Analysing lava flows that solidified and then broke apart over a massive crack in the Earth’s crust in Turkey has brought new insights into how continents move over time, improving our understanding of earthquake risks.

In what could represent a milestone in ecological restoration, researchers have implemented a method capable of restoring peatlands at tens of thousands of oil and gas exploration sites in Western Canada. 

Researchers from the University of Waterloo led the project that involves lowering the surface of these decommissioned sites, known as well pads, and transplanting native moss onto them to effectively recreate peatlands. This is the first time researchers have applied the method to scale on an entire well pad. The study found that the technique results in sufficient water for the growth of peatland moss across large portions of the study site.