paleoclimate
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What Really Happened on Easter Island? Ancient Sediments Rewrite the “Ecocide” Story
A new study challenges long-held narratives of societal “collapse,” instead showing that Rapanui communities adapted to profound climate stress with resilience and innovation.
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Melting Glaciers Reveal Clues to Climate Adaptation in Norway’s Mountains
Glacial archaeologists are uncovering hundreds of artifacts in Norway, including the best preserved pair of prehistoric skis found to date.
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A New 66 Million-Year History of Carbon Dioxide Offers Little Comfort for Today
Scientists have produced a new curve of how atmospheric carbon dioxide affects climate. It makes clear that its effects can be long lasting.
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Science and Heritage: The Ice Memory Foundation’s Mission for the Planet
As climate change threatens an uncertain future, an international foundation is collecting and saving stories from the past in an unusual format: ice cores from disappearing glaciers that act as archives for both data and memories.
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Cataloging the Past for Clues to Future Climate Adaptation
A Q&A with archaeologist and anthropologist Kristina Douglass, who studies the evolving relationships between people and the environment.
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At 90, Still Studying Ancient Pollen
Lamont’s Linda Heusser turned 90 years old on April 12, and the only birthday present she really wanted was another sediment core to study.
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Tackling a 40 Million-Year-Old Conundrum
A new study bolsters the idea that the uplifts of the Himalayas and Andes that began tens of millions years ago helped trigger the many ice ages that followed.
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During the Last Ice Age, the Tropics Were Colder Than We Thought. Bad News for Us.
Gases collected from ancient groundwater provide a compelling portrait of how much past temperatures have swung back and forth.
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Scientists Have Discovered an Ancient Lake Bed Deep Beneath the Greenland Ice
Using radar and other techniques, researchers have mapped out the sediments left by a lake that apparently existed before Greenland was glaciated. Next step: drilling through the ice to see what they contain.
AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More
