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Categories: Paleontology: Climate, Paleontology: Dinosaurs
Published Early arrival and expansion of palaeolithic people on Cyprus
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The patterns of dispersal of early humans across continents and islands are hotly debated, but researchers have found that Pleistocene hunter-gatherers settled in Cyprus thousands of years earlier than previously thought. In examining the timing of the first human occupation of Cyprus, research found that large islands in the Mediterranean Sea were attractive and favorable destinations for palaeolithic peoples. These findings refute previous studies that suggested Mediterranean islands would have been unreachable and inhospitable for Pleistocene hunter-gatherer societies.
Published Summers warm up faster than winters, fossil shells from Antwerp show
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a warmer climate, summers warm much faster than winters, according to research into fossil shells. With this knowledge we can better map the consequences of current global warming in the North Sea area.
Published First 'warm-blooded' dinosaurs may have emerged 180 million years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The ability to regulate body temperature, a trait all mammals and birds have today, may have evolved among some dinosaurs early in the Jurassic period about 180 million years ago. The new study looked at the spread of dinosaurs across different climates on Earth throughout the Mesozoic Era (the dinosaur era lasting from 230 to 66 million years ago), drawing on 1,000 fossils, climate models and the geography of the period, and dinosaurs' evolutionary trees.
Published Today's world: Fastest rate of carbon dioxide rise over the last 50,000 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Today's rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide increase is 10 times faster than at any other point in the past 50,000 years, researchers have found through a detailed chemical analysis of ancient Antarctic ice.
Published Human activity is making it harder for scientists to interpret oceans' past
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research shows human activity is significantly altering the ways in which marine organisms are preserved, with lasting effects that can both improve and impair the fossil record.
Published It flickers, then it tips -- study identifies early warning signals for the end of the African humid period
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tipping points in the climate system can be the result of a slow but linear development. However, they can also be accompanied by a 'flickering', with two stable climatic states that alternate before a final transition occurs -- and the climate tips permanently.
Published New computer algorithm supercharges climate models and could lead to better predictions of future climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study describes a new computer algorithm which can be applied to Earth System Models to drastically reduce the time needed to prepare these in order to make accurate predictions of future climate change. During tests on models used in IPCC simulations, the algorithm was on average 10 times faster at spinning up the model than currently-used approaches, reducing the time taken to achieve equilibrium from many months to under a week.
Published Scientists show ancient village adapted to drought, rising seas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have unveiled evidence for ancient human resilience to climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Published Climate change and mercury pollution stressed plants for millions of years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The link between massive flood basalt volcanism and the end-Triassic (201 million years ago) mass-extinction is commonly accepted. However, exactly how volcanism led to the collapse of ecosystems and the extinction of entire families of organisms is difficult to establish. Extreme climate change from the release of carbon dioxide, degradation of the ozone layer due to the injection of damaging chemicals, and the emissions of toxic pollutants, are all seen as contributing factors. One toxic element stands out: mercury.
Published T. Rex not as smart as previously claimed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Dinosaurs were likely as smart as reptiles but not as intelligent as monkeys.
Published Researchers find oldest undisputed evidence of Earth's magnetic field
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has recovered a 3.7-billion-year-old record of Earth's magnetic field, and found that it appears remarkably similar to the field surrounding Earth today.
Published Ice age climate analysis reduces worst-case warming expected from rising CO2
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A detailed reconstruction of climate during the most recent ice age, when a large swath of North America was covered in ice, provides information on the relationship between CO2 and global temperature. Results show that while most future warming estimates remain unchanged, the absolute worst-case scenario is unlikely.
Published Marine plankton behavior could predict future marine extinctions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Marine communities migrated to Antarctica during the Earth's warmest period in 66 million years long before a mass-extinction event.
Published Do some mysterious bones belong to gigantic ichthyosaurs?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Several similar large, fossilized bone fragments have been discovered in various regions across Western and Central Europe since the 19th century. The animal group to which they belonged is still the subject of much debate to this day. A study could now settle this dispute once and for all: The microstructure of the fossils indicates that they come from the lower jaw of a gigantic ichthyosaur. These animals could reach 25 to 30 meters in length, a similar size to the modern blue whale.
Published Climate change threatens Antarctic meteorites
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Antarctica harbors a large concentration of meteorites imbuing the icy continent with an unparalleled wealth of information on our solar system. However, these precious meteorites are rapidly disappearing from the ice sheet surface due to global warming, according to a new study.
Published Dinosaur study challenges Bergmann's rule
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study calls into question Bergmann's rule, an 1800s-era scientific principle stating that animals in high-latitude, cooler climates tend to be larger than close relatives living in warmer climates.
Published Early dinosaurs grew up fast, but they weren't the only ones
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The earliest dinosaurs had rapid growth rates, but so did many of the other animals living alongside them, according to a new study.
Published Australia on track for unprecedented, decades-long megadroughts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Australia could soon see megadroughts that last for more than 20 years, according to new modelling. The researchers' bleak findings are before factoring in human impact on the climate since the Industrial Revolution. According to the scientists, the findings paint a worrying picture of future droughts in Australia that are far worse than anything in recent experience.
Published Canada lynx historic range in US likely wider than previously thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A broader past could mean a brighter future for Canada lynx in the U.S., according to recent research. The study indicates that lynx might do well in the future in parts of Utah, central Idaho and the Yellowstone National Park region, even considering climate change and the lack of lynx in those areas now. Using a model validated by historic records, researchers first found that in 1900, Canada lynx had more suitable habitat in the U.S. than the few northern corners of the country where they are found currently. The study showed the elusive big cat likely roamed over a larger area in the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes region and parts of New England.
Published Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica's ice sheets. An international research team has now used sediments taken from the South Pacific to reconstruct the flow speed in the last 5.3 million years. Their data show that during glacial periods, the current slowed; during interglacials, it accelerated. Consequently, if the current global warming intensifies in the future, it could mean that the Southern Ocean stores less CO2 and that more heat reaches Antarctica.