Adding to the growing evidence that ‘things are not as they once were’, a new dendrochronological study has found that socio-cultural disruptions in Eastern Europe during the past millennium coincided with periods of decreased temperature, and recent temperature in the region is warmer than at any previous time over the past thousand years. Oh, dendrochronological is the
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey studying ancient pollen and charcoal preserved in deeply buried sediments in Egypt’s Nile Delta have documented the region’s ancient droughts and fires, including a massive drought that happened approximately 4,200 years ago and is thought to have seen the demise of Egypt’s Old Kingdom. “Humans have a long history
Often thought to be one of the more stable processes on Earth, the rise and fall of the tides, have turned out to be as unpredictable as anything else, when considered over a longer time frame. This, from new research which suggests that shows how tides have changed dramatically over thousands of years.
I received this in an email from a friend recently. Great & worth a read.
American Indian, Chief Seattle, wrote to President Franklin Pierce in 1854…
Imagine a huge, blue body of water, white sandy beaches, waves crashing onshore and kids playing in the sand. You might be tempted to think of an ocean scene, but I’m talking about a typical July day on any of the Great Lakes. Sans the salty smell and the abundant sea life, the Great Lakes support
I love the work of Kristen Farquhar and feature her Environmental Music Films here on Planetsave whenever a new on comes out. Recently, she got invited to have her films screened at the Conscious Life Expo in Los Angeles. So, in honor of that, beyond just featuring one of her films, here is much more
New research led by researchers at the California Institute of Technology, Caltech, have discovered new details that support the idea that the mass extinction that took place approximately 450 million years ago, known as the Late Ordovician mass extinction, was linked to a cooling climate. During the Late Ordovician mass extinction more than 75 percent
Artefacts that have recently been unearthed in the United Arab Emirates have cast doubt on the timeframe with which early humans exited Africa into the Arabian Peninsula, suggesting that humans could have arrived as early as 125,000 years ago, over two times that which had previously been supposed. The research has been published in the
The 20th Century Reanalysis Project (20CR), a joint project between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Colorado, has brought together 27 international climatologists to create a comprehensive reanalysis of all global weather events from 1871 to present day, effectively creating an accessible time machine for climate scientists. The project allows
Manmade climate change is not only a thing of the last hundred years, according to new research from scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL). The Roman Conquest, expansion of civilization in China, the Black Death, and the discovery of America, amongst other historical landmarks, have all had large impacts on the climate.
The Permian-Triassic extinction event – also known as the Great Dying – is recorded as the most significant extinction event in Earth’s history, seeing a whopping 96% of marine species killed off, 70% of land-based animals, and is the only extinction event to have affected insects. Researchers at the University of Calgary believe that they
You wouldn’t necessarily look to Genghis Kahn as being an environmentalist, but the facts are clear, he did a lot for increasing the storage of carbon dioxide as he and his Mongol hordes decided to head out and see what was on the other side of the wall. A new study published in the online
An analysis by National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) scientist Jeffrey Kiehl published in the most recent edition of the journal Science in the ‘Perspectives’ section has concluded that the sheer scale of climate change during Earth’s ancient history points to temperatures rising far more than expected in Earth’s immediate future. Kiehl brought together several
Determining the age of Earth’s continental crust has been the primary method of determining conditions on Earth for the past 4.4 billion years. The crust modified the composition of the mantle and the atmosphere, supports all life on Earth that we know of, and is a massive sink for carbon dioxide. Not surprisingly then, we
Geologists at the University of California, Riverside, have discovered chemical evidence that indicates Earth’s ancient oceans were not only oxygen-free, but also contained large quantities of hydrogen sulphide in some areas. “We are the first to show that ample hydrogen sulfide in the ocean was possible this early in Earth’s history,” said Timothy Lyons, a
Earth’s oceans are teeming with life thanks to the oxygenated waters which allow that life to grow and thrive: just as animals on land need oxygen to survive, so too do the fish and mammals beneath the sea surface. However around 499 million years ago the oceans suffered an event which turned them into a
Mountain creation has always been a heated topic of interest, and one that has relied on ancient data to provide answers to those hoping to understand the phenomenon that takes centuries and millennia to occur. Geochemists from Stanford University have used raindrops, or more precisely the isotopic residue of raindrops, to shed light on the
Researchers from the University of Arizona have found that the Southwest of America could be in store for a decade’s long drought during this century. The researchers reviewed previous studies that set out to document the regions past temperatures and droughts, and found that any droughts that took place during the 20th century paled in
A new study has shed light on the possible impact of rising carbon dioxide levels on the planets global temperatures. Looking back 40 million years into Earth’s history, scientists from Utrecht University, working with colleagues at the NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and the University of Southampton, have theorized that a massive increase
Spend any time watching a cartoon of read a book about dinosaurs and you’ll see some hapless dinosaur become the night’s meal for a Tyrannosaurus Rex. However, what we didn’t know is that the undisputed king of the dinosaurs ate each other. While looking for evidence for an entirely separate study, Yale researcher Nick Longrich
Bikes that are more than bikes. TreeHugger had two nice posts recently on bikes of the future and bikes of the past that help people transport various things besides people. These are definitely worth a share. As you can see if you are a regular reader here on Planetsave, bikes are a popular topic. Riding
The mass extinction of mammal species 50,000 years ago possibly linked to continental climate footprints. [social_buttons]An international team of scientists used global data modelling to construct continental “climate footprints” in an effort to determine the cause of the mass extinctions that took place 50,000 years ago. “Between 50,000 and 3,000 years before present (BP) 65%
What happens when Earth’s carbon cycle is altered? Looking back 720 million years might give us a clue. [social_buttons]A new study led by researchers from Princeton University suggests that a “snowball Earth” period created a significant change in the planet’s carbon cycle which in turn may have produced even more ice-ages. Understanding the causes and
One of the biggest problems facing meteorologists and climate scientists is the fact that we simply don’t have long term climate data. Sure, we’ve seen our planet get hotter and nastier in the last few decades, but, did it happen the same time a hundred years ago? What we’ve needed are data from the past,
