news 2013

A record of Neanderthal archaeology, thought to be long lost, has been re-discovered by UCL scientists working in the Channel island of Jersey. The study, published in the Journal of Quaternary Science, reveals that a key archaeological site has preserved geological deposits which were thought to have been lost through excavation 100 years ago.

The iron in the Earth's inner core weakens dramatically before it melts, explaining the unusual properties that exist in the moon-sized solid centre of our planet that have, up until now, been difficult to understand. Scientists use seismic waves - pulses of energy generated during earthquakes - to measure what is happening in the Earth's inner core, which at 6000 km beneath our feet is completely inaccessible.

Head of the University of Liverpool's School of Environmental Sciences , Professor George Wolff, will join British scientists at a ceremony attended by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, for the naming of a new Royal Research Ship - RRS Discovery. The vessel, based at NERC'S National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, is a state-of-the art platform for world-leading oceanographic research and represents a £75m investment in frontier science by the Department for Business Innovation & Skills.

Cloud-chamber experiments show that clouds on Mars form in much more humid conditions than clouds on Earth. At first glance, Mars' clouds might easily be mistaken for those on Earth: Images of the Martian sky, taken by NASA's Opportunity rover, depict gauzy, high-altitude wisps, similar to our cirrus clouds.

Stanford scientists recreated the intense pressures and temperatures found deep within the Earth, resulting in a discovery that complicates theories of how the planet and its core were formed. Crystal Shi In a rock and metal sample created by Stanford scientists to mimic the make up of the early Earth mantle, drops of molten iron merge to form a network.

Within its first three months on Mars, NASA's Curiosity Rover saw a surprising diversity of soils and sediments along a half-kilometer route that tell a complex story about the gradual desiccation of the Red Planet. "We made this discovery literally with the very first laser shot on the Red Planet," said Roger Wiens, leader of the ChemCam instrument team.

Scientists have broken new ground in the study of deep earthquakes, a poorly understood phenomenon that occurs when tectonics drive the oceanic crust under continental plates. This research is a large step toward replicating the full power of these earthquakes—to learn what sets them off and how they unleash their power off the coasts of the western United States, Russia and Japan.

Severe thunderstorms, often exhibiting destructive rainfall, hail and tornadoes, are one of the primary causes of catastrophic losses in the United States. New climate models suggest a robust increase in these types of storms across the country. In 2012, 11 weather disasters in the United States crossed the billion-dollar threshold in economic losses.

Calcium can do much more than strengthen bones. The mineral is a critical nutrient for healthy tree growth, and new research shows that adding it to the soil helps reverse the decades-long decline of forests ailing from the effects of acid rain. The paper, published today (Thursday, Sept. 19), in the journal Environmental Science and Technology (EST) Letters , and led by John Battles, professor of forest ecology at the University of California, Berkeley, also presents strong evidence that acid rain impairs forest health.

The science of how rubbing a balloon on a woolly jumper creates an electric charge may help to explain how volcanoes generate lightning. Volcanic plumes play host to some of the most spectacular displays of lightning on the planet but, whilst there are many theories, the exact mechanisms behind these natural light shows, and why some volcanoes see more lightning than others, are a mystery.

Earth's wobble "fixes" dinner for marine organisms Posted September 13, 2013; 12:15 p.m. by Catherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research The cyclic wobble of the Earth on its axis controls the production of a nutrient essential to the health of the ocean, according to a new study .

Waves breaking over sandy beaches are captured in countless tourist photos. But enormous waves breaking deep in the ocean are seldom seen, although they play a crucial role in long-term climate cycles. A University of Washington study for the first time recorded such a wave breaking in a key bottleneck for circulation in the world's largest ocean.

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have detected previously unknown channels of slow-moving seismic waves in Earth's upper mantle, a discovery that helps explain "hotspot volcanoes” that give birth to island chains such as Hawaii and Tahiti. Unlike volcanoes that emerge from collision zones between tectonic plates, hotspot volcanoes form in the middle of the plates.

Some of the strangest fish in the sea are closely related to dinner table favourites the tunas and mackerels, an international team including Oxford University scientists has found. Deep sea fish such as the black swallower, with an extendable stomach that enables it to eat fish larger than itself, and manefishes, some sporting spiky fins like a Mohican haircut, are close cousins to mackerels and tuna despite having completely different body shapes and lifestyles.

A previously unknown canyon hidden beneath two kilometres of ice covering Greenland has been discovered by a group of scientists, led by a team from the University of Bristol. The canyon is at least 750km long and in places as much as 800m deep and is on the same scale as parts of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Otherwise, we'll assume you're OK to continue. East Antarctic Ice Sheet could be more vulnerable to climate change than previously thought The world's largest ice sheet could be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than previously thought, according to new research from Durham University.

An often-overlooked form of manganese, an element critical to many life processes, is far more prevalent in ocean environments than previously known, according to a study by U.S. and Canadian researchers published this week in Science. The discovery alters scientists' understanding of the chemistry that moves manganese and other elements, like oxygen and carbon, through the natural world.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Monitoring slow earthquakes may provide a basis for reliable prediction in areas where slow quakes trigger normal earthquakes, according to Penn State geoscientists. "We currently don't have any way to remotely monitor when land faults are about to move," said Chris Marone, professor of geophysics.

Flexible ankles and versatile, ridged teeth were the key adaptations that allowed a group of rodent-like ancient creatures to become the most successful ancient mammals. UChicago scientists in the Aug. 16 issue of Science revealed the discovery of a 160 million-year-old fossil—the earliest known complete skeleton of a multituberculate—named Rugosodon eurasiaticus, a fast-running, agile omnivore similar to a modern-day African dormouse.

Much as Abigail Adams found solace in writing letters to her husband more than two centuries ago, today's distant hearts find comfort and become closer in phone calls, video chat, texting and instant messages. Seemingly destined to fail, long-distance relationships can lead to more intimate communication than lovers geographically close, says a new study, "Absence Makes the Communication Grow Fonder: Geographic Separation, Interpersonal Media, and Intimacy in Dating Relationships," published in the June 2013 Journal of Communication.