The rover's neutron spectroscopy instrument hints at an unexpected trend: The upper soil levels in the layers of Gale Crater's Kimberley formation seem to hold more water-associated hydrogen.
paleoclimatology & paleoceanography
Posted inScience Updates
Paleofires and Models Illuminate Future Fire Scenarios
Advances in Interdisciplinary Paleofire Research: Data and Model Comparisons for the Past Millennium; Harvard Forest, Petersham, Massachusetts, 27 September to 2 October 2015
Posted inEditors' Vox
Insights on Climate Systems from Interglacials
Interglacials provide insights into the impacts of warmer than present conditions in certain regions of Earth.
Posted inNews
Current Carbon Emissions Unprecedented in 66 Million Years
An ancient carbon dioxide release associated with a much hotter Earth than today took place at only a tenth the pace of our present atmospheric carbon buildup, a new study confirms.
Posted inNews
Scientists Find the Point of No Return for Antarctic Ice Cap
Varying amounts of glacial debris in a core of ancient sediment show the ice cover grew and shrank until airborne carbon dioxide levels fell below 600 parts per million, spurring steady growth.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Characterizing Interglacial Periods over the Past 800,000 Years
Researchers identified 11 different interglacial periods over the past 800,000 years, but the interglacial period we are experiencing now may last an exceptionally long time.
Posted inNews
Pleistocene Rocks Tell Tale of Past Ice Sheet Melting
Researchers examine evidence from a past interglacial period to predict sea level rise in the future.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Deep-Sea Microbes Can Leave Records of the Past
Researchers use carbon signatures within sea sediments to identify microbial activity and also to date earthquakes.
Posted inScience Updates
Sea Level and Ice Sheet Changes During Past Warm Periods
PALSEA2 2015 Workshop; Tokyo, Japan, 22–24 July 2015
Posted inNews
Ancient Start of Animal Evolution Wasn't Delayed by Low Oxygen
New research finds that Earth had sufficient oxygen 1.4 billion years ago for animals to evolve. Therefore, low oxygen levels probably didn't hold back evolution, as scientists have long thought.