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Heat death by volcano and other stories

New insights into Tonga’s cataclysmic volcanic eruption revealed at the European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna – a huge gathering of earth scientists from around the world.

Science in Action this week comes from a vast gathering of earth scientists in Vienna, at the general assembly of the European Geosciences Union.

Roland Pease hears the latest insights into the cataclysmic eruption of Hunga Tonga in the Pacific ocean from volcanologist Shane Cronin of the University of Auckland.

He also talks to NASA's Michael Way about how the planet Venus might have acquired its hellish super-greenhouse atmosphere, and how the same thing could happen to planet Earth.

There’s intriguing research from geologist John Tarduno of the University of Rochester that hints of a link between the ups and downs of the Earth’s magnetic field and the evolutionary history of animals.

Fraser Lott of the UK's Hadley Centre explains his ideas for calculating an individual person's responsibility for climate change-driven extreme weather events.

Image: Multi-beam sonar map of Hunga Tonga volcano post-eruption
Credit: Shane Cronin/Uni of Auckland/Tonga Geological Services

Presenter: Roland Pease
Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker

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30 minutes

Last on

Sun 29 May 2022 01:32GMT

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  • Thu 26 May 2022 19:32GMT
  • Fri 27 May 2022 03:32GMT
  • Fri 27 May 2022 04:32GMT
  • Fri 27 May 2022 08:32GMT
  • Fri 27 May 2022 12:32GMT
  • Fri 27 May 2022 19:32GMT
  • Sun 29 May 2022 01:32GMT

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