Earth Sciences news

Arctic at warmest levels in 2,000 years or more

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Sep 03, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (64) | 25

Arctic temperatures in the 1990s reached their warmest level of any decade in at least 2,000 years, new research indicates. The study, which incorporates geologic records and computer simulations, provides ...

From beneath Antarctica's Ross Sea, scientists retrieve pristine record of the continent's climate cycles

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Apr 16, 2007 | 4.7 / 5 (57) | 0

Frequent climate fluctuations on the world’s southernmost continent have been so extreme over the past 5 million years that Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf, a floating slab of ice the size of France, oscillated in size dramatically, ...

Critical turning point can trigger abrupt climate change

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Apr 20, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (58) | 9

Ice ages are the greatest natural climate changes in recent geological times. Their rise and fall are caused by slight changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun due to the influence of the other planets. But we do not know ...

The least sea ice in 800 years

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Jul 01, 2009 | 4.1 / 5 (66) | 77

New research, which reconstructs the extent of ice in the sea between Greenland and Svalbard from the 13th century to the present indicates that there has never been so little sea ice as there is now. The ...

Did a comet hit the Great Lakes region and fragment human populations 12,900 years ago?

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

May 23, 2007 | 4.6 / 5 (58) | 0

Multi-institutional 26-member team of researchers propose a startling new theory: that an extraterrestrial impact, possibly a comet, set off a 1,000-year-long cold spell and wiped out or fragmented the prehistoric Clovis ...

Scientists: Global warming has already changed oceans

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Jun 10, 2009 | 4.2 / 5 (63) | 4

In Washington state, oysters in some areas haven't reproduced for four years, and preliminary evidence suggests that the increasing acidity of the ocean could be the cause. In the Gulf of Mexico, falling oxygen levels in ...

Wind + water = untapped energy: An abundance of power exists above Earth's oceans, study finds

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Jun 30, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (58) | 14

(PhysOrg.com) -- Wind energy over the planet's oceans is a vastly underutilized renewable resource, according to UC Irvine researchers.

First Compilation of Tropical Ice Cores Shows Abrupt Global Climate Shift

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Jun 27, 2006 | 4.6 / 5 (57) | 0

For the first time, glaciologists have combined and compared sets of ancient climate records trapped in ice cores from the South American Andes and the Asian Himalayas to paint a picture of how climate has ...

Is Mars dead, or is it only sleeping?

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Oct 17, 2007 | 4.4 / 5 (59) | 5

The surface of Mars is completely hostile to life as we know it. Martian deserts are blasted by radiation from the sun and space. The air is so thin, cold, and dry, if liquid water were present on the surface, ...

It's 2025. Where Do Most People Live?

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Jul 11, 2006 | 3.7 / 5 (69) | 0

Researchers at the Center for Climate Systems Research (CCSR), a part of The Earth Institute, have developed a high-resolution map of projected population change for the year 2025.

Tipping elements remain a 'hot' issue

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Aug 24, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (55) | 7

(PhysOrg.com) -- Research published by climate scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) has been named one of the most highly-cited in its field in the last two years.

Exploding asteroid theory strengthened by new evidence located in Ohio, Indiana

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Jul 02, 2008 | 4.5 / 5 (55) | 9

Geological evidence found in Ohio and Indiana in recent weeks is strengthening the case to attribute what happened 12,900 years ago in North America -- when the end of the last Ice Age unexpectedly turned ...

Study shows strong evidence that cloud changes may exacerbate global warming

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Jul 23, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (56) | 15

The role of clouds in climate change has been a major question for decades. As the earth warms under increasing greenhouse gases, it is not known whether clouds will dissipate, letting in more of the sun's ...

Supercomputer Unleashes Virtual 9.0 Megaquake in Pacific Northwest

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Feb 26, 2008 | 4.5 / 5 (55) | 4

On January 26, 1700, at about 9 p.m. local time, the Juan de Fuca plate beneath the ocean in the Pacific Northwest suddenly moved, slipping some 60 feet eastward beneath the North American plate in a monster ...

Desert Dust Alters Ecology of Colorado Alpine Meadows

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Jun 29, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (50) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Accelerated snowmelt--precipitated by desert dust blowing into the mountains--changes how alpine plants respond to seasonal climate cues that regulate their life cycles, according to results ...