Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Paleontology: Climate
Published

Major North American oil source yields clues to one of earth's deadliest mass extinctions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Geologists studying the Bakken Shale Formation discovered a critical kill mechanism behind a series of extinctions some 350 million years ago.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate
Published

Short-distance migration critical for climate change adaptation      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Short-distance migration, which accounts for the vast majority of migratory movements in the world, is crucial for climate change adaptation, according to new research. Contrary to common assumptions, most migratory movements are people moving short distances, largely due to economic, social and environmental factors, such as climate change.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Elegantly modeling Earth's abrupt glacial transitions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Milutin Milankovitch hypothesized that the timing of glacial transitions has been controlled by the orbital parameters of the Earth, which suggests that there may be some predictability in the climate, a notoriously complex system. Now researchers propose a new paradigm to simplify the verification of the Milankovitch hypothesis. The new 'deterministic excitation paradigm' combines the physics concepts of relaxation oscillation and excitability to link Earth's orbital parameters and the glacial cycles in a more generic way.

Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Most detailed geological model reveals Earth's past 100 million years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Previous models of Earth's recent (100 million years) geomorphology have been patchy at best. For the first time a detailed continuous model of the Earth's landscape evolution is presented, with potential for understanding long-term climate and biological development.

Archaeology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Wisconsin cave holds tantalizing clues to ancient climate changes, future shifts      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A newly published study of a stalagmite found in Cave of the Mounds reveals previously undetected history of the local climate going back thousands of years. Researchers describe evidence for an ice age punctuated by massive and abrupt warming events across much of the Northern Hemisphere.

Anthropology: Cultures Paleontology: Climate
Published

Ice Age survivors      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Large-scale genomic analysis documents the migrations of Ice Age hunter-gatherers over a period of 30,000 years -- they took shelter in Western Europe but died out on the Italian peninsula.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Paleontology: Climate
Published

Oldest human genome from southern Spain      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study reports on genomic data from a 23,000-year-old individual who lived in what was probably the warmest place of Europe at the peak of the last Ice Age. The oldest human genome recovered from the southern tip of Spain adds an important piece of the puzzle to the genetic history of Europe.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Landslides Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Reassessment of Storegga event: Second major landslide recognized      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Submarine landslides have a large tsunami potential and occurred on the central Norwegian shelf more frequently in the past than previously thought. Scientists investigate the Nyegga landslide off the coast of Norway. The submarine landslide occurred in the same area as the well-known Storegga event 8,150 years ago. The new findings suggest that approximately one-third of the seafloor material missing -- previously attributed to the Storegga event -- was removed by the Nyegga event 20,000 years ago. This raises questions about the frequency of large submarine landslides and their associated tsunami hazard.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Climate trends in the west, today and 11,000 years ago      (via sciencedaily.com) 

What we think of as the classic West Coast climate began just about 4,000 years ago, finds a study on climate trends of the Holocene era.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Clues about the Northeast's past and future climate from plant fossils      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of researchers is working to understand the details of the climate for the eastern portion of the United States from the Miocene, which unfortunately is a blank spot on paleo-climate maps. New findings suggest the future climate will be very close to the warmer, wetter, and more homogeneous climate similar to conditions experienced 5 million years ago.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Early Cretaceous shift in the global carbon cycle affected both land and sea      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Geologists doing fieldwork in southeastern Utah's Cedar Mountain Formation found carbon isotope evidence that the site, though on land, experienced the same early Cretaceous carbon-cycle change recorded in marine sedimentary rocks in Europe. This ancient carbon-cycle phenomenon, known as the 'Weissert Event' was driven by large, sustained volcanic eruptions in the Southern Hemisphere that greatly increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and produced significant greenhouse climate effects over a prolonged time.

Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate
Published

Bouncing seismic waves reveal distinct layer in Earth's inner core      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Data captured from seismic waves caused by earthquakes has shed new light on the deepest parts of Earth's inner core, according to seismologists.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
Published

New knowledge about ice sheet movement can shed light on when sea levels will rise      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The trawling of thousands of satellite measurements using artificial intelligence has shown researchers that meltwater in tunnels beneath Greenland's ice sheet causes it to change speed, and in some places, accelerate greatly towards the ocean. This can increase melting, especially in a warming climate, which is why the study's researchers think that it is important to keep an eye on.

Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Climate: Lessons from the latest global warming      (via sciencedaily.com) 

56 million years ago, the Earth experienced one of the largest and most rapid climate warming events in its history: the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which has similarities to current and future warming. This episode saw global temperatures rise by 5-8°C. It was marked by an increase in the seasonality of rainfalls, which led to the movement of large quantities of clay into the ocean, making it uninhabitable for certain living species. This scenario could be repeated today.

Paleontology: Climate
Published

New technology revolutionizes the analysis of old ice      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Ice cores are a unique climate archive. Thanks to a new method, greenhouse gas concentrations in 1.5 million year old ice can be measured even more accurately.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate
Published

European summer droughts since 2015 were most severe over centuries -- but multi-year droughts also happened in the past      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The 2015--2018 summer droughts have been exceptional in large parts of Western and Central Europe over the last 400 years, in terms of the magnitude of drought conditions. This indicates an influence of human-made global warming. However, multi-year droughts have occurred frequently in the 17th and 18th century, although not as severe.

Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate
Published

What do early Earth's core formation and drip coffee have in common?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new technique provides fresh insight into the process by which the materials that formed Earth's core descended into the depths of our planet, leaving behind geochemical traces that have long mystified scientists.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate
Published

Before global warming, was the Earth cooling down or heating up?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A review article addresses a conflict between models and evidence, known as the Holocene global temperature conundrum.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Record low sea ice cover in the Antarctic      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There is currently less sea ice in the Antarctic than at any time in the forty years since the beginning of satellite observation: in early February 2023, only 2.20 million square kilometers of the Southern Ocean were covered with sea ice.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Changing climate conditions likely facilitated early human migration to the Americas at key intervals, research suggests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have pinpointed two intervals when ice and ocean conditions would have been favorable to support early human migration from Asia to North America late in the last ice age, a new paper shows.