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Writing in PNAS, scientists from Cologne university present important new constraints showing that plate tectonics started relatively slow, although the early Earth's interior was much hotter than today. In an international collaboration earth scientists at the University of Cologne discovered that during Earth's early history mantle convection on, i.e. the internal mixing of our planet, was surprisingly slow and spatially restricted.

Scientists from Heidelberg University investigate which factors determine the stability of ice masses in East Antarctica As temperatures rise due to climate change, the melting of polar ice sheets is accelerating. An international team of researchers led by geoscientist Dr Kim Jakob from Heidelberg University has now examined the dynamics of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet more closely.

Noise from wind turbines is a constant source of annoyance, despite compliance with emission control standards. But while some people feel heavily burdened by the noises, others hardly notice them. The Inter-Wind research project (Interdisciplinary Analysis and Mitigation Approaches - Residents' Experience of Acoustic and Seismic Wind Turbine Emissions), in which the University of Stuttgart is also involved, is investigating which factors interact in the noise pollution caused by wind turbines and which approaches for mitigation can be considered.

How do rising temperatures and more hot days affect cities, especially the heat stress on public squares? And what needs to be done in response to climate change? A team of Heidelberg University geographers led by Dr Kathrin Foshag investigated these questions using locations in the Heidelberg urban area.

Geoscientists show that it is not erosion but an equilibrium of forces in the Earth's crust that controls the "growth" of mountains / Study in "Nature" Which forces and mechanisms determine the height of mountains? Researchers at the University of Münster and the German Research Centre for Geoscience (GFZ) in Potsdam have now found a surprising answer: It is not erosion and weathering of rocks that determine the upper limit of mountain belts, but rather an equilibrium of forces in the Earth's crust.

Sixty-six million years ago - at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary - nearly three-quarters of all animal species died out, including the dinosaurs. The cause for this has fuelled controversy among scientists for decades. The latest research from an international research team indicates that an asteroid strike was the sole driver of the mass extinction and that volcanic activity did not play a role, even though it certainly had an impact on the climate and the biosphere.

Mineralogists from Jena and Japan make a surprising discovery on soil samples of the asteroid "Itokawa". Mineralogists from Jena and Japan discover a previously unknown phenomenon in soil samples from the asteroid 'Itokawa': the surface of the celestial body is covered with tiny hair-shaped iron crystals.

Researchers disprove theory of volcanic eruption as reason for mass deaths / Mineralogists and planetologists of the University of Münster participating in worldwide study in "Science' Was it volcanic eruptions in western India or an asteroid impact that caused the death of dinosaurs and many other animal species 66 million years ago? Researchers have been discussing this since the 1980s.

A natural event of similar magnitude would have devastating consequences today, warn researchers 15-meter high waves that pushed 100 tons boulders inland: This is more or less how one can imagine the tsunami that hit the coast of today's Sultanate of Oman about 1,000 years ago, as concluded by a recent study by the universities of Bonn, Jena, Freiburg and RWTH Aachen.

When will the next eruption take place? Examination of samples from Indonesia's Mount Merapi show that the explosivity of stratovolcanoes rises when mineral-rich gases seal the pores and microcracks in the uppermost layers of stone. These findings result in new possibilities for the prediction of an eruption.

Researchers suspect greater dynamics than previously assumed between the Earth's surface and its mantle / Study published in 'Nature Geoscience' What is the chemical composition of the Earth's interior? Because it is impossible to drill more than about ten kilometres deep into the Earth, volcanic rocks formed by melting Earth's deep interior often provide such information.

Geologists investigate the stability of the geotechnical barrier bentonite for the final disposal of nuclear waste Even after the official decision to phase out of nuclear power in Germany, one question remains unanswered: Where to store safely the nuclear waste?

An international research team solves the mystery of how the mountain Ahuna Mons on Ceres was probably formed / Study in "Nature Geoscience" The scientists could hardly believe their eyes when they first saw this formation on the images acquired by their Framing Camera on board the Dawn space probe: a symmetrical mountain over 4000 metres tall and with steep, smooth sides rising over the crater-strewn surface of.

The Bermuda Islands - a very special terrain in the middle of the western Atlantic Ocean, not only for its white beaches, but also because the archipelago is at the top of a 4,570-metre high volcano that died out about 30 million years ago. An international team of researchers has now taken a closer look at this geological peculiarity and geochemically examined the magma rock under Bermuda for the first time.

Around three years ago, researchers on an Antarctic expedition, including Münster University palaeobotanist Dr. Benjamin Bomfleur , made an incredible discovery in northern Victoria Land. They found the 200 million-year-old footprint of an extinct reptile. The researchers have now published their findings from the hand-sized footprint in the journal "Polar Research".

Shortly after its birth, our Sun was probably a very turbulent, hyperactive star. This is indicated by geoscientific analyses of rock inclusions from a meteorite originating in our early Solar System. In those inclusions, researchers from Heidelberg University detected decay products of a very short-lived radioactive isotope that can only have been generated by an intense burst of radiation from the nascent young Sun.

German-Mexican research team discover large igneous province which could have triggered an early glaciation of Earth A major volcanic event could have triggered one of the largest glaciations in Earth's history - the Gaskiers glaciation, which turned the Earth into a giant snowball approximately 580 million years ago.

Chemists at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena discover previously unknown metabolic pathway in plankton Life Chlorophyll (= algae) in the sea: single-cell algea produce a new chemical compound discovered by chemists at the University Jena. Image: NASA Sulphur is found in many different compounds throughout the world - not only in the atmosphere, but also in the oceans and on land.

About 66 million years ago, a meteorite hit the Earth of the Yucatan Peninsula in what is now Mexico. This event triggered a mass extinction that eradicated approximately 75 percent of all species and ended the era of dinosaurs. Like Ulrich Riller of the Institute of Geology of the University of Hamburg and co-workers report in "Nature", the hitherto mysterious formation of the crater and its mountaneous peak ring.

Study shows that spatial reference can be structurally identified in a number of datasets Networks describe relations between objects. They show how objects relate to one another and which ones are mutually influential. In this context, how does space impact structure? Geoinformatics scientist Dr Franz-Benjamin Mocnik was particularly interested in answering this question.