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Read science articles on the ice age, glaciation and climatology. Discover the connection between ice ages and global warming.
Updated: 2 hours 57 min ago

Scientists say next few years vital to securing the future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

Tue, 06/03/2025 - 10:50
Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could be triggered with very little ocean warming above present-day, leading to a devastating four meters of global sea level rise to play out over hundreds of years according to a new study. However, the authors emphasize that immediate actions to reduce emissions could still avoid a catastrophic outcome.

Geological time capsule highlights Great Barrier Reef's resilience

Mon, 06/02/2025 - 14:55
New research adds to our understanding of how rapidly rising sea levels due to climate change foreshadow the end of the Great Barrier Reef as we know it. The findings suggest the reef can withstand rising sea levels in isolation but is vulnerable to associated environmental stressors arising from global climate change.

Still on the right track? Researchers enable reliable monitoring of the Paris climate goals

Mon, 06/02/2025 - 14:53
Global warming is continuously advancing. How quickly this will happen can now be predicted more accurately than ever before, thanks to a method developed by climate researchers. Anthropogenic global warming is set to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2028 and hence improved quantification of the Paris goals is proposed.

Small currents, big impact: Satellite breakthrough reveals hidden ocean forces

Fri, 05/30/2025 - 11:39
While scientists have long studied currents of large eddies, the smaller ones -- called submesoscale eddies -- are notoriously difficult to detect. These currents, which range from several kilometers to 100 kilometers wide, have been the 'missing pieces' of the ocean's puzzle -- until now. Using data from the new Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, scientists finally got a clear view of these hard-to-see currents, and they are a lot stronger than anyone thought.

Long shot science leads to revised age for land-animal ancestor

Thu, 05/29/2025 - 18:46
The fossils of ancient salamander-like creatures in Scotland are among the most well-preserved examples of early stem tetrapods -- some of the first animals to make the transition from water to land. Thanks to new research, scientists believe that these creatures are 14 million years older than previously thought. The new age -- dating back to 346 million years ago -- adds to the significance of the find because it places the specimens in a mysterious hole in the fossil record called Romer's Gap.

Save twice the ice by limiting global warming

Thu, 05/29/2025 - 14:54
A new study finds that if global warming exceeds the Paris Climate Agreement targets, the non-polar glacier mass will diminish significantly. However, if warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, at least 54 per cent could be preserved -- more than twice as much ice as in a 2.7 C scenario.

Anthropologists spotlight human toll of glacier loss

Thu, 05/29/2025 - 14:54
Anthropologists have examined the societal consequences of global glacier loss.

Agriculture in forests can provide climate and economic dividends

Thu, 05/29/2025 - 13:57
Forest-based agroforestry can restore forests, promote livelihoods, and combat climate change, but emerging agroforestry initiatives focusing only on tree planting is leading to missed opportunities to support beneficial outcomes of forest management, scientists found.

Rock record illuminates oxygen history

Thu, 05/29/2025 - 13:01
A new study reveals that the aerobic nitrogen cycle in the ocean may have occurred about 100 million years before oxygen began to significantly accumulate in the atmosphere, based on nitrogen isotope analysis from ancient South African rock cores. These findings not only refine the timeline of Earth's oxygenation but also highlight a critical evolutionary shift, where life began adapting to oxygen-rich conditions -- paving the way for the emergence of complex, multicellular organisms like humans.

Atlantic ocean current unlikely to collapse with climate change

Thu, 05/29/2025 - 11:47
Researchers created a detailed physical model that suggests a major Atlantic Ocean current will weaken far less under climate change than indicated by more extreme climate model projections.

Living libraries could save our food

Thu, 05/29/2025 - 11:47
Scientists have pioneered a new way to breed climate-resilient crops faster by combining plant genebank data with climate and DNA analysis. The method, tested on sorghum, could speed up global efforts to secure food supplies in a changing climate.

Does planting trees really help cool the planet?

Thu, 05/29/2025 - 11:46
Replanting forests can help cool the planet even more than some scientists once believed, especially in the tropics. But even if every tree lost since the mid-19th century is replanted, the total effect won't cancel out human-generated warming.

When climate disasters hit, they often leave long-term health care access shortages

Thu, 05/29/2025 - 11:41
Immediate recovery efforts receive the most attention after severe natural disasters, yet new data from researchers at Drexel University and the University of Maryland suggests these climate events often also leave a critical long-term -- and often unaddressed -- problem in declines in access to health care.

Coastal Alaska wolves exposed to high mercury concentrations from eating sea otters

Wed, 05/28/2025 - 12:16
Scientists show that wolves that are eating sea otters in Alaska have much higher concentrations of mercury than those eating other prey such as deer and moose.

Even birds can't outfly climate change

Wed, 05/28/2025 - 12:15
As rising global temperatures alter ecosystems worldwide, animal species usually have two choices: adapt to changing local conditions or flee to a cooler clime. Ecologists have long assumed that the world's bird species were best equipped to respond to the pressures of climate change simply because they have the option of flying to higher altitudes or towards global poles. But a new study finds that few bird species are able to escape the realities of a warming world.

Ancient DNA used to map evolution of fever-causing bacteria

Thu, 05/22/2025 - 15:25
Researchers have analyzed ancient DNA from Borrelia recurrentis, a type of bacteria that causes relapsing fever, pinpointing when it evolved to spread through lice rather than ticks, and how it gained and lost genes in the process.

Tapping into the World's largest gold reserves

Thu, 05/22/2025 - 12:35
Earth's largest gold reserves are not kept inside Fort Knox, the United States Bullion Depository. In fact, they are hidden much deeper in the ground than one would expect. More than 99.999% of Earth's stores of gold and other precious metals lie buried under 3,000 km of solid rock, locked away within the Earth's metallic core and far beyond the reaches of humankind. Now, researchers have found traces of the precious metal Ruthenium (Ru) in volcanic rocks on the islands of Hawaii that must ultimately have come from the Earth's core.

Climate change poses severe threat to bowhead whale habitat

Thu, 05/22/2025 - 11:55
New research examining 11,700 years of bowhead whale persistence throughout the Arctic projects that sea ice loss due to climate change will cause their habitat to severely contract by up to 75 per cent.

Breakthrough AI model could transform how we prepare for natural disasters

Thu, 05/22/2025 - 11:48
From deadly floods in Europe to intensifying tropical cyclones around the world, the climate crisis has made timely and precise forecasting more essential than ever. Yet traditional forecasting methods rely on highly complex numerical models developed over decades, requiring powerful supercomputers and large teams of experts. According to its developers, Aurora offers a powerful and efficient alternative using artificial intelligence.

Climate change may make it harder to reduce smog in some regions

Thu, 05/22/2025 - 11:48
A modeling study shows that global warming will make it harder to reduce ground-level ozone, a respiratory irritant that is a key component of smog, by cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

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