EurekAlert! News by Subject: Earth Science - News by Subject: Earth Science

Earth Science

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 25-Dec-2025 06:11 ET (25-Dec-2025 11:11 GMT/UTC)

Prehistoric elephant footprints documented for first time in fossil dunes in Murcia

University of Seville
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from the University of Seville, the IACT-CSIC in Granada and the University of Huelva are participating in an international study that has described fossil footprints that could correspond to elephants from around 125,000 years ago

Journal: Quaternary Science Reviews

Do natural disasters have long-term impacts on mortality in older adults?

Wiley
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Severe weather events have long-term health consequences for vulnerable older adults, according to a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society based on data following Hurricane Harvey.

Journal: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Young shark species more vulnerable to extinction

University of Zurich
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Among sharks and rays, species within the first four million years of existence are significantly more likely to go extinct than older species, according to a study led by researchers from the University of Zurich based on fossils from the last 145 million years. This shows that in addition to environmental stressors, the evolutionary age of species also plays a crucial role in their survival.

Paleontologists find first fossil bee nests made inside fossil bones

Florida Museum of Natural History
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Paleontologists working in a cave on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola have discovered the first-known instance of ancient bees nesting inside pre-existing fossil cavities.

Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

These fossils were the perfect home for ancient baby bees

Field Museum
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Fossils of animal bones found in a cave contained dirt and sediment in their empty tooth sockets. A scientist realized that it wasn't just dirt-- he'd stumbled across the preserved nests of prehistoric bees that had laid their eggs in these bones. This is the first time that bees have been known to use bones or fossils as nests.

Journal: Royal Society Open Science

New study shows alkaline biochar boosts soil health in saline environments

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University

A new study published in Biochar reveals that alkaline biochar, a type of carbon-rich soil amendment, significantly improves microbial carbon use efficiency and nutrient cycling in saline-alkali soils. These findings could help farmers and land managers restore degraded soils in arid and semi-arid regions around the world.

Journal: Biochar

Study links seabird nesting to shark turf wars in Hawai‘i

University of Hawaii at Manoa
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study reveals a critical link between seasonal seabird nesting and the movements of top marine predators in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The research found that the annual summer arrival of fledgling seabirds at French Frigate Shoals concentrates tiger sharks in specific areas, forcing other species, including gray reef and Galapagos sharks, to drastically shift their own habitat use to avoid predation and competition.

Journal: Ecosphere
Funder: National Marine Sanctuary Program

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