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Read science articles on the ice age, glaciation and climatology. Discover the connection between ice ages and global warming.
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Whale songs' changing pitch may be response to population, climate changes

Wed, 11/28/2018 - 17:21
Blue whales have been dropping pitch incrementally over several decades, but the cause has remained a mystery. A new study finds a seasonal variation in the whales' pitch correlated with breaking sea ice in the southern Indian Ocean. The new research also extends the mysterious long-term falling pitch to related baleen whales and rules out noise pollution as the cause of the global long-term trend, according to the study's authors.

Cod: Loss of breeding grounds in warmer world

Wed, 11/28/2018 - 13:18
The chances of survival for the offspring of important fish species will dramatically worsen, if the 1.5 ° C target of the Paris Climate Agreement is not achieved.

Earth's polar regions communicate via oceanic 'postcards,' atmospheric 'text messages'

Wed, 11/28/2018 - 13:18
Scientists have documented a two-part climatic connection between the North Atlantic Ocean and Antarctica, a fast atmospheric channel and a much slower oceanic one, that caused rapid changes in climate during the last ice age -- and may again.

How the Atlantic Ocean became part of the global circulation at a climatic tipping point

Mon, 11/26/2018 - 09:55
Scientists have discovered that the exchange of water between the North and South Atlantic became significantly larger fifty-nine million years ago.

A large volcanic eruption shook Deception Island 3,980 years ago

Mon, 11/26/2018 - 09:55
A large volcanic eruption shook Deception Island, in Antarctica, 3,980 years ago, and not 8,300, as it was previously thought. This event was the largest eruption in the austral continent during the Holocene, and it was comparable in volume of ejected rock to the Tambora volcano eruption in 1815.

New federal climate assessment for U.S. released

Sun, 11/25/2018 - 10:37
A new federal report finds that climate change is affecting the natural environment, agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, and human health and welfare across the U.S. and its territories.

Is Antarctica becoming more like Greenland?

Tue, 11/20/2018 - 11:58
Antarctica is high and dry and mostly bitterly cold, and it's easy to think of its ice and snow as locked away in a freezer, protected from melt except around its low-lying coasts and floating ice shelves. But that view may be wrong.

Volcanoes and glaciers combine as powerful methane producers

Tue, 11/20/2018 - 06:38
Large amounts of the potent greenhouse gas methane are being released from an Icelandic glacier, scientists have discovered. A study of Sólheimajökull glacier, which flows from the active, ice-covered volcano Katla, shows that up to 41 tons of methane is being released through meltwaters every day during the summer months.

'True polar wander' may have caused ice age

Mon, 11/19/2018 - 15:02
Earth's latest ice age may have been caused by changes deep inside the planet. Based on evidence from the Pacific Ocean, including the position of the Hawaiian Islands.

Massive impact crater from a kilometer-wide iron meteorite discovered in Greenland

Wed, 11/14/2018 - 15:00
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.

For arid, Mars-like Peruvian desert, rain brings death

Wed, 11/14/2018 - 13:43
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.

First tally of US-Russia polar bears finds a healthy population

Wed, 11/14/2018 - 13:43
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.

Arctic sea ice: Simulation versus observation

Tue, 11/13/2018 - 10:03
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.

Alpine ice shows three-fold increase in atmospheric iodine

Mon, 11/12/2018 - 18:18
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.

Primates of the Caribbean: Ancient DNA reveals history of mystery monkey

Mon, 11/12/2018 - 18:16
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.

Con­ser­va­tion areas help bird­life ad­apt to cli­mate change

Mon, 11/12/2018 - 12:16
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.

How much debris is lying on glaciers?

Fri, 11/09/2018 - 09:14
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.

One million years of precipitation history of the monsoon reconstructed

Thu, 11/08/2018 - 08:13
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.

Far fewer lakes below the East Antarctic Ice Sheet than previously believed

Wed, 11/07/2018 - 09:36
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?

How to reduce the impact of shipping vessel noise on fish? Slow them down

Mon, 11/05/2018 - 11:24
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.

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