A new analysis suggests that a widely accepted approximation of ancient magnetic field strength may be less accurate for the past 5 million years than previously thought.
Geochronology
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A Robust Proxy for Geomagnetic Reversal Rates in Deep Time
The strength of Earth’s magnetic field in the distant past can tell scientists whether the planet’s magnetic poles were steady or prone to frequent reversals.
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A Little-Known Mass Extinction and the “Dawn of the Modern World”
Volcanic eruptions in what is now western Canada may have triggered a million years of rain and a mass extinction that launched the reign of the dinosaurs.
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Podcast: Mythical Monsters and Their Real-Life Inspirations
This Halloween season, explore the connections between mythical monsters like Bigfoot and the Kraken and the creatures on which they’re based.
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Visualizing the Deep Carbon Cycle
Geoscientists have created animations to help visualize different components of Earth’s carbon cycle.
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How Modern Emissions Compare to Ancient, Extinction-Level Events
Researchers find that a pulse of volcanic activity spanning several hundred years released as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as anthropogenic emissions projections for the 21st century.
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Southern California Climate Change over 100,000 Years
Researchers used a sediment core from a lake in California’s San Bernardino Mountains to track the effect of climate on vegetation, fire, and erosion between about 120,000 and 15,000 years ago.
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Japan Puts Its Mark on Geologic Time with the Chibanian Age
The newly named period in the Pleistocene identifies a key moment in geological history: the last time Earth’s magnetic poles switched places.
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Ancient Precipitation Reveals Clues About Mountains and Climate
By studying the chemical signatures of 300-million-year-old precipitation, researchers find evidence that the supercontinent Pangea contained peaks as tall as the European Alps.
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A New Proxy for Past Precipitation
Researchers used luminescence signals from marine sediment cores to bolster estimates of precipitation levels on land over the past 30,000 years.