Tag Archives: stable isotope

Astronomy, Cycles and Climate Change

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Cycle: ( noun) A series of events that are regularly repeated in the same order (Oxford Dictionary)

 

Jurassic conglomerate cycles - how did they form?

How Milankovitch cycles effect Earth’s climate

Natural cycles are all around us; tides, seasons, sun spots, birthdays, El Niño.  In geology we can identify cycles at many different scales, from the really grand to the wafer-thin (deference to Monty Python), from those that span eons, to cycles that repeat every few seconds.  Perhaps the grandest of earth cycles are those that last 100-300 million years and involve the formation and destruction of tectonic plates.  On a more human time scale there is the seemingly never-ending train of waves rushing to meet you on your favourite beach. Continue reading

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The Bubbles That Changed our Perspective on the World’s Climate

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Camp water supply from a small pond on this iceberg

One of my geology field seasons in the Canadian Arctic worked out of a base-camp on Axel Heiberg Island (west of and snuggled against Ellesmere Island).  It was the spring thaw and all rivers and streams were muddy.  Our only source of clean water turned out to be a small melt-water pond atop an iceberg in Strand Fiord, a few hundred metres offshore.  The helicopter would make daily trips with a 45-gallon drum to collect the water.  The ice and its water were crystal clear and probably a few thousand years old. It was a treat. Perhaps the only thing missing was the occasional Scotch or G&T. Continue reading

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