skip to content

Department of Earth Sciences

 
Read more at: ‘Missing’ sea sponge fossils discovered

‘Missing’ sea sponge fossils discovered

5 June 2024

The discovery, published in Nature, opens a new window on early animal evolution At first glance, the simple, spikey sea sponge is no creature of mystery. No brain. No gut. No problem dating them back 700 million years. Yet convincing sponge fossils only go back about 540 million years, leaving a 160-million-year gap in...


Read more at: Video analysis of Iceland 2010 eruption could improve volcanic ash forecasts for aviation safety

Video analysis of Iceland 2010 eruption could improve volcanic ash forecasts for aviation safety

3 June 2024

Video footage of Iceland’s 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption is providing researchers from the University of Cambridge with rare, up-close observations of volcanic ash clouds — information that could help better forecast how far explosive eruptions disperse their hazardous ash particles. When Eyjafjallajökull erupted in 2010...


Read more at: Professor David Hodell elected Fellow of the Royal Society

Professor David Hodell elected Fellow of the Royal Society

28 May 2024

Congratulations to David Hodell, Woodwardian Professor of Geology at the Department of Earth Sciences, on being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. This year, over 90 exceptional researchers from across the world have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences. David...


Read more at: The 'Butterfly Effect' climate change exhibition opens at the Sedgwick Museum

The 'Butterfly Effect' climate change exhibition opens at the Sedgwick Museum

22 May 2024

A new climate-themed art exhibition by local school children opens its wings at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences A new art installation intended to spark conversation and action about climate change has opened at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences , created and curated by local school children, ages 11 to 16, from...


Read more at: Cambridge researchers take a deep dive into Iceland plume’s enigmatic workings

Cambridge researchers take a deep dive into Iceland plume’s enigmatic workings

14 May 2024

What do the rumblings of Iceland’s volcanoes have in common with the now peaceful volcanic islands off Scotland’s western coast and the spectacular basalt columns of the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland? Iceland sits over a mantle plume — a fountain of hot rock that rises from Earth’s core-mantle boundary — explaining...


Read more at: Drawing a line back to the origin of life: Graphitization could provide simplicity scientists are looking for

Drawing a line back to the origin of life: Graphitization could provide simplicity scientists are looking for

24 April 2024

Scientists from the Cambridge University have suggested that molecules vital to the development of life could have formed from a process known as graphitisation. Once verified in the laboratory, the finding could allow scientists to recreate plausible conditions for life's emergence. It has long been debated how the...


Read more at: Sedgwick Museum receives vital investment from Research England for collections-based research and innovation

Sedgwick Museum receives vital investment from Research England for collections-based research and innovation

9 April 2024

Research England has announced that it will support nine of the University’s museums and collections, including the Sedgwick Museum, with £3m a year of Higher Education Museums, Galleries and Collections (HEMG) funding, over the coming five years. The Sedgwick Museum — which houses more than 1.5 million geological objects...


Read more at: Department and Sedgwick Museum hold first Earth Sciences Fair

Department and Sedgwick Museum hold first Earth Sciences Fair

25 March 2024

On Saturday 23 rd March, the Department of Earth Sciences and Sedgwick Museum hosted their first Earth Sciences Fair as part of the wider Cambridge Festival. Visitors had a chance to meet scientists from the Department and hear about their research to understand our planet and tackle environmental challenges. Interactive...


Read more at: Ice on show at Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition

Ice on show at Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition

20 March 2024

Cambridge Earth Sciences and the British Antarctic Survey will be at the 2024 Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition , talking all about how we’re unlocking the past using ice cores from Antarctica. This annual event is a free, interactive experience for anyone curious about the latest advances in science and technology...


Read more at: Crystal defects yield improved estimates of earthquake energy balance

Crystal defects yield improved estimates of earthquake energy balance

12 March 2024

Earthquakes happen when rocks deep underground break and slide past each other suddenly: releasing seismic waves that cause shaking. But shaking is just one way that earthquakes liberate their pent-up energy. Around 80% of an earthquake’s total energy actually stays within rocks close to the fault rupture. When a fault...