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Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies have discovered that variations in the thickness of tectonic plates relate directly to the distribution of earthquakes in Britain, Ireland and around the world. The study also solves an enduring mystery as to why small earthquakes happen frequently in Britain…

Intricate whorls, pastel pigments and iridescent interiors. Seashells are one of the wonders of the ocean world. But, aside from a beachcomber’s souvenir and home for a living creature, shells are also a messenger of environmental change — foretelling the impacts of warming seas and ocean acidification. After decades of study, the exact process beh…

A special issue of ‘The Depositional Record’, a journal of the International Association of Sedimentologists, celebrates the work of Cambridge Earth Sciences’ Dr Tony Dickson.Tony Dickson, who joined the Department of Earth Sciences in 1981, is known not only for his legacy of innovative research on carbonate diagenesis, but also for his contributi…

Around 500 million years ago life in the oceans rapidly diversified. In the blink of an eye — at least in geological terms — life transformed from simple, soft-bodied creatures to complex multicellular organisms with shells and skeletons.Now, research led by the University of Cambridge has shown that the diversification of life at this time also le…

Plagioclase feldspars are one of the most common and abundant mineral groups in Earth's crust — and that means they are also one of the most frequently studied minerals. Clues locked away in these crystals can provide information on a range of broad geological questions from, for instance, the processes that triggered a volcanic eruption or the rou…

New research involving Cambridge University has found evidence — locked into an ancient stalagmite from a cave in the Himalayas — of a series of severe and lengthy droughts which may have upturned the Bronze Age Indus Civilization.The beginning of this arid period — starting at around 4,200 years ago and lasting for over two centuries — coincides w…

Scientists have known for centuries that birds have hollow bones, but the exact benefits of this trait — from making them lighter for flight to even helping them breathe more efficiently — have been relatively understudied.   Now, researchers from the University of Cambridge have used high-resolution CT scans to digitally dissect the bones of sixty…

Underwater waves deep below the ocean’s surface – some as tall as 500 metres – play an important role in how the ocean stores heat and carbon, according to new research. An international team of researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, and the University of California San Diego, quantified the effect of these waves…

In the search for life elsewhere in the Universe, scientists have traditionally looked for planets with liquid water at their surface. But, rather than flowing as oceans and rivers, much of a planet’s water can be locked in rocks deep within its interior. Scientists from the University of Cambridge now have a way to estimate how much water a rocky …

Many of the most violent outpourings of volcanic activity in history are fed by mushroom-shaped pillars of hot rock extending deep to Earth’s mantle, the region between the core and the crust we walk on. These ‘mantle plumes’ can be active for millions of years — leaving huge lava fields and chains of volcanic islands in their wake. But the exact m…

The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences marked this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations with a tour showcasing some lesser-known stories of trailblazing women of geology and palaeontology.The tour — hosted by Liz Hide, Director of the Museum —uncovered some of the many women whose contributions to geology have been marginalized and underest…

Congratulations to Dr Carrie Soderman on being awarded the Geochemistry Group Postdoctoral Medal for her 2022 paper in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.The paper discusses the use of stable isotopes as new tools for investigating temperature and lithological heterogeneity in the mantle. “This paper showcases some of the work that I’m most proud of f…

Geoscientists use isotopic analysis to answer a range of questions, from the age and origin of a rock to the processes that have shaped it since formation. Across our department, researchers are applying the technique to developments at the forefront of climate, environmental and planetary science. The forensic detective work starts in the Geochemi…

Fossil bones from two newly-described penguin species, one of them thought to be the largest penguin to ever live – weighing more than 150 kilograms, more than three times the size of the largest living penguins – have been unearthed in New Zealand. An international team, including researchers from the University of Cambridge, reported the discover…

Two Cambridge Earth Scientists have been awarded NERC funding for research that will ‘open up discipline-shifting discoveries in environmental science.’Dr Rachael Rhodes and Professor Marie Edmonds have received NERC ‘Exploring the Frontiers’ grants, allowing them to investigate questions at the forefront of volcanology and climate science using in…