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Environmental Sciences - Earth Sciences - 22.05
Unexpected Effects of Ocean Acidification on Deep-sea Organisms
About 55.5 million years ago, geologically rapid emission of a large volume of greenhouse gases at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary (PETM) led to global warming of about 5oC, severe ocean acidification, and widespread extinction of microscopic organisms living on the deep-sea floor (foraminifera). - A study of survivors of the extinction provides unique insight into the response of deep-sea calcifiers to past episodes which resemble the potential future consequences of fossil fuel CO2 emissions.

Astronomy - Earth Sciences - 16.05
New study assesses glacier contributions to sea level rise
Melting glaciers account for one third of observed sea level rise, according to a new study published today in Science. - The research - which used multiple satellites and an extensive collection of ground data - was led by Professor Alex Gardner of Clark University and involved the efforts of 16 researchers from 10 countries, including Dr Bert Wouters from the University of Bristol.

Earth Sciences - Environmental Sciences - 3.05
Scientists use salt marshes to analyse global sea-level rise
The world’s salt marshes could hold the key to predicting future sea levels after scientists used them to pinpoint when recent rises began. - Scientists analysed sediments and fossils buried in salt marshes which show the recent rise in global sea levels – posing a threat to millions of coastal homes worldwide – began around a century ago.

Earth Sciences - 30.04
Doubt over 'volcanic winter' after Toba super-eruption
New research from Oxford University casts doubt on the theory that the Mount Toba super-eruption, which took place at the Indonesian island of Sumatra 75,000 years ago, could have plunged the Earth into a volcanic winter leading to the near extinction of early humans.

Earth Sciences - 23.04
Multi-ethnic neighbourhoods have increased across England and Wales
Many more Whites live in mixed neighbourhoods in 2011 than 2001, according to first analyses of recently-released census data, although there was no movement towards creation of substantial Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi exclusive neighbourhoods, study finds.

Earth Sciences - 10.04
New fracking research led by Durham University finds it is “not significant” in causing earthquakes
New fracking research led by Durham University finds it is “not significant” in causing earthquakes - A new study of hundreds of thousands of hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking") operations has found that the process has only caused earth tremors that could be felt on the surface in three cases.

Earth Sciences - Astronomy - 26.03
Ocean cores reveal eruption dynamics
Using information gathered from samples of deep sea sediments, researchers from the University of Bristol report new findings regarding the dynamics of the eruption of Mount Tambora, Indonesia in 1815 - one of the largest volcanic eruptions in the last 1,000 years.

Environmental Sciences - Earth Sciences - 6.03
Scientists take to air and sea to chart progress on greenhouse gases
Scientists will use the results from the project to help gauge and track progress on Government targets to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. - The project will measure gases emitted from various UK sources, such as industry, landfill and agriculture.

Earth Sciences - Physics/Material Science - 26.02
Palaeontologist reveals insects’ colourful past
An international research team led by a University of Bristol scientist has explained the preservation of colours in fossil insects for the first time. - The discovery explains why colours change and why they are destroyed during fossilisation, revealing hidden gems in the insect fossil record that could help reconstruct the evolution of colours in insects. - The paper has just been published online in the journal Geology.

Earth Sciences - 22.02
New research improves estimates of amount of ash in volcanic clouds
The amount of ash released by Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano during April 2010 was significantly underestimated at the time of the eruption, according to a new model developed at the University of Bristol and published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Astronomy - Earth Sciences - 4.02
First evidence discovered that water once dissolved the surface of Mars
Scientists at the University of Glasgow together with the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre and the Natural History Museum (London) have discovered the first evidence of water dissolving the surface of Mars.

Earth Sciences - 28.12.2012
Living close to a rubbish tip reduces house prices by 2.6%, research shows
Living close to an active landfill site reduces house prices by 2.6% and the cost to home owners can still be counted two decades after the facility has shut, new research shows. - Experts at the University of Birmingham have found that houses situated within 3 kilometres of an active site, or within 1 kilometre of a historic site, suffer a significant price drop.

Earth Sciences - 19.12.2012
Ants aquaplaning on a pitcher plant
When the hairs of the plant are wet, the ants' adhesive pads essentially aquaplane on the surface, making the insects lose grip and slip into the bowl of the pitcher. This is the first time that we have observed hairs being used by plants in this way, as they are typically used to make leaves water repellent." - —Dr Ulrike Bauer - An insect-trapping pitcher plant in Venezuela uses its downward pointing hairs to create a 'water slide' on which insects slip to their death, new research reveals.

Earth Sciences - 6.12.2012
New light on the Nazca Lines
The first findings of the most detailed study yet by two British archaeologists into the Nazca Lines - enigmatic drawings created between 2,100 and 1,300 years ago in the Peruvian desert - have been published in the latest issue of the journal Antiquity.

Environmental Sciences - Earth Sciences - 28.11.2012
Scientists develop new approach to support future climate projections
A new approach for evaluating past climate sensitivity data has been developed by scientists to help improve comparison with estimates of long-term climate projections developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).