Abrupt climate change 12,000 years ago provides clues about the future

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have found that a well-known period of abrupt climate change 12000 years ago occurred rapidly in northern latitudes but much more gradually in equatorial regions, a discovery that could prove important for understanding and responding to future climate change. The research, published Sept. 2 in Nature Communications,…

Ice Core Secrets Could Reveal Answers to Global Warming

At the Stable Isotope Lab in Boulder, Colo., scientists are doing a lot of the same things that those CSI folks do on TV. But instead of being “crime scene investigators,” these experts are more like “cold scene investigators.” Geoscientists like lab director Jim White work primarily with one raw material : ancient ice, in…

Elevated carbon dioxide conditions pose threat for the Monarch butterfly

Milkweed plants from the chambers were fed to hundreds of monarch caterpillars this summer. Milkweed is a monarch caterpillar’s only food, satisfying its nutritional needs while providing an invaluable medicinal boost. The plant’s leaves contain a bitter toxin that helps the insects ward off predators and parasites. But previous work at U-M’s northern Michigan biological…