Featured Stories
Visions of Research: reflecting the creativity and impact of the UQ community
BRISBANE, Australia, Sept. 14 -- The University of Queensland posted the following news:
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Visions of Research: reflecting the creativity and impact of the UQ community
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A selection of striking images capturing the breadth of research at The University of Queensland are on display at the Global Change Institute to mark this year's Research and Innovation Week (14-18 September).
The images have been shortlisted from the Visions of Research competition, which invited UQ staff and postgraduate students to share compelling visual representations of research across all disciplines, either
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BRISBANE, Australia, Sept. 14 -- The University of Queensland posted the following news:
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Visions of Research: reflecting the creativity and impact of the UQ community
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A selection of striking images capturing the breadth of research at The University of Queensland are on display at the Global Change Institute to mark this year's Research and Innovation Week (14-18 September).
The images have been shortlisted from the Visions of Research competition, which invited UQ staff and postgraduate students to share compelling visual representations of research across all disciplines, eitherthrough traditional photography, scientific and data visualisation or creative interpretation.
Dr Lauren Fothergill, from UQ's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, received the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Award for Best Overallfor her entry titled Lived Experience Leading Aged Care Research.
The winning photo features Gwenda Darling, a Palawa woman and passionate dementia and aged-care advocate, with her assistance dog Redleigh.
Gwenda is a member of the Lived Experience Advisory Group for UQ's Better Conversations About Care research project, led by Associate Professor Sarah Wallace, and her contribution to the project reflects the values of the research: real voices driving real change in aged care.
The picture was taken at the team's national forum for developing communication guidelines for aged care, where Gwenda presented about her experiences of communication in aged care services.
Professor Antony Moulis, who was a judge for the Visions of Research competition, said Dr Fothergill's photo stood out for its colour and vibrancy, but its real power lay in the connections it captured between people and their experiences of care.
"Great research begins with understanding those connections and finding ways to strengthen them, making this an especially inspiring image," Professor Moulis said.
UQ's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor Sue Harrison said the Visions of Research exhibition provided a window into the remarkable research taking place across the University.
"The quality of the entries is exceptional, and the images on display are a wonderful reflection of the creativity and impact of UQ's research community," Professor Harrison said.
"Research and Innovation Week is an opportunity for us to pause and celebrate the people whose ideas, commitment, and leadership make UQ research what it is.
"Research is central to UQ's identity as a university and expands knowledge, challenges assumptions and develops new ways of understanding the world."
#Visions of Research award recipients
Best Overall* Lived Experience Leading Aged Care Research: Dr Lauren Fothergill, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Photograph
* Winner
* A devastating day in the office: Dr Devin Rowell, School of the Environment
* Highly commended
* Grammar Written in Timber: Qianbin Xu, School of Architecture, Design and Planning
* Shear Power of Water: Professor Hubert Chanson, School of Civil Engineering
* Sunrise Ride: Dr Gregore Mielke, School of Public Health
Previous
Next
Non-photographic image
Winner
* Musings on a Neuron's Birth: Cooper Atterton, School of Biomedical Sciences
Highly commended
* Bloom from PFAS Destruction: Jingxi (Jeff) Li and He Xian, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
* Energy Stores: Dr Igor Bonacossa Pereira, Institute for Molecular Bioscience
* Magmatic Reservoir Sunset: Dr Sri Budhi Utami, School of the Environment
* River of Life: Nur Ainn Adabiah Adibah Mazlan, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Previous
Next
Creative image
Winner
* Natural product-derived compounds in clinical trials and drug approvals: Samara Jethwa, Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Highly commended
* Negotiating Postcolonial Subjectivities: Aaisha Umt Ur Rashid, School of Communication and Art
The Visions of Research exhibition will run from 14-18 September at the Global Change Institute (building 20).
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Original text here: https://news.uq.edu.au/2026-09-visions-research-reflecting-creativity-and-impact-uq-community
UQ researcher named State's Young Tall Poppy of the Year
BRISBANE, Australia, Sept. 14 -- The University of Queensland posted the following news:
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UQ researcher named State's Young Tall Poppy of the Year
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A biotechnology expert from UQ has been named the State's Young Tall Poppy of the Year for contributions to vaccine development.
Associate Professor Seth Cheetham received the top honour, with 8 other UQ researchers also recognised for significant contributions to science beyond the laboratory and inspiring young people to pursue STEM education and careers.
Dr Cheetham, who is a Group Leader at UQ's Australian Institute of Bioengineering
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BRISBANE, Australia, Sept. 14 -- The University of Queensland posted the following news:
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UQ researcher named State's Young Tall Poppy of the Year
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A biotechnology expert from UQ has been named the State's Young Tall Poppy of the Year for contributions to vaccine development.
Associate Professor Seth Cheetham received the top honour, with 8 other UQ researchers also recognised for significant contributions to science beyond the laboratory and inspiring young people to pursue STEM education and careers.
Dr Cheetham, who is a Group Leader at UQ's Australian Institute of Bioengineeringand Nanotechnology and Director of the National Biologics Facility, has pioneered mRNA vaccines and led a team who recently uncovered a new node which will accelerate potential treatments research for life-threatening diseases caused by DNA alterations.
The Awards are widely regarded as an indicator of Australia's future scientific leaders, with recipients joining a list of more than 100 scientists across Queensland since 2001.
The UQ 2026 Young Tall Poppy Award recipients for Queensland are:
* Associate Professor Seth Cheetham - Queensland Tall Poppy of the Year winner
* Dr Nagham Ailabouni
* Dr Michaela Blyton
* Dr Margaret Jane Moore
* Dr Giselle Newton
* Associate Professor Michael Noetel
* Dr Timothy Piatkowski
* Dr Debottam Sinha
* Dr Julian Steele
The annual Queensland Young Tall Poppy Science Awards are hosted by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science in partnership with the Department of the Environment, Science, Tourism and Innovation.
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Original text here: https://news.uq.edu.au/2026-09-uq-researcher-named-states-young-tall-poppy-year
Snail shells are surprise weather time capsules
BRISBANE, Australia, Sept. 14 -- The University of Queensland posted the following news:
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Snail shells are surprise weather time capsules
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#Key points
* Scientists have mapped the composition of a snail shell to weather records.
* Analysis showed rapid growth after extreme rainfall events.
* It means ancient shells could be used to reconstruct the paths of past cyclones.
Snails carry weather records on their backs that could be used to map prehistoric cyclones, a University of Queensland study has shown.
A project led by School of the Environment researchers examined the rings
... Show Full Article
BRISBANE, Australia, Sept. 14 -- The University of Queensland posted the following news:
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Snail shells are surprise weather time capsules
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#Key points
* Scientists have mapped the composition of a snail shell to weather records.
* Analysis showed rapid growth after extreme rainfall events.
* It means ancient shells could be used to reconstruct the paths of past cyclones.
Snails carry weather records on their backs that could be used to map prehistoric cyclones, a University of Queensland study has shown.
A project led by School of the Environment researchers examined the ringson the shell of a Biggenden Banded Snail (Figuladra bayensis) collected from Coalstoun Lakes National Park in South East Queensland, linking its bands to weather records.
Dr Nicholas Patton said tiny samples of the shell taken at millimetre intervals revealed the age of the snail, when it lived and the weather during its lifetime.
"We used high resolution radiocarbon dating to determine the age of the growth bands in the shell," Dr Patton said.
"It contained elevated levels of radiocarbon from the nuclear tests in Australia in the 1960s, meaning we could date the growth bands and reveal the snail had lived for about 4.5 years.
"Analysing the oxygen and carbon stable isotopes of the different bands revealed insights into the rainfall the snail experienced.
"What we saw was the shell did not grow continuously during the snail's life; there were periods of rapid growth separated by periods of little or no growth."
Honorary Professor Jamie Shulmeister said the team initially expected the rapid growth phases to correspond to years with heavier rainfall making more food available for the snail.
"But the results showed the snail was responding to extreme rainfall events rather than annual wetness," Honorary Professor Shulmeister said.
"Because we knew when the snail lived, the growth spurts could be linked to periods immediately following cyclones in 2015 and 2017.
"Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia and Tropical Cyclone Debbie both caused extreme rainfall within the Coalstoun Lakes National Park.
"It shows that snail shells could be used to map extreme weather events for periods before modern meteorological records.
"It was surprising and quite exciting that the humble snail could be a tool to reconstruct the paths of past cyclones even in prehistoric times."
The researchers' next step is to test the approach.
"If we are able to find shells within different layers of sediment deposits, we can combine the individual shell records together to extend this information further back in time," Dr Patton said.
Read the research published in The Holocene.
#Collaboration and acknowledgements
The research was completed with Professor Melanie Leng of the British Geological Survey and University of Nottingham, and Dr Quan Hua from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).
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Original text here: https://news.uq.edu.au/2026-09-snail-shells-are-surprise-weather-time-capsules
No place like home: Union strengthens its commitment to Empire State students with 'New York Garnet Guarantee'
SCHENECTADY, New York, Sept. 14 -- Union College posted the following news:
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No place like home: Union strengthens its commitment to Empire State students with 'New York Garnet Guarantee'
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Union College's tradition of serving New Yorkers traces back more than 230 years to its founding in 1795 as the first college chartered by the state. Now, the College is reaffirming that longstanding commitment to its home state with the introduction of a powerful new financial aid investment exclusively designed to help New York students.
Union's New York Garnet Guarantee will award virtually any
... Show Full Article
SCHENECTADY, New York, Sept. 14 -- Union College posted the following news:
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No place like home: Union strengthens its commitment to Empire State students with 'New York Garnet Guarantee'
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Union College's tradition of serving New Yorkers traces back more than 230 years to its founding in 1795 as the first college chartered by the state. Now, the College is reaffirming that longstanding commitment to its home state with the introduction of a powerful new financial aid investment exclusively designed to help New York students.
Union's New York Garnet Guarantee will award virtually anyNew York student accepted for admission with a $30,000 annual scholarship. That's a guaranteed $120,000 award over four years to help offset the cost of Union's world-class liberal arts and engineering education.
"Union is proud of its long and deep ties to New York, and we are committed to doing everything we can to make Union a school of choice for students across the Empire State," said Gregory Sneed, Union's vice president for enrollment management. "Making a Union education more accessible to students from across New York is not only an investment in our students but in the future of our great state."
Any prospective first-year student who lives or attends high school in New York State, and who is not otherwise receiving financial support from a full tuition scholarship program, is eligible for the New York Garnet Guarantee.
In order to qualify, students can apply to any of Union's three application rounds - Early Decision 1, Early Decision 2 or Regular Decision - but must submit their application for admission by our Dec. 1 priority scholarship deadline.
The program is also open to transfer students currently attending college in New York or who are permanent residents of New York. Transfer students need to apply to Union by the March 1 transfer scholarship deadline to be eligible for the Garnet Guarantee program.
All students who meet the residential requirements, apply by the scholarship deadlines and get accepted to Union will receive a Garnet Guarantee scholarship. It's that simple.
Union is a selective, residential liberal arts college based in Schenectady, N.Y., that serves approximately 1,900 undergraduate students, and which also offers a top 25 engineering program and a host of other strong STEM programs. To learn more about the New York Garnet Guarantee, visit the website. To learn more about Union College admissions standards and deadlines, visit the website.
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Original text here: https://www.union.edu/news/stories/202609/no-place-home-union-strengthens-its-commitment-empire-state-students-new-york-garnet-guarantee
Lingnan University honours 53 outstanding research scholars as total number of patents for research projects hits record high, accelerating technology transfer and practical application
TUEN MUN, Hong Kong, Sept. 14 -- Lingnan University posted the following news release:
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Lingnan University honours 53 outstanding research scholars as total number of patents for research projects hits record high, accelerating technology transfer and practical application
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Lingnan University recently hosted the Research and Knowledge Transfer Excellence Awards Presentation Ceremony 2026. At the "Excellence Beyond Achievement Where Technology Meets Humanity" ceremony, 53 Lingnan scholars were presented with the Outstanding Researcher Award, the Early Career Researcher Award, and the Research
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TUEN MUN, Hong Kong, Sept. 14 -- Lingnan University posted the following news release:
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Lingnan University honours 53 outstanding research scholars as total number of patents for research projects hits record high, accelerating technology transfer and practical application
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Lingnan University recently hosted the Research and Knowledge Transfer Excellence Awards Presentation Ceremony 2026. At the "Excellence Beyond Achievement Where Technology Meets Humanity" ceremony, 53 Lingnan scholars were presented with the Outstanding Researcher Award, the Early Career Researcher Award, and the Research& Knowledge Transfer Fund Award for their exceptional contributions to academic research and knowledge transfer that advance societal development. The University's overall innovation and technology performance reached new heights in the 2025/26 academic year, with the number of granted patents for research projects increasing sixfold year-on-year to set a new record.
Officiating guests at the ceremony included the Hon Andrew Yao Cho-fai, Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University; Ms Carrie Leung Ka-lai, Treasurer of the Council; Dr Patrick Wong Chi-kwong, Chairman of the Court; Mr Augustine Lui Ngok-che, Chairman of the Lingnan Education Organization and Court Member; Prof Xin Yao, Vice-President (Research and Innovation) and Tong Tin Sun Chair Professor of Machine Learning; and Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu, Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research), J.K. Lee Chair Professor of Computational Intelligence, and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.
The Hon Andrew Yao Cho-fai congratulated the awardees and praised the University's rapid progress in research projects and its increasing global influence, saying that "As an industrialist and commercial-sector representative in the Legislative Council, I firmly believe that the Hong Kong SAR's industrial and commercial community must actively embrace new technologies. Leveraging its geographical proximity to the Northern Metropolis, Lingnan has launched the innovation and entrepreneurship platform 'LU Xcelerator' (LUX) to deepen industry-academia-research collaboration and facilitate the translation of university research into commercial applications, infusing new momentum into traditional industrial and commercial industries and opening broader entrepreneurial opportunities for researchers and students."
Prof Xin Yao said, "Lingnan University has always been committed to fostering an interdisciplinary research environment. In the 2025/26 academic year, the number of granted patents for research projects increased sixfold year-on-year to set a new record, fully demonstrating the research impact of our academic and research staff. In recent years, the University has successfully diversified its funding sources. The University has also secured major grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Environment and Conservation Fund, the Lantau Conservation Fund, and the Innovation and Technology Commission, which will enable research teams to take cutting-edge technologies out of the laboratory and translate them into practical applications that deliver real impact and benefit society."
Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu said, "We are seeing more grants, more patents, more knowledge transfer and more entrepreneurship. And this is a trend we want to build on. The research is important. But the people it can help are just as important. This is also why interdisciplinary research matters at Lingnan. We bring together the strengths of the arts, sciences, technology and social sciences, connecting research with education, and ideas with the needs of society. Let us keep pushing boundaries, keep working together, and keep turning knowledge into impact."
Lingnan has secured grants for 49 research projects in the 2026/27 competitive funding rounds of the Research Grants Council (RGC), with total funding approaching HK$27 million. The three key projects with the most substantial grants are: a study that received nearly HK$900,000, led by Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science, titled "Long-term Error Augmented Predictive (LEAP) Learning with Transformers for Smart Building Cooling Load Predictions", and two projects that each received over HK$1 million: "Trustworthy Stablecoins: Coordinating Centralised and Decentralised Finance at Scale", led by Prof Alexandru-Codru Preda, Professor of the Department of Sociology and Social Policy, and "Unravelling the Genomic Basis of Coral-Eating Phestilla Nudibranchs: Host Selection and Climate Resilience", led by Prof Jack Ip Chi-ho, Associate Professor (Presidential Early Career Scholar) of the Division of Science. (See Table 1 for details).
The University has recently risen dramatically in major international rankings. Lingnan came 84th in its debut appearance in the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings, directly entered Asia's top 100 and in the QS World University Rankings 2027, it climbed sharply by over 120 places to 581st, its biggest leap in recent years. Furthermore, Lingnan scholars won 16 awards at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival 2026, retaining the University's position as the higher education institution in the Hong Kong SAR with the most awards and gold medals.
For the full list of awardees, please visit:
Research & KT Excellence Awards | Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer
Table 1.
Scholars
Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science
Project title
Long-term Error Augmented Predictive (LEAP) Learning with Transformers for Smart Building Cooling Load Predictions
RGC funding amount
HK$ 894,156 (General Research Fund)
Description
Air-conditioning systems in large buildings consume significant amounts of electricity. However, traditional AI models primarily focus on short-term predictive data, leading to "accumulated error" in long-term forecasts and resulting in inaccuracy.
To address this pain point, the research team has developed the novel "LEAPformer" model. By incorporating learning methods tailored for long-term prediction, it reduces accumulated error across multi-step forecasts, thereby enhancing long-term prediction accuracy. The team also designed a lightweight version, the "Res-LEAPformer", which simplifies computation by using daily cyclic power consumption patterns to help smart buildings predict cooling demand more precisely.
The project has validated its models using 18 months of actual operational data from two government office buildings in West Kowloon, as well as real-time data from the DAS Smart Building in Shenzhen. The field operational data from the Shenzhen building will be released as open source globally to support the international community in energy conservation and carbon reduction in buildings.
Scholars
Prof Alexandru-Codru Preda, Professor of the Department of Sociology and Social Policy
Project title
Trustworthy Stablecoins: Coordinating Centralised and Decentralised Finance at Scale
RGC funding amount
HK$ 1,217,700 (General Research Fund)
Description
This project investigates how stablecoins-digital assets circulating on blockchains backed by traditional assets such as US dollars or US Treasuries-can securely bridge traditional banking systems and the blockchain world. Stablecoins rely on banks and traditional financial institutions to manage collateral, whilst operating via code and cryptographic protocols on blockchains. Because these two financial systems function on fundamentally different principles, a lack of effective coordination creates risks in transactions between digital wallets and bank accounts, parity maintenance between stablecoins and underlying assets, and cross-jurisdictional regulatory compliance, ultimately undermining market trust.
Through industry interviews and quantitative data analysis, the research team will examine operational practices, technical interoperability, and cross-border regulatory dynamics across both domains. By identifying key factors for secure cooperation, the project aims to establish guidelines for scalable, trustworthy stablecoin transactions capable of supporting millions of daily operations.
Licensing regimes for stablecoins were adopted in the Hong Kong SAR and the US in 2025, with the UK and the EU following suit, and this study will provide valuable insights into integrating stablecoins into the mainstream financial system.
Scholars
Prof Jack Ip Chi-ho, Associate Professor (Presidential Early Career Scholar) of the Division of Science
Project title
Unravelling the Genomic Basis of Coral-Eating Phestilla Nudibranchs: Host Selection and Climate Resilience
RGC funding amount
HK$ 1,121,171 (General Research Fund)
Description
This project investigates the threat posed to the Hong Kong SAR's coral reefs and marine ecosystem by coral-eating sea slugs of the genus Phestilla.
Due to global warming, these sea slugs are proliferating in subtropical waters such as those of the Hong Kong SAR's, preying on heat-tolerant corals that survive marine heatwaves and directly undermining the resilience of coral reefs against climate change. As different sea slug species exhibit highly specific feeding preferences for particular corals, the research team aims to identify the sea slugs' underlying genetic traits so as to assess their capacity to survive rising sea temperatures under extreme weather conditions.
The team will generate high-precision, chromosome-level genome assemblies for three local species of coral-eating sea slugs with expanding populations, comparing them with non-corallivorous species to identify the genetic basis of corallivory. By analysing gene expression across chemosensory, digestive, and epithelial tissues, the study will uncover the mechanisms governing coral host recognition and digestion. Furthermore, by comparing populations of the same species across subtropical and tropical reefs, the study will reveal genetic signatures associated with thermal adaptation, providing a scientific foundation for the conservation and restoration of subtropical coral reefs.
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Original text here: http://www.ln.edu.hk/news/press-releases/20260914/lingnan-university-honours53-outstanding-research-scholars-as-total-number-of-patents-for-research-projects-hits-record-high-accelerating-technology-transfer-and-practical-application
Inspiration alone won't solve Australia's teacher shortage, study reveals
PERTH, Australia, Sept. 14 -- Curtin University issued the following news release:
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Inspiration alone won't solve Australia's teacher shortage, study reveals
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A $10 million Australian Government campaign celebrating inspirational teachers risked overlooking the workplace conditions driving educators from the profession, according to new research led by Curtin University.
The Be That Teacher campaign launched in October 2023 as part of the Federal Government's National Teacher Workforce Action Plan, aiming to elevate the profession's status and encourage more Australians to consider teaching.
To
... Show Full Article
PERTH, Australia, Sept. 14 -- Curtin University issued the following news release:
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Inspiration alone won't solve Australia's teacher shortage, study reveals
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A $10 million Australian Government campaign celebrating inspirational teachers risked overlooking the workplace conditions driving educators from the profession, according to new research led by Curtin University.
The Be That Teacher campaign launched in October 2023 as part of the Federal Government's National Teacher Workforce Action Plan, aiming to elevate the profession's status and encourage more Australians to consider teaching.
Totest its effectiveness, researchers analysed materials produced between January 2022 and December 2025, including government policy documents, ministerial speeches, interviews, media releases and material from the campaign's archived website.
Lead author Dr Saul Karnovsky, from Curtin's School of Education, said celebrating teachers and improving the profession's public image were worthwhile goals but inspirational messages could not replace action on the conditions affecting recruitment and retention.
"The problem arises when inspiration starts becoming a policy response to a workforce crisis," Dr Karnovsky said.
"Governments are telling prospective teachers this is meaningful work, they can change a child's life and they can be 'that teacher'.
"Those things can absolutely be true, but they don't remove excessive workloads, occupational stress, administrative demands or the other working conditions research consistently tells us are pushing teachers out."
The research found the campaign presented teaching as emotionally rewarding and morally meaningful through stories of individual educators inspiring students and transforming their lives.
It argued this focus shifted attention away from the material and structural conditions shaping teachers' work.
Dr Karnovsky said relying on the image of an extraordinary teacher could also place responsibility for overcoming difficult conditions on individual educators.
"We keep returning to the idea of the extraordinary individual teacher who changes lives," Dr Karnovsky said.
"But teaching isn't sustained by extraordinary individuals continually overcoming difficult conditions.
"It is sustained by workplaces in which teachers have the time, resources, professional support and conditions required to do their jobs well."
The paper cites previous Australian research linking teacher turnover and retention to workload, workplace conditions, stress and wellbeing.
It notes research in which 46 per cent of Australian teachers reported considering leaving their jobs within 12 months because of workload and stress.
It also cites a survey of more than 22,000 Australian teachers, in which 86 per cent described their work as emotionally demanding and 58 per cent attributed their stress to excessive workload.
Dr Karnovsky said describing teaching as a calling or vocation could unintentionally reinforce expectations educators should tolerate poor conditions because their work was socially important.
"When we continually describe teaching as an opportunity to make a difference, we need to be careful about what else we're asking teachers to accept," Dr Karnovsky said.
"Meaningful work should not require people to sacrifice their own wellbeing to prove how committed they are."
Dr Karnovsky said recruitment campaigns could help counter negative perceptions of teaching, but improving the profession's image should not substitute for improving the profession itself.
"If Australia wants more people to become teachers, telling better stories about teaching may help," Dr Karnovsky said.
"If we want those people to remain teachers 10 or 20 years later, workload, resourcing, professional autonomy, safety and working conditions must also be part of the conversation."
The paper calls for teacher wellbeing to be understood in the context of institutional and workplace arrangements, rather than treated primarily as an individual educator's responsibility.
It argues recruitment and retention policies should give greater attention to the material and relational conditions of teachers' work.
The open-access paper, Crafting the inspirational teacher: governing through affect as policy response to teacher recruitment in Australia, was published in the Journal of Education Policy.
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Original text here: https://www.curtin.edu.au/news/media-release/inspiration-alone-wont-solve-australias-teacher-shortage-study-reveals/
CUHK-led study reveals why Mercury's young plains have the most "wrinkles" Ongoing mantle activity continues to shape the planet's surface
SHATIN, Hong Kong, Sept. 14 -- The Chinese University of Hong Kong posted the following news release:
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CUHK-led study reveals why Mercury's young plains have the most "wrinkles" Ongoing mantle activity continues to shape the planet's surface
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A research team led by The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has uncovered new evidence that Mercury's interior remained geologically active far longer than previously believed. Published in the prestigious international scientific journal Nature Communications, the study reveals that the relatively young plains near Mercury's north pole exhibit
... Show Full Article
SHATIN, Hong Kong, Sept. 14 -- The Chinese University of Hong Kong posted the following news release:
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CUHK-led study reveals why Mercury's young plains have the most "wrinkles" Ongoing mantle activity continues to shape the planet's surface
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A research team led by The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has uncovered new evidence that Mercury's interior remained geologically active far longer than previously believed. Published in the prestigious international scientific journal Nature Communications, the study reveals that the relatively young plains near Mercury's north pole exhibitmore pronounced crustal compression and deformation than older regions, caused by an upwelling of hot rock from the deep mantle once occurred beneath the area. This challenges the long-standing theory that Mercury's landscape was shaped dominantly by the planet's cooling and contraction.
Mapping Mercury's surface reveals anomalous tectonic deformation
Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System and the closest to the Sun. The evolution of Mercury's landscape shares similarities with other terrestrial planets: as its hot interior slowly cooled over time, the whole planet contracted, causing its rocky outer shell to buckle into long cliffs and ridges - much like the skin of a drying apple.
The study focused on the Northern Smooth Plains, a vast volcanic plain near Mercury's north pole that covers about 7% of the planet's surface. Formed roughly 3.7 billion years ago, it is geologically young by Mercury's standards. Under existing theories, most of the planet's shrinking had already occurred, meaning this newer surface should have experienced less contractional deformation. The CUHK-led team mapped cliffs and ridges across the whole planet and measured the degree of crustal compression. Surprisingly, the results were the opposite of what they expected: this young plain turned out to be the most heavily wrinkled region on Mercury, indicating that cooling-driven contraction alone cannot fully explain the formation of the Northern Smooth Plains.
Mantle upwelling identified as another key driver of surface evolution
To investigate the cause of this anomaly, the team combined measurements of Mercury's gravity and surface height with computer simulations of its interior. The results indicate that regional mantle activity can continue to shape Mercury's surface morphology.
At the centre of the plain sits a broad, gentle bulge called the Northern Rise, which the study attributes to a plume of hot, buoyant rock that rose from about 350 km below the surface. Unable to breach the planet's rigid outer shell, this rising rock spread out sideways beneath the crust, forming a flat layer roughly 730 km wide. That layer pushed up the centre of the plain and stretched it slightly, while pinching and wrinkling the surrounding plains.
Even after the hot rock cooled and the bulge began to sag, the compression did not stop. The slopes and residual stresses left behind continued to fracture the surface over a very long time, explaining why some cliffs and cracks in this region look surprisingly young and fresh.
"The damage forms a clear bull's-eye around the Northern Rise," said Professor Zhan Yan, the study's corresponding author and Ng Yin Ying Assistant Professor of Geophysics at CUHK's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. "That pattern points to a heat source deep below, and it changes how we read Mercury's cliffs and ridges."
"Mercury is often written off as geologically dead," said Dr Xie Jingchun, the study's first author and a postdoctoral fellow at CUHK's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. "We show that deep inside, something kept working on the surface long after the planet's main thermal evolution had faded - much like a footprint that keeps pressing into the ground after the foot has already lifted."
Broad implications for terrestrial planetary science
The team believes this study provides a new framework for understanding tectonic features on Mercury that can be applied to other celestial bodies. Similar deep-seated upwellings are suspected on Mars and Venus, but previous studies have rarely linked them so clearly to surface cracks and cliffs. By integrating surface mapping with interior dynamic modelling, this research demonstrates how rocky planets cool and shrink, while localised deep-mantle heat sources can rejuvenate geological activity for billions of years.
"It is striking that a process starting from such depths can leave such a neat pattern at the surface," said co-author Dr Zhang Jian of The University of Hong Kong. "It shows that the interior and the surface of Mercury stayed connected for far longer than we previously assumed."
The full text of the research paper in Nature Communications can be accessed here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-74975-0
About the study
This research was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, among others. The authors are Xie Jingchun (CUHK), Zhan Yan (CUHK, corresponding author), Gong Shengxia (Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Huang Chengli (Shanghai Astronomical Observatory; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Zhang Jian (NWU-HKU Joint Centre of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The University of Hong Kong).
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Original text here: https://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/en/press/cuhk-led-study-reveals-why-mercurys-young-plains-have-the-most-wrinkles-ongoing-mantle-activity-continues-to-shape-the-planets-surface/
