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A solution to injuries from slips and falls may be found underfoot -- literally. The footpads of geckos have hydrophilic (water-loving) mechanisms that allow the little animals to easily move over moist, slick surfaces. Researchers report using silicone rubber enhanced with zirconia nanoparticles to create a gecko-inspired slip-resistant polymer. They say the material, which sticks to ice, could be incorporated into shoe soles to reduce injuries in humans.

Studies of sediment cores from the sea floor and the coastal regions surrounding the Aegean Sea show that humans contaminated the environment with lead early on in antiquity. Geoscientists conducted the analyses, which revealed that human activity in the region resulted in lead contamination of the environment approximately 5,200 years ago -- much earlier than previously known. Combined with the results of pollen analyses from the sediment cores, this contamination also offers insights into socioeconomic change in the Aegean.

Scientists have successfully analyzed more than 30 years of vital data on the thickness of landfast sea ice in Antarctica's McMurdo Sound, which will prove useful to measure future impacts of climate change.

Scientists have discovered the anti-icing secret of polar bear fur -- something that allows one of the planet's most iconic animals to survive and thrive in one of its most punishing climates. That secret? Greasy hair. After some polar sleuthing, which involved scrutiny of hair collected from six polar bears in the wild, the scientists homed in on the hair 'sebum' (or grease) as the all-important protectant. This sebum, which is made up of cholesterol, diacylglycerols, and fatty acids, makes it very hard for ice to attach to their fur. While this finding sheds fascinating new light on our understanding of polar bear -- and even Inuit -- ecology, it may also have a suite of unrelated applications, with a similar concoction of artificially made sebum promising to be useful as an anti-ice surface coating, or in next-gen ski skins used by skiers and snowboarders.

Researchers unveil a new map and classification system that will help protect the unique plants and animals of Earth's most remote and fragile continent.

Smaller calving events, not large icebergs, drive Antarctic ice sheet loss.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers has projected that if the rate of global CO2 emissions continues to increase and reaches a high emission scenario, sea levels would as a result very likely rise between 0.5 and 1.9 meters by 2100. The high end of this projection's range is 90 centimeters higher than the latest United Nations' global projection of 0.6 to 1.0 meters.

Relatives of the llama are dropping dung as they venture into higher elevations in the Andes Mountains, providing a nutrient-rich environment for life to thrive despite glacier loss.

Ice nucleating particles as a kind of aerosols have a significant impact on the Arctic climate by promoting the formation of ice clouds at a temperature above -- 38 degrees Celsius. Wildfires in mid-latitudinal areas are a major source of these aerosols. However, a direct observation of wildfire-emitted aerosols facilitating ice cloud formation has never been documented. Now, using field and climate data, scientists have linked aerosols emitted by Canadian wildfires in 2023 to the formation of ice clouds over the Arctic Ocean.

4,900 years ago, a Neolithic people on the Danish island Bornholm sacrificed hundreds of stones engraved with sun and field motifs. Archaeologists and climate scientists can now show that these ritual sacrifices coincided with a large volcanic eruption that made the sun disappear throughout Northern Europe.

The synchronization of data from two natural climate archives -- a speleothem from the Herbstlabyrinth Cave in Hesse (Germany) and ice cores from Greenland -- offers new insights into the chronology of abrupt climate changes in Central Europe. According to the analysis, the devastating eruption of the Laacher See volcano in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate occurred earlier than previously assumed and hence could not have triggered the sudden-onset cold period of approximately 13,000 years ago, geoscientists have found.

A new study analyzing a lake formed by a glacier surge in the Karakoram Mountains has revealed how satellite images can be used to monitor the potential for lake drainage hazards.

A new study has revealed the alarming extent glaciers have shrunk over the past 40 years in a global warming hotspot -- and the biggest retreat has occurred in recent years.

Laboratory experiments designed to deform ice at its pressure-melting temperature were like grabbing a bagel at the top and the bottom, then twisting the two halves to smear the cream cheese in the middle, according to new research. The resulting data could lead to more accurate models of temperate glacier ice and better predictions of glacier flow and sea-level rise.

A researcher has used advanced models that indicate that the formation of Pluto and Charon may parallel that of the Earth-Moon system. Both systems include a moon that is a large fraction of the size of the main body, unlike other moons in the solar system. The scenario also could support Pluto's active geology and possible subsurface ocean, despite its location at the frozen edge of the solar system.

Scientists say the frozen remnants of an ancient forest discovered 600 feet above the modern tree line on the Beartooth Plateau may portend possible changes for the alpine ecosystem if the climate continues to warm.

Lead exposure is responsible for a range of human health impacts, with even relatively low levels impacting the cognitive development of children. Scientists have previously used atmospheric pollution records preserved in Arctic ice cores to identify periods of lead pollution throughout the Roman Empire, and now new research expands on this finding to identify how this pollution may have affected the European population.

In the Arctic, the old, multiyear ice is increasingly melting, dramatically reducing the frequency and size of pressure ridges. These ridges are created when ice floes press against each other and become stacked, and are a characteristic feature of Arctic sea ice, an obstacle for shipping, but also an essential component of the ecosystem. In a recently released study scientists report on this trend and analyze observational data from three decades of aerial surveys.

Each year, most species of bacteria in a Wisconsin lake rapidly evolved, apparently in response to dramatically changing seasons, and then evolved back.

A new study investigating ancient methane trapped in Antarctic ice suggests that global increases in wildfire activity likely occurred during periods of abrupt climate change throughout the last Ice Age.