Alone among known planets, Earth has vast oceans on its surface and its landmasses are marked with lakes and extensive river ...

A new study co-led by the Smithsonian and the University of Arizona offers the most detailed glimpse yet of how Earth’s surface temperature has changed over the past 485 million years. In a paper ...

While previous simulations of ancient Earth's climate have put the planet's average surface temperature between 14 and 26 degrees Celsius (57.2 and 78.8 degrees Fahrenheit), the new model widens ...

Source: “A 485-million-year history of Earth’s surface temperature”, E.J. Judd et al. Temperatures are averages for geological periods. Shaded area shows values with a 68% probability.

Over the last 485 million years, Earth has been both a lot colder and a lot hotter than once thought. A new temperature timeline that combines geologic data with computational simulations reveals ...