Oxford researchers uncover remarkable archive of ancient human brains
20 March 2024
A new study conducted by researchers from the Department of Earth Sciences has challenged previously held views that brain preservation in the archaeological record is extremely rare.
Researchers discover a coral superhighway in the Indian Ocean
12 March 2024
Biology Earth sciences Food security & biodiversity Research
Despite being scattered across more than a million square kilometres, new research has revealed that remote coral reefs across the Seychelles are closely related. A network of ocean currents scatter significant numbers of larvae between these distant islands, acting as a ‘coral superhighway.’
New study reveals insight into which animals are most vulnerable to extinction due to climate change
8 March 2024
A new study led by researchers at the University of Oxford has used the fossil record to better understand what factors make animals more vulnerable to extinction from climate change. The results, published today in the journal Science, could help to identify species most at risk today from human-driven climate change.
Professor Mike Kendall wins Royal Astronomical Society’s Gold Medal
12 January 2024
Head of Oxford University’s Department of Earth Sciences, Professor John-Michael Kendall, has today been awarded the 2024 Gold Medal for Geophysics from the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). The award recognises his outstanding work in the field of seismology (the study of earthquakes and seismic waves in the Earth’s interior) and for his support for the next generation of seismic researchers.
From The Conversation: Iceland on high alert for volcanic eruption – what we know so far
15 November 2023
Earth sciences The Conversation
Professors David Pyle and Tamsin Mather from the Department of Earth Sciences discuss what might happen next in a sequence of seismic events that started in early 2020 in Iceland, and which has so far culminated in three eruptions.
From The Conversation: Scientists can’t agree on when the first animals evolved – our research hopes to end the debate
13 October 2023
Earth sciences The Conversation
Ross Anderson, Research Fellow in Palaeobiology in the Department of Earth Sciences, suggests a new way to estimate the timing of animal origins: considering which kind of rocks could preserve those animals, rather than documenting the oldest animal fossils.
Ancient carbon in rocks releases as much CO2 as the world’s volcanoes
5 October 2023
Climate Earth sciences Research
A new study led by the Department of Earth Sciences has overturned the view that natural rock weathering acts as a CO2 sink, indicating instead that this can act as a large CO2 source, rivalling that of volcanoes. The results, published today in the journal Nature, have important implications for modelling climate change scenarios.
Expert comment: Professor Walker on the Morocco earthquake disaster
12 September 2023
Professor Richard Walker (Department of Earth Sciences) describes the background to the devastating 8 September 2023 Morocco earthquake, which has a current death toll of nearly 2,500 lives.
New Earth Sciences study shows how the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is playing an active role in opening the Atlantic
15 August 2023
Plate divergence at Mid Ocean Ridges where new tectonic plates are formed is generally thought to be a passive process dominated by the gravitational pull of subducting plates. However, this new study shows that at some diverging locations this process is likely to be less passive than originally thought.
New study sheds light on the origin of animals
28 June 2023
A study led by researchers in the Department of Earth Sciences has brought us one step closer to solving a mystery that has puzzled naturalists since Charles Darwin: when did animals first appear in the history of Earth? The results have been published today in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
Volcanic research to showcase at Royal Society’s Summer Science Exhibition
27 June 2023
Earth sciences Public Engagement Research
Together with colleagues from UEA and the University of the West Indies, researchers from the Department of Earth Sciences will lead 'Sensing Volcanoes', one of the nine flagship exhibits this year.
New method shows promise for locating deposits of critical metals
10 March 2023
Earth sciences Research Sustainability & the environment
A new technique developed by researchers in the Department of Earth Sciences at Oxford could help locate new deposits of critical metals needed to enable the green-energy transition.
Earth Sciences study could help pinpoint hidden helium gas fields – and avert a global supply crisis
3 March 2023
Research led by Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences offers a new model to account for the existence of previously unexplained helium-rich reservoirs, with findings that could help overturn the current supply crisis of the gas by locating untapped reservoirs of accessible helium.
Large-scale fossil study reveals origins of modern-day biodiversity gradient 15 million years ago
16 February 2023
Researchers have used nearly half a million fossils to solve a 200-year-old scientific mystery: why the number of different species is greatest near the equator and decreases steadily towards polar regions.
New study shows that most plastic debris on Seychelles beaches comes from far-off sources
19 January 2023
Biology Earth sciences Research Sustainability & the environment
A new high-resolution model to quantify the sources of plastic debris accumulating on beaches across the Seychelles and other island states in the western Indian Ocean reveals that most of this waste originates from distant sources and not from the islands themselves.
From The Conversation: Fossil study brings us one step closer to revealing how ‘flying dinosaurs’ took flight
17 January 2023
Earth sciences The Conversation
New study places Schleromochlus closer to the origin of pterosaurs than other lagerpetids, providing a reference point for research into pterosaur development.
Dr Elsa Panciroli: portrait of a palaeontologist
11 January 2023
An interview with Elsa Panciroli from the Department of Earth Sciences, a palaeontologist who uses X-ray tomography and digital visualisation to understand the anatomy and growth of the first mammals and their closest relatives.
Oxford climate research excellence recognised by renewed Met Office partnership
15 December 2022
Climate Earth sciences Funding Maths Physics Research Statistics
The University of Oxford has been selected to help deliver the Met Office Academic Partnership (MOAP) for a further three years, as part of a multi-institutional agreement supporting cutting-edge research in the science of weather and climate prediction.
Four MPLS academics ‘showing great promise’ awarded major European Research Council Starting Grants
23 November 2022
Earth sciences Engineering Funding Physics
This year’s funding totals €636 million, with grants awarded through a highly-competitive process. Overall, just 14% of applications were successful this year.
New analysis of Winchcombe meteorite reveals a window into the early solar system
17 November 2022
Earth sciences Physics Research
Researchers from the Departments of Physics and Earth Sciences have contributed to a highly detailed analysis of the Winchcombe meteorite, which shed light on early solar system conditions and support the theory that meteorites catalysed the emergence of life on Earth.