Granite samples collected from the Mekong River Valley reveal that the river’s path was incised roughly 17 million years ago, most likely by increased erosion from monsoon precipitation.
paleoclimatology & paleoceanography
Posted inNews
Severe Drought May Have Helped Hasten Ancient Maya’s Collapse
Chemical signatures from sediments in lake cores reveal that the centuries-long drought during the fall of Classic Maya civilization was worse than researchers had imagined.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Scraping Bottom: Iceberg Scours Reveal North Atlantic Currents
A 3-D seismic analysis of Pleistocene iceberg gouges indicates that surface currents in the Norwegian Sea flowed northward and remained consistent during numerous glacial cycles.
Posted inScience Updates
Dynamic Ice Sheet and Sea Level Response to Past Climate Change
PALSEA2 Workshop; Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 6–9 November 2017
Posted inScience Updates
How Paleofire Research Can Better Inform Ecosystem Management
Global Paleofire Working Group 2: Paleofire Knowledge for Current and Future Ecosystem Management; Saint-Hippolyte, Quebec, Canada, 10–14 October 2017
Posted inEditors' Vox
Radiocarbon in the Oceans
Offsets in radiocarbon concentration within the ocean or between the ocean and the atmosphere are particularly useful proxies for a variety of studies.
Posted inScience Updates
Reconstructing Climate and Environment from Coral Archives
Tropical Coral Archives—Reconstructions of Climate and Environment Beyond the Instrumental Record at Society-Relevant Timescales; Bremen, Germany, 28 September 2017
Posted inScience Updates
Piecing Together the Big Picture on Water and Climate
A new database brings together water isotope data from many sources, providing an integrated resource for studying changes in Earth’s hydroclimate over the past 2,000 years.
Posted inNews
History of Mars’s Water, Seen Through the Lens of Gale Crater
Research uncovers more of Mars’s past, when flowing water may have been transient before eventually disappearing.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Impact of Hurricanes and Nor’easters on Coastal Forests
Scientists trace severe storms’ effects through tree ring growth patterns.