Earth Sciences Royal Holloway University of London

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Earth Sciences Royal Holloway University of London

We are a top Earth Sciences department located in a beautiful country campus near London.

06/05/2026

📢 Summer Research Internship Opportunity: Impacts of Climate Change on Meteorite Preservation 🌠❄️🌍

Freshly fallen meteorites preserve critical clues about the history of our Solar System, including the delivery of water and organic matter to early Earth. With over 60% of the world’s meteorites recovered from Antarctica, climate change now threatens their survival—by 2050, a quarter may be lost to melting ice.

This 6‑week summer internship will explore how climate change impacts the chemical and organic preservation of meteorites, using simulated projected Antarctic conditions.

🔬 Hands‑on lab training
🌍 Planetary science meets climate change
🧪 Meteorites, geochemistry & astrobiology

Led by Dr Queenie Chan at , this 6‑week NERC Research Experience Placement (REP) internship offers undergraduates in Chemistry, Earth Sciences, or Physics the chance to take part in cutting‑edge research on our planet and Solar System.

The NERC REP scheme aims to address both thematic skills gaps and demographic and diversity-related challenges in the environmental sciences by offering funding to support paid summer placements for undergraduate students.

The deadline for applications will be midday (12 noon BST) on Wednesday 20 May 2026.

📌 More information and application details can be found here:
👉 https://aries-dtp.ac.uk/reps/impacts-of-climate-change-on-meteorite-preservation-rep-2026/

ClimateChange Antarctica Geochemistry STEMInternship RoyalHolloway NERC

📸 Image credit: Cindy Evans, NASA

01/05/2026

🌿 Fieldwork at Stiffkey Marsh, Norfolk 🌿

From intertidal zones to the lab bench, our students took science from field to data during a field trip to Stiffkey Marsh, North Norfolk. In the field, students filtered pond waters to investigate water chemistry and collected sediment cores for detailed analysis back in the lab 🧪💧 🌱

This hands‑on fieldwork links coastal processes, analytical techniques, and real environmental datasets—a core part of our teaching in the department .

22/04/2026

Not Just a Carbon Sink: Weathering Found to Drive Ancient Global Warming 🌍

A new reconstruction has shown that chemical weathering can contribute to global warming. 🌡️

The study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that weathering of carbon-rich sedimentary rocks can release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, and shows that this process contributed to rising temperatures in the Early Jurassic, 183 million years ago.

This important new study highlights an overlooked climate mechanism that may have also been active in other periods of geological time.

Professor Alex Dickson, from , is a co‑author of the study.

As Alex explains:
“We show that carbon dioxide released by the oxidative weathering of organic-rich rocks helped drive a well-known episode of rapid global warming in the geological past. Our results show that there are parts of the global carbon cycle we do still not fully understand. This study builds on many years of research to develop the rhenium isotope proxy for this process, which now opens up the opportunity to explore how weathering controlled carbon dioxide release in other periods of Earth’s history.”

This study is the culmination of a decade of collaborative research by the Earth Surface Geochemistry research group at the University of Oxford, the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway University of London and the University of Durham.

The study ‘Rhenium isotopes reveal enhanced rock organic carbon oxidation over the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event’ is available to read in the journal Nature Communications at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71533-6. The research was funded by a grant from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

17/04/2026

🌍 250 years of methane science—and the work continues.

This year marks 250 since years since Alessandro Volta discovered methane (inflammable air) in the marshes at Lake Maggiore in Italy. Earlier this month, around 200 methane scientists and policy makers gathered near Lake Maggiore at the European Commission JRC (Ispra) to highlight the latest science on methane emission, monitoring and solutions, and the policy and technology steps needed to rapidly cut methane emissions.

We were so pleased also to see Professor Euan Nisbet receiving the career achievement award for methane science 🏅, for his visionary leadership, his relentless pursuit of scientific clarity and his profound impact on our ability to monitor and respond to the climate crisis. Euan has been inspirational in his insights and communication of methane science over the last 40 years.

👏 Congratulations, Euan, on a truly well‑deserved honour.

EarthSciences AtmosphericScience ClimatePolicy ScienceLeadership EnergyTransition JRCIspra

03/04/2026

Almería field course 🇪🇸🌍

A week immersed in Earth and environmental sciences across one of Europe’s most unique semiarid landscapes, offering stunning rock exposures. From the El Gordo submarine mass transport deposit in Tabernas to Messinian evaporites in Sorbas, we explored how past climates and basin histories shape the rocks we see today.

At the Plataforma Solar de Almería, we learned how modern renewable energy systems can operate effectively in desert environments, linking geoscience with sustainable solutions.

We continued the journey by exploring the Los Frailes volcanic domes and the remains of the El Hoyazo volcano, setting the scene for the region’s highly active magmatic history.

We also investigated the legacy of mining at Rodalquilar, examining ore bodies alongside tailings analysis to assess environmental impact, contamination pathways, and long-term landscape recovery.

A field course centred on sedimentology, structural geology, economic geology, and environmental geochemistry—connecting Earth’s history with present-day challenges.

EconomicGeology Geochemistry Sustainability Almeria

30/03/2026

It was the Science Festival royalholloway on last Saturday, we had a day of exploration, inspiration, and Earth-powered fun! The university was arranged into science zones packed with hands-on activities and live demos. Whether you're passionate about the planet, curious about climate science, or just love discovering how things work, there was something for everyone 🌍

10/03/2026

A small piece of space has arrived just in time for British Science Week! Our Astro-materials lab (Dr. Queenie Chan and Dr. Diptimayee Behera) has received a loaned sample of the Paris meteorite, a rare and exceptionally well-preserved carbonaceous meteorite. Many thanks to the curating team at Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France, for enabling this exciting research opportunity.

04/03/2026

Today our second and third year undergraduate students went to Cooper's Hill on our Geohazards field trip to see a landslide case study close by.

02/03/2026

More vibrant moments from our Mardi Gras celebration! From fun costumes to stunning masks, everyone brought the festive spirit to life. We had an amazing time capturing joy and laughter of the day. 💜💛💚
Thanks to everyone who joined in on the fun—your energy made it unforgettable!
Royal Holloway, University of London

17/02/2026

Our Departmental EDI event, Pancake Day inspired by the vibrant spirit of Mardi Gras, is happening now in our department foyer until 2pm. Please come and join us if you are around 🥞🎭❤️

Address

Department Of Earth Sciences Queens Building Royal Holloway University Of London Egham Hill
Egham
TW200EX

Website

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/research-and-teaching/departments-and-schools/earth-sciences/

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