Scientists measured carbon isotopes in certain types of fungi to assess whether the organisms can track how climate change is affecting grasses.
proxies
Posted inNews
Biogenic Oxygen on the Moon Could Hold Secrets to Earth's Past
Lunar orbiting data show that terrestrial oxygen rains down periodically on the Moon, enticing researchers with an opportunity to study Earth's ancient atmosphere.
Posted inNews
Bat Guano: A Possible New Source for Paleoclimate Reconstructions
Nitrogen isotopes within samples of bat excrement accurately reflect modern precipitation patterns. So could guano serve as a paleoclimate record?
Posted inNews
Subterranean Caverns Hold Clues to Past Droughts
Cave formations offer highly resolved paleoclimate data that scientists plan to use to reconstruct California's ancient patterns of drought.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Rocks in Chile Help Scientists Hunt for Life on Mars
Investigating oxalate minerals in the Atacama Desert provides a terrestrial analogue to test techniques that could be used to study the carbon cycle in the cold deserts of Mars.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Japan's Volcanic History, Hidden Under the Sea
Scientists investigate marine tephra layers for clues to Japan's volcanic past.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Early Agriculture Has Kept Earth Warm for Millennia
Ice core data, archeological evidence, and other studies suggest humans had a significant influence on Earth's preindustrial climate.
Posted inScience Updates
High-Resolution Tools Advance Study of Paleoclimate Archives
HiRes2015: High Resolution Proxies of Paleoclimate; Madison, Wisconsin, 31 May to 3 June 2015
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Correlating Monsoon Strength with Boron Isotopes
Scientists tell the story of the past monsoon by measuring boron isotopes in organisms in the Arabian Sea.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Drove Sea Surface Temperature Change During the Pleistocene?
New information suggests that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was just one of the main drivers of warming sea surface temperatures in the Pleistocene.