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EVIDENCE FROM ANCIENT FORESTS
In 1997, Simon Fraser University used 10,000-year-old pollen to reconstruct British Columbia's warmer past. 29 years later, his evidence still warns forests could lose alpine meadows as trees climb 100 metres higherAncient pollen data reveals past climate shifts and their forest impacts. Warmer periods brought more Douglas fir and alder after fires. Fu...
A 3,000-year-old Ramesses II inscription sparks fresh mystery over Egypt’s lost city of MasnNew discoveries at Tell Abu Seify offer clues to the ancient city of Masn. A sandstone lintel bearing Ramesses II's titles was found at the...
In 2011, a 320-gram Martian meteorite discovered in Sahara Desert reveals red planet Mars once had waterIn 2011, a 320-gram Martian meteorite discovered in Sahara Desert revealed evidence that Mars once had water. Known as Black Beauty or Nort...
In 1988, scientists began quantifying the ocean's global productivity. 38 years later, microscopic phytoplankton produce roughly 50% of Earth's oxygenScientists began measuring the ocean’s global productivity in 1988, revealing a hidden force behind Earth’s oxygen cycle. Nearly four decad...
In 1972, Costa Rican conservationists established the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. 54 years later, it protects 10,500 hectares of cloud forest feeding two oceansCosta Rica's Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve boasts extraordinary biodiversity and unique water collection. Mist contributes significantly ...
In 2003, a businessman bought a 23,000-acre estate to restore it; now it's home to a million trees and red squirrelsBusinessman Paul Lister transformed Scotland's 23,000-acre Alladale estate into a wilderness reserve, planting one million native trees and...
Long before modern dice existed, native Americans were already leaving the outcome to chance; here's how they did it before anyone elseArchaeological discoveries across North America have unveiled ancient bone fragments that are believed to be dice, dating back more than 12...
567 million years ago, strange soft-bodied animals began moving across the deep seafloor in what is now Canada, with Dickinsonia feeding through its underside despite having no mouth, pushing animal movement millions of years earlierThe fossil assemblage also includes Funisia, a stationary, tube-shaped organism found living in clusters. Researchers interpret these clust...
7,000 years ago, Greenland’s giant ice dome disappeared as temperatures climbed. Today, scientists say the ancient melting occurred at temperatures close to those now threatening the island’s remaining iceGreenland’s 1,600-foot ice dome vanished 7,000 years ago when temperatures were several degrees warmer than today. Now, scientists have fou...
Earlier this year, Michigan researchers analyzed lake sturgeon records spanning decades. 300 years later, their findings point to fish still living around the Great lakes for nearly 3 centuriesNew research from Michigan researchers suggests that lake sturgeon in the Great Lakes may live far longer than previously believed. The stu...
In 2016, workers digging beneath an Oregon State University stadium uncovered Ice Age mammoths, bison and ancient camelsRecently, construction workers at Oregon State University stumbled upon remarkable Ice Age mammoth fossils, unveiling a prehistoric landsca...
12,000 years ago, Yellowstone’s dry summers began leaving a charcoal trail in its lakes. 6,000 years later, researchers found the same climate pattern linked to lower lake levels and reduced hydrothermal activityYellowstone lake sediments preserved ancient climate and environmental records. Warmer, drier summers between 12,000 and 6,000 years ago br...
In the 1950s, J. Desmond Clark found a notched log at Zambia’s Kalambo Falls but died without proving its age; 60 years later, dating revealed the world’s oldest wooden structure at 476,000 yearsIn the 1950s, archaeologist J. Desmond Clark discovered a notched log at Zambia’s Kalambo Falls. He died without ever proving its true age....
In 1991, a Norwegian geologist found one ancient polar bear bone. 34 years later, 6,000 bones revealed a 75,000-year-old Arctic communityA polar bear rib led to the discovery of an ancient Arctic animal community. Researchers examined over six thousand bone fragments using DN...
For generations, Yao hunters in Mozambique have followed a wild bird called the greater honeyguide through the forest to find hidden bee nests; experiments now confirm the bird knows exactly what it is doingIn the heart of Mozambique, Yao hunters have cultivated a remarkable alliance with honeyguide birds, tapping into their natural instincts f...
In 4000 BCE, a lake Mega Chad larger than all five Great Lakes covered roughly 360,000 sq km of what is now the Sahara. 6,000 years later, only a tiny fraction, well under 1%, of that ancient lake remainsThousands of years ago, a vast lake covered an enormous area of what is now the southern Sahara. Known as Palaeolake Mega-Chad, the ancient...
2,000 years ago, a Tamil trader left his name across 5 ancient tombs in Egypt’s Valley of Kings; Here’s what inscriptions revealTamil Brahmi inscriptions were recently identified in ancient Egyptian tombs. These inscriptions reveal Tamil merchants travelled deep into...
112 million years ago, a rainforest thrived in what is now Ecuador; amber from the lost Early Cretaceous forest preserved insects, pollen, and a strand of spider webScientists discovered ancient amber in Ecuador's Napo Province, dating back 112 million years. This amber contains preserved insects and sp...
Before the ice, Antarctica had a rainforest near South Pole: Fossils reveal a 90-million-year-old secretScientists have uncovered remarkable evidence of a rainforest that flourished in Antarctica nearly 90 million years ago, despite the region...
90 million years ago, Antarctica had a temperate forest just 900 kilometers from the South Pole despite months of darkness. 90 million years later, scientists found its roots, pollen and spores preserved in seafloor sediment beneath today's frozen continentAncient West Antarctica hosted a temperate rainforest approximately ninety million years ago. Fossil roots and pollen indicate dense vegeta...