Category archives: Geosciences

How pterosaurs learned to fly

How pterosaurs learned to fly

EvolutionGeosciences

By Invited Researcher

Authors: Davide Foffa, Research Fellow in Palaeobiology, University of Birmingham; Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Royal Society Newton International Fellow in Palaeontology, UCL, and Emma Dunne, Assistant Professor in Paleobiology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg Ever since the first fragments of pterosaur bone surfaced nearly 250 years ago, palaeontologists have puzzled over one question: how did these close cousins of […]

The melting ice caps of Greenland reveal the true extent of climate change

The melting ice caps of Greenland reveal the true extent of climate change

Geosciences

By Invited Researcher

Authors: Alejandro Gómez Pazo, Profesor Ayudante Doctor. Departamento de Geografía y Geología, Universidad de León; Marc Oliva, Profesor, Departamento de Geografía, Universitat de Barcelona, and Xosé Lois Otero Pérez, Catedrático del Centro Singular CRETUS. Departamento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela For most of us, first-hand knowledge of Greenland is probably […]

On real-life Mars exploration

On real-life Mars exploration

GeosciencesPlanetary Science

By Invited Researcher

Author: Ari Koeppel, Postdoctoral Scientist in Earth and Planetary Science, Dartmouth College Andy Weir’s bestselling story “The Martian” predicts that by 2035 NASA will have landed humans on Mars three times, perfected return-to-Earth flight systems and collaborated with the China National Space Administration. We are now 10 years past the Hollywood adaptation’s 2015 release and […]

How pterosaurs ruled the skies

How pterosaurs ruled the skies

Geosciences

By Invited Researcher

Scientists have long puzzled over how pterosaurs became the first vertebrates to master flight. Some pterosaur species, such as the Quetzalcoatlus were the largest known animals to ever take to the skies, with wingspans of over ten meters (on par with military aircraft like the Spitfire). My team’s new study may help solve the evolutionary […]