Increasing risk of ice avalanches due to climate change

Study shows preparedness can save lives

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

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The study compares two recent events: the 2021 Chamoli disaster in the Indian Himalayas, which killed more than 200 people, and the 2025 ice and rock avalanche in Blatten, Switzerland, which buried most of the village but claimed only one victim. Despite similar physical characteristics, the consequences were drastically different. In Switzerland, unusual activity on the slopes was observed and closely monitored in the days before the collapse. Authorities deployed radar and other sensors, confirmed the accelerating movement of the slope and evacuated about 300 residents before the avalanche struck. In contrast, the Chamoli avalanche occurred in a remote valley in the Himalayas without operational monitoring or coordinated warning systems. Satellite observations showed in retrospect that there were signs of instability months before the collapse, but the signals were not noticed or monitored in time.

The study highlights how climate change increases the instability of high mountain slopes as glaciers retreat, permafrost thaws and extreme precipitation intensifies. This can make such sequential hazards more frequent.

"Events like in Chamoli show how devastating ice and rock avalanches can be when warning systems are lacking," says Dr Lander Van Tricht (Vrije Universiteit Brussel / ETH Zurich), co-author of the study. "But the case in Blatten also shows that even very large dangers do not necessarily have to turn into disasters with massive casualties."

"Global warming is destabilising glaciers and steep mountain slopes worldwide," adds Van Tricht. Recent disasters, such as the collapse of the Marmolada glacier in the Italian Alps in 2022 that left 11 dead, illustrate how rapidly changing mountain environments can cause sudden and deadly cryospheric hazards. "We cannot prevent hazards from occurring, but we can drastically reduce their impact by monitoring unstable slopes, responding to early warning signals and ensuring communities know how to act."

The researchers argue that countries in the Himalayas can significantly reduce risks by adopting elements of the Swiss integrated risk management approach. This includes combining satellite monitoring with targeted ground sensors, establishing clear warning thresholds, improving communication networks and strengthening preparedness within local communities.

"Ultimately, the difference between catastrophe and survival is not just the natural hazard itself," says Van Tricht. "It's about whether societies are prepared when the warning signs appear."

 

Reference:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-03352-y

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s43247-026-03352-y 

Coral reef science must adapt to have a chance to outpace climate change

Newcastle University

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One of study authors monitoring corals they selectively bred for high heat tolerance at an ocean nursery in Palau. Photo Credit: Dr James Guest

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Credit: Dr James Guest

Scientists call for a major acceleration in coral assisted evolution research to help reefs cope with rapidly warming oceans.

The study, published today (30 March), was led by Dr Adriana Humanes, Newcastle University and Dr Juan Ortiz, Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). It highlights fundamental changes needed to generate knowledge fast enough to make these methods effective.

The international team of 28 experts identified promising discoveries that highlight the potential of assisted evolution to help mitigate the impact of climate change in reefs.

Assisted evolution aims to accelerate natural adaptation rates to help corals increase their thermal tolerance and reduce mortality during marine heat waves. Over the past decades multiple knowledge breakthroughs have increased our understanding of the processes driving thermal tolerance in corals. However, the experts’ evaluation of progress warns that the current rate of research and development of coral assisted evolution methods is likely to be outpaced by rapidly warming climate.

“Assisted evolution methods look promising, but at today’s pace of research and development, and without rapid emissions reduction, solutions will arrive too late for coral reefs,” said Dr Humanes, Research Associate at Newcastle University’s School of Natural and Environmental Sciences

Published in the journal Nature Reviews Biodiversity, the paper outlines a research agenda comprised of nine research priorities that are fundamental for fast tracking progress, while also highlighting a major barrier. “Critical knowledge gaps around the biology of coral heat tolerance are hindering progress”, said Dr Ortiz, Principal Research Scientist, AIMS.

While it is clear the proposed research agenda would help close fundamental knowledge gaps and accelerate assisted evolution methods development, the scientists identified three critical catalysts required to successfully implement this research agenda within the short window of opportunity available.

Scaling up field-based coral research

The priority is expanding large-scale, field-based research to allow multiple scientific questions to be addressed at the same time.

Dr James Guest, Reader in Coral Reef at Newcastle University and one of the study authors, said: “We need to scale up field-based coral reef science so we can answer many of these questions simultaneously and in record time. Establishing large-scale field hubs would foster collaborative, multidisciplinary research across coral species and life stages, increasing experimental power and efficiency.”

 

Funding research across the coral life cycles

The second catalyst is long-term funding that matches the biology of corals.

“Corals have a complex life cycle,” said Dr Ortiz. “It takes three to seven years for baby corals to mature and reproduce, yet most funding schemes run for only three years. This is not long enough to determine the fate of these corals and their progeny.”

The authors argue that multi‑generation studies are essential to understand whether assisted evolution approaches can produce lasting benefits.

Protecting experimental coral hubs

The final recommendation is to protect large-scale field hubs and their experimental corals from extreme environmental events.

“Both experimental corals and broodstock housed in these hubs hold knowledge that will only be revealed over time,” said Dr Humanes. “If they are lost during disturbances, the financial investment loss could be huge and delays catastrophic.”

The paper highlights the need to strategically locate hubs and apply local protection measures, such as lowering corals into deeper water during storms or using cloud brightening or fogging during marine heatwaves, to reduce the risk of knowledge loss.

“Indeed, supporting multi-generational research and scaling up proven, field-based solutions are central to the mission of the G20 Coral Research and Development Accelerator Platform (CORDAP),” said Dr Carla Lourenço from CORDAP. “Because there is no single solution to safeguarding coral reefs, a portfolio of complementary strategies in which coral assisted evolution is a central part is needed. CORDAP is the only international organization fully dedicated to funding global research and development (R&D) for both tropical and cold-water coral conservation and restoration that recognizes the scale and complexity of the coral crisis and takes a diversified approach to innovation.”

While the implementation of the research agenda and the three overarching catalysts is the only way to give coral assisted evolution a fighting chance to make a difference, drastically reducing greenhouse emissions remains the top priority for ensuring the persistence of coral reefs for generations to come.

The work of this paper was supported by CORDAP and the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP).

Reference

Humanes, A. et al. (2026) ‘Accelerating coral assisted evolution to keep pace with climate change’, Nature Reviews Biodiversity. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-026-00147-z

--ends--

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Journal

Nature Reviews Biodiversity

DOI

10.1038/s44358-026-00147-z 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Article Title

Accelerating coral assisted evolution to keep pace with climate change

Article Publication Date

30-Mar-2026

 

Pinpointing Europe’s Digital Dependencies

The University of Bonn, in partnership with the Vodafone Institute, is analyzing the challenges and opportunities facing Europe

University of Bonn

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The Digital Dependence Index (DDI), produced by the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS) at the University of Bonn with support from the Vodafone Institute, is to be significantly expanded and brought up to date. 

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Credit: Photo: Gregor Hübl/University of Bonn

From computer chips and cloud computing to artificial intelligence, Germany and the rest of Europe want to become less dependent on digital technologies from abroad by driving forward their own innovations. The Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS) at the University of Bonn has now prepared a policy brief, in cooperation with the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications, Vodafone’s European think tank. The paper tackles the continent’s “digital trade deficit” and shows how hidden trade dependencies on the US and China are raising questions about the effectiveness of current European strategies.

Although strong growth in digital trade would appear to lay firm foundations for meeting the targets set by the European Commission for its “Digital Decade,” closer analysis reveals hidden weaknesses with the potential to jeopardize future progress—specifically, Ireland’s disproportionately strong influence on the continent’s digital trade balance. Looking more closely, Europe’s digital trade surplus actually turns out to be a digital trade deficit.

Because US tech corporations have a disproportionately large presence in Ireland and get cheap access to European markets, this “Ireland effect” is distorting Europe’s trade statistics and restricting its digital autonomy. Without these US firms being in Ireland, the EU would have a massive digital deficit. “Between 2022 and 2024, this deficit cost Europe over $350 billion, which is nearly 40 percent of the defense spending planned for the years to 2030,” says Assistant Professor Maximilian Mayer, a member of the Individuals & Societies Transdisciplinary Research Area at the University of Bonn and coordinator of the project at CASSIS.

The study also highlights Europe’s excessive dependence on China in the trade involving digital goods. In light of this significant imbalance and the Ireland effect, it is becoming clear that Europe is being squeezed between the two digital giants—China and the US—according to the analysis. It also suggests that this reality is putting a question mark over Europe’s economic gains, increasing its geopolitical vulnerability and restricting its digital autonomy.

The authors are advising the European Commission to continue strengthening Europe’s manufacturing industry and competitiveness, further reduce its dependence on China for the trade in digital goods, and adopt a political language that identifies autonomy and sovereignty as common goals and fosters new, multifaceted technology partnerships with the public and private sectors.

“The analysis shows that Europe’s digital dependencies are greater than the statistics would suggest,” says Michael Jungwirth, Director Public Policy & External Affairs at Vodafone Germany and Public Policy Director Vodafone Group. “What we need now is a coherent trade and industry policy that genuinely strengthens digital resilience—for an economically and geopolitically sovereign Europe.”

Digital Dependence Index to be revamped

CASSIS’s Digital Independence Index (DDI) shows how well this is going by providing a figure for how vulnerable European countries are compared to their counterparts elsewhere in the world. The indicators include how dependent an EU country is on electronic components or communications equipment from abroad. The index also illustrates the extent of a country’s reliance on foreign companies for computer software, operating systems and patents. Says Mayer: “The DDI uses a large number of indicators to highlight the challenges and areas of potential involved in reducing technological dependencies in a globalized economy with a high degree of labor specialization.”

Having focused primarily on the G20 member states up until now, the DDI is to be overhauled, updated and expanded to include over 50 nations across the globe. This will ensure much better coverage, including of many smaller countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. “This will bring a great many benefits for several reasons,” adds Mayer. “Not only will the measurements be more extensive in geographical terms, we’ll also be able to illustrate global and regional trends as well as patterns in digital capacities, vulnerabilities and costs.” The Vodafone Institute will also be supporting the work to update and expand the DDI during its year-long partnership. In addition, the DDI’s web page is being redesigned to make it even clearer and more accessible to users and further improve its analysis features.

About the project

The policy brief was written by the University of Bonn in collaboration with the Vodafone Institute, Vodafone’s European think tank. It forms part of a series aimed at analyzying Europe’s digital dependencies and the challenges and opportunities associated with them. This year-long partnership aims to provide innovative assessments of how Europe’s digital capabilities are developing and identify the implications of these trends for Europe’s economic and political autonomy.

The Vodafone Institute

The Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications is Vodafone’s European think tank. The Institute brings together perspectives on the digital transformation of the economy and society, operating at the intersection of business, politics, academia and civil society. In collaboration with partners, it develops studies on pressing issues to identify pathways for the digital future. Read more at https://www.vodafone-institut.de/en/institute/.

CASSIS

The Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS) is an interdisciplinary research center at the University of Bonn that conducts strategic research into foreign, European and security policy. Adopting the mindset that “global challenges need European answers” and working across different disciplines and institutions, CASSIS helps to formulate and assess European strategies for meeting current challenges in foreign and security policy and instigate public debate concerning the issues raised. Read more at https://www.cassis.uni-bonn.de/en/homepage.

Policy brief by CASSIS and the Vodafone Institute:
https://www.vodafone-institut.de/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/wake-up-call-for-the-eus-digital-decade.pdf

Information about the DDI:
https://www.cassis.uni-bonn.de/en/research/interdisciplinary-research-initiatives/politics-and-governance-of-global-infrastructures/research-projects/digital-dependence-index-2.0?set_language=en

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Article Title

Digital trade trap? A wake-up call for the EU's Digital Decade

Article Publication Date

30-Mar-2026

 

New study provides first practical guide to conducting umbrella reviews in education

ECNU Review of Education

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As the demand for evidence-based decision-making continues to grow in education, the proliferation of systematic reviews has created both opportunity and challenge. While these reviews provide valuable insights, their volume and variability often make it difficult for educators, policymakers, and researchers to extract clear conclusions. Umbrella reviews—also known as "reviews of reviews"—address this issue by offering a higher-level synthesis of existing evidence. However, until now, there has been a notable lack of methodological guidance tailored specifically to the educational field.

A newly published study, "How to Conduct Umbrella Review in Education? A Step-by-Step Methodological Guide Through a Case Study in Digital Diaries," published in ECNU Review of Education on 17 March, 2026, introduces the first comprehensive, practice-oriented framework specifically designed to guide umbrella reviews in the field of education. Authored by Mónica Fontana and Celia Camilli Trujillo, the paper introduces a structured, practical, and accessible guide to conducting umbrella reviews—an advanced research method that synthesizes findings from multiple systematic reviews.

Drawing on a real-world case study focused on digital diaries in education, the authors present a detailed, step-by-step framework that guides readers through every phase of the umbrella review process—from formulating research questions to synthesizing results. Unlike existing guidelines, which are largely rooted in health sciences and quantitative research, this study adapts the methodology to the unique characteristics of educational research, including qualitative approaches and diverse learning contexts.

The relevance of this work is underscored by the current scarcity of umbrella reviews in education. According to the authors' analysis, only a very small fraction of educational research employs this method, despite its potential to provide comprehensive and generalizable insights. By offering a clear methodological pathway, the study empowers researchers—particularly early-career scholars—to adopt this powerful tool and contribute to more robust evidence synthesis in the field.

At the heart of the paper is a practical guide structured around key phases of an umbrella review. These include defining the research problem, establishing inclusion and exclusion criteria, designing a search strategy, extracting and coding data, and synthesizing findings. Each phase is accompanied by theoretical explanations, common challenges, and actionable solutions, making the guide both rigorous and user-friendly.

The case study on digital diaries further enhances the paper's contribution by demonstrating how the methodology can be applied in practice. Digital diaries—often associated with digital storytelling—are increasingly recognized as a powerful educational tool that fosters student engagement, reflection, and the development of 21st-century literacies. The umbrella review conducted in the study reveals that digital diaries are used across a wide range of contexts, including formal education, health training, language learning, and civic engagement.

Importantly, the study not only synthesizes existing evidence but also identifies gaps and inconsistencies in the literature. For example, while digital diaries are widely promoted for their educational benefits, the role of teachers in their implementation remains unclear, highlighting an area for future research.

Beyond its specific findings, the publication makes a broader contribution to the advancement of research methods in education. By integrating theory with practice and addressing real methodological challenges, it sets a new standard for how umbrella reviews can be conducted and reported in non-clinical fields.

The implications are far-reaching. For researchers, the guide offers a reliable framework to produce high-quality evidence syntheses. For educators and policymakers, it enhances access to consolidated knowledge that can inform teaching practices and educational policies. And for the academic community as a whole, it represents a step forward in strengthening the methodological rigor and impact of educational research.

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Journal

ECNU Review of Education

DOI

10.1177/20965311261421966 

Method of Research

Case study

Article Title

How to Conduct Umbrella Review in Education? A Step-by-Step Methodological Guide Through a Case Study in Digital Diaries\\

Parental academic pressure has a hidden cost: New study links distinct learning burdens to burnout and achievement

ECNU Review of Education

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Academic pressure from parents is a familiar part of many adolescents' school lives. It is often assumed to simply make students feel "more stressed." But a new study published in the European Journal of Psychology of Education suggests a more nuanced picture: parental pressure may shape how students experience the costs of learning, and those costs do not all matter in the same way.

Surveying 616 Chinese seventh-grade students, the researchers found that stronger perceived parental academic pressure was associated with four distinct forms of motivational cost: effort cost, opportunity cost, psychological cost, and emotional cost. These dimensions were then linked in different ways to two key outcomes, school burnout and academic achievement.

The findings are especially relevant in early adolescence, when students are adjusting to the demands of middle school and parents often place growing emphasis on academic success. At this stage, external expectations can become intertwined with how students evaluate the effort, sacrifice, emotional strain, and self-worth implications involved in studying.

 

In a study published online on 24 March, 2026, researchers led by Dr. Yi Jiang examined the learning experiences of 616 Chinese seventh-grade students.

 

"Although parental expectations can support academic achievement, excessive pressure may be counterproductive," the research team explains. "It can shape how students perceive the costs of learning, and different types of cost may matter for different academic outcomes."

 

Importantly, these costs did not function in the same way:

• For school burnout, the most important mediators were emotional cost and opportunity cost. Students who felt more pressure from parents were more likely to report emotional strain and a sense that studying required sacrificing other valued parts of life, and these two costs were linked to greater burnout.
• For academic achievement, effort cost and emotional cost were associated with lower achievement, whereas psychological cost showed the opposite pattern and was positively associated with achievement. Although this may seem counterintuitive at first, it suggests that in high-pressure academic settings, concerns about self-worth and fear of failure may sometimes coexist with strong performance, especially among students who are highly invested in meeting expectations.

The study further suggests that the associations linking parental academic pressure and perceived cost to adolescents' burnout and achievement may be broadly similar for boys and girls, even though girls reported somewhat higher levels of some perceived costs.

 

"These findings highlight the need for context-sensitive interventions that directly address the specific motivational barriers students face," the authors note. "It may not be enough to target academic pressure in general. Interventions may be more effective when they focus on the particular types of cost students experience. This multidimensional view of cost is one of the study's central contributions." 

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Journal

European Journal of Psychology of Education

DOI

10.1007/s10212-026-01099-w 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Perceived parental academic pressure and adolescent students‘school burnout and achievement: Different types of cost as mediators

Article Publication Date

24-Mar-2026