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Earth Sciences - 24.03.2023

Earth needed time to ’mix’ its continental crust, Yale researchers say
What do cakes and Earth's continental crust have in common? They both need time to mix. For continents, that means hundreds of millions of years. Earth's continental crust may have begun forming hundreds of millions of years earlier than previously thought, Yale scientists say - and the reason will be obvious to anyone who has ever baked a cake or a batch of cookies.

Earth Sciences - Environment - 21.03.2023

First direct proof of mega-flood in Mediterranean Sea region
Geologists from Utrecht, London and Granada have found the first direct proof of the largest known mega-flood that ever occurred on earth. This mega-flood ended what is known as the ' Messinian Salinity Crisis' , a period around six million years ago when the water level in the Mediterranean Sea sank by around 1.5 km, causing an extreme environmental crisis in the region.

Environment - Earth Sciences - 21.03.2023

Following the water cycle in the forest
In the Forest Laboratory "Waldlabor" on Hönggerberg, researchers investigate the storage and transport processes of water in the forest. Recently they showed that forest-floor litter and deadwood have a far larger influence on the forest water balance than expected. The forest on Hönggerberg in the north of Zurich is both, a recreational space and a laboratory.

Earth Sciences - Environment - 16.03.2023

Giant underwater waves affect the ocean’s ability to store carbon
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.

Environment - Earth Sciences - 16.03.2023

New maps chart our affective relationship with the local environment
Researchers have studied Vernier, a city in the canton of Geneva, as the pilot site for an interactive map that explores our relationship with the built and natural environments. "Vernier is an odd place. You pass by oil storage tanks, an Ikea, and an airport - and then suddenly you're walking by cows, the Rhône, and little boats." That's how one resident describes what he sees on his daily walking commute.

Earth Sciences - 16.03.2023

Activity deep in Earth affects the global magnetic field
Compass readings that do not show the direction of true north and interference with the operations of satellites are a few of the problems caused by peculiarities of the Earth's magnetic field.

Environment - Earth Sciences - 16.03.2023

Ranking Atmospheric Rivers: New Study Finds World of Potential
In the new study, scientists built a database of global atmospheric river events from 1980 to 2020, using a computer algorithm to automatically identify tens of thousands of the events in the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 ( MERRA-2 ), a NASA re-analysis of historical atmospheric observations.

Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 15.03.2023

Scientists have new tool to estimate how much water might be hidden beneath a planet’s surface
In the search for life elsewhere in the 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. We wanted to investigate whether these planets, after such a tumultuous upbringing, could rehabilitate themselves and go on to host surface water Claire Guimond Scientists from the University of Cambridge now have a way to estimate how much water a rocky planet can store in its subterranean reservoirs.

Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 15.03.2023

NASA’s Magellan Data Reveals Volcanic Activity on Venus
In a first, scientists have seen direct evidence of active volcanism on Earth's twin, setting the stage for the agency's VERITAS mission to investigate. Direct geological evidence of recent volcanic activity has been observed on the surface of Venus for the first time. Scientists made the discovery after poring over archival radar images of Venus taken more than 30 years ago, in the 1990s, by NASA's Magellan mission.

Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 13.03.2023

Ocean Currents May Affect Rotation of Europa’s Icy Crust
Research reveals a new explanation for how the icy shell of Jupiter's moon Europa rotates at a different rate than its interior. NASA's Europa Clipper will take a closer look. NASA scientists have strong evidence that Jupiter's moon Europa has an internal ocean under its icy outer shell - an enormous body of salty water swirling around the moon's rocky interior.

Earth Sciences - 09.03.2023

High-fidelity simulation offers insight into 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor
Full 3D simulation of the Chelyabinsk meteor breakup in Earth's atmosphere. The meteor is shown as a contour of the damage state (white intact, black fully-damaged). Shock-heated air nodes are displayed as points colored by their temperature. Initially fracture begins at the rear of the object. The crack then propagates forward eventually splitting the object into three coherent fragments.

Environment - Earth Sciences - 08.03.2023

How do you make an open and paved urban space climate-proof?
A scorching hot city: not pleasant at all, but an experience we've encountered for several summers. As the planet continues to warm up and climate zones shift further, tropical temperatures, heat waves and drought will put their mark on daily life in the Netherlands on a more regular basis. How can the built environment, where effects of heat are often amplified, be adapted? In field lab the Heat Square on TU Delft Campus, four researchers are working together to find solutions.

Earth Sciences - 06.03.2023

Mineral dust and Earth’s oxygen levels
Mineral dust played a key role in raising oxygen levels in the Earth's atmosphere billions of years ago, with major implications for the way intelligent life later evolved, say researchers. Up to now, scientists have argued that oxygen levels rose as the result of photosynthesis by algae and plants in the sea, where oxygen was produced as a by-product and released into the atmosphere.

Earth Sciences - Environment - 03.03.2023

Most detailed geological model reveals Earth’s past 100 million years
For the first time, scientists have a high-resolution model of how today's geophysical landscapes were created and how millions of tonnes of sediment have flowed to the oceans. 100m years in unprecedented detail Model by Dr Tristan Salles, School of Geosciences. Climate, tectonics and time combine to create powerful forces that craft the face of our planet.

Environment - Earth Sciences - 02.03.2023

Forest soils lose a lot of carbon after storm damage
Forest soils store large amounts of organic carbon. When storms devastate the forest, this carbon is lost and a large part enters the atmosphere as CO2. Mountain forests are particularly vulnerable to such carbon losses, shows a study by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL.

Earth Sciences - Environment - 02.03.2023

New perspective on processes behind Earth system change
The incoming head of the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences has contributed a Perspective article to the latest edition of the journal Science . Professor Todd Ehlers, currently of the University of Tübingen, Germany, was invited to contribute the piece in response to research published in the same issue which discusses a new computer-model reconstruction of global topography over the last 100 million years.

Earth Sciences - Life Sciences - 02.03.2023

New wave of animal oceanographers aids researcher
As the first streams of satellite data appeared on her computer monitor, University of Miami marine scientist Laura McDonnell thought one of the datapoints she began to analyze was an error-1,496 meters, the number read. That's how deep one of the oceanographers McDonnell had recruited to help her study the Gulf Stream had dived off the coast of Cape Cod.

Earth Sciences - Physics - 01.03.2023

How Patterns Emerge in Salt Deserts
By Susanne Filzwieser The honeycomb patterns which are often found in salt deserts in Death Valley and Bolivia, among other places, look like something from another world. Researchers, including those from TU Graz, explain the origin of the mysterious patterns for the first time. Honeycomb patterns form in salt deserts all over the world, for example in the Badwater Basin of Death Valley in California or in the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.

Earth Sciences - Physics - 01.03.2023

Honeycombs in the desert
Convection of salty water creates hexagonal patterns The honeycomb-like patterns that often occur in salt deserts, including Death Valley and Chile, look like something from another world. A team that included researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen, Germany, explain the origin of the mysterious patterns for the first time.

History / Archeology - Earth Sciences - 28.02.2023

Steel Was Already Used in Europe 2900 Years Ago
Team headed by Freiburg researcher has discovered earliest use of steel in Europe - on Iberian stone pillars from the Final Bronze Age A study by an international and interdisciplinary team headed by Freiburg archaeologist Dr. Ralph Araque Gonzalez from the Faculty of Humanities has proven that steel tools were already in use in Europe around 2900 years ago.