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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

Great opportunities for marine research with new underwater vehicle

Tue, 06/20/2017 - 08:45
An autonomous underwater vehicle offers promise for advanced marine research use. This will make it possible to conduct detailed studies of the seabed at great depths and track the climate thousands of years back in time, say researchers.

Wet and stormy weather lashed California coast... 8,200 years ago

Tue, 06/20/2017 - 08:32
An analysis of stalagmite records from White Moon Cave in the Santa Cruz Mountains shows that 8200 years ago the California coast underwent 150 years of exceptionally wet and stormy weather. This is the first high resolution record of how the Holocene cold snap affected the California climate.

Scientists throw light on mysterious ice age temperature jumps

Mon, 06/19/2017 - 11:58
Scientists believe they have discovered the reason behind mysterious changes to the climate that saw temperatures fluctuate by up to 15°C within just a few decades during the ice age periods.

Widespread snowmelt in West Antarctica during unusually warm summer

Thu, 06/15/2017 - 07:46
An area of West Antarctica more than twice the size of California partially melted in 2016 when warm winds forced by an especially strong El Nino blew over the continent.

Animal evolution: Hot start, followed by cold shock

Thu, 06/15/2017 - 07:45
The initial phases of animal evolution proceeded faster than hitherto supposed: New analyses suggest that the first animal phyla emerged in rapid succession -- prior to the global Ice Age that set in around 700 million years ago.

Ancient otter tooth found in Mexico suggests mammals migrated across America

Wed, 06/14/2017 - 08:29
An ancient otter tooth recently discovered in Mexico suggests certain mammals migrated across America during the Miocene geologic epoch, roughly 23 million to 5.3 million years ago. The new hypothesized route questions other theories such as migrations above Canada and through Panama, and has implications for a much larger biologic event -- the Great American Biotic Interchange, when land bridges were formed and animals dispersed to and from North America and South America.

Polar bears' declining mercury levels likely due to climate-related shifts

Wed, 06/14/2017 - 08:18
To understand how human activities are affecting the planet, scientists often study the health of animals in the wild. Now a new study finds that the levels of mercury in some polar bears are declining. But rather than heralding a drop in mercury in the environment, the decrease could indicate how climate change has led the animals to shift foraging habits, which has affected their diets and weight.

Large Canadian Arctic climate change study cancelled due to climate change

Tue, 06/13/2017 - 14:06
The Science Team of the Canadian Research Icebreaker CCGS Amundsen has cancelled the first leg of the 2017 Expedition due to complications associated with the southward motion of hazardous Arctic sea ice, caused by climate change.

Comets may have delivered significant portions of Earth's xenon

Thu, 06/08/2017 - 13:55
A new study suggests that roughly 22% of the element xenon found in Earth's atmosphere may have come from comets.

Sahara greening may intensify tropical cyclone activity worldwide

Thu, 06/08/2017 - 06:33
Future climate warming could lead to a re-greening of the southernmost Sahara (Sahel), with decreased dust emissions and changes in land cover. In a recent study, researchers have found that tropical cyclone activity may have increased during past warm climates in connection with a greening of the Sahara.

Finding new homes won't help emperor penguins cope with climate change

Wed, 06/07/2017 - 14:12
Unlike other species that migrate successfully to escape the wrath of climate change, a new study shows that dispersal may help sustain global Emperor penguin populations for a limited time, but, as sea ice conditions continue to deteriorate, the 54 colonies that exist today will face devastating declines by the end of this century.

Domes of frozen methane may be warning signs for new blow-outs

Mon, 06/05/2017 - 14:19
Several methane domes, some 500m wide, have been mapped on the Arctic Ocean floor. They may be signs of soon-to-happen methane expulsions that have previously created massive craters in a near-by area.

Antarctic ice rift close to calving, after growing 17km in 6 days, latest data from ice shelf shows

Fri, 06/02/2017 - 10:28
The rift in the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica has grown by 17km in the last few days and is now only 13km from the ice front, indicating that calving of an iceberg is probably very close, researchers revealed after studying satellite data. The rift is likely to lead to one of the largest icebergs ever recorded.

Massive craters formed by methane blow-outs from the Arctic sea floor

Thu, 06/01/2017 - 14:18
Hundreds of massive, kilometer-wide craters on the ocean floor in the Arctic were formed by substantial methane expulsions, new research explains.

Geoscientific evidence for subglacial lakes

Thu, 06/01/2017 - 07:22
During the last glacial period -- when the ice in the Antarctic was far thicker and extended further offshore than it does today -- it has been speculated that subglacial lakes existed beneath it. An international team of researchers has now successfully sampled the meter-thick sediment layers left behind by these lakes contemporary on the seafloor.

Human activity has polluted European air for 2,000 years

Wed, 05/31/2017 - 09:33
A new study combining European ice core data and historical records of the infamous Black Death pandemic of 1349-1353 shows metal mining and smelting have polluted the environment for thousands of years, challenging the widespread belief that environmental pollution began with the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s and 1800s.

Previously, on Arctic warming

Tue, 05/30/2017 - 13:48
Arctic warming occurred in the early 20th century due to the warming phases -- 'interdecadal variability mode' -- of both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, suggests new research.

Death by volcano?

Tue, 05/30/2017 - 07:23
The discovery of anomalously high levels of mercury in rocks from the Ordivician geological period has led to a new interpretation of the ensuing mass extinction. A sequence of disturbances may have led to catastrophic cooling by reflective sulfate aerosols injected into the atmosphere by massive volcanism. The finding is important since aerosol cooling is under consideration as a way to temper global warming.

'Tiny clocks' crystallize understanding of meteorite crashes

Fri, 05/26/2017 - 13:37
Scientists are using new imaging techniques to measure the atomic nanostructure of ancient crystal fragments at meteorite impact sites. The end goal? To understand when impacts ended and life began.

Fossil beetles suggest that LA climate has been relatively stable for 50,000 years

Wed, 05/24/2017 - 12:11
Research based on more than 180 fossil insects preserved in the La Brea Tar Pits of Los Angeles indicate that the climate in what is now southern California has been relatively stable over the past 50,000 years.

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