Articles tagged with Pleistocene Epoch
A team of researchers led by Eberhard Gischler analyzed the Blue Hole stalactite recovered in 1970, revealing concentric layers that detail climate conditions since the last ice age. The study provides new insights into paleo-environmental conditions and storm patterns.
An international team of researchers discovered a previously unrecognized genus of extinct horses in North America, diverging from the main trunk of the Equus family tree around 4-6 million years ago. The new species, Haringtonhippus francisci, was a widespread and successful species that survived until roughly 17,000 years ago.
The study found that despite a colder climate, residents in Ii Hamina survived for centuries by having similar diets from childhood to adulthood. However, one individual displayed variation in isotope composition potentially attributable to poor nutrition.
A new study reveals that rising CO2 levels reached a tipping point, triggering sudden temperature shifts of up to 15°C in the Northern Hemisphere during ice age periods. The findings add to evidence suggesting that gradual climate changes can lead to abrupt surprises.
Researchers warn that African lions and Sunda clouded leopards are at risk of extinction due to a decline in prey species. If primary big cat prey continues to decline, it poses a serious risk to these species, highlighting the need for urgent government protection.
A new study reveals that African lions and other big cat species are facing a high risk of extinction due to declining prey populations. The research suggests that the loss of prey species during the last Ice Age is continuing today, with only 25% of preferred prey remaining for African lions.
Scientists analyzed DNA samples from 97 western spotted skunks and found three genetic sub-groups corresponding to different climate refugia created by Ice Age climate change. This discovery suggests that climate change played a more important role in the evolution of spotted skunks than geographical barriers.
Researchers argue that the Little Ice Age was a manageable downturn in climate concentrated in particular regions, with warm summers continuing much as they do today. The study suggests that there is no single explanation for this, and that not all winters were cold.
The Anthropocene Working Group addresses geological critics' concerns about a new epoch, emphasizing the presence of distinctive strata. The group's research highlights human-driven transformations with physical evidence, such as artificial radionuclides and plastics.
A new study reveals that the sub-antarctic island of South Georgia was covered by a massive ice cap about 20,000 years ago. The researchers used sonar mapping and gravity corers to find hundreds of distinct ridges bulldozed into the seabed, showing that the ice extended across South Georgia's vast continental shelf.
Researchers found that atmospheric CO2 concentrations remained stable around 190 ppm during ice ages, preventing extreme cooling. This suggests a 'thermostat' mechanism maintained habitable temperatures, with slower-growing organisms reducing carbon in soils and oceans.
New research identifies the oldest bison fossils and constructs a bison genealogy establishing that a common maternal ancestor arrived in North America. The study clarifies the earliest parts of the bison family tree using ancient DNA extraction and sequencing techniques.
Researchers found that a 80,000-year ice age caused by volcanic eruptions led to the loss of 95% of marine species during the Permian-Triassic boundary. The study challenges previous theories attributing mass extinctions to warming temperatures.
A study analyzing over 100 linguistic features suggests complex patterns of contact and migration among early Americans. The diversity of languages in the Americas is unprecedented, with many isolates having no demonstrable connection to other languages.
Researchers found that small spikes in ocean temperature, rather than atmospheric warming, likely drove the rapid disintegration of ancient ice sheets. The study's findings add to evidence that climate change may bring higher seas than predicted by current models.
Researchers have revised the earliest known human settlement in North America to 24,000 years ago based on new radiocarbon dating from the Bluefish Caves in Yukon. The findings confirm the 'Beringian standstill hypothesis' suggesting that humans inhabited Eastern Beringia during the last ice age.
New University of Washington research reveals that rapid Arctic warming events cause a shift in Southern Hemisphere winds, which can impact global rainfall patterns and climate feedbacks. The study uses chemical clues from an Antarctic ice core to support the findings.
A Yale University study tracked Ice Age mammals to understand how they impact ecosystems. The research found that even small extinctions can have significant effects on functional diversity.
Experts from Cardiff University propose that deep ocean storage of carbon dioxide may be responsible for the planet's 100,000-year ice age cycle. By analyzing tiny fossil remains, researchers found more CO2 stored in the oceans during ice ages at regular intervals every 100,000 years.
A team of researchers discovered a previously unknown hybrid species of bison and cattle, known as the Higgs Bison, through ancient DNA analysis. The mystery species dominated European records for thousands of years before alternating with the Steppe Bison due to climate change.
Researchers reconstruct climate and oceanographic conditions in the westernmost Mediterranean Sea, revealing hot and dry Medieval Climatic Anomaly and cooler Little Ice Age conditions. Human impact also detected in temperature increase, aridification, and soil erosion.
Researchers studied West Antarctica's landscape and found the ice sheet thinned relatively quickly after a period of warming, losing 400m of thickness in 3,000 years. This caused sea levels to increase by up to two metres.
Researchers found that the degree of cold in the preceding ice age determines how fast vegetation adapts to interglacial climates. The study reveals that plants need thousands of years to adapt from a cold to a warmer period, with permafrost being the main reason for this delay.
The ocean's slow circulation rate allowed it to store more carbon for longer periods than previously thought. This process released carbon into the deep ocean, where it was trapped due to slow circulation and eventually dissolved, storing large amounts of CO2 for thousands of years.
A new study reveals that Siberian larch forests are still thriving in the Northern Russian permafrost despite rising temperatures, indicating a slow adaptation process that can take thousands of years. The research suggests that colder ice ages have delayed vegetation adaptation to warmer climate periods.
Researchers have confirmed that Mars has undergone multiple rounds of climate change using radar measurements of its polar ice caps. The study reveals the planet's current retreat from an ice age began approximately 370,000 years ago and is still ongoing.
Using radar data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a team of researchers found evidence of an accelerated accumulation rate of ice in the Martian polar cap. The volume and thickness of ice match model predictions, providing insights into Mars' climate change history.
The discovery of Protovis himalayensis sheds light on the origin of Ice Age mountain sheep, suggesting that the Tibetan Plateau was their ancestral home range. The fossil finds indicate a C3 diet and adaptation to high-elevation cold environments during the Pliocene.
New study reveals an Ice Age refugium in Arabia, potentially on the Red Sea plains, and suggests modern humans inhabited the region for up to 10,000 years. The findings challenge previous theories that humans did not settle in large numbers until agriculture developed around 10-11,000 years ago.
Researchers used foraminifera, tiny ocean dwellers, to reconstruct past oxygen levels and determine how much carbon dioxide was stored in the oceans during ice ages. The study provides insight into natural climate cycles and may help predict future environmental changes.
Researchers find Tanana Arctic butterfly, a possible new species of hybrid butterfly from Alaska's interior. The discovery suggests ancient hybridization between Arctic butterfly species.
Researchers studied temperature measurements, ice core data, and ocean sediment cores to analyze fractal patterns in natural climate variations. They found that the natural climate is chaotic and can be difficult to predict, with greater fluctuations during ice ages.
A study published in Scientific Reports reveals that a warm ocean surface water prevailed during the last ice age, causing gradual climate changes. The Nordic seas, just south of Iceland, followed an Antarctic pattern of warming and cooling, contradicting previous 'seesaw' hypothesis.
Research-based climate scenarios predict catastrophic consequences of rising carbon emissions, including sea-level rise and coastal submersion affecting 1.3 billion people. The long-term view underscores the urgency to curb emissions within decades.
Ancient DNA analysis uncovers a significant population turnover in Europe around 14,500 years ago, suggesting a sudden replacement of hunter-gatherer populations by another group. This finding contradicts the traditional view that non-African populations dispersed to Eurasia and Australasia through multiple migrations.
The study found that sediments from the deep Southern Ocean carried smaller amounts of oxygen, indicating phytoplankton took up large amounts of carbon dioxide. This led to a buildup of decaying organic matter that stored extra carbon in the deep sea.
Numerical simulations found that erosion played a key role in driving magma production and subsequent volcanic activity at the end of the last ice age. The study's results may have implications for understanding climate change and atmospheric CO2 levels, as similar mechanisms are expected to occur at shorter timescales.
Scientists at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research found a unique relationship between summer insolation and atmospheric CO2 that explains past eight ice ages. Moderate human interference with the planet's natural carbon balance can postpone the next glacial inception by up to 100,000 years.
A study suggests that changes in deep-water ocean circulation, rather than CO2 levels, drove the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event. This finding supports the idea that icehouse conditions, not super-greenhouse periods, are associated with the greatest increase in marine biodiversity in Earth's history.
Researchers find massive release of CO2 from Southern Ocean occurred when Antarctic sea ice melted, not due to changes in ocean density. The expansion and retreat of sea ice acted as a 'lid' controlling CO2 exchange between ocean and atmosphere.
A 14,000-year-old thigh bone found in China suggests a mysterious pre-modern human species may have survived until the end of the last Ice Age. The bone has features similar to ancient human genera, including Homo habilis and early Homo erectus.
Researchers have found evidence that the melting of Scandinavian ice sheet drove a catastrophic freshwater flood, plunging the planet into a sudden cold snap, reconciling climate models with reconstructions. The study provides the missing link to understanding current inconsistencies between climate models and reconstructions.
A new lineage of ancient European ancestry, originating from hunter-gatherers isolated by the Ice Age, has been discovered. This 'fourth strand' is found in modern populations across Europe and beyond, with significant influence on Indian genetics.
Researchers used fossil galls caused by tiny wasps to reconstruct the local habitats of Southern California at the end of the last Ice Age. The study indicates that many habitats, including coniferous forests and chaparral, were present in the region between 33,000 and 44,000 years ago.
A 20-year study in Arctic Alaska examines how woolly mammoths and other ice-age animals handled climate change. The study found that rapid climate changes during the ice age were beneficial for megafauna when rapid warming allowed grasses and forbs to spread.
Researchers found that intense attacks from packs of large carnivores, including lions and sabertooth cats, helped keep herbivore populations in check. This study challenges the long-held assumption that mammoths, mastodons, and giant ground sloths were limited by reproductive timing due to resource scarcity.
Researchers at University of Alaska Fairbanks discovered 11,500-year-old chum salmon bones indicating Ice Age humans in North America used salmon as a food source. The findings suggest ancient Beringian diets were broader and human colonization of North America may have been influenced by salmon fishing.
Scientists discovered that the end of the Snowball Earth period was marked by regular ice advances and retreats, contrary to previous thought. The constant changes were caused by the Earth wobbling on its axis, leading to subtle shifts in climate change.
A new study confirms that rising greenhouse gas levels, not other forces, were responsible for the end of the last Ice Age and subsequent glacial retreat. The study uses recalculated ages of ancient boulders to match the timing of glacial melting with increased carbon dioxide levels.
A new study has found that the rise in carbon dioxide was the primary driver of the global retreat of glaciers during the last Ice Age. The research, which analyzed over 1,000 glacial boulders, eliminates regional factors as the main cause of glacier melting and confirms the leading role of greenhouse gases in shaping Earth's climate.
Researchers predict a new Little Ice Age may begin by 2030, with reduced solar activity leading to significant cooling of the Earth's atmosphere. This decrease in solar irradiance could result in severe winters and cold summers, similar to those experienced during the Maunder minimum in the 17th century.
A dramatic ice sheet collapse at the end of the last ice age led to widespread climate changes and a sea level peak well above its present height. The research, published in Nature, reveals that this event was caused by the suppression of ocean circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Researchers found a consistent link between abrupt temperature changes in Greenland and Antarctica, with the Antarctic response delayed by 200 years. The study uses a highly detailed ice core from West Antarctica, providing unprecedented detail about past climate change.
Researchers from Uppsala University analyzed the whole genome of 40 bird species to estimate their abundance at various points in time. The study found that many species exhibit cyclical swings in numbers, often coinciding with ice ages, but human influence may push declines beyond a tipping point to extinction.
A new international study finds that glacier movement in the Southern Hemisphere is primarily influenced by sea surface temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide rather than changes in the Earth's orbit. The results contradict the Milankovitch theory of climate, which suggests orbital fluctuations drive ice sheet expansion in the Nort...
A study found that only three populations of emperor penguins may have survived the last ice age, with the Ross Sea being a likely refuge for one population. Genetic diversity analysis suggests that conditions were too extreme for large populations to survive during the last ice age.
A recent study published in Nature found that carbon stored in an isolated reservoir deep in the Southern Ocean re-connected with the atmosphere, driving a rise in atmospheric CO2 and global temperatures. This process is crucial in understanding how the ocean affects the carbon cycle and climate change.
Researchers found that a massive release of carbon dioxide from the ocean during the last ice age warmed the planet and ended the glacial period. The study, published in Nature, suggests that natural variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide are linked to carbon stored in oceans.
A study published in Nature shows that a release of carbon dioxide from the deep Southern Ocean helped bring an end to the last Ice Age. The finding provides insight into how oceanic carbon storage affects climate change.
Researchers from Brown University found new evidence of glacier-like ice deposits advancing and retreating multiple times in Mars' midlatitudes, suggesting recent climate cycles. The study suggests that the planet's wobbly rotation around its axis may have driven these ice ages.