Science Daily

An international team has discovered a 31-km wide meteorite impact crater buried beneath the ice-sheet in the northern Greenland. This is the first time that a crater of any size has been found under one of Earth's continental ice sheets.

When rains fell on the arid Atacama Desert, it was reasonable to expect floral blooms to follow. Instead, the water brought death. Planetary astrobiologists has found that after encountering never-before-seen rainfall three years ago at the arid core of Peru's Atacama Desert, the heavy precipitation wiped out most of the microbes that had lived there.

The first scientific assessment of polar bears that live in the Chukchi Sea region that spans the US and Russia finds the population is healthy and does not yet appear to be suffering from declining sea ice.

As an indicator of the impacts of climate change, Arctic sea ice is hard to beat. Scientists have observed the frozen polar ocean advance and retreat at this most sensitive region of the Earth over decades for insight on the potential ripple effects on assorted natural systems: global ocean circulation, surrounding habitats and ecosystems, food sources, sea levels and more.

Analysis of iodine trapped in Alpine ice has shown that levels of atmospheric iodine have tripled over the past century, which partially offsets human-driven increases in the air pollutant, ozone.

Analysis of ancient DNA of a mysterious extinct monkey named Xenothrix -- which displays bizarre body characteristics very different to any living monkey -- has revealed that it was in fact most closely related to South America's titi monkeys (Callicebinae). Having made their way overwater to Jamaica, probably on floating vegetation, their bones reveal they subsequently underwent remarkable evolutionary change.

A warming climate is pushing organisms towards the circumpolar areas and mountain peaks. A recently conducted study on changes in bird populations reveals that protected areas slow down the north-bound retreat of species.

Scientist show a possibility to detect the extent of debris on mountain glaciers globally and automatically vi a satellite monitoring. The scientists used the cloud computing platform Google Earth Engine for their study.

With its wind and precipitation patterns, the South Asian Monsoon influences the lives of several billion people. Recent studies indicate that its drivers are more complex than previously assumed. Scientists have now published a reconstruction of precipitation over the eastern Indian Ocean over the past one million years. It points to connections with controlling processes in the southern hemisphere that have received little attention so far.

Researchers recently assessed subglacial lakes detected by satellite, and found very little water. But if that's the case, what is the source of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet's massive ice streams?

One concern with the increase vessel transits in the western Canadian Arctic is how noise pollution can detrimentally affect marine animals. Researchers have found that the negative impact of noise from shipping vessels can be mitigated by reducing the ship's speed.

Scientists have used data from the European Space Agency (ESA), Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) mission to unveil key geological features of the Earth's lithosphere -- the rigid outer layer that includes the crust and the upper mantle.

New research shows for the first time how the changing climate in Asia, from 5,000 to 1,000 years ago, transformed people's ability to produce food in particular places. The model enables the co-authors to get at the causes of some dramatic historic and cultural changes.

Using evidence found in teeth from two Neanderthals from southeastern France, researchers report the earliest evidence of lead exposure in an extinct human-like species from 250,000 years ago.

As the Arctic warms, it's predicted to get wetter. But why? A new study looks to history for answers, examining what happened in the region during a period of warming some 8,000 years ago. The research finds evidence that in this ancient time, western Greenland became more humid, a trend often linked to increased precipitation. The study further shows that two different climactic processes may have contributed to this elevated humidity.

A network metric called the K-core could predict structural collapse in mutualistic ecosystems, according to new research. The K-core appears able to forecast which species is likely to face extinction first, by global shocks such as climate change, and when an ecosystem could collapse due to external forces.

Scientist are working to improve climate models using paleoclimate proxies, indicators like chemical compounds in plants and microorganisms preserved in ancient lake sediments that hold rich data about past climate conditions on Earth.

Researchers have discovered what are believed to be the oldest weapons ever found in North America: ancient spear points that are 15,500 years old. The findings raise new questions about the settlement of early peoples on the continent.

Geologists study rainfall patterns in the distant past to better understand how deserts in the southwest United States will be impacted by future climate change.

Global sea level is rising constantly. One factor contributing to this rise is the melting of the glaciers. However, although the surface area of the glaciers has been well mapped, there is often no information regarding their thickness, making it impossible to calculate their volume. As a result, we cannot accurately calculate the effects on sea levels. Researchers have developed an approach which can be used to draw up regional ice thickness maps for glaciers.