What Causes Ice Ages? A New Proposal.
A new international study casts doubt on the leading theory of what causes ice ages around the world — changes in the way the Earth…
Category: Earth Systems
These articles summarize studies that are all about how the planet Earth works!
When Dolphins Learned to Swim
For more than 250 million years, four-limbed land animals known as tetrapods have repeatedly conquered the Earth’s oceans. These…
Hydrofracturing in the Greenland Ice Sheet
Surface meltwater regularly travels to the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet and lubricates the flow of the ice into the ocean, but new…
Abnormally high plume observed above surface of Mars
Plumes seen reaching high above the surface of Mars are causing a stir among scientists studying the atmosphere on the Red Planet On two…
Is the mind algorithmic?
Disagreements in how we use words can cause major confusion. Sometimes, someone uses the word “far” to mean 50 miles, and other times…
Can cold-loving bacteria help to clean up oil spills?
For several decades scientists have been interested in the ability of psychrophilic (cold- loving) microbial communities to degrade the…
Massive tectonic event may have triggered explosion of animal life
A new analysis of geologic history may help solve the riddle of the “Cambrian explosion,” the rapid diversification of animal…
Geothermal heating increases the habitability of planets orbiting red dwarfs
Small red stars, known by astronomers as “M-dwarfs”, are the most abundant type of star in the sky and are also the most long-lived of…
Deciduous trees flourished after dinosaur-killing meteor impact
Some 66 million years ago, a 10-km diameter chunk of rock hit the Yukatan peninsula near the site of the small town of Chicxulub with the…
Will climate change eliminate the ice age cycle?
Long-term patterns in Earth’s climate show glacial cycles that correspond to variations in Earth’s orbital geometry and affect the…