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Categories: Environmental: Wildfires, Paleontology: General

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Environmental: Ecosystems Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Mistaken fossil rewrites history of Indian subcontinent for second time      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists discovered the first-ever Dickinsonia fossil in India two years ago, changing our understanding of how the continent came to be. Now, new research shows the 'fossil' was just a beehive all along, changing our understanding for a second time, and the original scientists now support the new findings.

Biology: Evolutionary Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

319-million-year-old fish preserves the earliest fossilized brain of a backboned animal      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The CT-scanned skull of a 319-million-year-old fossilized fish, pulled from a coal mine in England more than a century ago, has revealed the oldest example of a well-preserved vertebrate brain.

Environmental: Wildfires
Published

Western wildfires destroying more homes per square mile burned      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Between 2010 and 2020, human ignitions started 76% of the Western wildfires that destroyed structures, and those fires tended to be in flammable areas where buildings are increasingly common. Three times as many homes and other structures burned in these ten years than in the previous decade.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Understanding plants can boost wildland-fire modeling in uncertain future      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new conceptual framework for incorporating the way plants use carbon and water, or plant dynamics, into fine-scale computer models of wildland fire provides a critical first step toward improved global fire forecasting.

Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Mercury helps to detail Earth's most massive extinction event      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists are working to understand the cause and how the events of the LPME unfolded by focusing on mercury from Siberian volcanoes that ended up in sediments in Australia and South Africa.

Anthropology: General Biology: Evolutionary Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

New geosciences study shows Triassic fossils that reveal origins of living amphibians      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of paleontologists have discovered the first 'unmistakable' Triassic-era caecilian fossil -- the oldest-known caecilian fossils -- thus extending the record of this small, burrowing animal by roughly 35 million years. The find also fills a gap of at least 87 million years in the known historical fossil record of the amphibian-like creature.

Biology: Evolutionary Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

What crocodile DNA reveals about the Ice Age      (via sciencedaily.com) 

What drives crocodile evolution? Is climate a major factor or changes in sea levels? Determined to find answers to these questions, researchers discovered that while changing temperatures and rainfall had little impact on the crocodiles' gene flow over the past three million years, changes to sea levels during the Ice Age had a different effect.

Environmental: Wildfires
Published

How to apply lessons from Colorado's costliest wildfire to drinking water systems      (via sciencedaily.com) 

While communities and governments nationwide have been facing the impact of wildfires on drinking water systems, no national synthesis of scientific and policy needs has been conducted. Now, a study has outlined the scientific and policy needs specific to drinking water systems' resilience to wildfires.

Ecology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Wildfires
Published

Unprecedented levels of high-severity fire burn in Sierra Nevada      (via sciencedaily.com) 

High-severity wildfire in California's Sierra Nevada forests has nearly quintupled compared to before Euro-American settlement, rising from less than 10% per year then to up to 43% today, a new study finds.

Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Malformed seashells, ancient sediment provide clues about Earth's past      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Shrunken seashells and unusually dark sediment cores have helped geoscientists better understand the chronology and character of events that led to Ocean Anoxic Event 2, nearly 100 million years ago.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Researchers uncover 92 fossil nests belonging to some of India's largest dinosaurs      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The discovery of more than 250 fossilized eggs reveals intimate details about the lives of titanosaurs in the Indian subcontinent, according to a new study.

Environmental: Wildfires
Published

In the wake of a wildfire, embers of change in cognition and brain function linger      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Five years after the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, researchers document persistent differences in cognitive function among survivors.

Environmental: Wildfires
Published

What's driving re-burns across California and the West?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Seasonal temperature, moisture loss from plants and wind speed are what primarily drive fires that sweep across the same landscape multiple times, a new study reveals. These findings and others could help land managers plan more effective treatments in areas susceptible to fire, particularly in the fire-ravaged wildland-urban interfaces of California.

Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

20,000 premature US deaths caused by human-ignited fires each year      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study shows that smoke particles from human-lit fires are responsible for over 80% of smoke-related deaths each year. The study shows that smoke pollution is on the rise, reducing air quality, and leading to increased illness and premature deaths.

Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossils reveal dinosaurs of prehistoric Patagonia      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study is providing a glimpse into dinosaur and bird diversity in Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous, just before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. The fossils represent the first record of theropods -- a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur relatives -- from the Chilean portion of Patagonia. The researchers' finds include giant megaraptors with large sickle-like claws and birds similar to todays ducks and geese.

Ecology: Endangered Species Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Rodent extinctions in Hispaniola may have been caused by humans      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Hispaniola once had among the highest diversity of rodents in the Caribbean. Today, only one rodent species remains, and its prospects for survival are uncertain. New carbon dates place the blame squarely on humans.

Ecology: Endangered Species Paleontology: General
Published

New discovery of sunscreen-like chemicals in fossil plants reveals UV radiation played a part in mass extinction events      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research has uncovered that pollen preserved in 250 million year old rocks contain compounds that function like sunscreen, these are produced by plants to protect them from harmful ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation. The findings suggests that a pulse of UV-B played an important part in the end Permian mass extinction event.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Bering Land Bridge formed surprisingly late during last ice age      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study that reconstructs the history of sea level at the Bering Strait shows that the Bering Land Bridge connecting Asia to North America did not emerge until around 35,700 years ago, less than 10,000 years before the height of the last ice age (known as the Last Glacial Maximum). The findings indicate that the growth of the ice sheets -- and the resulting drop in sea level -- occurred surprisingly quickly and much later in the glacial cycle than previous studies had suggested.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Paleontology: General
Published

Archaeologists uncover oldest known projectile points in the Americas      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Archaeologists have uncovered projectile points in Idaho that are thousands of years older than any previously found in the Americas, helping to fill in the history of how early humans crafted and used stone weapons.