News by Subject Earth Science

A new study monitored satellite images to obtain sea discoloration data as a novel indicator in detecting if an underwater volcano's eruption is imminent.

Evidence from an ancient eggshell has revealed important new information about the extreme climate change faced by human early ancestors.

The average body size of humans has fluctuated significantly over the last million years and is strongly linked to temperature. Colder, harsher climates drove the evolution of larger body sizes, while warmer climates led to smaller bodies. Brain size also changed dramatically but did not evolve in tandem with body size.

From above, the Antarctic Ice Sheet might look like a calm, perpetual ice blanket that has covered Antarctica for millions of years. But the ice sheet can be thousands of meters deep at its thickest, and it hides hundreds of meltwater lakes where its base meets the continent's bedrock. Deep below the surface, some of these lakes fill and drain continuously through a system of waterways that eventually drain into the ocean.

"Snowball Earth" is the most extreme climate event in Earth's history, when it was completely engulfed in ice. The theory of its existence has faced two challenges - how life survived and variations in rock formations from the time implying changes to the climate cycle. New study shows that changes to Earth's orbit caused the ice sheets to advance and retreat, providing ice-free 'oases' for animal life and explaining variations in rock formations.

The world's largest study of global climate related mortality found deaths related to hot temperatures increased in all regions from 2000 to 2019, indicating that global warming due to climate change will make this mortality figure worse in the future. The Australian-led international research team looked at mortality and temperature data across the world from 2000 to 2019, a period when global temperatures rose by 0.26C per decade.