How to Drop an Ocean Bottom Ismometer

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Yevgeni's idea to drop a probe to the foot of the glacier seemed scientifically sound. But when it came to actually trying it out, well, that proved more challenging. He simply didn't have access to the kind of resources so logists usually use for readings on the ocean floor. So he had to get creative and gone at the help of some innuit greenlanders who know the area better than any one. Mindful that skyscraper sized icebergs could f overwhelm their tiny boat they lifted the probe into the water.

Researchers debate whether an ancient fossil is the oldest animal yet discovered, and a new way to eavesdrop on glaciers.

In this episode:

01:04 Early sponge

This week in Nature, a researcher claims to have found a fossil sponge from 890-million-years-ago. If confirmed, this would be more than 300-million-years older than the earliest uncontested animal fossils but not all palaeontologists are convinced.

Research Article: Turner

10:13 Research Highlights

A caffeine buzz appears to improve bees’ memory, and reconstructing an Iron Age man’s final meal.

Research Highlight: A caffeine buzz gives bees flower power

Research Highlight: The guts of a ‘bog body’ reveal sacrificed man’s final meal

12:34 Eavesdropping on a glacier’s base

We hear about one researcher’s unorthodox attempt to listen in to the seismic-whisper at the foot of a Greenland glacier – a method that might reveal more about conditions under these enormous blocks of ice.

Research Article: Podolskiy et al.

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