This drone reveals what lies beneath snow and soil
Using self-developed drones and advanced sensors, researchers can now see both under the snow and into the ground. The scientists' goal is to reduce societal risk and environmental encroachment.
Aeromagnetic surveying is a geophysical exploration method that measures spatial variations in the Earth’s magnetic field from an airborne platform, typically using high-sensitivity proton-precession, optically pumped, or fluxgate magnetometers mounted on fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters. The method detects contrasts in magnetic susceptibility and remanent magnetization of subsurface rocks, enabling mapping of lithological boundaries, structural features, and buried igneous bodies. Data acquisition incorporates precise navigation (e.g., GPS), altitude control, and base-station corrections to remove diurnal variations. Subsequent processing (leveling, filtering, reduction to the pole, and derivative calculations) produces anomaly maps used in mineral, hydrocarbon, and crustal-structure studies.
Using self-developed drones and advanced sensors, researchers can now see both under the snow and into the ground. The scientists' goal is to reduce societal risk and environmental encroachment.
Earth Sciences
Apr 16, 2026
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What do bats do at night when they're not hunting? Using tiny GPS trackers, Leiden researchers discovered that pond bats spend a substantial portion of the night resting—often outdoors. This surprising insight could change ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 14, 2026
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In the heart of the Marais Poitevin regional nature park, the second-largest wetland in France, a scientific team led by a CNRS researcher has demonstrated the ability of clay soils to self-organize into geometric patterns. ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 25, 2026
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With almost a third of cacti species threatened with extinction, a new open-access database of cactus ecology and evolution could help scientists and conservationists save species from the brink.
Plants & Animals
Mar 25, 2026
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Freshwater streams, ponds and lakes across the United States are becoming saltier, and new research from the University of Missouri shows the damage may be greater than scientists once thought. Scientists at Mizzou's College ...
Ecology
Feb 12, 2026
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In the plant world, when two different species mate, their offspring often don't survive. The reason lies in their DNA: incompatible genes often mix in their offspring, triggering a fatal breakdown known as hybrid lethality ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Feb 4, 2026
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45
From land-borne pathogens to high-speed vessel strikes, Pacific whales and dolphins are caught in a "perfect storm" where human-caused trauma and infectious diseases were found in more than 65% of investigated strandings.
Ecology
Dec 22, 2025
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The last two decades have seen a revolution in scientists' ability to reconstruct the past. This has been made possible through technological advances in the way DNA is extracted from ancient bones and analyzed.
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 2, 2025
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Open semi-natural settings in urban areas—like parks and golf courses teeming with plants and small mammals—are possible hotspots for interaction between coyotes and humans, a new study suggests.
Plants & Animals
Nov 19, 2025
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A habitat-building coralline algae that provides a vital nursing ground for marine species and an important blue carbon ecosystem has been genetically mapped around south-west Britain in a first-of-its-kind study.
Plants & Animals
Nov 17, 2025
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