Feed aggregator

Antarctic ice sheets capable of retreating up to 50 meters per day

Science Daily - Thu, 05/28/2020 - 15:05
The ice shelves surrounding the Antarctic coastline retreated at speeds of up to 50 meters per day at the end of the last Ice Age, far more rapid than the satellite-derived retreat rates observed today, new research has found.

Erosion of ozone layer responsible for mass extinction event

Science Daily - Wed, 05/27/2020 - 14:01
Researchers have shown that an extinction event 360 million years ago, that killed much of the Earth's plant and freshwater aquatic life, was caused by a brief breakdown of the ozone layer that shields the Earth from damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This is a newly discovered extinction mechanism with profound implications for our warming world today.

Volcanic eruptions reduce global rainfall

Science Daily - Wed, 05/27/2020 - 09:50
Scientists have identified the mechanism behind the reduction in precipitation after volcanic eruptions. Volcano-induced El Niño amplifies the reduction in precipitation. Safety of geoengineering that mimic volcanoes is not guaranteed.

Rarely heard narwhal vocalizations

Science Daily - Tue, 05/26/2020 - 11:40
With the help of Inuit hunters, geophysicists recently recorded the various calls, buzzes, clicks and whistles of narwhals as they summered in a Greenland fjord. The recordings help scientists better understand the soundscape of Arctic glacial fjords and provide valuable insight into the behavior of these shy and mysterious creatures, according to the researchers.

Ancient ocean oxygen levels associated with changing atmospheric carbon dioxide

Science Daily - Wed, 05/20/2020 - 18:14
Why do carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere wax and wane in conjunction with the warm and cold periods of Earth's past? Scientists have been trying to answer this question for many years, and thanks to chemical clues left in sediment cores extracted from deep in the ocean floor, they are starting to put together the pieces of that puzzle.

Modern sea-level rise linked to human activities

Science Daily - Fri, 05/15/2020 - 13:46
New research reaffirms that modern sea-level rise is linked to human activities and not to changes in Earth's orbit. Surprisingly, the Earth had nearly ice-free conditions with carbon dioxide levels not much higher than today and had glacial periods in times previously believed to be ice-free over the last 66 million years, according to a new article.

Early humans thrived in this drowned South African landscape

Science Daily - Fri, 05/15/2020 - 12:19
Scientists have reconstructed the paleoecology the Paleo-Agulhas Plain, a now-drowned landscape on the southern tip of Africa that was high and dry during glacial phases of the last 2 million years and may have been instrumental in shaping the evolution of early modern humans.

NASA's ICESat-2 measures Arctic Ocean's sea ice thickness, snow cover

Science Daily - Thu, 05/14/2020 - 12:17
Arctic sea ice helps keep Earth cool, as its bright surface reflects the Sun's energy back into space.

CFC replacements are a source of persistent organic pollution in the Arctic

Science Daily - Thu, 05/14/2020 - 12:17
Substances used to replace ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) may be just as problematic as their predecessors, a new study shows.

Remnants of human migration paths exist underwater at 'choke points'

Science Daily - Tue, 05/12/2020 - 12:35
A study shows evidence vital to understanding human prehistory beneath the seas in places that were dry during the Last Glacial Maximum. This paper informs one of the 'hottest mysteries' in science: the debate over when the first Asians peopled North America.

New technique uses radar to gauge methane release from Arctic lakes

Science Daily - Mon, 05/11/2020 - 10:25
A research team has developed a way to use satellite images to determine the amount of methane being released from northern lakes, a technique that could help climate change modelers better account for this potent greenhouse gas. By using synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, researchers were able to find a correlation between 'brighter' satellite images of frozen lakes and the amount of methane they produce.

Sea level could rise by more than 1 meter by 2100 if emission targets are not met

Science Daily - Fri, 05/08/2020 - 07:35
Scientists found that the global mean sea-level rise could exceed 1 meter by 2100 and 5 meters by 2300 if global targets on emissions are not achieved.

Benthos in the Antarctic Weddell Sea in decline

Science Daily - Thu, 05/07/2020 - 12:07
Over the past quarter-century, changes in Antarctic sea-ice cover have had profound impacts on life on the ocean floor.

Climate change could reawaken Indian Ocean El Niño

Science Daily - Wed, 05/06/2020 - 15:22
Global warming is approaching a tipping point that during this century could reawaken an ancient climate pattern similar to El Niño in the Indian Ocean, new research has found.

Wetter climate is likely to intensify global warming

Science Daily - Wed, 05/06/2020 - 12:36
New study indicates the increase in rainfall forecast by global climate models is likely to hasten the release of carbon dioxide from tropical soils, further intensifying global warming by adding to human emissions of this greenhouse gas into Earth's atmosphere.

One small area of ocean not changed by global warming

Science Daily - Wed, 05/06/2020 - 11:37
Global warming has affected the entire planet's surface, except for one particular area of the ocean, which has bucked the trend. A research team has unraveled the causes of this conundrum.

Arctic 'shorefast' sea ice threatened by climate change

Science Daily - Mon, 05/04/2020 - 10:40
A new study shows that coastal sea ice used by Arctic residents for hunting and fishing will be reduced as the planet warms.

NASA space laser missions map 16 years of ice sheet loss

Science Daily - Fri, 05/01/2020 - 12:52
Using the most advanced Earth-observing laser instrument NASA has ever flown in space, scientists have made precise, detailed measurements of how the elevation of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have changed over 16 years.

How catastrophic outburst floods may have carved Greenland's 'grand canyon'

Science Daily - Thu, 04/30/2020 - 14:03
For years, geologists have debated how and when canyons under the Greenland Ice Sheet formed, especially one called 'Greenland's Grand Canyon.' Its shape suggests it was carved by running water and glaciers, but until now its genesis remained unknown, scientists say.

First results from NASA's ICESat-2 mission map 16 years of melting ice sheets

Science Daily - Thu, 04/30/2020 - 14:01
By comparing new measurements from NASA's ICESat-2 mission with the original ICESat mission, which operated from 2003 to 2009, scientists were able to measure precisely how the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have changed over 16 years.

Pages

Subscribe to Explore the Ice Age Midwest aggregator