Search results (13)
« Back to NewsOxford scientists show how green mining could pave the way to net zero and provide the metals we need for a sustainable future
30 June 2021
Earth sciences Research Sustainability & the environment
Scientists from the Department of Earth Sciences demonstrate how it is possible to directly extract valuable metals from hot salty fluids (‘brines’) trapped in porous rocks at depths of around 2km below dormant volcanoes.
UK–Canada collaboration uses geology to help astronomers find habitable planets
14 May 2021
Earth sciences Physics Research Space
To date, astronomers have identified more than 4,000 confirmed exoplanets but only a fraction have the potential to sustain life. Now, new research is using the geology of early planet formation to help identify those that may be capable of supporting life.
From The Conversation: Nocturnal dinosaurs: Night vision and superb hearing in a small theropod suggest it was a moonlight predator
7 May 2021
Roger Benson, Professor of Palaeobiology in the Department of Earth Sciences, and colleagues Lars Schmitz at Scripps College and Jonah Choiniere at the University of the Witwatersrand write about their new research into nocturnal dinosaurs.
Science Blog: Geoscientists Call for Action on Tackling Racial Inequity
6 May 2021
Earth sciences Equality and Diversity
A recent article published in the journal Nature Geoscience has highlighted the shocking under-representation of students from ethnic minority backgrounds in the Geosciences. Ben Fernando writes about a new paper that lays out steps to address this diversity crisis and make the discipline more equitable.
Researchers find climate change impacts plankton – a key marine food source
27 April 2021
Climate Earth sciences Research
A key type of zooplankton’s inability to adapt to climate change could have adverse implications for marine food chains across the world if a severe global warming event were to occur, researchers at Oxford University have found.
Oxford Researchers’ Projects Recognised Through Prominent European Grants
26 April 2021
Earth sciences Funding Plant sciences
Four Oxford academics have received major European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grants to fund a range of boundary-pushing research projects in the areas of science and criminology.
From The Conversation: Mars InSight: why we’ll be listening to the landing of the Perseverance rover
15 February 2021
Earth sciences Physics Research The Conversation
Ben Fernando (Departments of Earth Sciences and Physics) writes about using the Insight mission to detect seismic signals during the landing of Perseverance - the first time that anyone has tried using a spacecraft on the surface of another planet to detect another spacecraft arriving.
Oxford Net Zero launches to tackle global carbon emissions
17 November 2020
Climate Earth sciences Physics Plant sciences Zoology
The Oxford Net Zero initiative, launched this week, draws on the university’s world-leading expertise in climate science and policy, addressing the critical issue of how to reach global ‘net zero’ – limiting greenhouse gases – in time to halt global warming.
Large tides may have been a key factor in the evolution of bony fish and tetrapods
26 October 2020
Earth sciences Physics Research
Pioneering research, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A, into ancient tides during the Late Silurian - Devonian periods (420 million years ago - 380 million years ago), suggests that large tides may have been a key environmental factor in the evolution of bony fish and early tetrapods, the first vertebrate land-dwellers.
Metal analysis of urine provides a promising potential diagnostic for pancreatic cancer
23 April 2020
Earth sciences Medical science Research
Research carried out at Oxford, in collaboration with Columbia University and Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London, has revealed that the signature of metal ions present in urine samples is an accurate indicator of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), one of the deadliest types of cancer.
Early life hunt inspired by oldest fossils debate
19 April 2015
The resolution of a decades-old debate about the oldest fossils on Earth can reinvigorate the search for early life and open up a window on the strange world of ancient microorganisms.