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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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Microplastics impact cloud formation, likely affecting weather and climate

Thu, 11/07/2024 - 10:52
Scientists have spotted microplastics, tiny pieces of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters, in some of the most pristine environments on Earth, from the depths of the Mariana Trench to the snow on Mt. Everest to the mountaintop clouds of China and Japan. Microplastics have been detected in human brains, the bellies of sea turtles and the roots of plants. Now, research reveals that microplastics in the atmosphere could be affecting weather and climate.

Groundbreaking study provides new evidence of when Earth was slushy

Tue, 11/05/2024 - 16:47
At the end of the last global ice age, the deep-frozen Earth reached a built-in limit of climate change and thawed into a slushy planet. Results provide the first direct geochemical evidence of the slushy planet -- otherwise known as the 'plume-world ocean' era -- when sky-high carbon dioxide levels forced the frozen Earth into a massive, rapid melting period.

Domino effect in the Amazon region

Mon, 11/04/2024 - 10:20
The Amazon region is a global hotspot of biodiversity and plays a key role in the climate system because of its ability to store large amounts of carbon and its influence on the global water cycle. The rain forest is threatened, however, by climate change as well as by intensified deforestation activities. An international team has now investigated how a change in Atlantic circulation would impact the Amazon Rain Forest.

Indigenous cultural burning has protected Australia's landscape for millennia, study finds

Fri, 11/01/2024 - 11:37
Ancient cultural burning practices carried out by Indigenous Australians limited fuel availability and prevented high intensity fires in southeastern Australia for thousands of years, according to new research.

Buried Alive: Carbon dioxide release from magma deep beneath ancient volcanoes was a hidden driver of Earth's past climate

Wed, 10/30/2024 - 14:06
A team discovered that, contrary to present scientific understanding, ancient volcanoes continued to spew carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from deep within the Earth long past their period of eruptions.

Large meltwater accumulation revealed inside Greenland Ice Sheet

Wed, 10/30/2024 - 13:59
A new study unveils a surprising discovery: a substantial amount of meltwater is temporarily stored within the Greenland Ice Sheet during summer months. For the first time, an international group of researchers was able to quantify meltwater with positioning data. The finding challenges current models of how ice sheets contribute to global sea level rise.

Ancient DNA brings to life history of the iconic aurochs, whose tale is intertwined with climate change and human culture

Wed, 10/30/2024 - 13:58
Geneticists have deciphered the prehistory of aurochs -- the animals that were the focus of some of the most iconic early human art -- by analyzing 38 genomes harvested from bones dating across 50 millennia and stretching from Siberia to Britain. The aurochs roamed in Europe, Asia and Africa for hundreds of thousands of years. Adorned as paintings on many a cave wall, their domestication to create cattle gave us a harnessed source of muscle, meat and milk. Such was the influence of this domestication that today their descendants make up a third of the world's mammalian biomass.

Melting Arctic sea-ice could affect global ocean circulation

Sun, 10/27/2024 - 19:58
The warming climate in polar regions may significantly disrupt ocean circulation patterns, a new study indicates. Scientists discovered that in the distant past, growing inflows of freshwater from melting Arctic sea-ice into the Nordic Seas likely significantly affected ocean circulation, sending temperatures plummeting across northern Europe.

Slowing ocean current could ease Arctic warming -- a little

Fri, 10/25/2024 - 18:44
The Arctic is warming at three to four times the global average. However, new research suggests the slowing of a key ocean current could reduce projected Arctic warming by up to 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

Gut bacteria transfer genes to disable weapons of their competitors

Thu, 10/24/2024 - 13:52
New research shows that a large, ubiquitous mobile genetic element changes the antagonistic weaponry of Bacteroides fragilis, a common bacterium of the human gut.

Polar bears' exposure to pathogens is increasing as their environment changes

Wed, 10/23/2024 - 13:18
As the Arctic warms, polar bears now face a greater risk of contracting several pathogens than bears three decades ago, according to a new study.

'Paleo-robots' to help scientists understand how fish started to walk on land

Wed, 10/23/2024 - 13:18
The transition from water to land is one of the most significant events in the history of life on Earth. Now, a team of roboticists, palaeontologists and biologists is using robots to study how the ancestors of modern land animals transitioned from swimming to walking, about 390 million years ago.

Ethical framework aims to counter risks of geoengineering research

Wed, 10/23/2024 - 12:15
A new report says any research into large-scale interventions in Earth's climate system must be grounded in sound ethical principles so society can make informed choices about whether to deploy them.

Paws of polar bears sustaining ice-related injuries in a warming Arctic

Tue, 10/22/2024 - 14:38
Polar bears in some parts of the high Arctic are developing ice buildup and related injuries to their feet. The changes appear to be an unexpected consequence of climate change, related to changing conditions in a warming Arctic.

New ice core data provides insight into climate 'tipping points' during the last Ice Age

Mon, 10/21/2024 - 17:32
New research from multiple ice cores collected across Greenland with data spanning up to 120,000 years provides new understanding of abrupt Dansgaard-Oeschger events, how they unfold and what that might mean for the future.

Loss of lake ice has wide-ranging environmental and societal consequences

Thu, 10/10/2024 - 13:25
The world's freshwater lakes are freezing over for shorter periods of time due to climate change. This shift has major implications for human safety, as well as water quality, biodiversity, and global nutrient cycles.

Catastrophically warm predictions are more plausible than we thought

Thu, 10/10/2024 - 11:48
Researchers developed a rating system to evaluate the plausibility of climate model simulations in the IPCC's latest report, and show that models that lead to potentially catastrophic warming are to be taken seriously.

Snowflake dance analysis could improve rain forecasts

Wed, 10/09/2024 - 20:54
Research observing the physical motion of falling ice crystals could help scientists better estimate where and when these crystals will melt into raindrops.

Researchers develop new technique to measure previously undetected airborne PFAS

Wed, 10/09/2024 - 13:50
For decades, scientists knew there was a huge swath of undetected and unaccounted for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the atmosphere, often referred to as PFAS dark matter, but no one knew how much was missing or how to measure them. Now, an atmospheric chemistry research team has devised a way to test for one of the most ubiquitous elements of these potent greenhouse gases.

Heavy metals in the ocean become more toxic

Wed, 10/09/2024 - 11:23
Toxic trace elements such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium naturally occur in small quantities in coastal seas. However, human activities, such as industry and agriculture, contribute significantly larger amounts. A new study has examined how climate change already affects the distribution and accumulation of these elements and how it could impact them in the future. One of the findings: Climate-related natural events are releasing more contaminants, which pose a risk to both human and animal health. However, there is still insufficient knowledge about how these contaminants will behave in the future.

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