https://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 Sun, 08 Mar 2026 01:39:18 EST Sun, 08 Mar 2026 01:39:18 EST 60 https://www.sciencedaily.com/images/scidaily-logo-rss.png https://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/early_climate/ For more science news, visit ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260227071918.htm Scientists at MIT have found compelling chemical evidence that Earth’s earliest animals were likely ancient sea sponges. Hidden inside rocks over 541 million years old are rare molecular “fingerprints” that match compounds made by modern demosponges. After testing rocks, living sponges, and lab-made molecules, researchers confirmed the signals came from life — not geology. The discovery suggests sponges were thriving in the oceans well before most other animal groups appeared. Fri, 27 Feb 2026 09:45:38 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260227071918.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260218031502.htm Deep inside a Romanian ice cave, locked away in a 5,000-year-old layer of ice, scientists have uncovered a bacterium with a startling secret: it’s resistant to many modern antibiotics. Despite predating the antibiotic era, this cold-loving microbe carries more than 100 resistance-related genes and can survive drugs used today to treat serious infections like tuberculosis and UTIs. Sat, 21 Feb 2026 22:38:58 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260218031502.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260212234220.htm A remarkable Roman mosaic found in Rutland turns out to tell a forgotten version of the Trojan War. Rather than Homer’s famous epic, it reflects a lost Greek tragedy by Aeschylus, featuring vivid scenes of Achilles and Hector. Its artistic patterns echo designs from across the ancient Mediterranean, some dating back 800 years before the mosaic was made. The discovery suggests Roman Britain was deeply plugged into the wider classical world. Fri, 13 Feb 2026 03:40:10 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260212234220.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260212025613.htm Long before agriculture, humans were transforming Europe’s wild landscapes. Advanced simulations show that hunting and fire use by Neanderthals and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers reshaped forests and grasslands in measurable ways. By reducing populations of giant herbivores, people indirectly altered how dense vegetation became. The findings challenge the idea that prehistoric Europe was an untouched natural world. Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:14:45 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260212025613.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260206012221.htm Fossils from a Moroccan cave have been dated with remarkable accuracy to about 773,000 years ago, thanks to a magnetic signature locked into the surrounding sediments. The hominin remains show a blend of ancient and more modern features, placing them near a pivotal branching point in human evolution. These individuals likely represent an African population close to the last common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Neandertals, and Denisovans. Sat, 07 Feb 2026 11:58:14 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260206012221.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260127010151.htm The Ediacara Biota are some of the strangest fossils ever found—soft-bodied organisms preserved in remarkable detail where preservation shouldn’t be possible. Scientists now think their survival in sandstone came from unusual ancient seawater chemistry that created clay “cements” around their bodies after burial. This process captured delicate shapes that would normally vanish. The finding helps clarify how complex life emerged before the Cambrian Explosion. Tue, 27 Jan 2026 03:46:28 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260127010151.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251225080736.htm Scientists are uncovering new clues that a cosmic explosion may have rocked Earth at the end of the last ice age. At major Clovis-era sites, researchers found shocked quartz—evidence of intense heat and pressure consistent with a comet airburst rather than volcanism or human activity. The event could have sparked massive fires, blocked sunlight, and triggered a rapid return to ice-age conditions. These harsh changes may explain the sudden loss of megafauna and the disappearance of the Clovis culture. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 23:12:42 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251225080736.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251221043221.htm Sediments from a Roman latrine at Vindolanda show soldiers were infected with multiple intestinal parasites, including roundworm, whipworm, and Giardia — the first time Giardia has been identified in Roman Britain. These parasites spread through contaminated food and water, causing diarrhea, weakness, and long-term illness. Even with sewers and communal toilets, infections passed easily between soldiers. The discovery highlights how harsh and unhealthy life could be on Rome’s northern frontier. Sun, 21 Dec 2025 08:59:23 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251221043221.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251215084206.htm Around 1,000 years ago, a major climate shift reshaped rainfall across the South Pacific, making western islands like Samoa and Tonga drier while eastern islands such as Tahiti became increasingly wet. New evidence from plant waxes preserved in island sediments shows this change coincided with the final major wave of Polynesian expansion eastward. As freshwater became scarcer in the west and more abundant in the east, people may have been pushed to migrate, effectively “chasing the rain” across vast stretches of ocean. Mon, 15 Dec 2025 23:53:04 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251215084206.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251212022244.htm Fossils from Qatar have revealed a small, newly identified sea cow species that lived in the Arabian Gulf more than 20 million years ago. The site contains the densest known collection of fossil sea cow bones, showing that these animals once thrived in rich seagrass meadows. Their ecological role mirrors that of modern dugongs, which still reshape the Gulf’s seafloor as they graze. The findings may help researchers understand how seagrass ecosystems respond to long-term environmental change. Fri, 12 Dec 2025 02:58:26 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251212022244.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251110021048.htm In Peru’s mysterious Pisco Valley, thousands of perfectly aligned holes known as Monte Sierpe have long puzzled scientists. New drone mapping and microbotanical analysis reveal that these holes may once have served as a bustling pre-Inca barter market—later transformed into an accounting system under the Inca Empire. Mon, 10 Nov 2025 09:46:48 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251110021048.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251026021740.htm New research shows that hippos lived in central Europe tens of thousands of years longer than previously thought. Ancient DNA and radiocarbon dating confirm they survived in Germany’s Upper Rhine Graben during a milder Ice Age phase. Closely related to modern African hippos, they shared the landscape with cold-adapted giants like mammoths. The finding rewrites Ice Age history and suggests regional climates were far more diverse. Sun, 26 Oct 2025 08:29:01 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251026021740.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251026021732.htm Dinosaurs weren’t dying out before the asteroid hit—they were thriving in vibrant, diverse habitats across North America. Fossil evidence from New Mexico shows that distinct “bioprovinces” of dinosaurs existed until the very end. Their extinction was sudden, not gradual, and the recovery of life afterward mirrored climate-driven patterns. It’s a powerful reminder of life’s adaptability and fragility. Sun, 26 Oct 2025 11:05:11 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251026021732.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251010091557.htm Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia discovered over 170 ancient rock engravings that may be among the earliest monumental artworks in the region. Created between 12,800 and 11,400 years ago, the massive figures were carved when water and life returned to the desert. The art likely marked territories and migration routes, revealing social and symbolic sophistication. Artifacts found nearby show early Arabian peoples connected to distant Neolithic communities. Fri, 10 Oct 2025 09:15:57 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251010091557.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250911073141.htm Dating dinosaur eggs has always been tricky because traditional methods rely on surrounding rocks or minerals that may have shifted over time. Now, for the first time, scientists have directly dated dinosaur eggs by firing lasers at tiny eggshell fragments. The technique revealed that fossils in central China are about 85 million years old, placing them in the late Cretaceous period. This breakthrough not only sharpens our timeline of dinosaur history but also offers fresh clues about ancient populations and the climate they lived in. Thu, 11 Sep 2025 20:14:29 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250911073141.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250821094506.htm In the deserts of Ethiopia, scientists uncovered fossils showing that early members of our genus Homo lived side by side with a newly identified species of Australopithecus nearly three million years ago. These finds challenge the old idea of a straight evolutionary ladder, revealing instead a tangled web of ancient relatives. Thu, 21 Aug 2025 21:33:39 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250821094506.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250814094654.htm Chemical evidence from a stalagmite in Mexico has revealed that the Classic Maya civilization’s decline coincided with repeated severe wet-season droughts, including one that lasted 13 years. These prolonged droughts corresponded with halted monument construction and political disruption at key Maya sites, suggesting that climate stress played a major role in the collapse. The findings demonstrate how stalagmites offer unmatched precision for linking environmental change to historical events. Sat, 16 Aug 2025 00:44:53 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250814094654.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250708045700.htm In the remote reaches of Arizona s Petrified Forest National Park, scientists have unearthed North America's oldest known pterosaur a small, gull-sized flier that once soared above Triassic ecosystems. This exciting find, alongside ancient turtles and armored amphibians, sheds light on a key moment in Earth's history when older animal groups overlapped with evolutionary newcomers. The remarkably preserved fossils, including over 1,200 specimens, offer a rare glimpse into a vibrant world just before a mass extinction reshaped life on Earth. Tue, 08 Jul 2025 04:57:00 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250708045700.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250702214202.htm When Siberian volcanoes kicked off the Great Dying, the real climate villain turned out to be the rainforests themselves: once they collapsed, Earth’s biggest carbon sponge vanished, CO₂ rocketed, and a five-million-year heatwave followed. Fossils from China and clever climate models now link that botanical wipe-out to runaway warming, hinting that losing today’s tropical forests could lock us in a furnace we can’t easily cool. Thu, 03 Jul 2025 09:07:42 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250702214202.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250607231844.htm In the dense forests of Michigan s Upper Peninsula, archaeologists have uncovered a massive ancient agricultural system that rewrites what we thought we knew about Native American farming. Dating back as far as the 10th century, the raised ridged fields built by the ancestors of the Menominee Indian Tribe covered a vast area and were used for cultivating staple crops like corn and squash. Using drone-mounted lidar and excavations, researchers found evidence of a complex and labor-intensive system, defying the stereotype that small, egalitarian societies lacked such agricultural sophistication. Alongside farming ridges, they also discovered burial mounds, dance rings, and possible colonial-era foundations, hinting at a once-thriving cultural landscape previously obscured by forest. Sat, 07 Jun 2025 23:18:44 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250607231844.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250603115018.htm Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could be triggered with very little ocean warming above present-day, leading to a devastating four meters of global sea level rise to play out over hundreds of years according to a new study. However, the authors emphasize that immediate actions to reduce emissions could still avoid a catastrophic outcome. Tue, 03 Jun 2025 11:50:18 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250603115018.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250602155513.htm New research adds to our understanding of how rapidly rising sea levels due to climate change foreshadow the end of the Great Barrier Reef as we know it. The findings suggest the reef can withstand rising sea levels in isolation but is vulnerable to associated environmental stressors arising from global climate change. Mon, 02 Jun 2025 15:55:13 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250602155513.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250529194648.htm The fossils of ancient salamander-like creatures in Scotland are among the most well-preserved examples of early stem tetrapods -- some of the first animals to make the transition from water to land. Thanks to new research, scientists believe that these creatures are 14 million years older than previously thought. The new age -- dating back to 346 million years ago -- adds to the significance of the find because it places the specimens in a mysterious hole in the fossil record called Romer's Gap. Thu, 29 May 2025 19:46:48 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250529194648.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250529140125.htm A new study reveals that the aerobic nitrogen cycle in the ocean may have occurred about 100 million years before oxygen began to significantly accumulate in the atmosphere, based on nitrogen isotope analysis from ancient South African rock cores. These findings not only refine the timeline of Earth's oxygenation but also highlight a critical evolutionary shift, where life began adapting to oxygen-rich conditions -- paving the way for the emergence of complex, multicellular organisms like humans. Thu, 29 May 2025 14:01:25 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250529140125.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250522162538.htm Scientists have analyzed ancient DNA and compared more than 400 fossils from 17 natural history museums to figure out how and why extinct sloths got so big. Thu, 22 May 2025 16:25:38 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250522162538.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250522133522.htm Deep beneath our feet, the Earth holds a hidden treasure trove of gold and rare metals more than 99.999% of it locked away in the planet s core. But a surprising new discovery in Hawaiian lava is shaking up what scientists thought they knew. Researchers have found traces of the metal ruthenium with a rare isotope signature that points directly to the core, suggesting that precious metals are leaking upward through the mantle. This breakthrough opens a tantalizing window into the dynamic, molten processes at Earth s center and might just change how we understand the planet s inner workings. Thu, 26 Jun 2025 10:40:37 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250522133522.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250522125530.htm New research examining 11,700 years of bowhead whale persistence throughout the Arctic projects that sea ice loss due to climate change will cause their habitat to severely contract by up to 75 per cent. Thu, 22 May 2025 12:55:30 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250522125530.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250516134410.htm New research from an international group looking at ancient sediment cores in the North Atlantic has for the first time shown a strong correlation between sediment changes and a marked period of global cooling that occurred in the Northern Hemisphere some 3.6 million years ago. The changes in sediments imply profound changes in the circulation of deep water currents occurred at this time. This crucial piece of work, which showed sediments changed in multiple sites east of the mid-Atlantic ridge but not west of that important geographical feature, opens multiple doors to future research aimed at better understanding the link between deep water currents, Atlantic Ocean heat and salt distribution and ice-sheet expansion, and climatic change. Fri, 16 May 2025 13:44:10 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250516134410.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250515131745.htm A new study shows that seagrass ecosystems along the northern half of Florida's Gulf Coast have remained relatively healthy and undisturbed for the last several thousand years. Thu, 15 May 2025 13:17:45 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250515131745.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250514150149.htm Using advanced technology that analyzes tiny gas bubbles trapped in crystal, a team of scientists has precisely mapped how magma storage evolves as Hawaiian volcanoes age. Wed, 14 May 2025 15:01:49 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250514150149.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250514111238.htm Scientists have now discovered the oldest ancestor for all the Australian tree frogs, with distant links to the tree frogs of South America. Wed, 14 May 2025 11:12:38 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250514111238.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250512153825.htm Originally from South America, the charismatic tegu made its way to the United States via the pet trade of the 1990s. But a recent discovery shows these reptiles are no strangers to the region -- tegus were here millions of years before their modern relatives arrived in pet carriers. Mon, 12 May 2025 15:38:25 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250512153825.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250505204924.htm Hydrologists show most streamflow out of the West's mountains is old snowmelt on a multi-year underground journey. New study finds that spring runoff is on average 5 years old. Mon, 05 May 2025 20:49:24 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250505204924.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250502133938.htm The highest trophic niches in Mesozoic oceans were filled by diverse marine reptiles, including ichthyosaurians, plesiosaurians, and thalattosuchians, dominating food webs during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. Yet during the mid-Cretaceous, ichthyosaurs, thalattosuchians, and pliosaurids vanished, replaced by mosasaurs, xenopsarian plesiosaurians, and new groups like sharks, fish, turtles, and birds. This shift restructured marine ecosystems. Fri, 02 May 2025 13:39:38 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250502133938.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250430142248.htm The very first cells obtained their energy from geochemical reactions. Researchers have now managed to recreate this ancient metabolic process in their laboratory. Wed, 30 Apr 2025 14:22:48 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250430142248.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250430142012.htm A new study traces a 120-million-year-old 'super-eruption' to its source, offering new insights into Earth's complex geological history. Wed, 30 Apr 2025 14:20:12 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250430142012.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250428220444.htm Scientists have collaborated to analyze the inner workings of Bolivia's 'zombie' volcano, Uturuncu. By combining seismology, physics models and analysis of rock composition, researchers identify the causes of Uturuncu's unrest, alleviating fears of an imminent eruption. Mon, 28 Apr 2025 22:04:44 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250428220444.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250423111911.htm Scientists believe that the motion of Earth's continents through plate tectonics has been largely steady over millions of years. New research, however, suggests this drift can speed up or slow down over relatively short time periods. Wed, 23 Apr 2025 11:19:11 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250423111911.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250416151919.htm A study suggests that Homo sapiens may have benefited from the use of ochre and tailored clothing during a period of increased UV light 41,000 years ago, during the Laschamps excursion. Wed, 16 Apr 2025 15:19:19 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250416151919.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250416135913.htm Researchers examined teeth and skulls of 99 extinct crocodylomorph species and 20 living crocodylian species to reconstruct their dietary ecology and identify characteristics that helped some groups persist through two mass extinctions. They discovered that one secret tocrocodylian longevity is their remarkably flexible lifestyles, both in what they eat and the habitat in which they get it. Wed, 16 Apr 2025 13:59:13 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250416135913.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250416135242.htm Beneath the steaming geysers and bubbling mud pots of Yellowstone National Park lies one of the world's most closely watched volcanic systems. Now a team of geoscientists has uncovered new evidence that sheds light on how this mighty system may behave in the future -- and what might keep it from erupting. Wed, 16 Apr 2025 13:52:42 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250416135242.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250414124715.htm A new study has shed unprecedented light on the highly variable and climate-sensitive routes that substances from Siberian rivers use to travel across the Arctic Ocean. The findings raise fresh concerns about the increasing spread of pollutants and the potential consequences for fragile polar ecosystems as climate change accelerates. Mon, 14 Apr 2025 12:47:15 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250414124715.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250414124705.htm Whether for cooking, heating, as a light source or for making tools -- it is assumed that fire was essential for the survival of people in the Ice Age. However, it is puzzling that hardly any well-preserved evidence of fireplaces from the coldest period of the Ice Age in Europe has been found so far. A group of scientists has now been able to shed some light on the mystery of Ice Age fire. Their analysis of three hearths at a prehistoric site in Ukraine shows that people of the last Ice Age built different types of hearths and used mainly wood, but possibly also bones and fat, to fuel their fires. Mon, 14 Apr 2025 12:47:05 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250414124705.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250411110037.htm Earth's rocky layers are mysteriously low in nitrogen compared with carbon and argon. A scientific team explored our planet's molten youth using advanced quantum mechanical simulations, revealing nitrogen's secret: under extreme pressure, it chose to hide in the iron core 100 times more than the mantle. This solved why Earth's volatile ratios involving nitrogen look odd. The findings suggest the necessary ingredients for developing a habitable world may have been settled in the early Earth. Fri, 11 Apr 2025 11:00:37 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250411110037.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250409212539.htm In a cave overlooking the ocean on the southern coast of South Africa, archaeologists discovered thousands of stone tools, created by ancient humans roughly 20,000 years ago. By examining tiny details in the chipped edges of the blades and stones, archaeologists are able to tell how the tools were made -- which revealed that people were sharing crafting techniques over wide distances. Wed, 09 Apr 2025 21:25:39 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250409212539.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250408191646.htm About 66 million years ago, an asteroid slammed into the planet, wiping out all non-avian dinosaurs and about 70% of all marine species. But the crater it left behind in the Gulf of Mexico was a literal hotbed for life enriching the overlying ocean for at least 700,000 years, according to new research. Tue, 08 Apr 2025 19:16:46 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250408191646.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250408121332.htm The idea that dinosaurs were already in decline before an asteroid wiped most of them out 66 million years ago may be explained by a worsening fossil record from that time rather than a genuine dwindling of dinosaur species, suggests a new study. Tue, 08 Apr 2025 12:13:32 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250408121332.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250403143947.htm An archaeological study of human settlement during the Final Palaeolithic revealed that populations in Europe did not decrease homogenously during the last cold phase of the Ice Age. Significant variation in regional population sizes indicate differentiated reactions nested in an overall shift of settlement areas towards the east. Thu, 03 Apr 2025 14:39:47 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250403143947.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250402122139.htm Modern continental rocks carry chemical signatures from the very start of our planet's history, challenging current theories about plate tectonics. Wed, 02 Apr 2025 12:21:39 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250402122139.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250327164534.htm Researchers found increased meltwater and rain explain 60% of a decades-long mismatch between predicted and observed temperatures in the ocean around Antarctica. Thu, 27 Mar 2025 16:45:34 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250327164534.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250326154430.htm New research sheds light on the earliest days of the earth's formation and potentially calls into question some earlier assumptions in planetary science about the early years of rocky planets. Establishing a direct link between the Earth's interior dynamics occurring within the first 100 million years of its history and its present-day structure, the work is one of the first in the field to combine fluid mechanics with chemistry to better understand the Earth's early evolution. Wed, 26 Mar 2025 15:44:30 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250326154430.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250324152445.htm A storm, even once it has passed, can leave traces in the ocean that last for thousands of years. These consist of sediment layers composed of coarse particles, which are different from the finer sediments associated with good weather. In the Caribbean, an international research team has now examined such sediments using a 30 m long core from a 'blue hole' offshore Belize. The analysis shows that over the past 5,700 years, the frequency of tropical storms and hurricanes in the region has steadily increased. For the 21st century, the research team predicts a significant rise in regional storm frequency as a result of climate change. Mon, 24 Mar 2025 15:24:45 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250324152445.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250306122924.htm Researchers have discovered the world's oldest known meteorite impact crater, which could significantly redefine our understanding of the origins of life and how our planet was shaped. The team found evidence of a major meteorite impact 3.5 billion years ago. Thu, 06 Mar 2025 12:29:24 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250306122924.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250225122020.htm Astronomers have discovered that the Solar System traversed the Orion star-forming complex, a component of the Radcliffe Wave galactic structure, approximately 14 million years ago. This journey through a dense region of space could have compressed the heliosphere, the protective bubble surrounding our solar system, and increased the influx of interstellar dust, potentially influencing Earth's climate and leaving traces in geological records. Tue, 25 Feb 2025 12:20:20 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250225122020.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250224111809.htm It is no strange sight to see icebergs break off of the Antarctic ice cap and drift away, like the gigantic sheet of ice that is currently heading for the island of South Georgia. But climate change is making it happen more frequently, with ever-larger icebergs in the waters around Antarctica. Researchers are studying the routes that icebergs followed during geological periods of rapid ice cap deterioration, such as the ends of ice ages. That provides crucial information about the effect of melting icebergs on the oceans, and its consequences for the future. In the process, they also found an explanation for the mysterious discovery of ancient material from Antarctica near South Orkney, an island to the southwest of South Georgia. Mon, 24 Feb 2025 11:18:09 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250224111809.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250221125547.htm The nailed heads ritual did not correspond to the same symbolic expression among the Iberian communities of the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, but rather a practice that differed in each settlement. In some, external individuals were used as symbols of power and intimidation, while other settlements could have given priority to the veneration of members of the local community. Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:47 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250221125547.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250220192143.htm Research on the vanishing coastlines of Alexandria, Egypt, offers nature-based solutions for protecting coastal cities globally, including those in California. Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:21:43 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250220192143.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250214225045.htm The cool conditions which have allowed ice caps to form on Earth are rare events in the planet's history and require many complex processes working at once, according to new research. Fri, 14 Feb 2025 22:50:45 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250214225045.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250214225042.htm Humanity may not be extraordinary but rather the natural evolutionary outcome for our planet and likely others, according to a new model for how intelligent life developed on Earth. Fri, 14 Feb 2025 22:50:42 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250214225042.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250212151507.htm Global warming is producing a rapid loss of plant species -- according to estimates, roughly 600 plant species have died out since 1750 -- twice the number of animal species lost. But which species are hit hardest? And how does altered biodiversity actually affect interactions between plants? Experts have tackled these questions and, in two recent studies, presented the answers they found buried in the past: using fragments of plant genetic material (DNA) deposited in lake sediments, they were able to gain new insights into how the composition of flora changed 15,000 to 11,000 years ago during the warming at the end of the last ice age, which is considered to be the last major mass extinction event before today. This comparison can offer an inkling of what might await us in the future. Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:15:07 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250212151507.htm