Snapshot of past climate reveals no ice in Antarctica millions of years ago

A snapshot of New Zealand's climate 40 million years ago reveals a greenhouse Earth, with warmer seas and little or no ice in Antarctica. A new study led by Cardiff University suggests Antarctica at that time was yet to develop extensive ice sheets. Natural Environment Research Council, Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, GNS Science (New Zealand)

Scientists break record by finding northernmost hydrothermal vent field

Inside the Arctic Circle, scientists have found black smoker vents farther north than anyone has ever seen before. The cluster of vents -- one towering nearly four stories -- are venting water as hot as 570 F. Dissolved sulfide minerals that solidify when vent water hits the icy cold of the deep sea have, over the years, accumulated around the vents in what is one of the most massive hydrothermal sulfide deposits ever found on the seafloor.