A team of researchers has identified the importance of rifted margins in the transition to a green economy. These continental margins harbor vast accumulations of rocks and hydrocarbon reserves, making them a potential location for new resources needed for a carbon-neutral economy. The study provides an overview of the processes that s...
A new study reveals that changing ocean circulation strengthens precipitation patterns in the Indian Ocean, leading to more intense flood events and droughts. The research suggests a mutual amplification of these effects due to global warming and weakened ocean circulation.
Researchers developed a new approach to determine the rate of organic carbon burial in marine sediments, using data from deep-sea drilling sites. This method provides more accurate results than traditional isotope calculations, revealing higher rates of carbon sequestration during warm periods and lower rates during cooling intervals.
A new analytical method has been developed to map climatic and environmental processes at high temporal resolution, revealing an abrupt intensification of seasonality in the tropical ocean during the last period of global climate change. This provides evidence of how global climate changes affect local, seasonal temperature variations.
The Congo Basin's largest tropical peatland is a critical carbon sink, but it's near a tipping point due to climate change. Scientists have discovered that the peat formed under drier conditions than other tropical swamps, making it vulnerable to transformation into a carbon source.
A recent study by researchers at MARUM and ICBM found that plankton communities have migrated to higher latitudes since the last ice age, leading to the formation of new species assemblages. These changes occurred even after ocean temperatures stabilized, suggesting a non-uniform response to global warming.
Researchers used largest temperature reconstruction database to find no globally synchronous warm period during the Holocene. Regional variability in temperature suggests high latitude insolation played a major role in driving climate changes.
A new study reveals that subsurface ocean warming in the subpolar North Atlantic caused Heinrich Events, which led to ice sheet instability and disruption of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The warming facilitated melting of polar ice sheets from below, resulting in accelerated shedding of icebergs.
A new study finds that cold-water corals thrive when food supply and oxygen content are available, but decline in response to changes. The research, led by MARUM, analyzed sediments from six locations and found that these factors have been critical to coral survival over the past 20,000 years.
Researchers develop new procedure to study microorganisms in shallow-water hydrothermal systems, using incubators on the sea floor to study dynamic communities. They reveal key roles in carbon fixation and adaptation under changing conditions.
A massive DNA sequencing project has mapped the deep-sea biodiversity, revealing a vast and unknown ecosystem that plays a crucial role in ocean food-webs and carbon sequestration. The study sheds light on the connection between surface and deep-water ecosystems, with implications for understanding climate change.
MARUM researchers simulate alternative hydrocarbon formation through reduction of acetic acid, proposing a new explanation for unusual isotope patterns. The findings provide insight into the rapid thermal alteration of sedimentary organic matter and its role in the global carbon cycle.
Researchers discovered that certain microorganisms can form elemental carbon without high temperatures and pressures, challenging current scientific understanding. The formation of this carbon is believed to be linked to the symbiotic relationship between archaea and their partners.
Researchers analyzed pollen and leaf waxes to reconstruct vegetation cover and rainfall in the past. Mediterranean plants tolerate arid conditions with winter rain, suggesting a southward shift of westerlies during the African Humid Period. This climate scenario produced a Green Sahara with two seasonal rains.
The Caspian Sea is shrinking due to climate change, with water levels falling by 9-18 meters in the coming century. This has significant consequences for biodiversity, species habitats, and bordering countries' economies.
At a depth of 1,180 meters, temperatures of up to 120 degrees Celsius were reached, but microbial populations collapsed at around 45 degrees. Endospores, dormant cells of certain bacteria, increased rapidly and persisted in hot zones.
Scientists analyzed deep-sea sediment cores to reveal changing climate-carbon cycle interactions. They found that the carbon cycle exerted control over climate at times of volatility, not stability, and provided new insights into their complex relationships.
An international team publishes a global reference curve in Science, reconstructing the Earth's climate since the last great extinction 66 million years ago. The study provides a detailed understanding of past climate dynamics and recurring patterns, allowing for more accurate dating and correlation of climate events.
Marine microbes, specifically thaumarchaea, play a crucial role in recycling carbon and phosphorus from marine algae. They fix approximately 3 moles of carbon for every 10 moles of ammonia oxidized, fixing roughly 3-fold higher rates than previously assumed.
A new study published in the journal Geology reveals that cold-water corals on the Namibian shelf have been extinct for over 4,500 years due to low oxygen contents. The researchers attribute this extinction to a shift in the Benguela upwelling system and its associated intensification of the oxygen minimum zone.
Researchers find that pyrite weathering played a significant role in ending glacial periods, releasing greenhouse gas CO2 into the atmosphere. The process helped to increase sea levels and warm the climate system, leading to rapid sea-level rise and the melting of glaciers.
A research team has elucidated the complex degradation pathway of the polysaccharide Ulvan from marine algae, revealing the biochemical function of 12 enzymes. The findings have significant implications for future biotechnological applications and improve our understanding of the marine carbon cycle.
Researchers found that modern plankton communities are systematically different from pre-industrial times, reflecting global warming. The study suggests that species communities have shifted their distribution in response to temperature change.