Topic description and stories

View of the Grand Canyon from the Colorado River

Grand Canyon was a ‘Goldilocks zone’ for the evolution of early animals

23 Jul 2025

A treasure trove of exceptionally preserved early animals from more than half a billion years ago has been discovered in the Grand Canyon, one of the...

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The hydrothermal vent 'Candelabra' in the Logatchev hydrothermal field.

Ancient seafloor vents spewed tiny, life-giving minerals into Earth’s early oceans

02 Feb 2024

Researchers from the universities of Cambridge and Western Australia have uncovered the importance of hydrothermal vents, similar to underwater...

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Illustration of NASA's Perseverance rover operating on the surface of Mars.

Scottish rocks to play a key role in Mars space mission

28 Jul 2023

Ancient rocks from the Isle of Rum in northwest Scotland are playing an important role in an international space mission to discover more about Mars...

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Artist Concept of an Early Earth

Seawater could have provided phosphorous required for emerging life

27 Sep 2022

The problem of how phosphorus became a universal ingredient for life on Earth may have been solved by researchers from the University of Cambridge...

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Fagradalsfjall volcano, Iceland

Lava from 2021 Icelandic eruption gives rare view of deep churnings beneath volcano

16 Sep 2022

After centuries without volcanic activity, Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula sprang to life in 2021 when lava erupted from the Fagradalsfjall volcano...

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Etna Volcano Eruption 12 January 2011

Scientists 'see' puzzling features deep in Earth’s interior

19 May 2022

New research led by the University of Cambridge is the first to obtain a detailed 'image' of an unusual pocket of rock at the boundary layer with...

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Magma ocean and first rocky crust on the Moon

‘Slushy’ magma ocean led to formation of the Moon’s crust

13 Jan 2022

Scientists have shown how the freezing of a ‘slushy’ ocean of magma may be responsible for the composition of the Moon’s crust.

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Alaska’s Pavlof Volcano: NASA’s View from Space

Earth's interior is swallowing up more carbon than thought

26 Jul 2021

Scientists from Cambridge University and NTU Singapore have found that slow-motion collisions of tectonic plates drag more carbon into Earth’s...

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Site of the Toba supereruption

Early humans were sheltered from worst effects of volcanic supereruption

05 Jul 2021

A massive volcanic eruption in Indonesia about 74,000 years ago likely caused severe climate disruption in many areas of the globe, but early human...

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Chunks of exotic green rocks from the mantle erupted from the San Carlos Volcanic Field, Arizona

Rock crystals from the deep give microscopic clues to earthquake ground movements

24 Jun 2021

Microscopic imperfections in rock crystals deep beneath Earth’s surface play a deciding factor in how the ground slowly moves and resets in the...

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Golden Hour at Kīlauea

Scientists track veil of toxic metals carried in Kīlauea’s gas plumes, revealing hidden dangers of volcanic pollution

25 May 2021

A team of volcanologists who observed the colossal 2018 eruption of Kīlauea, Hawai’i, have tracked how potentially toxic metals carried in its gas...

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Isua in Greenland

Traces of Earth’s early magma ocean identified in Greenland rocks

12 Mar 2021

New research led by the University of Cambridge has found rare evidence – preserved in the chemistry of ancient rocks from Greenland - which tells of...

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