Articles tagged with Sediment
A new study reveals that the domestication of plants and construction of settlements based on agriculture in ancient Japan coincided with periods of relatively warm and stable climate. This challenges the conventional theory that a climatic cooling event drove humans to adopt agriculture.
A new study found that sinking organic matter influences the types of signals preserved in sediments, leading to altered geochemical signatures. This discovery can provide new insights into past local environmental conditions and modify our understanding of global biogeochemical cycling.
A geologist's analysis of ancient sediments found in Kenya's Lake Magadi has revealed a progressive drying trend over the last million years. The study suggests that early humans may have been prompted to move and trade due to drought, with the region experiencing significant changes in climate.
Researchers created a model to predict when rivers crossing faults will abandon their channels, revealing a complex coupling between fault movement and river flow. The model can also estimate the rate of fault slip and sediment transport efficiency.
Smithsonian scientists discovered shark denticles on fossil- and modern coral reefs, revealing changing shark roles over 7000 years. Shark populations declined due to human hunting and habitat loss, impacting ecosystem balance.
Scientists reconstructed ancient shark communities using fossil shark scales, revealing a three-fold decline in abundance since prehistoric times. The study provides insight into what a 'healthy' shark community might look like on a coral reef before human exploitation.
Scientists at FAU Harbor Branch will use satellite images and hydrodynamic modeling to quantify sediment-derived carbon contribution to the coastal budget. The research aims to demonstrate the utility of remote sensing for characterizing critical but often neglected carbon cycle processes.
A pioneering study reveals subglacial lakes in Antarctica harbor thriving microbial life through the erosion of ancient sediments, providing a new source of nutrients and energy for microorganisms. The research found that crushing sediments can produce key gases, including methane and hydrogen, essential for microbial processes.
A newly discovered fossil deposit, Haiyan Lagerstätte, contains exceptionally preserved soft-bodied organisms and rare juvenile fossils. The study provides a unique glimpse into how these ancient animals developed from larvae to adults.
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current flowed more rapidly during the last interglacial period, with a flow speed 10-15% higher than today. This could lead to an increase in global temperatures and a decline in the ocean's capacity to absorb CO2.
A comprehensive study by Artyom Gusarov found that soil erosion and river sediment load decreased significantly in European Russia. Climate change and warming of near-soil air led to reduced frosting and decreased erosion-inducing sediment from tillage in the steppes.
Researchers found over 30 species of plants along the banks of Tikal's reservoirs, including trees like ramón and cabbage bark. The study suggests that the Maya protected these areas as sacred groves to provide medicinal or edible plants and fruits.
The study suggests that the tropical rain belt's latitudinal oscillation range contracted, resulting in reduced rainfall in Brazil's Northeast region. This finding can help predict the region's future climate and inform strategies for managing food and water security.
Specialized bacteria in the oceans' seafloor have been found to consume and recycle DNA from dead biomass, a process that plays a crucial role in global biogeochemical cycles. The study identified novel DNA-eating bacteria, including the species Izemoplasma acidinucleici, which have sophisticated tools for degrading DNA.
A recent paper examines the critical period before river regulation began, revealing that erosion of the upper Atchafalaya and dredging of the lower Mississippi contributed to increased water flow. The research aims to better understand river channel dynamics and inform management decisions to preserve Louisiana's coastline.
A preserved ancient bald cypress forest was discovered underwater in the northern Gulf of Mexico, providing clues about the region's climate history. The forest is estimated to be between 42,000 and 74,000 years old, offering insights into the rapid changes in sea levels and climate that occurred during the last Ice Age.
A 5-million-year-old sedimentary record at Charyn Canyon provides a rare insight into long-term land-climate feedback mechanisms. The analysis revealed increasing aridity over the past five million years, with short-term fluctuations influenced by westerly winds and the Siberian high-pressure system.
Researchers analyzed sediment cores from Bering Sea to find evidence of recurring low-oxygen events in North Pacific Ocean. High sea levels and changes in ocean circulation are thought to trigger these events, which could have severe consequences for ecosystems and food sources.
Researchers used OSL dating to directly date stone artefacts from an archaeological site in southern Tibet, revealing an age between 5,200 and 5,500 years. The analysis provides new insights into human occupation of the region and sheds light on the earliest human activities in the Tibetan Plateau.
Researchers analyzed a sediment core from Lake Tislit, Morocco, and found that the Sahara expanded with greenery during the African Humid Period. The expansion was caused by increased winter precipitation rather than a northward expansion of the monsoon.
A multi-national team of scientists discovers unprecedented mercury deposits in the deepest Pacific Ocean trenches, exceeding previous records and even higher than areas contaminated by industrial releases. The findings indicate a collective increase in anthropogenic emissions of mercury into oceans.
A team from Alfred Wegener Institute discovered that treeless areas have more species than mountain forests due to climate change. The study's findings suggest that broader habitats lead to a wider range of settings for diverse flora and fauna.
Researchers use geological records to recreate the history of Larsen C Ice Shelf, finding that it has remained stable for the past 10,000 years. Despite this, the team warns that warmer ocean currents and atmospheric temperatures could lead to future collapse.
Deep pools below waterfalls are refuges for fish and aquatic animals during summer months when river temperatures become lethal. Waterfall jets can liquefy sediment, triggering debris flows that damage property and threaten lives. Researchers provided a new framework to predict plunge pool fill and evacuation patterns.
A study analyzing hydrogen isotopic composition of marine sediments found interglacial summer warmth influences Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) retreat more strongly than maximum temperatures. This research suggests persistently high summer temperatures will be more harmful to the ice sheet's long-term stability under climate change.
A new University at Buffalo study uses ocean-bottom sediments to learn about ancient summer temperatures in southern Greenland, revealing that prolonged warmth may be disastrous for the Greenland Ice Sheet. The findings hold a message of caution as the world warms again today, with potential long-lasting effects on Earth's temperature.
A trawl ban has led to significant increases in the richness of species and abundance of benthic marine organisms. The study found substantial reductions in suspended solids and increases in total organic matter after the ban.
Research highlights the persistence of plastic waste in deep-sea environments, with potential implications for marine life and the sedimentary record. The study suggests that plastics can survive for thousands of years in ocean trenches, posing a significant challenge to mitigation efforts.
A new index, MEPI, quantifies environmental pollution in marinas by combining chemical and biological parameters. The study's innovative approach provides a simple and complete ecological analysis method to determine a port's quality, enabling authorities to establish minimum ecological quality levels.
Researchers from Tomsk Polytechnic University studied pore waters in three areas of methane release on the surface, comparing regional features and geochemical indicators. They used modern sampling methods to minimize failures and obtain accurate results, revealing new insights into processes occurring in these unique ecosystems.
Researchers are using 3D printed models to study ground motion after earthquakes, providing a novel platform for seismic experiments. The models replicate complex topographical features and allow scientists to simulate how seismic waves interact with the Earth's surface.
Researchers found a naturally occurring 'earthquake gate' on New Zealand's Alpine Fault that decides which earthquakes grow into magnitude 8 or greater. The study suggests this gate could change the stress and break larger earthquake chains.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology developed new methods to enrich and analyze human nuclear DNA from sediments. This breakthrough allows for the study of population relationships and the deep human past, providing new opportunities for investigation and expanding the range of options to tease out evo...
Researchers developed methods to recover, enrich and analyze archaic human nuclear DNA from cave sediments. This approach revealed new insights into Neanderthal population history, including a replacement event in northern Spain about 100,000 years ago.
A new theory explains how suspended sediment particles mysteriously move upward on submarine canyon slopes, defying gravity. This discovery helps understand biogeochemical cycles at continental margins and feeding behavior of suspension feeders like baleen whales and krill.
The Curiosity rover has explored the stratigraphy of Gale crater, providing insights into Mars' early climatic history. The study reveals alternating wet and dry depositional environments recorded in the sedimentary sequence, shedding light on the Red Planet's environmental changes during the Hesperian age.
Researchers reconstructed chemical weathering history in the western Himalaya using sediment records since 17 million years ago. In California, a study analyzed late Pleistocene rock uplift and faulting rates along the boundary between the southern Coast Ranges and western Transverse Ranges.
A recent study by Tulane University researchers found that human-made levees on the Mississippi River have reduced the amount of organic carbon released into the atmosphere. The team measured sediment ages and deposition times, revealing that ancient carbon was buried at a slower rate before modernization.
Iron, a micronutrient crucial for phytoplankton, is being released from deep ocean sediments, providing a new source of nutrition for drifting marine organisms. This finding challenges previous expectations and has significant implications for studying the ocean carbon cycle and managing the marine environment.
Scientists analyzed ancient lake sediment in the Arctic Ocean and found evidence of a shrub native to northern Canadian ecosystems that was once widespread. The findings may provide insight into the potential future of the Arctic's vegetation as it warms due to climate change, with implications for thawing permafrost and sea level rise.
Researchers find fossilized plant structures at the bottom of a 4560-foot-deep ice core, indicating that most of Greenland was ice-free within the last million years. The discovery highlights the vulnerability of the Greenland ice sheet to climate warming and sea-level rise, posing a significant threat to coastal cities worldwide.
New research at the UNESCO-listed 'Plain of Jars' in Laos establishes that stone jars were placed in their final position from 1240 to 660 BCE. The study used Optically Stimulated Luminescence and radiocarbon dating to analyze sediment samples, revealing enduring ritual significance across historical times.
The first herbivorous dinosaurs in East Greenland arrived 214 million years ago, coinciding with a drastic drop in atmospheric CO2 levels. This climate shift made it difficult for them to disperse from their original habitat, resulting in a 15-million-year journey.
Researchers discovered that microbes in ancient sediment below the seafloor are sustained primarily by chemicals created through the natural irradiation of water molecules. This radiation-fueled ecosystem is one of Earth's largest and has significant implications for understanding life on Mars.
A recent study led by University of Arkansas geologist Jill A. Marshall found that cold temperatures during North America's last ice age shaped landscapes well beyond the reach of glaciers, affecting areas from Oregon to Georgia and as far south as Texas and Arkansas. The research suggests past cold climates have had a significant impa...
A new study reveals a key connection between Antarctic iceberg melt and the activation of mechanisms leading to prolonged global cooling and the beginning of ice ages. Researchers found that changes in ocean circulation patterns, triggered by the melting of icebergs, can draw CO2 from the atmosphere, reducing the greenhouse effect.
A new study reveals that Lake Erie sediments release nearly as much phosphorus into the surrounding waters as enters the lake each year, exacerbating the annual 'dead zone'. This self-fertilization process contributes up to 11,000 metric tons of phosphorus to the lake water each summer.
Researchers found strong seismic shaking deformed sediments and triggered mud avalanches, indicating extreme earthquakes preceded rockslide clusters. The study proposes seismic shaking can degrade rock slopes towards critical tipping point.
Microplastics have been found in nearly all organisms and habitats worldwide, but the factors contributing to their influx and accumulation in water ecosystems are not yet fully understood. A new study developed a sediment trap method to analyze annual accumulation rates and possible seasonal variation, finding that microplastic flux r...
Researchers used fin whale songs to create images of the Earth's crust layers by recording vibrations on seismometers. This method offers a novel approach to seismic research, particularly in areas where traditional methods are expensive or impossible to obtain.
Researchers found a 15% reduction in total nitrogen losses, 14% reduction in total phosphorus losses, and 39% reduction in sediment losses through crop reallocation simulations. This approach could be a potential path to restoring the Chesapeake Bay.
A new study by archaeologists at the Florida Museum of Natural History found that a handheld color-matching gadget often misread colors readily distinguished by the human eye. The device, known as the X-Rite Capsure, failed to produce correct color scores in 37.5% of cases when tested against a book of color chips.
Scientists use low-noise magnetic measurements to detect giant magnetofossils in bulk sediment samples, shedding light on ancient environments and organisms' physiology. The high-coercivity signature identified is consistent with needle-shaped fossils found in sediments, providing new insights into the geological record.
A team of researchers analyzed sediment cores from the Mediterranean Sea and combined them with Earth system models to reconstruct major environmental changes in North Africa. The study reveals that rivers were active in the region thousands of years ago, driven by slight changes in Earth's orbit and polar ice sheet variations.
Researchers found significant accumulation of PVC and polystyrene in seagrass sediments since the 1930s, indicating a dramatic increase since the 1970s. This pollution can potentially lead to microplastic exposure for animals grazing on or living in the sediment.
Rutgers scientists found that bacteria cause sunlight-absorbing sediment to clump together and accumulate in meltwater streams on the Greenland ice sheet. This process can be incorporated into climate models for more accurate melting predictions.
Researchers used ancient crystals to test the theory that portions of Earth's ancient crust acted as 'seeds' for later generations of crust. A three-billion-year-old magmatic event led to a global spike in crust production, matching regions worldwide and pointing to a significant widespread event.
Researchers at the University of Illinois developed a modeling framework to estimate soil erosion in the Drummer Creek watershed. The study found that even partial changes in tilling practices can have significant results, with vulnerable areas seeing a near-70% reduction in soil loss and sediment yield.
A new study by Tel Aviv University reveals that a devastating earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale is expected to hit Israel in the coming years. The research analyzed 220,000 years of geological record from the Dead Sea and found that earthquakes with this magnitude occur every 130-150 years on average.
Researchers have developed a new method using tetra-unsaturated alkenone (C37:4) molecules to reconstruct sea ice abundance and distribution from the ancient past. This discovery could aid in understanding human-induced climate change by providing a reliable proxy for sea ice concentration through time.