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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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Greenland glaciers' varied vulnerability to melting

Wed, 03/14/2018 - 13:49
Using data from NASA missions observing Earth, researchers have created new maps of the bed topography beneath a score of glaciers in southeast Greenland, thereby gaining a much better understanding of why some are undergoing rapid retreat and others are relatively stable.

Eastern Mediterranean summer will be two months longer by end of 21st century

Wed, 03/14/2018 - 09:19
The eastern Mediterranean is experiencing monumental climate changes poised to significantly affect regional ecosystems and human health. According to a new study, these changes will drastically alter the duration of summer and winter in the region by the end of this century.

Exceptionally large amount of winter snow in Northern Hemisphere this year

Wed, 03/14/2018 - 08:27
The new Arctic Now product shows with one picture the extent of the area in the Northern Hemisphere currently covered by ice and snow. This kind of information, which shows the accurate state of the Arctic, becomes increasingly important due to climate change.

Chain reaction of fast-draining lakes poses new risk for Greenland ice sheet

Wed, 03/14/2018 - 08:23
A growing network of lakes on the Greenland ice sheet has been found to drain in a chain reaction that speeds up the flow of the ice sheet, threatening its stability.

Unique diamond impurities indicate water deep in Earth's mantle

Fri, 03/09/2018 - 16:07
Scientists have discovered the first direct evidence that fluid water pockets may exist as far as 500 miles deep into the Earth's mantle.

Global fisheries to be, on average, 20 percent less productive in 2300, UCI study finds

Thu, 03/08/2018 - 13:31
Scientists expect the world's fisheries to be, on average, 20 percent less productive in the year 2300, with those in the North Atlantic down nearly 60 percent and those in much of the western Pacific experiencing declines of more than 50 percent.

Desertification and monsoon climate change linked to shifts in ice volume and sea level

Wed, 03/07/2018 - 09:08
The East Asian summer monsoon and desertification in Eurasia is driven by fluctuating Northern Hemisphere ice volume and global sea level during the Ice Age, as shown in a new study. Today, two thirds of the world’s population is dependent on agriculture sustained by rains of the East Asian summer monsoon, and future climate change in this region can therefore have a major impact on global food production.

Glaciers in Mongolia's Gobi Desert actually shrank during the last ice age

Tue, 03/06/2018 - 07:54
High in Mongolia's Gobi Desert, the climate is so dry and cold that glaciers shrank during the last ice age. Dating of rock deposits shows how glaciers in this less-studied region behave very differently as the climate shifts.

Snowpack levels show dramatic decline in western states, U.S.

Fri, 03/02/2018 - 11:48
A new study of long-term snow monitoring sites in the western United States found declines in snowpack at more than 90 percent of those sites -- and one-third of the declines were deemed significant.

Thawing permafrost causing the 'browning' of northern lakes

Fri, 03/02/2018 - 11:46
As ice the melts, the organic carbon found in permafrost is being released once again after ages of confinement in the soil. It is making its way into Arctic and subarctic lakes and ponds, and modifying their composition.

Previously unknown 'supercolony' of Adélie penguins discovered in Antarctica

Fri, 03/02/2018 - 08:09
In a paper released on March 2nd in the journal Scientific Reports, the scientists announced the discovery of a previously unknown 'supercolony' of more than 1,500,000 Adélie Penguins in the Danger Islands, a chain of remote, rocky islands off of the Antarctic Peninsula's northern tip.

Fossilised plant leaf wax provides new tool for understanding ancient climates

Fri, 03/02/2018 - 08:09
New research has outlined a new methodology for estimating ancient atmospheric water content based on fossil plant leaf waxes.

Lake Montcortès in Spain reveals the ecological footprint of climate change from the last 500 years

Wed, 02/28/2018 - 14:36
Oxygen decline in water masses is an environmental problem in lakes and ponds around the world. This phenomenon, which alters the conditions of continental water ecosystems, seems to be linked to global warming.

Land partnerships have high potential to preserve biodiversity as climate shifts

Wed, 02/28/2018 - 13:44
Conservation partnerships between protected lands and their non-protected neighbors could significantly improve a region's ability to accommodate species migration in response to shifting climates, according to a new study.

As summers get warmer, more rain may not be better than less

Wed, 02/28/2018 - 12:41
Warm, wet summers are historically unusual and could bring unexpected disruptions to ecosystems and society, according to new research.

Complete genomes of extinct and living elephants sequenced

Mon, 02/26/2018 - 14:27
Researchers have produced one of the most comprehensive evolutionary pictures to date by looking at one of the world's most iconic animal families - namely elephants, and their relatives mammoths and mastodons-spanning millions of years.

King penguins may be on the move very soon

Mon, 02/26/2018 - 11:25
More than 70 percent of the global King penguin population, currently forming colonies in Crozet, Kerguelen and Marion sub-Antarctic islands, may be nothing more than a memory in a matter of decades, as global warming will soon force the birds to move south, or disappear.

Surprising new study redraws family tree of domesticated and 'wild' horses

Thu, 02/22/2018 - 13:51
New research overturns a long-held assumption that Przewalski's horses, native to the Eurasian steppes, are the last wild horse species on Earth.

Stagnation in the South Pacific

Thu, 02/22/2018 - 13:49
A team led by geochemist has discovered important evidence that the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels at the end of the last ice age was triggered by changes in the Antarctic Ocean.

Extinct lakes of the American desert west

Thu, 02/22/2018 - 12:34
The vestiges of lakes long extinct dot the landscape of the American desert west. These fossilized landforms provide clues of how dynamic climate has been over the past few million years.

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