The lyrics of traditional Okinawan songs were found to record past climate and geological history of the Ryukyu Islands (21st-century Okinawa Prefecture, Japan), according to a new study by a University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Earth scientist and fellow Ryukyuan music practitioners.

In a pioneering effort to enhance our understanding of carbon storage in wetland ecosystems, researchers are utilizing advanced satellite technology to estimate carbon stocks in the reed wetlands of Weishan County, China. The study, titled "Estimation of Carbon Stock in the Reed Wetland of Weishan County in China Based on Sentinel Satellite Series," is led by Prof. Jie Chen from the College of Oceanography and Ecological Science at Shanghai Ocean University in Shanghai, China, and the State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing, China. This research offers valuable insights into the carbon sequestration potential of these vital ecosystems.

Glaciers are fighting back against climate change by cooling the air that touches their surfaces. But for how long? The Pellicciotti group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) has compiled and re-analyzed an unprecedented dataset of on-glacier observations worldwide. Their findings, published in Nature Climate Change, demonstrate that glaciers will likely reach the peak of their self-cooling power by the next decade before their near-surface temperatures spike up and melting accelerates.

Microscopic organisms that regulate Earth’s climate and sustain ocean ecosystems take centre stage in a new awareness campaign. Five European research organisations propose 10 October as International Coccolithophore Day, highlighting the calcite-plated plankton that drive the ocean's carbon cycle, shape the climate, and support food webs. Their plates sink to archive climate history, while European projects track how warming, acidification, and ecology affect carbon storage.

A new study examines nickel and urea in early microbial habitats, showing how ancient cyanobacteria adapted to their chemical surroundings. By recreating Archean conditions in the lab, researchers uncovered clues about the delicate balances that shaped early cyanobacterial life. These findings hint at the unseen factors that may have set the stage for Earth’s first oxygen surge, providing a fresh perspective on the environmental and chemical conditions that allowed oxygen to accumulate in the atmosphere.

A Tulane University-led study published in Nature Geoscience reveals that melting North American ice sheets were the primary driver of dramatic sea-level rise at the end of the last ice age, overturning long-held assumptions that Antarctica played the larger role. Between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago, retreating North American ice sheets caused more than 30 feet (10 meters) of global sea-level rise, reshaping scientists’ understanding of Earth’s climate history.