Around 250 million years ago, Earth experienced its most severe mass extinction event. Over 80% of marine animals became extinct, but the impact of this event on terrestrial ecosystems is less understood—until now. New findings published in GSA Bulletin unveil how this extinction impacted plant communities and shaped their recovery. 

Astronomers have discovered a planet that orbits at a 90-degree angle around a rare pair of strange stars. The brown dwarfs produce eclipses of one another, as seen from Earth, making them part of an ‘eclipsing binary’, and the findings are published today (16 Apr) in Science Advances.

Under Yellowstone lies a magma-filled formation that drives the national park’s famous geysers and other hydrothermal features. New research conducted by University of Utah geoscientists has located the top of the chamber 3.8 kilometers below Earth’s surface and characterized the upper reservoir’s structure, offering fresh insights into the risk of future eruptions.

In the global carbon cycle microorganisms have evolved a variety of methods for fixing carbon. Researchers from Bremen and Taiwan have investigated the methods that are utilized at extremely hot, acidic and sulfur-rich hydrothermal vents in shallow waters off the island of Kueishantao, Taiwan. A team working with first author Joely Maak of MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen has now published their study in the professional journal Biogeosciences.

Jointly organised by the Department of Geography at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Scout Association of Hong Kong, the "Extreme Weather and Sustainable Development" education event was successfully held on 13 April at HKU. The event attracted around 300 participants, including secondary school students, educators, and members of the public, all united by a shared commitment to raising youth awareness and engagement in climate action, and rethinking the pathway toward a sustainable future.

Through satellite gravimetry analysis of Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) mass changes from 2002 to 2023, striking mass change rates have been identified. The study reveals the most significant mass loss occurred during 2011-2020, primarily driven by accelerated ice loss in Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica and four key glacier basins in Wilkes Land-Queen Mary Land, East Antarctica. Remarkably, an unprecedented reversal was observed during 2021-2023, with the AIS exhibiting anomalous mass gain - a phenomenon never before recorded in the satellite observation era.