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Atmospheric oxygen was maintained at low levels throughout huge swathes of Earth's early history. Estimates of phosphorus availability through time suggest that scavenging from anoxic, iron-rich oceans stabilized this low-oxygen world.
A global cooling trend culminated in the glaciation of Antarctica during the Eocene–Oligocene transition. Simulations suggest that ocean circulation changes and enhanced drawdown of atmospheric carbon dioxide can explain this climate shift.
Groundwater resources are directly affected by climate variability via precipitation, evapotranspiration and recharge. Analyses of US and India trends reveal that climate-induced pumping indirectly influences groundwater depletion as well.
The climatic response to the eruption of the Samalas Volcano in 1257 has been elusive. Medieval archives tell of a spatially variable reaction, with Europe and Japan experiencing severe cold compared to relative warmth in North America.
The twin isotopic signatures of the Moon and Earth are difficult to explain by a single giant impact. Impact simulations suggest that making the Moon by a combination of multiple, smaller moonlet-forming impacts may work better.