A new study of seafloor sediments finds that the temperature record in the early Paleozoic corresponds to significant shifts in the diversity of life on Earth.
paleoclimatology & paleoceanography
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Watering Down the Mantle
The cooling of planet Earth over time increased the water carrying capacity of the mantle and could have shrunk the oceans.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Ice Age Testing Reveals Challenges in Climate Model Sensitivity
Increased reflection of incoming sunlight by clouds led one current-generation climate model to predict unrealistically cold temperatures during the last ice age.
Posted inScience Updates
Improving Access to Paleoclimate Data
Paleoclimate databases are powerful tools for improving climate models. The recent work of speleothem researchers offers lessons on creating a lasting database and fostering the needed mindset.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Los océanos liberaron dióxido de carbono durante la última deglaciación
Un nuevo registro de isótopos de boro proveniente de sedimentos marinos del Pacifico Sur, ofrece una imagen más completa del intercambio de dióxido de carbono entre el océano y la atmósfera durante el Pleistoceno tardío.
Posted inNews
Dust on the Wind
A new study confirms that an important wind system is shifting due to climate change.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Decoding the Age of the Ice at Mars’s North Pole
Exposure to sunlight creates telltale patterns in the polar ice cap that change over time, potentially providing insight into the climatic history of the Red Planet.
Posted inNews
Terrestrial Plants Flourished After the Cretaceous–Paleogene Extinction
Compounds in ancient plant leaves tell the story of how an extinction event shaped our planet’s ecosystems.
Posted inNews
The Catcher in the Ice
There are three ways to extract gases from an ice core. The cleanest one, sublimation, is getting easier.
Posted inNews
Overturning in the Pacific May Have Enabled a “Standstill” in Beringia
During the last glacial period, a vanished ocean current may have made the land bridge between Asia and the Americas into a place where humans could wait out the ice.