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From ancient times, people suspected that the climate of a region could change over the course of centuries. For example, Theophrastus, a pupil of Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in the 4th century BC, told how the draining of marshes had made a particular locality more susceptible to freezing, and speculated that lands became warmer when the clearing of forests exposed them to sunlight.
In the 1970s, these factors were less well-understood, and some scientists thought volcanic activity would have a stronger cooling effect than what we know now. In 1978, the National Defense University of the United States had surveyed 24 experts about the near-term climate change and its effects on agriculture.
The carbon cycle is a biogeochemical cycle that is important in maintaining life on Earth over a long time span. The cycle includes carbon sequestration and carbon sinks. [4] [5] Plate tectonics are needed for life over a long time span, and carbon-based life is important in the plate tectonics process. [6]
Last year was the hottest on record, oceans boiled, glaciers melted at alarming rates, and it left scientists scrambling to understand exactly why. They know the extraordinary heat was fueled by a ...
The biological and geological future of Earth can be extrapolated based on the estimated effects of several long-term influences. These include the chemistry at Earth's surface, the cooling rate of the planet's interior, gravitational interactions with other objects in the Solar System, and a steady increase in the Sun's luminosity.
Astronomers, atmospheric scientists and climatologists need dark skies to conduct thorough research that helps them understand the impacts of climate change and predict future nature events.
The definition of life has long been a challenge for scientists and philosophers. [2] [3] [4] This is partially because life is a process, not a substance. [5] [6] [7] This is complicated by a lack of knowledge of the characteristics of living entities, if any, that may have developed outside Earth.
“The real challenge is, and the reason why we release a model every five years, it doesn’t change in a regular way,” William Brown, a geophysicist from BGS who helped create the new model ...