Science Daily

The American pika, a relative of rabbits, occupies rocky environments in the mountains of western Northern America. It has been widely thought that pikas could not survive extremes of temperature and thus were at risk of running out of space at the tops of mountains as temperatures rise due to climate change. But is there more to the story?

New findings describe the dynamics of the clog of icebergs -- known as an ice mélange -- in front of Greenland's Jakobshavn Glacier. The fast-moving glacier is considered a bellwether for the effects of climate change.

Ice mass loss in the Russian Arctic has nearly doubled over the last decade.

Lakes tend to emit carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere, making them important players in the planet's natural regulation of its climate. However, the direction of the flow of CO2 between lakes and the atmosphere can be influenced by humans or by natural factors such as rainfall or air temperature.

Experts have recently found higher amounts of microplastic in arctic sea ice than ever before. However, the majority of particles were microscopically small.

Biologists have been puzzled by the evolutionary adaptation behind a common tooth trait of northern Asians and Native Americans: shovel-shaped incisors. An analysis of archeological specimens shows that nearly 100 percent of early Native Americans had shoveled incisors, and genetic evidence pinpoints the selection to the Beringian standstill 20,000 years ago. One researcher proposes that a trait linked to shoveling, mammary duct growth, was selected to provide vitamin D and fat to infants.

A new study has revealed a previously undocumented process where melting glacial ice sheets change the ocean in a way that further accelerates the rate of ice melt and sea level rise. The research found that glacial meltwater makes the ocean's surface layer less salty and more buoyant, preventing deep mixing in winter and allowing warm water at depth to retain its heat and further melt glaciers from below.

Rising temperatures were a key driver of peatland formation after the last glacial maximum, according to new research.

Radar satellites supply the data used to map sea level and ocean currents. However, up until now the radar's 'eyes' have been blind where the oceans are covered by ice. Researchers have now developed a new analysis method to solve this problem.

An analysis of radar data led scientists to an unexpected discovery of two lakes located beneath 550 to 750 meters of ice underneath the Devon Ice Cap, one of the largest ice caps in the Canadian Arctic. They are thought to be the first isolated hypersaline subglacial lakes in the world.

New research provides evidence that a key cog in the global ocean circulation system hasn't been running at peak strength since the mid-1800s and is currently at its weakest point in the past 1,600 years. If the system continues to weaken, it could disrupt weather patterns from the United States and Europe to the African Sahel, and cause more rapid increase in sea level on the US East Coast.

A new study describes a unique method involving cloud characteristics for measuring snowfall that could help answer some big questions about the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Researchers have confirmed the suspicion that north-facing ice cliffs on debris-covered glaciers in the Himalayas accelerate ice melt.

Glaciers in Alaska's Denali National Park are melting faster than at any time in the past four centuries because of rising summer temperatures, a new study finds.

A research team has identified the formation of natural gas hydrates, so-called flammable ice, formed in oceans.

An interdisciplinary team of scientists examining everything from glaciology to freshwater ecology discovered drastic changes over the past decade to the world's largest High Arctic lake. And from glacial melt to the declining lake ice to changes in lake ecology, the results from Lake Hazen on Ellesmere Island in Canada are alarming.

At 3.5 meters long and with a shoulder height of 1.7 meters, the cave bear was one of the giants of the Ice Age. Yet few appear to have survived until the last glacial maximum 24,000 to 19,000 years ago. Researchers have conducted analyses to find out what likely caused the extinction of these large herbivores. It is believed that the renewed cooling of the climate and hunting by humans -- added to the bears purely vegetarian diet -- increased the pressure on this megafauna species.

Climate change and recreational activity at Walden Pond may have altered the ecology of this iconic lake during the past 1,800 years, affecting the water quality and plankton community, according to a new study.

The Dark Zone of the Greenland ice sheet has major impact on the surface melt of this immense store of ice. A new study -- based on drone surveys -- suggests that ice algae, dust and soot from wildfires and combustion are the main cause.

Four winters of audio recordings of bowhead whales singing under the ice off Greenland show a surprise variety in this animal's repertoire. Bowhead whales' vocalization patterns are very different from the only other whale known to make distinct songs, the humpback.