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Earth Sciences - 09.02.2023 
Mission to monitor seafloor fault at foot of Mount Etna
The North Alfeo Fault runs across the seafloor at the base of Mount Etna, the tallest and currently most active European volcano, next to an urban area with a population of one million. The Focus project seeks to better understand seismic processes in action and allow for surveillance of movement along the fault.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 06.01.2023
Earth Sciences - 08.12.2022
Paleontology - Earth Sciences - 17.10.2022 
Neanderthals appear to have been carnivores
For the first time, zinc isotope ratios in tooth enamel have been analysed with the aim of identifying the diet of a Neanderthal. Other chemical tracers indicate that this individual did not consume the blood of their prey, but ate the bone marrow without consuming the bones. A new study published on october 17th in the journal PNAS , led by a CNRS researcher, has for the first time used zinc isotope analysis to determine the position of Neanderthals in the food chain.
Earth Sciences - Astronomy / Space Science - 25.08.2022 
Planet Mars: Perseverance rover makes surprising geological discoveries in Jezero Crater
On February 21, 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover landed in the Jezero Crater on Mars. In October 1 , the rover confirmed the importance of its landing site, showing that Jezero Crater really was the site of a lake 3.6 billion years ago. Perseverance's geological discoveries in the crater's floor are described in four papers published on August 25, 2022 in Science and Science Advances .
Earth Sciences - Environment - 17.08.2022 
Plate tectonics drives ocean oxygenation
Until now, it has been assumed that the oxygenation of the oceans over geological timescales has mainly been driven by atmospheric oxygen levels. However, a new study published in Nature June 27 2022 suggests otherwise. Work by scientists at the Biogeosciences Laboratory (CNRS/UBFC), together with their colleagues at the University of California's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, shows that the movement of tectonic plates has probably contributed to ocean oxygenation.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 10.06.2022 
Paname 2022: campaigns to study air quality and urban climate
The 2022 Paname initiative 1 aims to better understand the causes and effects of climate change in urban environments through intensive measurement campaigns planned for the Paris region this summer. From the studies, information will be derived that is key to making cities more resilient to future climate realities.
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 01.04.2022 
Perseverance records the first ever sounds from Mars
Using a microphone developed in France, the Perseverance rover has recorded the first ever sounds from Mars audible to the human ear. By analysing these sounds, scientists have been able to find out more about the physical characteristics of the Martian atmosphere, and in particular about the speed of sound and its attenuation there.
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 13.01.2022 
A new model for the formation of the lunar crust
In a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters, two scientists - Chloé Michaut from Ecole normale supérieure de Lyon 1 and Jerome A. Neufeld from University of Cambridge 2 , propose a new model of crystallization of the lunar magma ocean where the crystals remain suspended in the lunar interior and the formation of the crust only begins once a critical crystal content is reached.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 21.12.2021 
Microplastic discovered in ’pristine’ Pyrenees mountain air
Previously detected in rivers, oceans, and snow, 1 microplastic has now been found in the high-altitude air surrounding the Pic du Midi (2,877 m)-by an international research team including scientists from the CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes, 2 and the University of Strathclyde (Scotland).
Environment - Earth Sciences - 13.10.2021 
Climate model shows that Venus could never have had oceans
Whether Venus, one of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets, ever had oceans remains an unsolved puzzle. Although an American study hypothesized involving in particular scientists from the CNRS and University of Versailles-Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines 1 (UVSQ). Using a state-of-the-art climate model, the research team has come up with an alternative scenario to the American study.
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 07.10.2021 
Mars: first results from the Perseverance rover
Images from Perseverance's French-American instrument SuperCam show that the crater where the rover landed once contained a lake. The SuperCam observations also identified strata containing boulders, related to a major change in the hydrological regime. This study, led by a French researcher, will facilitate selection of the most suitable areas for Perseverance to collect samples.
Earth Sciences - 22.09.2021 
Continental growth is not a continuous process
One of Earth's unique features is that it has continents. Contrary to many theories, the continents have always been rich in silica (which is found in quartz for example). The continents did not form continuously over time but result from episodic events throughout Earth's history. The continents, a specific feature of our planet, still hold many secrets.
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 10.08.2021
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 22.07.2021 
InSight Mission: Mars unveiled
Using information obtained from around a dozen earthquakes detected on Mars by the Very Broad Band SEIS seismometer, developed in France, the international team of NASA's InSight mission has unveiled the internal structure of Mars.
Earth Sciences - 18.05.2021
Earth Sciences - 10.05.2021
Earth Sciences - 11.04.2021
History / Archeology - Earth Sciences - 09.12.2020 
New evidence: Neandertals buried their dead
Was burial of the dead practiced by Neandertals or is it an innovation specific to our species? There are indications in favour of the first hypothesis but some scientists remain sceptical. For the first time in Europe, however, a multi-disciplinary team led by researchers at the CNRS and the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (France) and the University of the Basque Country (Spain) 1 has demonstrated, using a variety of criteria, that a Neandertal child was buried, probably around 41,000 years ago, at the Ferrassie site (Dordogne).
Environment - Earth Sciences - 07.12.2020 
Getting to the bottom of Arctic landslides
Erosion of the frozen soil of Arctic regions, known as permafrost, is creating large areas of subsidence, which has catastrophic impact in these regions sensitive to climate change. As the mechanisms behind these geological events are poorly understood, researchers from the Géosciences Paris Sud (GEOPS) laboratory (CNRS / Université Paris-Saclay), in cooperation with the Melnikov Permafrost Institute in Yakutsk, Russia, conducted a cold room 1 simulation of landslides, or slumps, caused by accelerated breakdown of the permafrost.
Earth Sciences
Results 1 - 20 of 56.
The North Alfeo Fault runs across the seafloor at the base of Mount Etna, the tallest and currently most active European volcano, next to an urban area with a population of one million. The Focus project seeks to better understand seismic processes in action and allow for surveillance of movement along the fault.
A CO2 sink in the South Pacific ocean desert
A newly identified process of natural iron fertilization in the ocean fuels regional CO2 sinks. This was demonstrated by a study published May 25 in Science and co-authored by 25 researchers from the Tonga project. This project was led by two researchers from the IRD and CNRS, with over 90 scientists from 14 French laboratories based in mainland France, New Caledonia, and 6 international universities.
A newly identified process of natural iron fertilization in the ocean fuels regional CO2 sinks. This was demonstrated by a study published May 25 in Science and co-authored by 25 researchers from the Tonga project. This project was led by two researchers from the IRD and CNRS, with over 90 scientists from 14 French laboratories based in mainland France, New Caledonia, and 6 international universities.
Mapping the chemistry of the Earth’s mantle
Publication of the LGL-TPE in the journal PNAS on November 21, 2022. CNRS-INSU communication on December 7, 2022. In the 1980s, geochemical observations led researchers to propose a geodynamic model of the mantle's marbled structure. A team of scientists, some of whom are attached to the Laboratory of Geology of Lyon: Earth, Planets, Environment (LGL-TPE, CNRS/ENS de Lyon/Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University), has been working on this model using a seismological perspective.
Publication of the LGL-TPE in the journal PNAS on November 21, 2022. CNRS-INSU communication on December 7, 2022. In the 1980s, geochemical observations led researchers to propose a geodynamic model of the mantle's marbled structure. A team of scientists, some of whom are attached to the Laboratory of Geology of Lyon: Earth, Planets, Environment (LGL-TPE, CNRS/ENS de Lyon/Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University), has been working on this model using a seismological perspective.
For the first time, zinc isotope ratios in tooth enamel have been analysed with the aim of identifying the diet of a Neanderthal. Other chemical tracers indicate that this individual did not consume the blood of their prey, but ate the bone marrow without consuming the bones. A new study published on october 17th in the journal PNAS , led by a CNRS researcher, has for the first time used zinc isotope analysis to determine the position of Neanderthals in the food chain.
On February 21, 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover landed in the Jezero Crater on Mars. In October 1 , the rover confirmed the importance of its landing site, showing that Jezero Crater really was the site of a lake 3.6 billion years ago. Perseverance's geological discoveries in the crater's floor are described in four papers published on August 25, 2022 in Science and Science Advances .
Until now, it has been assumed that the oxygenation of the oceans over geological timescales has mainly been driven by atmospheric oxygen levels. However, a new study published in Nature June 27 2022 suggests otherwise. Work by scientists at the Biogeosciences Laboratory (CNRS/UBFC), together with their colleagues at the University of California's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, shows that the movement of tectonic plates has probably contributed to ocean oxygenation.
The 2022 Paname initiative 1 aims to better understand the causes and effects of climate change in urban environments through intensive measurement campaigns planned for the Paris region this summer. From the studies, information will be derived that is key to making cities more resilient to future climate realities.
Using a microphone developed in France, the Perseverance rover has recorded the first ever sounds from Mars audible to the human ear. By analysing these sounds, scientists have been able to find out more about the physical characteristics of the Martian atmosphere, and in particular about the speed of sound and its attenuation there.
In a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters, two scientists - Chloé Michaut from Ecole normale supérieure de Lyon 1 and Jerome A. Neufeld from University of Cambridge 2 , propose a new model of crystallization of the lunar magma ocean where the crystals remain suspended in the lunar interior and the formation of the crust only begins once a critical crystal content is reached.
Previously detected in rivers, oceans, and snow, 1 microplastic has now been found in the high-altitude air surrounding the Pic du Midi (2,877 m)-by an international research team including scientists from the CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes, 2 and the University of Strathclyde (Scotland).
Whether Venus, one of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets, ever had oceans remains an unsolved puzzle. Although an American study hypothesized involving in particular scientists from the CNRS and University of Versailles-Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines 1 (UVSQ). Using a state-of-the-art climate model, the research team has come up with an alternative scenario to the American study.
Images from Perseverance's French-American instrument SuperCam show that the crater where the rover landed once contained a lake. The SuperCam observations also identified strata containing boulders, related to a major change in the hydrological regime. This study, led by a French researcher, will facilitate selection of the most suitable areas for Perseverance to collect samples.
One of Earth's unique features is that it has continents. Contrary to many theories, the continents have always been rich in silica (which is found in quartz for example). The continents did not form continuously over time but result from episodic events throughout Earth's history. The continents, a specific feature of our planet, still hold many secrets.
Mars: first results from the Perseverance rover
Publication of LGL-TPE in Science on October 7, 2021. CNRS press release on October 7, 2021. The Perseverance rover has now confirmed the suitability of its landing site: Jezero crater really did contain a lake, into which a river flowed through a delta 3.6 billion years ago. Led by a CNRS researcher, the international team involved scientists in France from Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier , and published its findings on October 7 in Science.
Publication of LGL-TPE in Science on October 7, 2021. CNRS press release on October 7, 2021. The Perseverance rover has now confirmed the suitability of its landing site: Jezero crater really did contain a lake, into which a river flowed through a delta 3.6 billion years ago. Led by a CNRS researcher, the international team involved scientists in France from Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier , and published its findings on October 7 in Science.
Using information obtained from around a dozen earthquakes detected on Mars by the Very Broad Band SEIS seismometer, developed in France, the international team of NASA's InSight mission has unveiled the internal structure of Mars.
Colonisation of the Antilles by South American fauna: giant sunken islands as a passageway?
Communication from CNRS on May 18, 2021. Publication of LGL-TPE in the June 2021 issue of Earth-Science Reviews. Fossils of land animals from South America have been found in the Antilles. The appearance/disappearance of archipelagos is due to tectonic plate movements and glacial-interglacial cycles.
Communication from CNRS on May 18, 2021. Publication of LGL-TPE in the June 2021 issue of Earth-Science Reviews. Fossils of land animals from South America have been found in the Antilles. The appearance/disappearance of archipelagos is due to tectonic plate movements and glacial-interglacial cycles.
Present-day geodynamics of the Western Alps: new insights from earthquake mechanisms
Publication of LGL-TPE in the journal Solid Earth on July 21, 2021. Due to the low to moderate seismicity of the European Western Alps, few focal mechanisms are available in this region to this day, and the corresponding current seismic stress and strain fields remain partly elusive. The development of dense seismic networks in past decades now provides a substantial number of seismic records in the 0-5 magnitude range.
Publication of LGL-TPE in the journal Solid Earth on July 21, 2021. Due to the low to moderate seismicity of the European Western Alps, few focal mechanisms are available in this region to this day, and the corresponding current seismic stress and strain fields remain partly elusive. The development of dense seismic networks in past decades now provides a substantial number of seismic records in the 0-5 magnitude range.
A poorly mixed mantle transition zone and its thermal state inferred from seismic waves
Study by the LGL-TPE published Geoscience on November 4, 2021. The abrupt changes in mineralogical properties across the Earth's mantle transition zone substantially impact convection and thermochemical fluxes between the upper and lower mantle. While the 410-km discontinuity at the top of the mantle transition zone is detected with all types of seismic waves, the 660-km boundary is mostly invisible to underside P-wave reflections (P660P).
Study by the LGL-TPE published Geoscience on November 4, 2021. The abrupt changes in mineralogical properties across the Earth's mantle transition zone substantially impact convection and thermochemical fluxes between the upper and lower mantle. While the 410-km discontinuity at the top of the mantle transition zone is detected with all types of seismic waves, the 660-km boundary is mostly invisible to underside P-wave reflections (P660P).
Was burial of the dead practiced by Neandertals or is it an innovation specific to our species? There are indications in favour of the first hypothesis but some scientists remain sceptical. For the first time in Europe, however, a multi-disciplinary team led by researchers at the CNRS and the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (France) and the University of the Basque Country (Spain) 1 has demonstrated, using a variety of criteria, that a Neandertal child was buried, probably around 41,000 years ago, at the Ferrassie site (Dordogne).
Erosion of the frozen soil of Arctic regions, known as permafrost, is creating large areas of subsidence, which has catastrophic impact in these regions sensitive to climate change. As the mechanisms behind these geological events are poorly understood, researchers from the Géosciences Paris Sud (GEOPS) laboratory (CNRS / Université Paris-Saclay), in cooperation with the Melnikov Permafrost Institute in Yakutsk, Russia, conducted a cold room 1 simulation of landslides, or slumps, caused by accelerated breakdown of the permafrost.
