http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/early_climate/ News about ancient climates and how they help us understand climate change. Read science articles on the climate record of planet Earth. Updated frequently. en-us Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:05:01 EST Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/early_climate/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110202859.htm The lush, tropical Congo Basin was much different 150 million to 200 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed Gondwana, the single continent formed by Africa and South America. Geochemical analysis of rare ancient soils from Central Africa suggests the land was arid, with a small amount of seasonal rainfall, and few bushes or trees. There's very little data for the paleoclimate of the Late Jurassic, but it's important because climate determines plant communities. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110202859.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029161532.htm Climate models that predict heavy rainfall don't give the whole picture, according to the results of a new study. Researchers examined climate changes that have taken place over the past 800,000 years, and discovered that the melting icebergs in the North Atlantic and changes in the El Niño Southern Oscillation have a great influence on the intensity of monsoon rains. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029161532.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171741.htm California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic, according to analysis of stalagmites from a cave in the Sierra Nevada. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171741.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106095636.htm The seriousness of current global warming is underlined by a reconstruction of climate at Maxwell Bay in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula over approximately the last 14,000 years, which appears to show that the current warming and widespread loss of glacial ice are unprecedented. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106095636.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111115843.htm Scientists have determined that a major change in the climate of the Sahara and Sahel region of North Africa facilitated early human migrations from the African continent. Among the key findings are that the Sahara desert and the Sahel were considerably wetter around 9,000, 50,000 and 120,000 years ago then at present, allowing for the growth of trees instead of grasses. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111115843.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106201613.htm Deep under the sea, a fossil the size of a sand grain is nestled among a billion of its closest dead relatives. Known as foraminifera, these complex little shells of calcium carbonate can tell you the sea level, temperature, and ocean conditions of Earth millions of years ago. That is, if you know what to look for. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106201613.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104111725.htm New research examines some of the potential problems with current prediction methods and calls for the use of a range of approaches when predicting the impact of climate change on organisms. The study uses examples from recent paleoecological studies to highlight how climate variability of the past has affected the distributions of tree species, and even how events that occurred many centuries ago still shape present-day distributions patterns. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104111725.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709132057.htm Europe's southern-most skeletal remains of a mammoth were unearthed in a moor on the 37 degree N latitude. This is considerably south of the inhospitable habitat than one usually imagines for mammoths, and for the characteristically dry and cold climate that prevailed during the ice ages in the north of Eurasia. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709132057.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026132932.htm Researchers here have discovered the pivotal role that volcanoes played in a deadly ice age 450 million years ago. Perhaps ironically, these volcanoes first caused global warming -- by releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. When they stopped erupting, Earth's climate was thrown off balance, and the ice age began. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026132932.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824205526.htm A team of German and British scientists have used fossilised shark teeth to reconstruct the climate of the North Sea during the Palaeogene period, between 40 and 60 million years ago. The results suggest that the North Sea was for a brief period isolated from surrounding oceans, resulting in surface-water freshening and a significant reduction in the diversity of life. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824205526.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008152242.htm You must go back 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels as high as they are today, Earth scientists report. "The last time carbon dioxide levels were apparently as high as they are today and sustained at those levels, global temperatures were five to 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than they are today," said Aradhna Tripati, UCLA assistant professor of Earth and Space Sciences and lead author. Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008152242.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006155913.htm Ancient soil-inhabiting creatures decreased in body size by nearly half in response to a period of boosted carbon dioxide levels and higher temperatures, scientists have discovered. Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006155913.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006104627.htm Historical naval logbooks are being used for the first time in research into climate change. The logbooks include famous voyages such as the Beagle, Cook’s HMS Discovery and Parry’s polar expedition in HMS Hecla. Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006104627.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090929194207.htm The origin of the "Celtic fringe" of genetically and culturally distinctive people in the Northern and Western British Isles is the source of fierce academic controversy. But new research into the movement of small mammals, such as voles and shrews, at the end of the last Ice Age, could provide important new clues to resolve the debate. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090929194207.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091002132350.htm Scientists have shown that, in ancient times, the Earth's magnetic field was structured like the two-pole model of today, suggesting that the methods geoscientists use to reconstruct the geography of early land masses on the globe are accurate. The findings may lead to a better understanding of historical continental movement, which relates to changes in climate. Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091002132350.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001081305.htm Scientists now have proof of a sudden, remarkably warm period in Antarctica that occurred about 15.7 million years ago and lasted for a few thousand years. Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001081305.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930202249.htm Climate change wreaked havoc on the Earth's first rainforests but they quickly bounced back, scientists reveal. The findings are based on spectacular discoveries of 300-million-year-old rainforests in coal mines in Illinois, USA. Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930202249.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924141740.htm A new study that reports precise ages for glacial moraines in southern Peru links climate swings in the tropics to those of Europe and North America during the Little Ice Age approximately 150 to 350 years ago. The study brings scientists one step closer to understanding global-scale patterns of glacier activity and climate during the Little Ice Age. Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924141740.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090922095703.htm After decades of debate an international body of earth scientists has formally agreed to move the boundary dates for the prehistoric Quaternary age by 800,000 years. The decision has been made by the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), the authority for geological science which has acted to end decades of controversy by formally declaring when the Quaternary Period, which covers both the ice age and moment early man first started to use tools, began. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090922095703.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916133508.htm Will all of the ice on Greenland melt and flow out into the sea, bringing about a colossal rise in ocean levels on Earth, as the global temperature rises? The key concern is how stable the ice cap actually is, and new Danish research fcan now show the evolution of the ice sheet 11,700 years back in time. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916133508.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090911134624.htm A giant African lake basin is providing information about possible migration routes and hunting practices of early humans in the Middle and Late Stone Age periods, between 150,000 and 10,000 years ago. Researchers have documented thousands of stone tools on the lake bed, which sheds new light on how humans in Africa adapted to several substantial climate change events during the period that coincided with the last Ice Age in Europe. Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090911134624.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090913134030.htm The link between declining carbon dioxide levels in the earth's atmosphere and the formation of the Antarctic ice caps some 34 million years ago has been confirmed for the first time in a major research study. Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090913134030.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910084153.htm Some 119 million years ago, large portions of the world ocean were close to suffocation. The reason: acute lack of oxygen. This is documented by geological findings around the world. The exact timing and the causes of this so-called oceanic anoxic event however, are not known yet: How fast did it happen, and why? How much time did the ocean system need to recover? Geologists are seeking to find out with the help of high quality sediment cores from southern France. The obtained data could also be relevant for future climate scenarios. Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910084153.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827101207.htm Long ago, a group of Himalayan glaciers grew by several kilometers even while Central Asia's climate warmed up to six degrees Celsius. New analysis attributes much of the glacial growth to increased cloudiness and wind. A project is now under way to forecast the Indus River system's water supply for the coming decades. Sat, 29 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827101207.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827131832.htm A new 2,000-year-long reconstruction of sea surface temperatures from the Indo-Pacific warm pool suggests that temperatures in the region may have been as warm during the Medieval Warm Period as they are today. Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827131832.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090825151004.htm New research indicates a possible Antarctic location for ice that seemed to be missing at a key point in climate history 34 million years ago. The research has important implications for climate change. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090825151004.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090817073502.htm Massive burning of forests for agriculture thousands of years ago may have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide enough to alter global climate and usher in a warming trend that continues today, according to a new study in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews. Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090817073502.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090818130425.htm A newly formed Earth was warmed by a weak young sun, a sun too weak to keep water fluid on Earth. Now a professor in atmospheric chemistry explains how a powerful greenhouse gas helped keep young earth warm enough to be a cradle for life. Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090818130425.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090801095806.htm The Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (16 to 14 million years ago), considered generally to be the warmest period in Earth's history within the past 25 million years, saw a major shift in climate from global warming to cooling. This reversal of climatic warming has proven difficult to understand because of the limited range of available records. Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090801095806.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727130600.htm The Cheddar Gorge in Somerset was one of the first sites to be inhabited by humans when they returned to Britain near the end of the last Ice Age. According to new radio carbon dating humans were living in Gough's Cave 14,700 years ago. Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727130600.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090806121757.htm A period of global warming from 53 million to 47 million years ago strongly influenced plants and animals, spurring a biodiversity boom in western North America, researchers report. Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090806121757.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090806141512.htm Researchers have largely put to rest a long debate on the underlying mechanism that has caused periodic ice ages on Earth for the past 2.5 million years -- they are ultimately linked to slight shifts in solar radiation caused by predictable changes in Earth's rotation and axis. Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090806141512.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090715131435.htm Significant sea ice formation occurred in the Arctic earlier than previously thought in Earth's geological history. "The results are also especially exciting because they suggest that sea ice formed in the Arctic before it did in Antarctica, which goes against scientific expectation," says one of the scientific team members. Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090715131435.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090722100505.htm Scientists have researched the geology of the seabed in the Labrador Sea on board of RV Maria S. Merian. They have studied the so-called Eirik Drift at the southern tip of Greenland, a structure of several hundred kilometers length formed like a ridge. They discovered a submarine mountain (seamount) at the southwestern fringe of their area of investigation that indicates volcanic eruptions during the past few million years. Sat, 25 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090722100505.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720190719.htm Scientists have found what may be the smoking gun of a much-debated proposal that a cosmic impact about 12,900 years ago ripped through North America and drove multiple species into extinction. Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720190719.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090714124853.htm Drifting across the world's oceans are a group of unicellular marine microorganisms that are not only a crucial source of food for other marine life -- but their fossils, which are found in abundance, provide scientists with an extraordinary record of climatic change and other major events in the history of the Earth. Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090714124853.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709201849.htm Southern elephant seals responded rapidly to climate and habitat change and established a new breeding site thousands of kilometers from existing breeding grounds, according to new research. Scientists found that when the Antarctic ice sheets of the Ross Sea Embayment retreated in the Holocene period 8,000 years ago, elephant seals, Mirounga leonina, adopted the emergent habitat and established a new population which flourished. Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709201849.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701131307.htm When glaciers advanced over much of the Earth's surface during the last ice age, what kept the planet from freezing over entirely? This has been a puzzle to climate scientists because leading models have indicated that over the past 24 million years geological conditions should have caused carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to plummet, possibly leading to runaway "icehouse" conditions. Now researchers report on the missing piece of the puzzle -- plants. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701131307.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630203041.htm The late Pliocene onset of major Northern Hemisphere glaciation is one of the most important steps in the Cenozoic global cooling. Although most attempts have been focused on high-latitude climate feedbacks, no consensus has been reached in explaining the forcing mechanism of this dramatic climate change. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630203041.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090617131356.htm One long-standing climate puzzle relates to the Late Eocene and Early Oligocene. Profound changes were underway. Globally, carbon dioxide levels were falling and the hothouse warmth of the dinosaur age and Eocene Period was waning. In Antarctica, ice sheets had formed and covered much of the southern polar continent. But what exactly was happening on land, in northern latitudes? Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090617131356.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622152041.htm For the past 2 million years, the size of the human brain has tripled, growing much faster than other mammals. Examining the reasons for human brain expansion, researchers studied three common hypotheses for brain growth: climate change, ecological demands and social competition. The team found that social competition is the major cause of increased cranial capacity. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622152041.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090621143315.htm Modern glaciers, such as those making up the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, are capable of undergoing periods of rapid shrinkage or retreat, according to new findings by paleoclimatologists. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090621143315.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618161150.htm Scientists have unearthed striking evidence for a sudden ancient collapse in plant biodiversity. A trove of 200 million-year-old fossil leaves collected in East Greenland tells the story, carrying its message across time to us today. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618161150.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090617201758.htm Research finally proves that bones found in Shropshire, England, provide the most geologically recent evidence of woolly mammoths in Northwestern Europe. Analysis of both the bones and the surrounding environment suggests that some mammoths remained part of British wildlife long after they are conventionally believed to have become extinct. Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090617201758.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616103307.htm Geologists have shown that an ancient ice age, once regarded as a brief "blip," in fact lasted for 30 million years. Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616103307.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615171728.htm Researchers here have used sediment from the deep ocean bottom to reconstruct a record of ancient climate that dates back more than the last half-million years. The record, trapped within the top 20 meters (65.6 feet) of a 400-meter (1,312-foot) sediment core drilled in 2005 in the North Atlantic Ocean by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, gives new information about the four glacial cycles that occurred during that period. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615171728.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090602204255.htm A new study shows mammals change their dietary niches based on climate-driven environmental changes, contradicting a common assumption that species maintain their niches despite global warming. Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090602204255.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528142827.htm A previously unknown giant volcanic eruption that led to global mass extinction 260 million years ago has been uncovered. Sat, 30 May 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528142827.htm