News | School of Earth Sciences | University of Bristol

Researchers discover overlooked Jurassic Park of lizards 3 May 2022 Scientists have found that a key modern group of reptiles that includes lizards and snakes – known as squamates – diverged in the Jurassic period, 50 million years earlier than previously thought.

Large bodies helped extinct marine reptiles with long necks swim, study finds 28 April 2022 Scientists at the University of Bristol have discovered that body size is more important than body shape in determining the energy economy of swimming for aquatic animals.

€8 million ERC grants awarded for diverse range of research projects 26 April 2022 Three researchers from the University of Bristol have been awarded European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grants totalling around €8 million. This places the University third in the UK in terms of the number of Advanced Grants awarded from the 2021 call.

Scientists discover when beetles became prolific 23 March 2022 Researchers at the University of Bristol have found that beetles first roamed the world in the Carboniferous and later diversified alongside the earliest dinosaurs during the Triassic and Jurassic.

A sulphurous end for the dinosaurs, according to new research 21 March 2022 Climate cooling associated with sulphur gases directly contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs, research carried out at the Universities of St Andrews and Bristol has found.

Ancient ancestors evolved to be strong and snappy, study finds 18 March 2022 Researchers, led by the University of Bristol, have shown that the earliest jaws in the fossil record were caught in a trade-off between maximising their strength and their speed.

Bristol scientist has key voice in new global report highlighting grave peril posed by human-induced climate change and urgent need to act 28 February 2022 Human-induced climate change is wreaking havoc in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, despite efforts to reduce the risks. People and ecosystems least able to cope are being hardest hit, according to leading scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released today.

Advanced computer simulations shed intriguing new light on magma deep below Earth’s surface 14 February 2022 Unlike the classic Jules Verne science fiction novel Journey to the Center of the Earth or movie The Core, humans cannot venture into the Earth’s interior beyond a few kilometres of its surface. But thanks to latest advances in computer modelling, an international team of researchers led by the University of Bristol has shed new light on the properties and behaviour of magma found several hundreds of kilometres deep within the Earth.

When Europe was flooded by the oceans 4 February 2022 About 200 million years ago, much of Europe was transformed by a huge flood. What had been land, occupied by early dinosaurs and other reptiles, was covered by shallow seawater, from Poland in the east to Wales and south-west England in the west.

Muscular study provides new information about how the largest dinosaurs moved and evolved 19 January 2022 New research led by the University of Bristol has revealed how giant 50-tonne sauropod dinosaurs, like Diplodocus, evolved from much smaller ancestors, like the wolf-sized Thecodontosaurus

Study offers new insights into when modern mammals evolved 22 December 2021 A new study has provided the most detailed timeline of mammal evolution to date.

Extinct reptile discovery reveals earliest origins of human teeth, study finds 21 December 2021 A new extinct reptile species has shed light on how our earliest ancestors became top predators by modifying their teeth in response to environmental instability around 300 million years ago.

Flowering plants: an evolution revolution 17 November 2021 Researchers at the University of Bristol have identified the huge impact of flowering plants on the evolution of life on Earth.

Rapidly evolving species more likely to go extinct, study suggests 10 November 2021 Researchers at the University of Bristol have found that fast evolution can lead to nowhere.

Pioneering measurement techniques on display at COP26 hold key to effectively combat climate change 8 November 2021 Leading atmospheric scientists are measuring emissions of the most dangerous greenhouse gases at COP26 and sharing them live online to highlight how rigorous measurement and detailed data reporting are essential in the fight against climate change.

Leading global experts set to join charge against climate change at COP26 25 October 2021 A team of University of Bristol experts on a wide range of hot topics spanning climate change, environmental justice, emissions, sustainable energy, green finance and the economy are poised to join the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as COP26.

Bristol’s Engineering, Education and Medicine courses among best in the country, Sunday Times and Guardian find 17 September 2021 The University of Bristol is among the best places in the country to study Engineering, Education and Medicine.

SARS-CoV-2 transmission model suggests primary school infection could be greater this autumn than in 2020 13 September 2021 The SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has already had a major impact on children's education, with schools having been required to implement infection control measures that have led to long periods of absence and classroom closures. With the new school year underway, risk modelling specialists at the University of Bristol have developed a new epidemiological model for SARS-CoV-2 transmission that forecasts primary school infection outbreaks could be more frequent and possibly substantially larger this autumn than in 2020, due to the more transmissive and infectious Delta variant and projected increase in community infection.

Skull of 340 million year old animal digitally recreated revealing secrets of ancient amphibian 3 August 2021 Researchers from the University of Bristol and University College London have used cutting-edge techniques to digitally reconstruct the skull of one of the earliest limbed animals.

Newly-hatched pterosaurs may have been able to fly 22 July 2021 Newly-hatched pterosaurs may have been able to fly but their flying abilities may have been different from adult pterosaurs, according to a new study.