The interplay of gases over time is a story told in rock. Literally. Rocks formed in different times capture gases from the atmosphere and allow modern researchers to study how things have changed over time. While a lot of this research leaves me wishing I didn’t understand climate change, some of the research does give me hope.

For instance, in another new paper in Nature Geoscience, a team led by Vittoria Lauretano was able to study the fall of temperatures on Earth 34 million years ago as documented by what microbes could survive where. This three-degrees-Celsius temperature drop occurred while carbon dioxide levels dropped for unknown reasons. The change was seen both for land and sea and shows us that really if we can just get rid of carbon dioxide, we can cool things off a bit for our warming world.

More Information