Topic description and stories

Polar Stratospheric Clouds, also called mother of pearl clouds

Why do climate models underestimate polar warming? ‘Invisible clouds’ could be the answer

08 Nov 2023

Stratospheric clouds over the Arctic may explain the differences seen between the polar warming calculated by climate models and actual recordings...

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Devínska Kobyla Forest steppe in Slovakia

Drought encouraged Attila’s Huns to attack the Roman empire, tree rings suggest

15 Dec 2022

Hunnic peoples migrated westward across Eurasia, switched between farming and herding, and became violent raiders in response to severe drought in...

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L-R: Knysna Turaco, Great Blue Turaco, Knysna Turaco

Past climate change pushed birds from the northern hemisphere to the tropics

10 Jun 2019

Researchers have shown how millions of years of climate change affected the range and habitat of modern birds, suggesting that many groups of...

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A simplified diagram of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Changes in ocean 'conveyor belt' predicted abrupt climate changes

20 Mar 2019

A new study is the first to measure the time lags between changing ocean currents and major climate shifts.

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Icebergs in Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland

Sea ice acts as ‘pacemaker’ for abrupt climate change

06 Mar 2019

Substantial variations in past sea ice cover in the Norwegian Sea were instrumental for several abrupt climate changes in large parts of the world...

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Antarctic Ice Sheet study reveals 8,000-year record of climate change

12 Dec 2016

An international team of researchers has found that the Antarctic Ice Sheet plays a major role in regional and global climate variability – a...

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A CT reconstruction of a foram measured at the Diamond Light Source

Reading ancient climate from plankton shells

28 Oct 2013

Climate changes from millions of years ago are recorded at daily rate in ancient sea shells, new research shows.

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Melting is your destiny

Taking the long view on climate change

01 Sep 2007

Cambridge Earth Scientists are contributing to our understanding of the climate system by studying the history of climate change recorded in...

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