The possibility that climate change might simply be a natural variation like others that have occurred throughout geologic time is dimming, according to evidence in a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper published today. The research reveals that sediments retrieved by University at Buffalo geologists from a remote Arctic lake are unlike those seen during previous warming episodes.

“The sediments from the mid-20th century were not all that different from previous warming intervals,” said Jason P. Briner, assistant professor of geology in the UB College of Arts and Sciences. “But after that things really changed. And the change is unprecedented.” Read more.