Science Daily


Read science articles on the ice age, glaciation and climatology. Discover the connection between ice ages and global warming.
Updated: 2 hours 6 min ago
Ancient marine sediments provide clues to future climate change
Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was the major driver behind the global climatic shifts that occurred between 53 and 34 million years ago, according to new research.
Researchers discover fate of melting glacial ice in Greenland
A team of researchers has discovered the fate of much of the freshwater that pours into the surrounding oceans as the Greenland ice sheet melts every summer. They were surprised to discover that most of the meltwater found off the west coast of Greenland actually originated from ice on the east coast. Meltwater originating from the west coast of Greenland, on the other hand, is often kept pinned to the coastline by strong winds, which push it northward toward Baffin Bay.
Do fish survive in streams in winter?
Most stream-resident fish stay throughout winter despite the ice. Researchers have made this discovery by tagging trout and sculpins with transponders to follow fish migration. Fish’s general state of health is the single most important factor for surviving winter, they add.
Paperbark tree to unlock climate change
Synonymous with the Australian landscape, the paperbark tree is most recognized for its distinctive bark, but it is the leaves that have found themselves at the center of research which could provide crucial insights into climate change. The research found Melaleuca leaves preserved in ancient wetlands could be used to reconstruct past rainfall activity.
Volcanoes tied to shifts in Earth's climate over millions of years
A new study reveals that volcanic activity associated with the plate-tectonic movement of continents may be responsible for climatic shifts from hot to cold over tens and hundreds of millions of years throughout much of Earth's history.
The Arctic is facing a decline in sea ice that might equal the negative record of 2012
Sea ice physicists are anticipating that the sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean this summer may shrink to the record low of 2012. The scientists made this projection after evaluating current satellite data about the thickness of the ice cover.
Accounting for volcanoes using tools of economics
Scientists can read old descriptions of eruptions and analyze ash deposits captured in polar ice, but consistently estimating the climate impact of past eruptions has been difficult. A new technique may change that.
Polar bears are swimming more as sea ice retreats, study indicates
A study undertaken by scientists to understand swimming behavior in polar bears is showing an increase in this behavior related to changes in the amount and location of summer sea ice. The pattern of long-distance swimming by polar bears in the Beaufort Sea shows the fingerprint of climate change. Swims are occurring more often, in association with sea ice melting faster and moving farther from shore in the summer.
Ancient tectonic activity was trigger for ice ages
Continental shifting may have acted as a natural mechanism for extreme carbon sequestration.
Two volcanoes trigger crises of the late antiquity
Contemporary chronicles, archaeological studies and physical evidence all point to severe climatic changes and ensuing social crises in the middle of the 6th century. New data from ice cores suggest that these events were caused by two major volcanic eruptions. An international team of scientists has reconstructed the effects using state-of-the-art climate models. As they present now the volcanic double event was likely the strongest volcanic driver of Northern Hemisphere climate over the past one and a half millennia.
Fresh look at trope about Eskimo words for snow
Researchers have taken a fresh look at words for snow, taking on an urban legend referred to by some as 'the great Eskimo vocabulary hoax.'
Satellite images reveal dramatic tropical glacier retreat
Scientists use high resolution satellite imagery to provide a decadal study of ablation of equatorial glaciers in West Papua. The images taken from the Pleaides satellites reveal that the formerly extensive Carstenz Glacier of West Papua New Guinea has almost completely disappeared, while the once continuous East North Wall Firn has split into a number of much smaller fragments.
Ice streams can be slowed down by gas hydrates
A sticky spot the size of a small island once slowed down a large ice stream. It was comprised of gas hydrates, according to a new study.
Alaska could lose massive icefield by 2200
The massive icefield that feeds Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier may be gone by 2200 if warming trend predictions hold true.
Links within two supercontinents
A new article has apparently solved an age-old riddle of how constituent continents were arranged in two Precambrian supercontinents -- then known as Nuna-Columbia and Rodinia. It's a finding that may have future economic implications for mining companies.
When life returned after a volcanic mass extinction
A new study used fossils and mercury isotopes from volcanic gas deposited in ancient proto-Pacific Ocean sediment deposits in Nevada to determine when life recovered following the end-Triassic mass extinction 201.5 million years ago.
Climate models underestimate global warming by exaggerating cloud brightening
Researchers have found that climate models are aggressively making clouds 'brighter' as the planet warms. This may be causing models to underestimate how much global warming will occur due to increasing carbon dioxide.
Six to 10 million years ago: Ice-free summers at the North Pole
A new window has been opened into the climate history of the Arctic Ocean. Using unique sediment samples from the Lomonosov Ridge, the researchers found that six to 10 million years ago the central Arctic was completely ice-free during summer and sea-surface temperature reached values of 4 to 9 degrees Celsius.
New cloud measurements are predicting a warmer climate
Models that aim to predict human-induced global average temperature rise have been underestimating important contributions from clouds, causing projections to be lower than what actually might occur, at least in some simulations, a new study suggests.
Summer melt-driven streams on Greenland's ice sheet brought into focus
Erosion by melt-driven streams during summers on Greenland's ice sheet during shapes landscapes similarly to, but much faster than, rivers do on land, says a geologist. The methods used to study the ice sheet should help scientists better understand melt rates and improve projections about glacial response to climate change.