Science Daily

Scientists have linked the decline in Arctic sea ice to the emergence of a deadly virus that could threaten marine mammals in the North Pacific, according to a study.

A global coalition of scientists says 'untold human suffering' is unavoidable without deep and lasting shifts in human activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and other factors related to climate change.

In the past million years, the high-altitude winds of the southern westerly wind belt, which spans nearly half the globe, didn't behave as uniformly over the Southern Pacific as previously assumed. Instead, they varied cyclically over periods of ca. 21,000 years. A new study has now confirmed close ties between the climate of the mid and high latitudes and that of the tropics in the South Pacific.

Sea levels will continue to rise around the world long after current carbon emissions pledges made through the Paris climate agreement are met and global temperatures stabilize, a new study indicates.

Two million-year old ice from Antarctica recently uncovered by a team of researchers provides a clearer picture into the connections between greenhouse gases and climate in ancient times and will help scientists understand future climate change.

Buried alongside the famous Ötzi the Iceman are at least 75 species of bryophytes -- mosses and liverworts -- which hold clues to Ötzi's surroundings, according to a new study.

On Antarctica, meltwater ponds riddle a kilometer-thick, 10,000-year-old ice shelf, which shatters just weeks later. The collapse shocks scientists and unleashes the glacier behind the ice shelf, driving up sea level. A new study puts damage by meltwater ponds to ice shelves and the ensuing threat to sea level into cool, mathematical perspective.

Based on research at White Pond near Elgin, South Carolina, archaeologists present new evidence of a controversial theory that suggests an extraterrestrial body crashing to Earth almost 13,000 years ago caused the extinction of many large animals and a probable population decline in early humans.

What exactly triggers the increase in carbon dioxide concentrations that causes the transition from a glacial stage to a warm stage is not fully understood. Scientists have developed a new model in which the weathering of pyrite, a common mineral containing sulfur, plays a key role.

A seven-year project monitoring illicit drug use in 37 countries via wastewater samples shows that cocaine use was skyrocketing in Europe in 2017 and Australia had a serious problem with methamphetamine.

Bioscience engineers have developed a method to measure the snow depth in all mountain ranges in the Northern Hemisphere using satellites. This technique makes it possible to study areas that cannot be accessed for local measurements, such as the Himalayas.

While studying sediments in the Bay of Bengal, an international team finds evidence dating back millions of years that catastrophic events likely toppled fresh trees from their mountain homes on a long journey to the deep sea. The discovery may add to models of the Earth's carbon cycle.

A new study of Native American use of galena increases understanding of how they were using the land and its resources.

Researchers report that in order for a 90-meter ice cliff to collapse entirely, the ice shelves supporting the cliff would have to break apart extremely quickly, within a matter of hours -- a rate of ice loss that has not been observed in the modern record.

During Earth's last glacial period, temperatures on the planet periodically spiked dramatically and rapidly. A new article suggests that mathematics from information theory could offer a powerful tool for analyzing and understanding these mysterious events.

Hydrogen-containing substances are important for many industries, but scientists have struggled to obtain detailed images to understand the element's behavior. Researchers now demonstrate the quantification of hydrogen for different states of water -- i.e., liquid, frozen and supercooled -- for applications to eco-friendly fuel cells.

Population aging projections across the US show a divide between cities and rural areas, which could lead to pockets of vulnerability to climate change.

An analysis of FEMA's 30-year-old property buyout program offers new insight into the growing debate on managed retreat -- moving people and assets out of flood-prone areas.

New research into the chemistry of the oceans during ice ages is helping to solve a puzzle that has engaged scientists for more than two decades. At issue is how much of the CO2 that entered the ocean during ice ages can be attributed to the 'biological pump', where atmospheric carbon is absorbed by phytoplankton and sequestered to the seafloor as organisms die and sink.

Upside-down 'rivers' of warm ocean water are eroding the fractured edges of thick, floating Antarctic ice shelves from below, helping to create conditions that lead to ice-shelf breakup and sea-level rise, according to a new study. The findings describe a new process important to the future of Antarctica's ice and the continent's contribution to rising seas. Models and forecasts do not yet account for the newly understood and troubling scenario, which is already underway.