Why do some ancient animals become fossils while others disappear without a trace? A new study from the University of Lausanne, published in Nature Communications, reveals that part of the answer lies in the body itself. The research shows that an animal’s size and chemical makeup can play an important role in determining whether it’s preserved for millions of years—or lost to time.

 

Analysing lava flows that solidified and then broke apart over a massive crack in the Earth’s crust in Turkey has brought new insights into how continents move over time, improving our understanding of earthquake risks.

The world’s oceans are heating faster in two bands stretching around the globe, one in the southern hemisphere and one in the north, according to new research led by climate scientist Dr Kevin Trenberth.

In what could represent a milestone in ecological restoration, researchers have implemented a method capable of restoring peatlands at tens of thousands of oil and gas exploration sites in Western Canada. 

Researchers from the University of Waterloo led the project that involves lowering the surface of these decommissioned sites, known as well pads, and transplanting native moss onto them to effectively recreate peatlands. This is the first time researchers have applied the method to scale on an entire well pad. The study found that the technique results in sufficient water for the growth of peatland moss across large portions of the study site. 

A new study from the University of Maryland traces a 120-million-year-old “super-eruption” to its source, offering new insights into Earth’s complex geological history.

Imagine a crocodile built like a greyhound — that’s a sebecid. Standing tall, with some species reaching 20 feet in length, they dominated South American landscapes after the extinction of dinosaurs until about 11 million years ago. Or at least, that’s what paleontologists thought. A new study shows the Caribbean Islands were a refuge for the last sebecid populations at least 5 million years after they went extinct everywhere else.