Every summer, most of the sea ice near Antarctica melts away, but its saltiness leaves a permanent record that scientists can trace back for millennia.
paleoclimatology & paleoceanography
Posted inNews
Holy Water: Miracle Accounts and Proxy Data Tell a Climate Story
In 6th century Italy, saints were said to perform an unusual number of water miracles. Paleoclimatological data from a stalagmite may reveal why.
Posted inNews
Chicxulub Impact Changed Tropical Rain Forest Biodiversity Forever
Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid reset most of life on Earth. But without this catastrophic event, the composition of neotropical rain forests wouldn’t be the same.
Posted inGeoFIZZ
Communicating Earth’s Deep Past: A Q&A with Andrew Knoll
The Earth historian’s new book illustrates the long and winding road that brought our planet into the current moment of global change.
Posted inNews
Early Inhabitants of the Bahamas Radically Altered the Environment
Clues in sediments show that once humans arrived on Great Abaco Island, they hunted large reptiles to extinction and burned the old hardwoods and palms, leading to new pine- and mangrove-dominated lands.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Stalagmite Layers Reveal Hidden Climate Stories
A global investigation discovers where annually laminated stalagmites are found, analyzes their growth properties, and explains how they can be best used in Earth science research.
Posted inNews
Oak Trees Offer a Continuous Climate Record for Central Europe
A method using nonpooled, continuous stable carbon and oxygen isotopes recorded in oak trees benefits climate reconstructions.
Posted inNews
Ancient, Acidic Lakes May Have Harbored Life
A new analysis of South African sediments hints that acidic lakes may have leached minerals necessary for biotic life.
Posted inNews
Red Rocks: Using Color to Understand Climate Change
A recent study on hematite formation during the Triassic may help predict the effects of climate change on contemporary monsoonal environments.