A roughly 70-million-year interval of anomalously weak magnetic field during the Ediacaran period could have triggered atmospheric changes that supported the rise of macroscopic life.
paleoclimatology & paleoceanography
New Lessons from Old Ice: How We Understand Past (and Future) Heating
Fragments of blue ice up to 6 million years old—the oldest ever found—offer key insights into Earth’s warming cycles. Researchers are using these ancient data to refine models of our future climate.
Ocean Tunneling May Have Set Off an Ancient Pacific Cooldown
The ocean’s depths cooled off about 1.5 million years ago, and scientists think watery tunnels from the south may be to blame.
Pamir Glacier Expedition Returns with High-Elevation Ice Cores
The three glacial cores will unlock mysteries about past climate and weather patterns in central Asia.
Grandes Sequias Coincidieron con el Colapso Maya Clásico
El entendimiento de cómo las ciudades individuales respondieron al estrés climático ayudará a crear imágenes holísticas de cómo estas sociedades funcionaban.
Earth System Engineers Take Planetary Alterations to Extreme Scales
A new framework argues Earth scientists should employ the concept of ecosystem engineering across geologic time and space.
Major Droughts Coincided with Classic Maya Collapse
Understanding how individual cities responded to climate stress will help create holistic pictures of how these societies functioned.
Paleoclimate Patterns Offer Hints About Future Warming
A new study examines 10 million years of sea surface temperature data to offer predictions about how future warming may unfold.
Arctic Ice Shelf Theory Challenged by Ancient Algae
Chemical signatures of marine organisms reveal that seasonal sea ice, not a massive ice shelf, persisted in the southern Arctic Ocean for 750,000 years.
