Tag: Paleoclimatology
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Could Climate Change Drive Earth Toward a New Ice Age?
Introduction: A provocative idea with historical context Climate historians know Earth has endured dramatic swings long before humans learned to emit greenhouse gases. The planet’s long arc has included warm intervals and icy chapters, driven by a mix of natural cycles and geological processes. Some researchers now ask a surprising question: could the combination of…
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Climate Comeback: How Earth Exited the Last Ice Age
Introduction: A World Cooling and Then Awakening Around 20,000 years ago, Earth faced a dramatic chill. Global temperatures were about 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than today, and much of North America wore a thick blanket of ice. Some regions saw ice nearly half a mile high, creating a landscape of plains, fjords, and channels carved…
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How Earth Emerged from the Last Ice Age: Inside NPR’s Short Wave Exploration
Understanding the Last Decrease and Rise of Global Temperatures Long before modern humans walked the Earth, our planet experienced dramatic climate shifts. About 20,000 years ago, global temperatures were roughly 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than today, and vast stretches of North America were buried under ice sheets that could reach nearly half a mile in…
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How Earth Emerged from the Last Ice Age
Introduction: A World Locked in Ice About 20,000 years ago, much of North America and large swaths of the planet were buried under ice. Global temperatures sat roughly 10°F cooler than today, and in some regions ice sheets reached nearly half a mile in thickness. The Earth’s climate was a stark reminder of how sensitive…
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North American Ice Sheets Triggered Most Sea-Level Rise Before 8,000–9,000 Years Ago
New Evidence Reframes the End of the Last Ice Age Groundbreaking findings published in Nature Geoscience reveal that melting ice sheets in North America played a far larger role in global sea-level rise during the final stages of the last ice age than previously thought. By examining ancient sediments and integrating a global data set,…
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North American Ice Sheets Fueled End-Ice Age Sea-Level Rise
New findings rewrite the ice-melt narrative of the late last ice age Recent research led by Tulane University and published in Nature Geoscience upends decades of assumptions about how Earth’s oceans responded as the last ice age waned. The study shows that retreating North American ice sheets, not Antarctica, were the dominant driver of global…
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Extreme Red Sea Desiccation 6.2 Million Years Ago Revealed
Ancient Drying of the Red Sea: A Prehistoric Desert Reborn New research reveals an astonishing chapter in Earth’s history: about 6.2 million years ago, the Red Sea basin dried completely, turning a once liquid valley into a vast, salty desert. This extreme environmental event ended with a rapid reflood from the Indian Ocean, leaving a…
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Cooler warm periods: How the Southern Ocean controlled climate and atmospheric CO2
Introduction: A long-standing climate puzzle For millions of years, the Earth’s climate oscillated between frigid glacial periods and warmer interglacials. Among these, the so-called lukewarm interglacials, spanning roughly from 800,000 to 430,000 years ago, are particularly intriguing. During these warmer phases, atmospheric CO2 hovered around 240–260 ppm, with later interglacials reaching 280–300 ppm. Today, CO2…
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Cooler warm periods: How the Southern Ocean shaped climate and CO2
New insights into a long-standing climate question Earth’s climate has long swung between cold glacial states and warmer interglacial periods. Among these, the so-called lukewarm interglacials—warm phases that occurred roughly between 800,000 and 430,000 years ago—stand out for their relatively cool temperatures and modest atmospheric CO2 levels (about 240–260 ppm). Even the later interglacials, which…
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Red Sea Dried and Flooded: A 6.2 Million-Year Geological Event
A Rare Geologic Rebirth: The Red Sea’s Drying and Reflood The Red Sea, long celebrated for its vivid reefs and ongoing tectonic activity, has a much more dramatic history than most people imagine. New findings from scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) reveal that the Red Sea dried out completely about…