Taxonomy term

temperature

Hot tropics drove out ancient reptiles, but they came back

About 252 million years ago, massive volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia rapidly warmed Earth, resulting in the end-Permian mass extinction that saw most terrestrial and marine species die off. It’s been thought that surviving reptiles and fish fled the hot tropics and didn’t return for millions of years. But according to new research, the tropical evacuation may not have lasted so long after all.

21 Apr 2018

Young Costa Rican lavas might reflect pockets of primordial mantle

During the Archean, between 4 billion and 2.5 billion years ago, Earth’s super-heated young mantle produced a unique type of lava known as komatiite. In a new study published in Nature Geoscience, researchers looking at 90-million-year-old komatiites in Costa Rica — by far the youngest komatiites ever found — suggest the modern mantle may still harbor pockets of intense heat reminiscent of early Earth.

18 Aug 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. Scientists have long wondered how global atmospheric and ocean temperatures then compared to modern times, but efforts to reconstruct such temperatures have often fallen short. In a new study, researchers who compiled past records of sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) have revealed that SSTs during the last interglacial were similar to modern day temperatures. But, the similarity doesn’t necessarily predict a future surge in sea levels.

10 May 2017

Tallying temperature drops inside tornadoes

The inside of a strong tornado is an intense place, with wind speeds of more than 450 kilometers per hour and dramatic drops in air pressure and temperature. But due to the dangerous unpredictability of such storms, few real-time measurements have been taken inside actual twisters. In a new study, researchers took a mathematical approach to circumvent the danger and calculate temperature changes inside tornadoes, offering a glimpse into how these violent storms operate.

24 Apr 2017

Earth's magnetic field illuminates ocean temperatures

As Earth warms, the atmosphere isn’t the only place where temperatures are rising — the oceans are absorbing most of the excess heat, but precisely how much is unclear. Using recently launched satellites that can measure subtle fluctuations in Earth’s magnetic field, researchers are devising a method that may help refine ocean temperature measurements and clarify how much heat the oceans are storing.

16 Mar 2017

Broadening ocean current could carry less heat poleward with climate change

Some ocean currents, like the Agulhas Current in the southwestern Indian Ocean, act like giant air conditioners, moderating Earth’s climate by shuttling heat from the equator toward the poles. The Agulhas is one of the largest and fastest currents in the world: Flowing southwest along the east coast of Africa, it stretches almost 1,500 kilometers and transports about 70 million cubic meters of water every second toward the South Pole at peak speeds upward of 7 kilometers per hour.

21 Feb 2017

Ant bodies shaped by environment

Ants are ectotherms, which means their metabolisms are controlled by the temperature of their environment. New research shows that the environment also influences their color and size.

30 Dec 2016

Underground ants can't take the heat

Army ants, which move in swarms and show their prey little mercy, are some of the most ferocious insects in the animal kingdom, but a recent study reveals a weakness in some underground species: warm temperatures.

24 Mar 2016

Pliocene tropical oceans were warmer after all

Scientists may have overturned the idea that Earth’s tropical oceans were the same temperature during the Early to Middle Pliocene — between about 5 million and 3 million years ago — as they are today, despite the world being a far warmer place then.

12 Dec 2014

Hurricanes suppressed by air pollutants

Understanding how often devastating tropical storms like Superstorm Sandy occur, and how humans may play a role in their frequency, is a major goal among climate scientists. Now, a new study indicates that aerosols may suppress storm formation over the Atlantic. Thus, researchers say, more frequent storms at the end of the last century might have been an unintended side effect of cleaning up the air.

25 Jun 2013

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