Climate: Past, Present & Future

The rabbit and the tortoise – what does a glacial cycle need to be a glacial cycle?

Sergio Pérez-Montero June 2, 2025

Figure 1. Erratic boulder from the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park. Credit to Michael Poland (from usgs.gov).

The climate is not what it used to be and it will never be the same again. This is what the models say. Where does this knowledge come from? In short, we learn it from the clues that nature left on the planet since its formation. And it is precisely with these observations where our story begins. Since the beginnings of mountaineering, many visitors of the Alps and other mountain ranges have wonde ...[Read More]

Past climate of the Central North Atlantic, insights from ancient soils in the Azores volcanic islands

Francisco A. Hevia-Cruz September 19, 2023

Highlight: Field photo of a paleosol (red level) developed in a pumice-rich pyroclastic deposit, partially eroded, and covered by a lava flow (Northern shore of São Miguel Island, in the Azores Archipelago)

The Atlantic Ocean, a climate driver for Europe and North America The climate of both Europe and North America is influenced by the conditions of the Atlantic Ocean. This teleconnection between the ocean and the atmosphere has been the focus of great interest, especially in the context of ongoing global warming. For instance, Cresswell-Clay et al. (2022) noted an expansion of the North Atlantic Os ...[Read More]

LOESS IN TRANSLATION

November 25, 2020

Figure image: Loess profile in North Bulgaria. The Danube River in the distance.

Loess is a mineral, aeolian deposit with a range of definitions in literature, which class it as either a sediment, soil, or rock. Some classic texts suggest that “loess is not just the accumulation of dust” [1], and it must include additional processes such as loessification, calcification, pedogenesis, and in-situ weathering. The definition adopted depends on the scientific background and the qu ...[Read More]

Desert loess: formation, distribution, geoscientific value

September 25, 2020

Image of desert loess from Tunisia, provided by Sascha Meszner, Maximilian Pachtmann and Georg Mettig (Institute for Geography, TU Dresden; Germany).

Loess is an aeolian (wind-driven) silty sediment covering over 10% of the Earth’s land surface; it occurs predominantly in the mid-latitudes. On a global scale, loess is among the most widespread unconsolidated sediments, and of crucial importance for agricultural regions where loess deposits are known to form fertile soils because of its ability to store water and retain nutrients. Loess is compr ...[Read More]