Earth Sciences

Could Earth have had an even more violent infancy than previously imagined? New isotope data suggest that the Earth not only had a very violent beginning but also point to new information about our planet’s chemical evolution.

New and precise measurements of a neodymium isotope ratio (142Nd/144Nd) led Maud Boyet and Rick Carlson of Carnegie Institution’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism to the discovery that all terrestrial rocks have an excess of 142Nd compared

European challenges for hydrodynamic modelling in coastal and shelf seas is the focus of the latest report from the European Science Foundation (ESF) Marine Board, released on 6 June at the fourth annual EuroGOOS (Global Ocean Observing System) conference in Brest, France.

Produced by a Marine Board Working Group, chaired by Dr. David Prandle of the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory in Liverpool, England, the report presents the latest findings from this Group which concentrates

Dutch Researcher Katja Heister investigated how electrical potential differences in clay layers influence the transport of salt and water through these. The outcomes of her research have important implications for new models of water transport, for example, those which predict the distribution of substances from waste deposits.

The transport of water and its solutes through clay plays an important role, for example, in the intrusion of seawater into the groundwater of coastal areas, t

Findings show that ice fracturing occurs in episodes and may be tied to changes evolving over seasons

A multifaceted research effort by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and their international colleagues from the University of Tasmania and the Australian Antarctic Division, has resulted in several important new findings about Antarctica and the changing dynamics of its ice structure.

Scientists have been

Reveal Hidden Dangers to Passing Ships

Using inflatable boats, a portable depth sounder with GPS, and a REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle, a team of scientists and engineers has created the first detailed, comprehensive chart of the ocean floor around Palmer Station in Antarctica, revealing previously unknown submerged rocks.

The new chart, the first in 50 years, was made by a research team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the University of

Follow the carbon – this is the mantra of researchers seeking to understand climate change and forecast its likely extent. A workshop heard how improved detection of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from space promises to revolutionise carbon cycle understanding.

This week saw more than 60 researchers from Europe, the United States and Japan gather at ESRIN, ESA’s establishment in Italy, for the three-day Carbon from Space workshop, jointly organised by ESA, the Internationa