Articles by Hannah Bird
Phys.org / Arctic Siberia summers were up to 10°C warmer than today during the Last Interglacial, study finds
Interglacials are, as the name suggests, warm periods between planetary glaciations when the expanse of ice on Earth shrinks. Currently, we are in an 11,000 year-long interglacial period known as the Holocene. Prior to this, ...
Phys.org / Primitive meteorites formed in less turbulent solar nebula, researchers suggest
Chondritic meteorites (chondrites) are some of the oldest rocks in our solar system, forming 4.5 billion years ago. Therefore, their primitive composition means that they offer a window into the origins of planet formation, ...
Phys.org / Longer Snowball Earth deglaciation could have driven multiple phases of sea level rise and fall
Snowball Earth defines periods of our planet's history when ice spanned the globe, even reaching the equator. The planetary-scale freeze is thought to have been driven by ice sheet expansion triggering a climatic tipping ...
Phys.org / Climate patterns from cave mineral deposits linked to Chinese dynasty collapses
China's dynastic history spans 13 periods of rule from 2070 BC until the last emperor abdicated in 1912. While factors leading to the transitions between dynasties are a complex mixture of environmental, social and economic ...
Phys.org / Climate warming is reducing rice quality in East Asia, research reveals
Rice is a food staple for billions of people worldwide, with demand doubling over the past 50 years, and is predominantly grown in Asia before being exported globally. This crop is sensitive to weather conditions and, as ...
Phys.org / Ryugu asteroid samples indicate damage from microscopic meteoroid bombardment
Asteroids are remnants of the formation of our solar system, and while many can be found within the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, some cannot. One such object is asteroid (162173) Ryugu, a 1 km-wide ...
Phys.org / Himalayas formation may have destroyed at least 30% of continental crust in collision zone
Earth's continents are slowly moving across the planet's surface due to plate tectonics, culminating in regions of crustal expansion and collision. In the latter case, high temperatures and pressures lead to the reworking ...
Phys.org / Submarine canyon plastic accumulation is driven by turbidity currents, simulation study shows
Plastic pollution is an ever-pressing concern for the health of our ocean ecosystems and their inhabitants, with estimates of over 10 million metric tons of plastic litter entering the marine realm each year. While evocative ...
Phys.org / Mangrove degradation threatens carbon storage in China's Pearl Bay
Carbon sinks are important in the fight against climate change as they draw down atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by storing organic carbon in the oceans and soil, for example. Within tropical and subtropical intertidal ...
Phys.org / African Sahara 'greening' can alter Northern Hemisphere climate, modeling study finds
Africa's Sahara Desert may be considered a vast expanse of barren sand with limited vegetation, an extreme environment for plants and animals to thrive, but life always finds a way. Indeed, vegetation growth in the desert ...
Phys.org / Research suggests Earth's oldest continental crust is disintegrating
Earth's continental configurations have changed dramatically over its billions of years' history, transforming not only their positions across the planet, but also their topography as expansion and contraction of the crust ...
Phys.org / Arctic ozone reaches record high in positive step for climate
Earth's ozone layer holes over polar regions, where the stratospheric ozone level is significantly depleted, have been a prevalent feature of climate change news in recent decades. Anthropogenic-sourced chlorofluorocarbons ...
Phys.org / Microplastic hotspots forming in offshore UK North Sea, researchers find
Microplastic pollution in the world's oceans is often illustrated through evocative images of wildlife caught within large items floating on the surface, or microplastics blending in among the sand on otherwise pristine beaches.
Phys.org / Marine dust identifies 1.5 million year Oldest Ice near South America
Earth's climate has experienced major shifts over its billions of years of history, including numerous periods where ice proliferated across the planet. Today, ice cores can be a valuable resource for understanding these ...
Phys.org / Tropical cyclone intensity exacerbated by increasing depth of ocean mixed layer, finds study
Tropical cyclones can have severe consequences for both the marine and terrestrial environments, as well as the organisms and communities who inhabit them. In the oceans, there can be alterations in sea surface temperature ...
