ice

Greenland lost enough ice in last 2 decades to cover entire US in 1.5 feet of water

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The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on the planet, and the toll on Greenland‘s massive ice sheet is becoming achingly clear. According to new satellite data compiled by Polar Portal, a collection of four Danish government research institutions, Greenland has lost more than 5,100 billion tons (4,700 billion metric tons) of ice in … Read more

13,000 Years Ago, a Firestorm Covered 10% of Earth’s Surface, Triggering an Ice Age

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At a point some 12,800 years ago, a tenth of Earth’s surface suddenly became covered in roaring fires. The firestorm rivalled the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, and it was likely caused by fragments of a comet that would have measured around 100 kilometers (62 miles) across.   As dust clouds smothered Earth, they … Read more

Everest’s Highest Glacier Lost 2,000 Years of Ice in Just 25 Years, Says New Study

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The climate crisis enveloping Earth impacts the lowest depths of the sea and the most remote parts of the planet. And new research shows that it’s also causing change at the highest points of the world.   Scientists studying South Col – Mount Everest’s highest glacier – have reported that rapid ice loss is occurring … Read more

Physicists Reveal The Weird Shapes Ice Takes as It Melts at Different Temperatures

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Melting ice can take on different shapes depending on the temperature of the water around it, new research reveals, giving us new insights into the complex physics that underlie this deceptively complicated transition.   The team behind the research created ultra-pure ‘clear’ ice for their experiments, free from bubbles and impurities, then observed the ice … Read more

This Stupendous Crater on Mars Looks Eerily Like a Tree Stump

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You might be forgiven for thinking the above picture is the stump of a tree. Shift your perspective a little, however, and the truth becomes clear: What you’re looking at is much bigger than any tree – a concave depression on the surface of Mars, gouged out by a massive impact.   The rings radiating … Read more

Signs of an Unknown Solar ‘Tsunami’ Have Been Discovered Deep Inside Earth’s Ice

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Deep beneath the ice in Greenland and Antarctica, researchers have found signs of an enormous solar ‘tsunami‘ that once crashed against Earth’s atmosphere more than 9,000 years ago.   This ancient superstorm was triggered by a wave of hot plasma and magnetism from the Sun, and it is significantly larger than anything we have recorded … Read more

We May Finally Understand Why Clouds Are Different Between Earth’s Hemispheres

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You might think that clouds are clouds all over Earth, but that’s not quite so. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, the clouds there are different, more abundant, and more reflective than clouds found in the Northern Hemisphere, a fact scientists are well familiar with, but have not been able to fully explain.   Now, … Read more

Glacier Lakes Make Permanent Ice Disappear Over Twice as Fast, Study Reveals

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Glaciers are retreating faster globally due to climate change but they melt more quickly when they flow into a lake than when they end on land, with consequences for water supplies, a new study found on Thursday.   The Swiss-funded study is the first large-scale, detailed analysis of the phenomenon in mountain glaciers and could … Read more

Mysterious Signal of Hidden Lakes on Mars May Not Be What We Thought

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The likelihood of lakes of liquid water hidden under Mars‘ southern polar ice cap is receding before our very eyes. Last year, a paper found that temperatures were likely far too cold for water to remain unfrozen in the region. Now, a new study has found that the radar signal interpreted as liquid water was … Read more

The Moon That Resembles The Death Star Has Been Hiding Another Epic Secret

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The Solar System may be an even soggier place than we suspected. New analysis of one of Saturn’s moons suggests that it may harbor a liquid ocean. No, not the usual suspects – the new culprit is Mimas, the little moon with a big crater, which gives it more than a passing resemblance to the … Read more