Earth Sciences

The Great Unconformity is a major gap in Earth’s geologic record. The missing layer between Precambrian and Cambrian rocks represents a gap of around a billion years of history. Among much debate surrounding the cause […]

Highly detailed 3D scans of dense tropical rain forest plots are enabling precise estimates of tree structure, volume and stored carbon, as part of a first-of-its-kind pilot initiative, led by UCL researchers. Published in the […]

For the first time, researchers have observed and measured weak electrical discharges, known as coronae, on trees during thunderstorms. A new study describes the near-invisible sparkles appearing similarly on branches of several tree species up […]

A team of scientists led by the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), and Leipzig University has developed a new method to track Earth’s greenness—a key indicator […]

Volcanoes and wildfires can inject millions of tons of gases and aerosol particles into the air, affecting temperatures on a global scale. But picking out the specific impact of individual events against a background of […]

A key question in any discussion about climate is “How much rain fell?” But perhaps there is an even more important one. Like any household budget, the global water economy is based on “income,” that […]

The extraction of gas and oil by fracking—large-scale fracturing of underground rocks by injecting water, sand and additives—is generating growing concern in Argentine Patagonia. Neuquén province—home to the country’s largest hydrocarbon reserves—has experienced an increase […]

Thick cloud cover can completely obscure the surface of the Earth from satellite view, while thinner haze and shadows distort the image of rural and urban regions. As such, many remote sensing images for monitoring […]

Several studies have predicted that not all geomagnetic reversals have been discovered, but it was unknown in which periods they might be hidden. Researchers led by the National Institute of Polar Research used a statistical […]

Standing on the coast and looking out to sea, you cannot detect the changes with the naked eye. But in northern Germany, sea levels are rising, as is the risk of flooding for the lower-lying […]