1+ hour, 2+ min ago (172+ words) Modern sharks trace their origins to the Age of Dinosaurs, with the oldest known lamniform fossils dated to about 135 million years ago. These early sharks started small, around 1 meter in length, but later produced larger species including the Megalodon, which may have reached lengths up to 17 meters, and the Great White shark, now reaching about 6 meters. Because sharks have cartilaginous skeletons, their fossils mainly consist of teeth. Fossil shark teeth are common in ancient seabed sediments and are found alongside remains of bony fish and marine reptiles. To estimate the shark's true size, a team including paleontologists and tomographic experts from Sweden, the U.S.A., South Africa, and Australia collaborated on the reconstruction. The study is published in Communications Biology, and fossil specimens from the Age of Dinosaurs are exhibited at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. Research Report: Early gigantic lamniform…...

2+ day, 1+ hour ago (325+ words) The oxygenation of the planet, known as the "Great Oxygenation Event" or GOE, was undeniably monumental, but relatively little is known about the exact timing of the event or the geochemical conditions that made it possible. And the more scientists can better understand the circumstances of vast planetary change, the better equipped humans can be facing the impacts of climate change today. As Fike explained, it's not possible to find preserved pockets of atmosphere from so long ago. But rocks that were at the Earth's surface at that time should bear traces of the elements that interacted with the air. Fike and his team are especially interested in minerals that contain iron, sulfur or other reactive elements that would readily oxidize if exposed to oxygen. "By drilling in different locations at different depths, we're trying to understand the timing and…...

2+ day, 1+ hour ago (672+ words) The findings, just published in the journal Nature Communications, provide new insight into the region's hydroclimate and how it may evolve in the future, said Kathleen Wendt, an assistant research professor at Oregon State University and the study's lead author. "What we see over this time span are glacial periods, when Nevada was cooler and wetter, followed by interglacial periods, when Nevada was hot and dry, like what we're experiencing today," Wendt said. Wendt is a paleoclimatologist who studies deposits of the mineral calcite, which build up in caves over thousands of years, creating a record of Earth's climate history. "While scientists have long used cores of ancient ice collected in Antarctica and Greenland to study climate history, it is difficult to find terrestrial, or land-based, environmental archives that record past climate, especially in places that are dry and arid,…...

1+ week, 2+ hour ago (479+ words) Pasadena CA (JPL) Nov 15, 2025 Data from Sentinel-6B will continue a decades-long record of sea surface height, helping to improve coastal planning, protect critical infrastructure, and advance weather forecasts. With launch set for no earlier than 12:21 a.m. EST Monday, Nov. 17, Sentinel-6B is the latest satellite in a series of spacecraft NASA and its partners have used to measure sea levels since 1992. Their data has 6 Things to Know From NASA About New US, European Sea Satellite With launch set for no earlier than 12:21 a.m. EST Monday, Nov. 17, Sentinel-6B is the latest satellite in a series of spacecraft NASA and its partners have used to measure sea levels since 1992. Their data has helped meteorologists improve hurricane forecasts, managers protect infrastructure, and coastal communities plan. After launch, Sentinel-6B will begin the process of data cross-calibration with its predecessor, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, to provide essential information about…...

1+ week, 2+ hour ago (336+ words) Berlin, Germany (SPX) Nov 15, 2025 A study led by the University of Galway's Ryan Institute details how satellite-based Earth observation and artificial intelligence enable objective monitoring of climate adaptation in the global agrifood sector. Researchers analyzed how Earth observation data can be linked to indicators in the Global Goal on Adaptation, a Paris Agreement initiative to reduce climate vulnerability. Their wo Satellites and AI equip policymakers to assess global climate adaptation progress Researchers analyzed how Earth observation data can be linked to indicators in the Global Goal on Adaptation, a Paris Agreement initiative to reduce climate vulnerability. Their work, published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science and coordinated by the European Space Agency, found that Essential Climate Variables measured from space provide means to support and assess adaptation efforts. The team identified critical applications for satellite data. In agriculture, satellites track…...

2+ week, 4+ hour ago (806+ words) Once considered one of Earth's most vital carbon sinks, the Amazon is now showing troubling signs - satellite observations reveal that parts of this vast ecosystem are no longer absorbing carbon dioxide as they once did. In some areas, the forest has even become a net source of carbon emissions. This emerging transformation underscores a critical need: independent, reliable and continuous monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions across the globe. As policymakers from nations around the globe gather to assess progress under the Paris Agreement - the international treaty which has set the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels - they require actionable, science-based information to verify climate action, limit temperature rise and build resilience against unavoidable impacts. Through decades of Earth observation expertise, ESA is providing transparent and reliable data that enables countries to track progress and strengthen national climate action....

2+ week, 2+ day ago (704+ words) The research, published in iScience, used high-resolution 3D scans to look inside 480-million-year-old shells from a Moroccan site known for its exceptionally well-preserved sea life. The scans revealed a series of distinctive patterns etched both on the surface of the fossils and hidden inside them. "The marks weren't random scratches," said Karma Nanglu, a UC Riverside paleobiologist who led the research. "We saw seven or eight of these perfect question mark shapes on each shell fossil. That's a pattern." "It took us a while to figure out the mystery behind these peculiar-looking traces. It was as if they were taunting us with their question mark-like shape," said Javier Ortega-Hernandez, paper co-author, Harvard evolutionary biologist and curator at the university's Museum of Comparative Zoology where the fossils used in this study reside. "But as often happens, we came across the answer while…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (147+ words) Lead author Matilda Boyce said the scarcity of ancient rocks makes determination of early crustal growth timing and rates challenging. The team applied fine-scale analytical methods to original plagioclase feldspar, capturing the isotopic composition of the ancient mantle. The evidence revealed that continental crust formation began about 3.5 billion years ago, indicating continents grew later in Earth's history - around one billion years after the planet first formed. Researchers compared their data with lunar anorthosites collected during NASA's Apollo missions. Boyce noted that while anorthosites are rare on Earth, they are prevalent on the Moon. Their analyses showed that both Earth and Moon share a starting composition date of around 4.5 billion years ago, supporting the impact theory for the Moon's origin. Funding for the project was provided by the Australian Research Council. Related Links The University of Western Australia Explore The Early…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (443+ words) Over the last century, scientists have reported 20 crystalline ice phases by varying temperature and pressure. These include forms that exist across over 2,000 K and more than 100 GPa. The region between ambient pressure and 2 GPa is particularly complex, with over ten phases densely grouped. KRISS's Space Metrology Group created a supercompressed liquid state - liquid water at room temperature under more than twice the known crystallization pressure - using an in-house developed dynamic diamond anvil cell (dDAC). The dDAC employs a pair of diamonds with piezoelectric actuators to dynamically control and observe pressure changes in microscopic water samples. Unlike conventional diamond anvil cells, which use mechanical bolts causing pressure gradients and easy nucleation, the dDAC developed at KRISS minimizes mechanical shock and reduces the compression time from tens of seconds to just 10 milliseconds. This allowed the team to compress water to the required…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (558+ words) "Without effective strategies, we will rapidly encounter escalating risks that threaten to overwhelm systems of peace, governance, and public and ecosystem health," said co-lead author William Ripple. "In short, we'll be on the fast track to climate-driven chaos, a dangerous trajectory for humanity." Despite the sixth annual report's ominous findings - 22 of the planet's 34 vital signs are at record levels - Ripple stresses that "it's not too late to limit the damage even if we miss the temperature mitigation goal set by the 2015 Paris Agreement," an international treaty that set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But with many vital signs, including greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, ocean acidity and ice mass, continuing to trend sharply in the wrong direction, the authors note that time is definitely of the essence. Published in BioScience, "The 2025 state of the climate report: A planet…...