Interesting, enlightening collection of expert comments on what the two new papers regarding CO2 in ancient blue ice actually mean.

https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-two-papers-on-links-between-ancient-climate-shifts-and-ocean-temperatures-greenhouse-gases-as-published-in-nature/

Gavin Schmidt also wrote a blogpost about them https://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2026/03/the-puzzling-pleistocene/
"At face value, these results seem to suggest that CO2 declines were not the dominant/only cause of the cooling at the onset of the ice ages, despite expectations. Some of the usual suspects are certainly going to claim (fallaciously) that this means that CO2 can’t be the cause of anything. This is obviously a stupid argument so feel free to judge anyone that makes it.'

Not mentioned but I will point it out to him on Bluesky: the hydrogen cloud our solar system traversed (or vice versa) from precisely 2.7ma to 750ka. You might recall Opher et al? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02279-8
The cloud dented the heliosphere and left Earth wide open to cosmic rays.

My confirmed bias takeaway from the blue ice papers: how vastly different ocean currents and other vastly different properties drove °C evolution on that planet that was Earth 3mio years ago in the Pliocene, renders that ancient Earth incomparable to what we're unleashing thanks to #ExxonKnew

#ClimateChange #OceanHeat #Ocean #GlobalMean #Pliocene #Blueice

expert reaction to two papers on links between ancient climate shifts and ocean temperatures / greenhouse gases, as published in Nature | Science Media Centre

#Glyptodon (lit. 'grooved or carved tooth'; from Ancient Greek γλυπτός (gluptós) 'sculptured' and ὀδοντ-, ὀδούς (odont-, odoús) 'tooth')[1] is a from the #Pliocene, around 3.2 million years ago,[2] to the early #Holocene, around 11,000 years ago, in South America. It is on

RE: https://mastodon.social/@sflorg/116003437911970681

This interesting #study is based on ancient lake #sediment #analyses from the #Bogotá #Basin. It proves that the existing #climatemodels about the #Pliocene were underestimated regardung tropical regions. This allows prognoses, according to which also the global warming of today may bring more heat in some #tropicalzones than expected.
See science communication article below.
© this text #StefanFWirth 2026

temperatures during the #Pliocene epoch were significantly higher than theoretical models predicted based on #ocean records.
#EarthScience #Paleoclimatology #Geochemistry #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/02/es02022601.html
Parts of the tropics may warm more than expected as CO2 rises

The study found that temperatures in the basin were, on average, 4.8 degrees C (8.6 degrees F) warmer in the Pliocene than they were in the Pleistocen

Se trata de un útil de la industria lítica Lomekwiense (3,3 MdA), elaborada potencialmente por el Kenyanthropus platyops. Producidos golpeando piedras grandes con rocas densas, y pesadas, que habían obtenido hasta a 100 metros de distancia. Precedió los útiles más antiguos del Olduvayense (2,6 MdA) del Homo habilis, siendo un ejemplo de que la elaboración de útiles no se restringía al género Homo. 📷Museos Nacionales de Kenia-Proyecto Arqueológico Turkana Occidental #plioceno #pliocene
Stupendemys geographica es la tortuga de agua dulce más grande que ha existido, con un caparazón que supera los 2 metros de longitud y la tonelada de peso. Vivió desde el Mioceno medio al comienzo del Plioceno (9-7,2 MdA) sin competición, manteniendo una dieta omnívora que incluía animales duros, como moluscos y pequeños cocodrilos. 📷Ryan Somma #mioceno #miocene #plioceno #pliocene

Catch of the day.

Hunting for fossils and shark teeth from the Miocene/Pliocene at 15m underwater.

#Scuba #Diving #ScubaDiving #Fossil #Shell #Miocene #Pliocene #UWPhoto

The potential extinction of Florida's ancient scrub mint isn't just a loss for one species—it's a blow to entire ecosystems. From scrub jays to bee flies, countless creatures rely on this plant. A botanical curator explains why it matters: https://theconversation.com/plants-that-evolved-in-florida-over-millennia-now-face-extinction-and-lack-protection-233627 #climatechange #botany #pliocene
Plants that evolved in Florida over millennia now face extinction and lack protection

The future of scrub mints could be in jeopardy because of climate change, development and misclassification.

The Conversation

Une industrie lithique datée de 3,3 millions d'années au #Kenya questionne l'origine de l'homme
Xavier Boës

https://www.inrap.fr/une-industrie-lithique-datee-de-33-millions-d-annees-au-kenya-questionne-l-19667

#Inrap #UMR7194
#industrielithique #Pliocène

Actualité | Une industrie lithique datée de 3,3 millions d'années au Kenya questionne l'origine de l'homme

Géoarchéologue à l’Inrap et membre de l’UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique, Xavier Boës décrit ses recherches sur les milieux désertiques du Rift est-africain et sur le site de Lomekwi (Kenya), dont la datation à 3,3 Ma (Pliocène), questionne l’émergence du genre humain.

Inrap

New paper alert, just in time for #fossilfriday ! A reevaluation of the #crocodylian fossils from the #Pliocene Otibanda Formation in Papua New Guinea.

You can read the paper here (contact me if you need a PDF):
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2024.2429585

Shout out to my friends & co-authors Ralph Molnar and Adam Yates (@alcootatooter).