Cambridge Earth Sciences
@cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social
News and events from the Department of Earth Sciences at Cambridge University.
🌍 Thinking about postgrad study in Earth & Environmental Sciences? Explore our taught & research Master's, or dive into a PhD. Find out more on our website: www.esc.cam.ac.uk/postgraduate
#PhD #PhDOpportunities
#PhD #PhDOpportunities
November 4, 2025 at 10:53 AM
🌍 Thinking about postgrad study in Earth & Environmental Sciences? Explore our taught & research Master's, or dive into a PhD. Find out more on our website: www.esc.cam.ac.uk/postgraduate
#PhD #PhDOpportunities
#PhD #PhDOpportunities
🌋 Sixty million years ago, a mantle plume beneath the North Atlantic triggered extensive volcanic activity—leaving behind iconic sites like the Giant’s Causeway & Fingal’s Cave🌋
New research explains why: thinner patches in Earth’s lithosphere funnelled the plume’s hot rocks far and wide.
New research explains why: thinner patches in Earth’s lithosphere funnelled the plume’s hot rocks far and wide.
August 28, 2025 at 10:51 AM
🌋 Sixty million years ago, a mantle plume beneath the North Atlantic triggered extensive volcanic activity—leaving behind iconic sites like the Giant’s Causeway & Fingal’s Cave🌋
New research explains why: thinner patches in Earth’s lithosphere funnelled the plume’s hot rocks far and wide.
New research explains why: thinner patches in Earth’s lithosphere funnelled the plume’s hot rocks far and wide.
This time last week our part III students were in southern Spain, exploring Almería’s exceptionally varied geology 🌞⛰️
There's something for everyone on this trip: metamorphic rocks, overlying reefs, evaporites and turbidite basins, volcanic centres, and major fault zones!!
#Fieldwork #Geoscience
There's something for everyone on this trip: metamorphic rocks, overlying reefs, evaporites and turbidite basins, volcanic centres, and major fault zones!!
#Fieldwork #Geoscience
April 2, 2025 at 2:53 PM
This time last week our part III students were in southern Spain, exploring Almería’s exceptionally varied geology 🌞⛰️
There's something for everyone on this trip: metamorphic rocks, overlying reefs, evaporites and turbidite basins, volcanic centres, and major fault zones!!
#Fieldwork #Geoscience
There's something for everyone on this trip: metamorphic rocks, overlying reefs, evaporites and turbidite basins, volcanic centres, and major fault zones!!
#Fieldwork #Geoscience
🎉 The latest issue of GeoCam is here! Meet our new Head of Department, uncover fascinating research, hear alumni stories, explore student mapping trips, and enjoy vibrant updates from @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social
📖 Read in full here: www.esc.cam.ac.uk/alumni/alumn...
📖 Read in full here: www.esc.cam.ac.uk/alumni/alumn...
March 27, 2025 at 10:23 AM
🎉 The latest issue of GeoCam is here! Meet our new Head of Department, uncover fascinating research, hear alumni stories, explore student mapping trips, and enjoy vibrant updates from @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social
📖 Read in full here: www.esc.cam.ac.uk/alumni/alumn...
📖 Read in full here: www.esc.cam.ac.uk/alumni/alumn...
🎶 What if you could play a microscope image of a #mineral like a record? Scientists from Cambridge & Anglia Ruskin have turned #volcanic mineral images into magical music!
Hear their melodies at the #CambridgeFestival tomorrow, 4:30 PM. 🌍✨Register here: www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/hidde...
Hear their melodies at the #CambridgeFestival tomorrow, 4:30 PM. 🌍✨Register here: www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/hidde...
March 25, 2025 at 12:36 PM
🎶 What if you could play a microscope image of a #mineral like a record? Scientists from Cambridge & Anglia Ruskin have turned #volcanic mineral images into magical music!
Hear their melodies at the #CambridgeFestival tomorrow, 4:30 PM. 🌍✨Register here: www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/hidde...
Hear their melodies at the #CambridgeFestival tomorrow, 4:30 PM. 🌍✨Register here: www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/hidde...
Last week, our first-year students went on their very first field trip to Ketton Quarry! 🪨🐚 🥳
Here they are, proudly showcasing some of their fossil discoveries, including star-shaped segments of crinoid stems, ammonites, brachiopods, and bivalves.
#Geology #Fieldwork #Fossils #Palaeontology
Here they are, proudly showcasing some of their fossil discoveries, including star-shaped segments of crinoid stems, ammonites, brachiopods, and bivalves.
#Geology #Fieldwork #Fossils #Palaeontology
March 18, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Last week, our first-year students went on their very first field trip to Ketton Quarry! 🪨🐚 🥳
Here they are, proudly showcasing some of their fossil discoveries, including star-shaped segments of crinoid stems, ammonites, brachiopods, and bivalves.
#Geology #Fieldwork #Fossils #Palaeontology
Here they are, proudly showcasing some of their fossil discoveries, including star-shaped segments of crinoid stems, ammonites, brachiopods, and bivalves.
#Geology #Fieldwork #Fossils #Palaeontology
🌏 How 'natural' are natural hazards?🌋Cambridge geoscientists and geographers will tackle this compelling question in a live webinar tomorrow, 13th March.
Join the conversation and discover how Cambridge research is making real-world impact! Link to register below 👇
#NaturalHazards #Webinar
Join the conversation and discover how Cambridge research is making real-world impact! Link to register below 👇
#NaturalHazards #Webinar
March 12, 2025 at 9:58 AM
🌏 How 'natural' are natural hazards?🌋Cambridge geoscientists and geographers will tackle this compelling question in a live webinar tomorrow, 13th March.
Join the conversation and discover how Cambridge research is making real-world impact! Link to register below 👇
#NaturalHazards #Webinar
Join the conversation and discover how Cambridge research is making real-world impact! Link to register below 👇
#NaturalHazards #Webinar
When warm seawater seeps under #Antarctic ice shelves it melts them from below and destabilizes glaciers🌊
🌍Researchers used model simulations to reveal the importance of seasonal changes in triggering warm water intrusions; urging for these dynamics to be included in ice loss forecasts.
🌍Researchers used model simulations to reveal the importance of seasonal changes in triggering warm water intrusions; urging for these dynamics to be included in ice loss forecasts.
March 6, 2025 at 2:46 PM
When warm seawater seeps under #Antarctic ice shelves it melts them from below and destabilizes glaciers🌊
🌍Researchers used model simulations to reveal the importance of seasonal changes in triggering warm water intrusions; urging for these dynamics to be included in ice loss forecasts.
🌍Researchers used model simulations to reveal the importance of seasonal changes in triggering warm water intrusions; urging for these dynamics to be included in ice loss forecasts.
Cambridge geoscientists are mapping the global distribution of critical metals in unusual igneous rocks to locate secure #RareEarthElement deposits. Sally Gibson and Sergei Lebedev are studying carbonatite rocks, which host rare earths, and their relationship to the thickness of Earth's lithosphere.
March 4, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Cambridge geoscientists are mapping the global distribution of critical metals in unusual igneous rocks to locate secure #RareEarthElement deposits. Sally Gibson and Sergei Lebedev are studying carbonatite rocks, which host rare earths, and their relationship to the thickness of Earth's lithosphere.
Duygu Sevilgen has built a coral lab in the basement of an old Zoology building. Here, 10 experimental tanks host multicoloured miniature forests, with each tank representing a different marine environment. #ClimateChange #Biodiversity
February 26, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Duygu Sevilgen has built a coral lab in the basement of an old Zoology building. Here, 10 experimental tanks host multicoloured miniature forests, with each tank representing a different marine environment. #ClimateChange #Biodiversity
There are many ways to study rocks up-close! 🔬💎 These thin section drawings and images are of feldspar-pyroxene xenoliths, brought up from beneath Fagradalsfjall, Iceland, by erupted basalts🌋 #ThinSectionTuesday #Petrology
February 25, 2025 at 9:57 AM
There are many ways to study rocks up-close! 🔬💎 These thin section drawings and images are of feldspar-pyroxene xenoliths, brought up from beneath Fagradalsfjall, Iceland, by erupted basalts🌋 #ThinSectionTuesday #Petrology
Wetlands may be a secret weapon in tackling climate change, due to their ability to lock away carbon in waterlogged vegetation 🦆🌊🌿 But drainage can instead turn wetlands into carbon emitters.
PhD student Thomas Marquand is researching the carbon capture potential of Cambridgeshire’s Fenland soils.
PhD student Thomas Marquand is researching the carbon capture potential of Cambridgeshire’s Fenland soils.
February 18, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Wetlands may be a secret weapon in tackling climate change, due to their ability to lock away carbon in waterlogged vegetation 🦆🌊🌿 But drainage can instead turn wetlands into carbon emitters.
PhD student Thomas Marquand is researching the carbon capture potential of Cambridgeshire’s Fenland soils.
PhD student Thomas Marquand is researching the carbon capture potential of Cambridgeshire’s Fenland soils.
Did you know that mountain ranges like the Himalayas play a role in drawing carbon out of the atmosphere through erosion?
Our researchers headed out to Nepal during the monsoon season to study water-rock interactions, bringing about 60 kgs of rainwater samples back to Cambridge for analysis!
Our researchers headed out to Nepal during the monsoon season to study water-rock interactions, bringing about 60 kgs of rainwater samples back to Cambridge for analysis!
February 13, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Did you know that mountain ranges like the Himalayas play a role in drawing carbon out of the atmosphere through erosion?
Our researchers headed out to Nepal during the monsoon season to study water-rock interactions, bringing about 60 kgs of rainwater samples back to Cambridge for analysis!
Our researchers headed out to Nepal during the monsoon season to study water-rock interactions, bringing about 60 kgs of rainwater samples back to Cambridge for analysis!
Beneath Iceland lies a plume of hot mantle rock. It's thought that this plume pulses, in turn influencing volcanism and ocean currents🌋
But scientists haven't been sure about the geological processes at play. Cambridge PhD students joined a North Atlantic research cruise to unravel the mystery!
But scientists haven't been sure about the geological processes at play. Cambridge PhD students joined a North Atlantic research cruise to unravel the mystery!
February 5, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Beneath Iceland lies a plume of hot mantle rock. It's thought that this plume pulses, in turn influencing volcanism and ocean currents🌋
But scientists haven't been sure about the geological processes at play. Cambridge PhD students joined a North Atlantic research cruise to unravel the mystery!
But scientists haven't been sure about the geological processes at play. Cambridge PhD students joined a North Atlantic research cruise to unravel the mystery!
In 2019, scientists from Cambridge and @bas.ac.uk drilled a 651-metre-long ice core from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to study its behaviour during the Last Interglacial, when polar regions were 3°C warmer and sea levels higher🧊 After years of analysis, they have published their findings in Nature!
January 30, 2025 at 10:22 AM
In 2019, scientists from Cambridge and @bas.ac.uk drilled a 651-metre-long ice core from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to study its behaviour during the Last Interglacial, when polar regions were 3°C warmer and sea levels higher🧊 After years of analysis, they have published their findings in Nature!
This footage shows the 2021 eruption of Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma, which spewed lava onto 12 square kilometres of populated land🌋
Our Prof. Marie Edmonds and colleagues flew drones into these volcanic plumes to investigate emissions of volcanic pollutants.
Video credit: Emma Nicholson.
Our Prof. Marie Edmonds and colleagues flew drones into these volcanic plumes to investigate emissions of volcanic pollutants.
Video credit: Emma Nicholson.
January 29, 2025 at 11:05 AM
This footage shows the 2021 eruption of Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma, which spewed lava onto 12 square kilometres of populated land🌋
Our Prof. Marie Edmonds and colleagues flew drones into these volcanic plumes to investigate emissions of volcanic pollutants.
Video credit: Emma Nicholson.
Our Prof. Marie Edmonds and colleagues flew drones into these volcanic plumes to investigate emissions of volcanic pollutants.
Video credit: Emma Nicholson.
Could kelp forests help sequester carbon and combat climate change? 🌊📷PhD student Zhenna Azimrayat Andrews joined a team led by Stanford University to explore the viability of kelp as a marine CO2 (mCDR) technology.
Read more: blog.esc.cam.ac.uk/unlocking-th...
Photo credit: Jenny Adler
Read more: blog.esc.cam.ac.uk/unlocking-th...
Photo credit: Jenny Adler
January 22, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Could kelp forests help sequester carbon and combat climate change? 🌊📷PhD student Zhenna Azimrayat Andrews joined a team led by Stanford University to explore the viability of kelp as a marine CO2 (mCDR) technology.
Read more: blog.esc.cam.ac.uk/unlocking-th...
Photo credit: Jenny Adler
Read more: blog.esc.cam.ac.uk/unlocking-th...
Photo credit: Jenny Adler
The 7 Jan deadline for #PhD applications is fast approaching! Make sure to check our guidance on applying and reach out to prospective supervisors. We’re here to help you with your application!
www.esc.cam.ac.uk/news/new-ner...
www.esc.cam.ac.uk/news/new-ner...
December 19, 2024 at 10:49 AM
The 7 Jan deadline for #PhD applications is fast approaching! Make sure to check our guidance on applying and reach out to prospective supervisors. We’re here to help you with your application!
www.esc.cam.ac.uk/news/new-ner...
www.esc.cam.ac.uk/news/new-ner...
Watch these snowflake-like dendritic clinopyroxenes twinkle as this thin section is rotated in cross-polarised light!❄️☃️ This is a rare volcanic rock called komatiite, from Gorgona. Credit: Charlie Gordon. #ThinSectionTuesday #Petrology #Mineralogy
December 17, 2024 at 9:25 AM
Watch these snowflake-like dendritic clinopyroxenes twinkle as this thin section is rotated in cross-polarised light!❄️☃️ This is a rare volcanic rock called komatiite, from Gorgona. Credit: Charlie Gordon. #ThinSectionTuesday #Petrology #Mineralogy
Think you’d like to study a #PhD in #EarthScience? 🌎🌱 Current PhD students Zhenna, Devesh and Alice offer their top tips for those interested in applying!
December 10, 2024 at 2:32 PM
Think you’d like to study a #PhD in #EarthScience? 🌎🌱 Current PhD students Zhenna, Devesh and Alice offer their top tips for those interested in applying!
Join us for a #PhD in #palaeontology🦕If you’re interested in evolutionary #paleobiology and palaeoecology and its links to environmental change then our researchers would love to chat with you about designing a project.
December 5, 2024 at 10:36 AM
Join us for a #PhD in #palaeontology🦕If you’re interested in evolutionary #paleobiology and palaeoecology and its links to environmental change then our researchers would love to chat with you about designing a project.
Looking for #PhD opportunities in #IgneousPetrology? 🌋Feel free to reach out to our researchers to discuss possible project ideas on themes such as crustal magmatic systems, diffusion chronometry, global volatile cycles, Icelandic volcanism and more!
November 28, 2024 at 10:23 AM
Looking for #PhD opportunities in #IgneousPetrology? 🌋Feel free to reach out to our researchers to discuss possible project ideas on themes such as crustal magmatic systems, diffusion chronometry, global volatile cycles, Icelandic volcanism and more!
Nice to see a busy careers event last night, organised by the Sedgwick Club! Lots of helpful information on available opportunities and career guidance. And lovely to see some of our alumni too! #Geology #EarthScience #Careers #womeninstem
November 27, 2024 at 11:04 AM
Nice to see a busy careers event last night, organised by the Sedgwick Club! Lots of helpful information on available opportunities and career guidance. And lovely to see some of our alumni too! #Geology #EarthScience #Careers #womeninstem
We are excited to announce our Department will be hosting a series of new #PhD studentships, starting from Oct 2025! 🥳
The studentships will be in the field of environmental science, working on topics at the heart of some of the most pressing societal challenges #EarthScience
The studentships will be in the field of environmental science, working on topics at the heart of some of the most pressing societal challenges #EarthScience
November 26, 2024 at 10:51 AM
We are excited to announce our Department will be hosting a series of new #PhD studentships, starting from Oct 2025! 🥳
The studentships will be in the field of environmental science, working on topics at the heart of some of the most pressing societal challenges #EarthScience
The studentships will be in the field of environmental science, working on topics at the heart of some of the most pressing societal challenges #EarthScience