an…

We often admire Cambridge’s historic buildings and beautiful views. But we should also look down at what lies beneath our feet, according to Marian Holness, Professor in Earth Sciences and Trinity College Fellow. And nowhere more so than the cobbles in front of Trinity’s Great Gate. To the untrained eye they might look like boring brown stones, but…

Tiny earthquakes, originating deep within Earth’s crust, could help scientists trace how magma moves beneath Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula — notable for its dramatic lava fountains of 2021 and continued unrest. Cambridge Earth Science’s Tim Greenfield, who is presenting today at EGU, has analysed records of these barely-detectable earthquakes acros…

The International Association of Sedimentologist (IAS) has named Cambridge Earth Science’s Dr Neil Davies as the recipient of the Johannes Walther Award. This important award is given every two years to a scientist who is considered to have made a major impact in the field of sedimentology.The award recognizes Neil’s outstanding work on the interac…

Model results presented at this year’s EGU Geophysical Assembly show how the topography of a planet is a key factor determining if it will have oceans of water on or just below its surface, or whether it will be a barren desert.Scientists describe Earth as an ocean world – it is the only known astronomical body to host surface water needed for life…

A new Cambridge-based project, led by earth scientist Dr Sasha Turchyn, will create a dedicated hub for research into greenhouse gases related to natural and human-induced climate change.Turchyn was awarded a NERC Capital Grant for the LASER-ENVI project, which will use lab-based and field-deployable laser spectrometers to measure gases including c…