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Read science articles on the ice age, glaciation and climatology. Discover the connection between ice ages and global warming.
Updated: 39 min 2 sec ago

Highest prediction of sea-level rise unlikely

Wed, 08/21/2024 - 13:59
A new study challenges as highly unlikely an alarming prediction of sea-level rise that -- while designated as low likelihood --earned a spot in the latest UN climate report for its projection that the collapse of polar ice sheets could make the world's oceans up to 50 feet higher by 2300. But researchers found that the model is based on inaccurate physics of how ice sheets retreat and break apart, though they stress that the accelerating loss of ice from Greenland and Antarctica is still dire.

Scottish and Irish rocks confirmed as rare record of 'snowball Earth'

Fri, 08/16/2024 - 11:15
The study found that the Port Askaig Formation, composed of layers of rock up to 1.1 km thick, was likely laid down between 662 to 720 million years ago during the Sturtian glaciation -- the first of two global freezes thought to have triggered the development of complex, multicellular life.

As human activities expand in Antarctica, scientists identify crucial conservation sites

Thu, 08/15/2024 - 12:06
Establishing Key Biodiversity Areas in the Southern Ocean will be vital for safeguarding the ecosystem from the impact of human activities, researchers say.

New study unveils 16,000 years of climate history in the tropical Andes

Mon, 08/12/2024 - 15:54
Researchers highlight the roles of carbon dioxide and ocean currents as key drivers of temperature fluctuations in the tropical Andes over a 16,000 year period.

Researchers find unexpectedly large methane source in overlooked landscape

Fri, 08/09/2024 - 12:59
Researchers reported that upland landscapes were releasing some of the highest methane emissions yet documented among northern terrestrial ecosystems. The research was sparked when a potent greenhouse gas began ballooning under lawns in Fairbanks.

Greenland mega-tsunami led to week-long oscillating fjord wave

Fri, 08/09/2024 - 12:59
In September 2023, a megatsunami in remote eastern Greenland sent seismic waves around the world, piquing the interest of the global research community. The event created a week-long oscillating wave in Dickson Fjord, according to a new report in The Seismic Record.

Alaskan land eroding faster due to climate change

Wed, 08/07/2024 - 21:56
A new study shows that frozen land in Alaska is eroding faster than it can be replaced due to climate change.

When mammoths roamed Vancouver Island

Wed, 08/07/2024 - 21:55
Mammoths, the massive pre-historic ice age cousins of the modern-day elephant, have always been understood to have inhabited parts of British Columbia, but the question of when has always been a bit woolly. Now, a new study has given scientists the clearest picture yet when the giant mammals roamed Vancouver Island.

Scientists uncover hidden forces causing continents to rise

Wed, 08/07/2024 - 11:27
Scientists have answered one of the most puzzling questions in plate tectonics: how and why 'stable' parts of continents gradually rise to form some of the planet's greatest topographic features.

Carvings at ancient monument may be world's oldest calendars

Tue, 08/06/2024 - 12:12
Markings on a stone pillar at a 12,000 year-old archaeological site in Turkey likely represent the world's oldest solar calendar, created as a memorial to a devastating comet strike, experts suggest.

Antarctic-wide survey of plant life to aid conservation efforts

Tue, 08/06/2024 - 12:12
The first continent-wide mapping study of plant life across Antarctica reveals growth in previously uncharted areas and is set to inform conservation measures across the region. The satellite survey of mosses, lichens and algae across the continent will form a baseline for monitoring how Antarctica's vegetation responds to climate change.

Greenland fossil discovery reveals increased risk of sea-level catastrophe

Mon, 08/05/2024 - 15:44
Seeds, twigs, and insect parts found under two miles of ice confirm Greenland's ice sheet melted in the recent past, the first direct evidence that the center -- not just the edges -- of the two-mile-deep ice melted away in the recent geological past. The new research indicates that the giant ice sheet is more fragile than scientists had realized until the last few years -- and reveals increased risk of sea-level catastrophe in a warmer future.

How the rising earth in Antarctica will impact future sea level rise

Fri, 08/02/2024 - 16:09
The rising earth beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet will likely become a major factor in future sea level rise, a new study suggests.

Link between global warming and rising sea levels

Fri, 08/02/2024 - 13:46
A new study suggests that Earth's natural forces could substantially reduce Antarctica's impact on rising sea levels, but only if carbon emissions are swiftly reduced in the coming decades. By the same token, if emissions continue on the current trajectory, Antarctic ice loss could lead to more future sea level rise than previously thought.

Retreat of tropical glaciers foreshadows changing climate's effect on the global ice

Thu, 08/01/2024 - 15:56
As they are in many places around the globe, glaciers perched high in the Andes Mountains are shrinking. Now, researchers have uncovered evidence that the high-altitude tropical ice fields are likely smaller than they've been at any time since the last ice age ended 11,700 years ago.

Climate change may lead to shifts in vital Pacific Arctic fisheries

Thu, 08/01/2024 - 11:19
Commercially important marine fish and invertebrate species will likely shift northwards under a warmer climate, according to new research.

Tipping risks from overshooting 1.5 °C can be minimized if warming is swiftly reversed

Thu, 08/01/2024 - 11:17
Current climate policies imply a high risk for tipping of critical Earth system elements, even if temperatures return to below 1.5 C of global warming after a period of overshoot. A new study indicates that this risk can be minimized if the warming is swiftly reversed. That is why reducing emissions in the current decade is crucial for the stability of the Earth systems functions, researchers write. They analyzed the tipping risks for four interconnected core climate tipping elements: the Greenland Ice Sheet, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and the Amazon Rainforest.

Underwater mapping reveals new insights into melting of Antarctica's ice shelves

Wed, 07/31/2024 - 16:09
Clues to future sea level rise have been revealed by the first detailed maps of the underside of a floating ice shelf in Antarctica. An international research team deployed an unmanned submersible beneath the Dotson Ice Shelf in West Antarctica.

Warming has more impact than cooling on Greenland's 'firn'

Thu, 07/25/2024 - 14:47
A new study finds disproportionate effects of temperature shifts on an icy glacier layer.

How Saharan dust regulates hurricane rainfall

Wed, 07/24/2024 - 16:14
New research underscores the close relationship between dust plumes transported from the Sahara Desert in Africa, and rainfall from tropical cyclones along the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida.

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