permafrost

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That's No Elephant. That's a Mammoth.

50K-year-old juvenile mammoth carcass discovered in Russia's thawing permafrost

(Newser) - Russian scientists have unveiled what they say is the best-preserved mammoth carcass ever discovered—that of a juvenile dubbed "Yana." The female mammoth, believed to have been about a year old when she died an estimated 50,000 years ago, was discovered this summer in thawing permafrost in...

After 46K Years, Possibly Extinct Worm Awoke, Reproduced
Worm Took
46K-Year Nap,
Then Woke Up
and Got Busy
NEW STUDY
Jul 28, 2023 4:05 PM CDT

Worm Took 46K-Year Nap, Then Woke Up and Got Busy

It's the longest recorded period of cryptobiosis in nematodes by far

(Newser) - Scientists have revived a possibly extinct microscopic worm that survived in Siberian permafrost for nearly 50,000 years. Nematodes, better known as roundworms, were found inside a fossilized squirrel burrow some 130 feet underground near Siberia's Kolyma River in 2002, per the Wall Street Journal . Scientists successfully resuscitated the...

Sinkhole on Arctic Seafloor Could Hold a City Block
Huge Sinkholes
Are Forming on
Arctic Seafloor
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 19, 2022 6:30 AM CDT

Huge Sinkholes Are Forming on Arctic Seafloor

Permafrost is melting beneath the ocean, as on land: researchers

(Newser) - Melting permafrost has been wreaking havoc on the Arctic landscape, triggering ground collapses that leave deep holes in the earth. Now we have evidence that the same thing is happening under the ocean. Large sections of permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, were submerged as glaciers melted around the end of...

Man Works to Save the Arctic —With Help From Camels

Research shows large herbivores can slow permafrost thaw

(Newser) - Scientist Sergey Zimov lives 80 miles from Russia's Arctic coast, yet he can't find any of the permanently frozen ground that once covered much of Siberia. The melting of permafrost has also been observed in Arctic regions in Canada and Norway , where temperatures are rising at more than...

It's Alive—and It's 24K Years Old
It's Alive—and
It's 24K Years Old
NEW STUDY
Jun 8, 2021 8:09 AM CDT

It's Alive—and It's 24K Years Old

Organism revived after millennia frozen in Siberia

(Newser) - Bdelloid rotifer, a microscopic multi-celled super-resilient organism, was thought to survive being frozen for as long as 10 years. Turns out that was a slight understatement. Such female-only organisms are alive and well after being frozen in Siberia for 24,000 years, according to new research. The study published Monday...

This Pup Is 18K Years Old
This Pup Is 18K Years Old
new study
Dec 2, 2019 12:12 PM CST

This Pup Is 18K Years Old

But it's not clear whether it's a dog or wolf that was found in Siberian permafrost

(Newser) - Daww. Melting permafrost in Siberia has revealed a well-preserved pup who was born about 18,000 years ago. In fact, the little guy still has his teeth, limbs, nose, whiskers, and eyelashes, reports the Siberian Times . The big question still unanswered: whether he's a dog or a wolf. The...

Canadian Arctic Now Looks Like Swiss Cheese
More Bad News as
Canadian Arctic Melts
NEW STUDY
Jun 19, 2019 9:30 AM CDT

More Bad News as Canadian Arctic Melts

Permafrost thawing 70 years sooner than expected, with consequences

(Newser) - In 2016, researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks hopped in a plane, heading for remote sites in the Canadian Arctic. "What we saw was amazing," Vladimir Romanovsky tells Reuters . "It's an indication that the climate is now warmer than at any time in the last...

Be Glad You Don't Live in 'Doomsday Vault' Town

Its permanently frozen ground isn't so frozen anymore

(Newser) - Thank your lucky stars you don't live in Longyearbyen. Tucked away on a remote Norwegian island, the town of 2,000 is built on permafrost that's melting due to climate change—which is destabilizing houses, threatening wildlife, and menacing the so-called "doomsday vault," CNN reports. A...

Dying in This Tiny Town Is Against the Law

Longyearbyen wants to stave off infections

(Newser) - A recent anthrax outbreak in Russia seems to confirm what a Norwegian town already knew—that dying should remain illegal, WN.com reports. The Arctic town of Longyearbyen, where 2,100 people brave bitter temperatures, has outlawed death since 1950. The reason: Permafrost keeps bodies from decomposing in the town...

People Now Getting Ivory Fix From Woolly Mammoths

But the hunt in Siberia is taking a toll

(Newser) - The hunt is on for frozen tusks from the extinct woolly mammoth, and NPR reports that it's making people rich in otherwise poor regions of Siberia. But it's also taking a devastating toll on the landscape, according to a photographer who embedded with hunters for three weeks. "...

At Doomsday Vault Meant to Protect Our Seeds, a Breach

But don't panic just yet

(Newser) - "This is supposed to last for eternity," says the operator of the so-called Doomsday Vault , which since 2008 has been tucked within a mountain on a Norwegian island 800 miles from the North Pole where the soil is always frozen—or is supposed to be. The Guardian reports...

Could an 1890s Smallpox Outbreak Come Back to Haunt Us?

Researchers fear melting permafrost will revive the virus

(Newser) - A video of scientists in hazmat suits incinerating animal carcasses in Siberia looks straight out of a sci-fi movie about a rogue virus, notes Vice News . The scariest part? Such a sight might become more familiar. The video arose because melting permafrost caused a long-frozen reindeer carcass to thaw and...

Prehistoric 'Frankenviruses' Could Rise Again

Viruses, buried in permafrost, could be revived with climate change

(Newser) - A 30,000-year-old "giant virus" could be brought back to life thanks to a surprise discovery 100 feet deep in Siberia's permafrost. The virus, Mollivirus sibericum or "soft virus from Siberia," qualifies as giant because it is 0.6 micrometers and can be seen under a...

Giant Virus Wakes After 30K Years in Siberia

It's still infectious after millennia in permafrost

(Newser) - The biggest virus ever discovered is awake—and infectious—after a 30,000-year nap buried deep in Siberian permafrost. Pithovirus sibericum, a member of a recently discovered class of giant viruses, was found 100 feet deep in the frozen ground. It only infects amoebas, but the researchers who uncovered it...

700K-Year-Old Horse Yields World's Oldest DNA

Pushes back their evolution to 4M years ago

(Newser) - Woolly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, and... horses? According to research using the oldest DNA ever found, horses have been trotting around for millions of years—about 4 million, to be exact. The study, published in Nature , explains how scientists used DNA from a 700,000-year-old horse foot bone found in Canada'...

Ancient Ice Find Cools Warming Fears

Canadians find chunk of permafrost that survived steamier climates

(Newser) - Canadian scientists have found the oldest chunk of ice in North America, the Globe and Mail reports, a discovery that suggests the earth’s carbon-laden permafrost may be more resistant to global warming than once thought. The 700,000-year-old chunk of Yukon ice has stayed frozen through two ancient, hotter...

16 Stories