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A team of geologists from the University of Innsbruck examined the sediments of Carinthian lakes for traces of past earthquakes. The results show that the earthquake of 1348 caused the strongest shaking in the Carinthian region since the end of the last cold period. Earthquakes with potential building damage are rare there, but can occur in temporal clusters .

New research method shows that the material likely comes from northern Italy The almost 11 cm high figurine from Willendorf is one of the most important examples of early art in Europe. It is made of a rock called "oolite" which is not found in or around Willendorf.

New evidence for the presence of Homo sapiens in western Europe more than 50,000 years ago An international team of researchers has revealed new evidence for the presence of Homo sapiens in western Europe more than 50,000 years ago. The results of a 30-year programme of research from a cave in the heart of the Rhône Valley of France show that the traditional story of the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans was much longer and more complex than previously thought.

By Beate Mosing A physicist at TU Graz is developing a new method to make the processes in our atmosphere visible. If we think this through, it opens up new opportunities for environmental research - and perhaps even potential for counteracting climate change. The ozone layer in the Earth's stratosphere "swallows" rays and in this way protects humans and animals from radiation damage.

Study shows that microplastics do not contribute to the mobility of organic pollutants in agricultural soils In agriculture, large quantities of nanoand microplastics end up in the soil through compost, sewage sludge and the use of mulching foils. The plastic particles always carry various pollutants with them.

By Christoph Pelzl The influence of solar events on satellite-based applications such as orbit determination, telecommunications or navigation is being investigated by two research projects with the participation of TU Graz. Solar storms and similar events can cause sustainable damages to electronic systems on Earth, as well as on satellites.

By Cornelia Kröpfl, BA MA If the groundwater rises sharply, flooding can be imminent. The Tom and Jerry satellites, chasing each other high above the earth, help make important predictions - including about climate change. Between 200 and 300 gigatons of mass is lost from Greenland each year. "A gigaton is an ice cube the size of a cubic kilometre," Torsten Mayer-Gürr makes this - literally - gigantic consequence of climate change strikingly clear.

By Christoph Pelzl The study results are based on investigations of repeated mass movements and are expected to benefit planning, maintenance, and development of transportation infrastructure in affected areas. Mass movements such as landslides and hill-slope debris flows cause billions of euros in economic damage around the world every year.

By Christoph Pelzl Research association led by TU Graz wants to use the heat contained in the discharged tunnel water to supply energy to entire city districts. As part of the FFG programme "City of the Future", a sustainable concept for the city of Innsbruck is being developed. Additional Images for download at the end of the text After completion in about ten years, the Brenner base tunnel is expected to provide relief for transit traffic between Italy and Austria.

Experimental microbially assisted chemolithotrophy provides an opportunity to trace the putative bioalteration processes of the Martian crust. A study on the Noachian Martian breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 composed of ancient (ca. Gyr old) crustal materials from Mars, led by ERC grantee Tetyana Milojevic from the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna, now delivered a unique prototype of microbial life experimentally designed on a real Martian material.

By Birgit Baustädter Neither hard like stone, nor soft like soil: transition rock is important for almost every construction project, but difficult to study. But this is now possible at the TU Graz. Transition rock is soft rock and hard soil; it is inhomogeneous, anisotropic and brittle. "This material can be found almost everywhere where building activities are undertaken.

By Christoph Pelzl Geological investigations of low-temperature young deposits on the Styrian Erzberg provide paleoclimatology with new data on the earth's history and its development. Additional at the end of the text How has the climate changed in the course of the earth's history? Which climatic processes have influenced the earth and its atmosphere? Paleoclimatology seeks answers to such questions in order to better understand climate changes and to derive forecasts for future climate scenarios.

Several minerals suffer radioactive self-irradiation and hence experience long-term changes of their properties. The mineral monazite virtually behaves "just alike Camembert cheese in which holes are drilled": Existing radiation damage heals itself. An international research team led by Lutz Nasdala, Institute of Mineralogy and Crystallography, University of Vienna, conducted an ion-irradiation study that has unravelled the causes of the self-healing of monazite.

Fossil vertebrae give insights into growth and extinction of an enigmatic shark group Scientists of the University of Vienna examined parts of a vertebral column, which was found in northern Spain in 1996, and assigned it to the extinct shark group Ptychodontidae. In contrast to teeth, shark vertebrae bear biological information, like body size, growth, and age and allowed the team surrounding Patrick L. Jambura to gain new insights into the biology of this mysterious shark group.

By Birgit Baustädter Torsten Mayer-Gürr surveys the Earth. He may work in an office in Steyrergasse in Graz, but his measuring device flies more than 400 kilometres overhead. Over 400 kilometres above us in the heavens, Tom and Jerry chased each other for years. One of them always out in front, the other in hot pursuit at a varying distance.

By Christoph Pelzl Researchers at TU Graz calculate the most accurate gravity field determination of the Earth using 1.16 billion satellite measurements. This yields valuable knowledge for climate research. The Earth's gravity fluctuates from place to place. Geodesists use this phenomenon to observe geodynamic and climatological processes.

In order to understand the global carbon cycle, deep-sea exploration is essential, an international team led by geologists from Innsbruck concludes. For the first time, they succeeded in quantifying the amount of organic carbon transported into the deep sea by a single tectonic event, the giant Tohoku-oki earthquake in 2011.

350,000 years of climate history hidden in Devils Hole cave: Geologists from the University of Innsbruck study rainfall patterns in the distant past to better understand how deserts in the southwest United States will be impacted by future climate change. Beneath the Amargosa desert of the southwest United States lies a hidden gem for climate research.

The International Astronomical Union has agreed on a new reference frame for directions in space. TU Wien played an important role in developing this new frame. In future, when spacecrafts are sent to other planets or when the rotation of planet Earth is studied, a new reference frame will be used. On 30 August, at the General Meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Vienna, the new international celestial reference frame ICRF3 was adopted, allowing for more precise directional specifications in space.

Mud stories provide new insights in the seismic hazard along the Chilean subduction zone By analyzing sediment cores from Chilean lakes, an international team of scientists discovered that giant earthquakes reoccur with relatively regular intervals. When also taking into account smaller earthquakes, the repeat interval becomes increasingly more irregular to a level where earthquakes happen randomly in time.