Science Media Centre

A massive week for earth science Barely a week on from last Saturday’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Canterbury, scientists have paused to outline what they have learned about the quake from examining the previously undiscovered fault and seismographic and GPS data that has been gathered in the region. Dr Ken Gledhill, Duty Seismologist at GNS [...]

Anthony Doesburg writes in the NZ Herald about soil carbon, and scientists’ efforts to measure just how much is contained in our ground and how to increase, rather than decrease, it. Soil contains more carbon than the atmosphere and plants combined, but as yet there’s no accurate way to measure just how much there is. [...]

A visiting soil scientist says that conventional farming practices prevent soil from increasing its carbon content – soil carbon is important for healthy soil and healthy crops. Soil is also able to store more carbon than trees and other plants. An excerpt: (read in full here) “They say increasing carbon storage in soil can reduce [...]

Concerns raised about nanoparticles Creating materials on the nanoscale is an area of science tipped to hold huge potential for everything from energy production to personalised healthcare. But some observers argue that industry is jumping the gun on releasing products containing nanoparticles before adequate research has been done into their safety. The New Zealand Herald [...]

ONLINE MEDIA BRIEFING: Thurs 24 June, 10:30 am (NZT) Did you know that there’s more carbon in the dirt beneath our feet than in the air above our heads? Soils hold at least twice as much carbon as the atmosphere, and they also store more carbon than the world’s forests and other vegetation combined. Although [...]

Soil carbon and cutting emissions Did you know that there’s more carbon in the dirt beneath our feet than in the air above our heads? Soils hold at least twice as much carbon as the atmosphere, and they also store more carbon than the world’s forests and other vegetation combined. Although soil carbon has been [...]