Columnar stalagmites in Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico (USA). Credit: Dave Bunnell/Under Earth Images (CC BY-SA 2.5 license)

Scientists discover formula that explains stalagmite shapes

The shapes of stalagmites, upward-growing rock formations in caves, depend on the conditions in which they formed, and a single mathematical formula can describe these shapes, researchers say.

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    Earth

    European glaciers show sharpest global decline, scientist warns

    Glacial melting is advancing fastest in Europe, where relatively small mountain glaciers have lost up to 38.7% of their mass over the past 24 years, according to scientists.

  • Photo: Łukasz Stachnik's press materials
    Earth

    Polish-led study reveals how Arctic glacier feeds nutrients into ocean ecosystems

    An international team of scientists, including a researcher from the University of Wrocław, has identified new mechanisms by which the Werenskiold Glacier in the Hornsund region of Spitsbergen supplies nutrients such as iron and silicon to Arctic ecosystems.

  • 21.03.2025 View of the swollen Manzanares River in Madrid. EPA/MARISCAL
    Earth

    Europe making progress on flood losses, but floods remain inevitable, study finds

    Floods cannot be eliminated, but their human and economic toll in Europe has been steadily decreasing over the last several decades, according to a new study analyzing more than 1,700 floods across the continent since the 1950s.

  • Arctic research. Credit: Cracow University of Technology/Monika Szlapa and research team archive
    Earth

    Polish scientists study effects of climate change above Arctic Circle

    Polish researchers are studying how climate change is reshaping the Mackenzie River Delta in Canada’s Northwest Territories, more than 300 kilometers above the Arctic Circle.

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    Earth

    19 Polish lakes and rivers achieve top water quality class

    Nineteen rivers and lakes in Poland have met the highest European Union water quality standards, according to a list compiled by the Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection (GIOŚ) for the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

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    Earth

    From gold to radioactive crystals, Poland is home to rare and exotic minerals

    Poland is home to dozens of rare and remarkable minerals, from shimmering sapphires and gold to radioactive autunite and toxic arsenopyrite. According to Bartłomiej Kajdas of the Jagiellonian University’s Natural Education Centre, many of these unique geological specimens are found in only a few places in the country - and some are known mainly from century-old reports.

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    Earth

    Scientists investigate how climate change affects Arctic water cycle

    Average temperatures in the Arctic are rising, especially in the summer; the amount of precipitation is also increasing. Polish scientists working in Svalbard have investigated how warming and the behaviour of permafrost affect the water cycle.

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    Life

    Hydrologist: Heavy rains do not solve drought problem, they actually make it worse

    Poland is not threatened with desertification in the coming decades, but we to have the problem of drought. Droughts are more frequent, cover larger areas of the country and are more intense. Heavy rains do not solve the problem; they bring the risk of flooding, they do not end droughts, emphasises ecohydrologist Sebastian Szklarek, PhD.

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    Earth

    Warsaw physicists' study: Dripping water hollows out a stone and records the climate history

    Through slow but constant erosion, water shapes the surface of the earth, carving in soluble rocks. An international team with the participation of Polish researchers found that a record of climate history is preserved in the shapes of vertical channels in limestone rocks, called karstic solution pipes.

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    Childhood trauma can affect breast milk composition and child's temperament, study finds

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Warsaw, 12.05.2023. Copernicus Science Centre metro station in Warsaw. PAP/Szymon Pulcyn

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