Researchers used luminescence signals from marine sediment cores to bolster estimates of precipitation levels on land over the past 30,000 years.
proxies
The Dawning of the Age of Old Aquifers
A new technique using 81Kr can measure the age of old groundwater in arid regions. The method can be used as a proxy for past climates and weather patterns.
Microbes Spotted on Blades of Ice High in the Andes
Researchers discover microbial life on ice spires known as penitentes on the arid, sunlight-blasted upper reaches of Llullaillaco, one of the best earthly analogues for Mars.
How Ice Cores Are Helping to Track Preindustrial Ozone
Research helps allay concerns about discrepancies between atmospheric chemistry models and historical direct measurements.
Translating Climate Models to the Language of Paleoclimate Data
A new model will help climate models better interpret paleoclimate reconstructions derived from lake sediment and could improve predictions of future climatic conditions.
Tree Rings Record 19th-Century Anthropogenic Climate Change
Paleoclimate records, observational data, and climate modeling capture the influence of human activity on temperature seasonality.
Ice Drove Past Indo-Pacific Climate Variance
Researchers used both terrestrial and marine proxy data to reconstruct the dramatic and dynamic climatic changes.
Topography and Microclimate Shape Tree Ring Growth
Wizened bristlecone pines in California reveal past climate trends, and new research shows how slight variations in landscape position drive different growth patterns in trees’ annual rings.
Penguin Poop Keeps a Record of Antarctic Glaciation
Scientists are digging up Adélie penguin guano to study millennia of Antarctica’s history.
Neanderthals Likely Ate Rotten Meat
Neanderthals have long been painted as meat-eating machines. But could a new look at a dietary proxy and how it changes when meat rots uncover insights into what these extinct hominids really ate?