May 17, 2017
The mackerel year: Tambora changed how New England fished
The 1815 eruption of Indonesia’s Tambora Volcano led to a 1- to 1.5-degree-Celsius drop in the average global temperature, prompting 1816 to be …
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1236 articles · Page 20 of 52
May 17, 2017
Monsoon shifts shaped early Chinese cultures
Rapid, climate-driven shifts in monsoon patterns may have shaped ancient Chinese societies, according to new research. And their history could be …
May 17, 2017
Ups and downs of potassium feldspar may play role in clouds and climate
For water vapor in the atmosphere to transform into icy, cloud-forming droplets, it needs a seed around which to condense, such as aerosols, sea …
May 15, 2017
Timing of famed "Millennium Eruption" pinpointed
Changbaishan Volcano in northeastern China, on the border with North Korea (where it’s known as Mount Paektu), is steeped in superstition, having …
May 15, 2017
Comment: Kitchen counter geology: Bringing rock identification to a new audience
As I hoisted my 22-kilogram suitcase onto the scale at the airline check-in counter, the agent joked, “Whatchya got in there, rocks?” We both got …
May 15, 2017
1883 sea rescue informs new model of wind-wave interactions
Despite improvements in oceanographic observation, knowledge gaps remain about the interactions between ocean waves and wind blowing over the …
May 15, 2017
When and how did plate tectonics begin on Earth?
The basic story of Earth’s formation is familiar to most anyone who has taken a geology course: About 4.6 billion years ago, Earth formed when a …
May 15, 2017
Meteorites did not spark Ordovician biodiversification
During the Ordovician Period, roughly 470 million years ago, an asteroid the size of a small moon collided with another rocky object in the belt …
May 15, 2017
"Blob"-related warming contributed to Pacific Northwest ozone spike
In June 2015, instruments on Oregon’s Mount Bachelor recorded mean ozone for the month at 56 parts per billion, more than 20 percent higher than …
May 15, 2017
Tibetan Plateau populated long before advent of agriculture
Due to the harsh living conditions of the Tibetan Plateau — which has an average elevation over 4,500 meters — archaeologists have long assumed …
May 4, 2017
Silk Road routes may have followed the herds
The Silk Road — the ancient trade route that stretched thousands of kilometers from China to the Mediterranean — often calls to mind images of …
April 27, 2017
And then there was one: Ceres' disappearing ice volcanoes
Earth has numerous volcanoes, both active and extinct — some of which continue to tower over landscapes long after they finished erupting. On the …
April 20, 2017
Geomedia: Film: 'Written on Water': A Modern Tale of a Dry West
An endless patchwork of circular fields surrounds the small West Texas town of Olton. The unnatural shapes and sharp boundaries of the brown and …
April 19, 2017
Sea-surface temperatures during last interglacial similar to modern day
During the last interglacial period, between 129,000 and 116,000 years ago, global sea levels were 6 to 9 meters higher than at present. …
April 19, 2017
Fossil forest recorded ancient sunspots
The sun’s surface is home to dark, relatively cool blotches of high magnetic activity known as sunspots, which vary in number over a roughly …
April 19, 2017
Grapes reveal impacts of sulfur-rich Samalas eruption on 13th-century climate
The A.D. 1257 eruption of the Indonesian volcano Samalas sent an ash plume an estimated 43 kilometers into the sky in one of the most sulfur-rich …
April 19, 2017
Travels in Geology: Geo-diversity and geologic history in the North West Highlands of Scotland
The North West Highlands of Scotland are sparsely populated, with rugged mountains and gorgeous valleys featuring a rich geological history. The …
April 18, 2017
Did Jurassic tectonics lead to supergiant oilfields?
More than 6 percent of global oil production comes from a single oilfield: the supergiant Ghawar oilfield in eastern Saudi Arabia, which produces …
April 18, 2017
Venezuela, Central Africa are Earth's lightning hot spots
People who live around Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo call it a “lighthouse.” The lake’s “never- ending storm” has been written about for centuries, …
April 18, 2017
Tropical rainfall shifts resulted in greener Sahara
Six thousand years ago, the Sahara — today the world’s largest nonpolar desert, stretching over an area larger than the contiguous United States …
April 18, 2017
Massive dust storm caused by climate, not conflict
In August and September 2015, a massive dust storm swept across the Middle East, engulfing seven nations in sand thick enough to ground flights, …
April 14, 2017
Neonicotinoids: Prominent pesticides escape into the environment
The 1990s was a watershed era in pest control — and, by extension, agriculture — thanks to a particular bit of chemical innovation. With the …
April 6, 2017
Six new deep-sea species discovered
About 2,000 kilometers southeast of Madagascar and 2.8 kilometers below the surface of the Indian Ocean, scientists have discovered six …
April 6, 2017
Breakup of Pangea led to thicker oceanic crust
Oceanic crust formed at mid-ocean spreading centers, like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, is recycled back into the mantle at subduction zones. Aside …