Researchers to investigate moisture-driven Antarctic ice sheet growth during past warm climates

Binghamton University

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Binghamton researchers are studying how ancient moisture patterns fueled Antarctic ice growth to better predict future sea level change.

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Credit: Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Warming of the ocean and air surrounding Antarctica is causing glacial ice mass loss and global sea level rise. To better predict future changes in sea level, an understanding of how Antarctic ice sheets will respond to warmer conditions is required. In a warmer world, enhanced moisture transport to the icy continent has the potential to increase snowfall over Antarctica, which compacts over time to create ice. Ice sheet growth from moisture transport and snow may offset some ice mass loss from marine-based sectors of Antarctic ice sheets. 

Investigating how increased moisture transport to Antarctica, and under what temperatures and sea ice conditions moisture transport occurs, is required to understand the mechanisms that can lead to increased ice accumulation. This question is one that Binghamton researchers will address in the coming years.  

Assistant Professor Adriane R. Lam and Postdoctoral Researcher Imogen M. Browne, both part of the Earth Sciences Department at Binghamton University, State University of New York have received funding from the National Science Foundation’s P4Climate (Paleo Perspectives on Present and Projected Climate) award, in part awarded under the Office of Polar Programs (OPP). This year alone, OPP’s budget was slashed by 88%, leading to the loss of several Antarctic field expeditions and grants; as of earlier this year, the P4Climate award has been archived. 

“We are quite lucky to have been one of the last grants awarded under the P4Climate program,” said Lam. 

Lam and Browne, along with their colleagues Assistant Professor Ruthie Halberstadt at the University of Texas at Austin and Research Assistant Professor Paul Acosta at George Mason University (all four are early-career researchers), will investigate moisture-driven mechanisms of ice sheet growth during the Miocene Climatic Optimum (17 to 14.7 million years ago). During the Miocene Climatic Optimum, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reached at least 500 parts per million, global average temperatures warmed by 7–8°C above pre-industrial temperatures, and Antarctic ice sheets were smaller than modern. Warming was associated with volcanism, which spewed carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The Miocene Climate Optimum is considered an analog for future warming scenarios and is studied by geoscientists to understand how abiotic and biotic Earth systems will operate in warmer-than-present climates. 

“Studying the Miocene is really interesting because Earth’s climate, hydrological cycle, and ocean circulation were different back then,” said Browne. “The Miocene climate records that we generate using marine sediment cores give us critical insight into how Earth’s climate system will respond to warmer and wetter conditions.”

The funding Lam, Browne and their colleagues obtained will allow them to use climate and ice sheet models, compared with numerical reconstructions of ice sheet volume, to test various hypotheses for moisture-driven ice sheet growth. Each model simulation tracks the geochemical composition of ice, generating a modeled chemical signal that can be compared directly against deep-sea geochemical records that tell researchers about ice volume. 

To evaluate the feasibility of model simulations with different inputs for vegetation, ocean temperature, sea ice, and orbital parameters, the team will generate a new record of Antarctic ice sheet volume using the geochemistry of calcareous microfossils, called foraminifera, obtained from deep-sea marine sediment cores located in the path of very cold deep-ocean waters that are produced around Antarctica. 

Data-model comparisons will evaluate how well each modeled mechanism can explain the observed ice volume and chemical changes across a major glaciation that occurred around 16 million years ago, right after the Miocene Climate Optimum. Specifically, investigators will explore the impacts of local mechanisms such as ice-proximal ocean warmth and sea ice cover as well as global mechanisms such as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Another factor that will be incorporated into the models are orbital forcings – the shape the Earth makes as it orbits around the sun (which changes every 100 and 400 thousand years), the degree of Earth’s tilt (which changes every ~41 thousand years), and the ‘wobble’ of Earth about its axis (which changes every ~19 thousand years) – as all of these orbital factors influence the amount of solar radiation hitting different parts of the Earth during the year and through geologic time. As such, orbital forcings have the power to greatly influence heat and moisture transport to Antarctica. 

This is not Browne’s first time conducting research on or related to Antarctica. In 2018, she was a scientific participant on International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 374, which drilled sediment cores from the Ross Sea region, a location where very cold, very deep-water masses are formed.

“Getting to sail with an international and interdisciplinary team of researchers and experiencing first-hand how sediment cores can be used to answer fundamental questions about Earth’s climate and ice sheet history was a formative experience in my career,” said Browne. 

It was during this expedition, when Browne was a Ph.D. student, that she met and worked alongside Binghamton University Earth Sciences Associate Professor Molly Patterson. Browne began her postdoctoral work with Patterson at Binghamton in 2024, where she also began working alongside Lam. The NSF award to Lam, Browne and colleagues will allow Browne to continue her research as a postdoctoral researcher in the Earth Sciences Department. 

“A grant like ours is special and important not just because of the science it will produce, but because it brings a group of researchers who have different skillsets together to work on a problem that has huge implications for society,” said Lam. 

Ice volume data and model outputs will contribute to the international community synthesis effort and project results will provide critical context for understanding long-term trajectories in sea level.

 

Fats provide clues to life at its limits in the deep sea

Researchers use lipid biomarkers to reveal survival strategies in extreme ecosystems

MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen

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Blue serpentinite mud from a newly discovered mud volcano in a gravity core. The samples have been studied by a team in order to decipher the survival strategies of microorganisms. Photo: SO292/2 Expedition Science Party

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Credit: SO292/2 Expedition Science Party

In their study, first author Palash Kumawat of the Geosciences Department at the University of Bremen and his colleagues used lipid biomarker analyses to decipher the survival strategies of the microbes in this harsh ecosystem. The high pH value of 12 here is especially challenging for deep-sea life; This is one of the highest known value so far in ecosystems. In order to detect life at all, the researchers had to resort to special methods of trace analysis. In this situation, the detection of DNA can be ineffectual where there is a low number of living cells. “But we were able to detect fats,” says first author Palash Kumawat, who is presently a PhD candidate in the Geosciences Department. “With the help of these biomarkers we were able to obtain insights into the survival strategies of methane- and sulfate-metabolizing microbes in this extreme environment.”

Microbial communities metabolize carbon in the deep sea and thereby contribute to the global carbon cycle. However, the communities that the team describe in the publication draws its energy from minerals within rocks and gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce methane, for example, an important greenhouse gas. These processes initially take place independently of the ocean above. The lipids also provide clues to the age of the microorganisms. If the cellular biomolecules are intact, they represent a living or recently dead community. If they are not intact, they are geomolecules, which means that they are fossil communities from the past. According to Kumawat, the combination of isotopes and the lipid biomarkers indicates that multiple microbial communities now live in this inhospitable habitat and have lived there in the past. “This distinction helps us when working in areas with extremely low biomass and nutrient deficiency.”

Dr. Florence Schubotz, organic geochemist at MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen and co-author of the study, adds: “What is fascinating about these findings is that life under these extreme conditions, such as high pH and low organic carbon concentrations is even possible. Until now, the presence of methane-producing microorganisms in this system has been presumed, but could not be directly confirmed. Furthermore, it is simply exciting to obtain insights into such a microbial habitat because we suspect that primordial life could have originated at precisely such sites.”

The samples for the study come from a sediment core that was retrieved by the Research Vessel Sonne in 2022 during Expedition SO 292/2. Not only were the scientists able to discover the previously unknown mud volcanoes of the Mariana forearc during this cruise, but also to sample them.

The samples were obtained as part of the Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean Floor – Earth's Uncharted Interface.”  Palash Kumawat and his colleagues are now planning to cultivate organisms in an incubator to find out more about their nutrient preferences in inhospitable environments.

 

MARUM produces fundamental scientific knowledge about the role of the ocean and the seafloor in the total Earth system. The dynamics of the oceans and the seabed significantly impact the entire Earth system through the interaction of geological, physical, biological and chemical processes. These influence both the climate and the global carbon cycle, resulting in the creation of unique biological systems. MARUM is committed to fundamental and unbiased research in the interests of society, the marine environment, and in accordance with the sustainability goals of the United Nations. It publishes its quality-assured scientific data to make it publicly available. MARUM informs the public about new discoveries in the marine environment and provides practical knowledge through its dialogue with society. MARUM cooperation with companies and industrial partners is carried out in accordance with its goal of protecting the marine environment.

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Journal

Communications Earth & Environment

DOI

10.1038/s43247-025-02667-6 

Article Title

Biomarker evidence of a serpentinite chemosynthetic biosphere at the Mariana forearc.

 

Sharing positive emotions with a partner is good for health

Reduces stress hormone cortisol, even in couples who aren’t in highly satisfied relationships

American Psychological Association

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Sharing happy moments with a partner may be good for older people’s health, lowering the level of the stress hormone cortisol in their bodies, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.  

“We know from lots of research that positive emotions like happiness, joy, love and excitement are good for our health -- they’ve even been linked to living longer. But most of this research looks at people’s emotions as if they happen in isolation,” said study lead author Tomiko Yoneda, PhD, of the University of California Davis. “In real life, though, our most powerful positive emotions often happen when we’re connecting with someone else. We wanted to understand how often older couples share positive emotional moments in their everyday lives, and whether these shared moments affect the body in meaningful ways.” 

To study this, Yoneda and her colleagues looked at levels of cortisol in older adults. They examined data from three studies with a total of 642 participants (321 cohabitating couples) in Canada and Germany. All the participants were between ages 56 and 89. In all three studies, participants provided background and demographic information, then answered short electronic surveys about their emotional state between five and seven times per day for one week. The surveys focused on positive emotions, asking participants how happy, relaxed and interested they felt at that moment. After each short survey, participants collected a saliva sample using a saliva test strip. The researchers collected 23,931 separate measurements in all. 

The researchers found that on occasions when both partners were together and reported positive emotions, participants’ saliva samples showed lower cortisol levels – and this effect was beyond individually experienced positive emotions. The results held true after accounting for several factors that can influence cortisol levels, including age, sex, medications and daily cortisol fluctuations (cortisol levels tend to be higher in the morning). The research was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.  

“There was something uniquely powerful about sharing those positive emotions together. Even more exciting, we found signs that these shared positive moments have lasting effects,” Yoneda said. “When couples felt good together, their cortisol levels stayed lower later in the day. This suggests that co-experiencing positive emotions might actually help the body stay calmer over time.” 

Perhaps surprisingly, the effect showed up regardless of how satisfied people were with their relationship. In other words, even if a couple wasn’t feeling especially happy with their relationship overall, sharing positive emotions still seemed to have a calming effect on the body. 

In the future, Yoneda says, she would like to examine shared positive emotions outside of couples, including among friends, coworkers and family members. 

“This work builds on positivity resonance theory, which suggests that when people share positive emotions — along with caring, synchronized connection — it can boost emotional and physiological well-being,” Yoneda said. “And according to the theory, those moments can happen between any two people, not just romantic partners. That opens up a whole world of possibilities for future research.” 

Article: “Better together: Co-experienced positive emotions and cortisol secretion in the daily lives of older adults,” by Tomiko Yoneda, PhD, University of California Davis; Nathan Lewis, PhD,  Maureen C. Ashe, PhD, Kenneth Madden, MD, and Christiane Hoppmann, PhD, The University of British Columbia; Theresa Pauly, PhD, Simon Fraser University; Karolina Kolodziejczak-Krupp, PhD, MSB Medical School Berlin; Johanna Drewelies, PhD, and Denis Gerstorf, PhD, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Nilam Ram, PhD, Stanford University; and Claudia M. Haase, PhD, Northwestern University. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published online Oct. 30, 2025. 
 
CONTACT: Tomiko Yoneda, PhD, can be reached at yoneda@ucdavis.edu.

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA’s membership includes  173,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve lives.

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Journal

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

DOI

10.1037/pspp0000564 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Better Together: Coexperienced Positive Emotions and Cortisol Secretion in the Daily Lives of Older Couples

Article Publication Date

30-Oct-2025

Are you more jealous of emotional or sexual infidelity? It may depend on your sexual orientation

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

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What makes you most jealous? That also depends a lot on your sexual orientation. Professors Mons Bendixen and Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair study jealousy. 

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Credit: Photo: Steinar Brandslet, NTNU

Recent research shows that only the most heterosexual men are primarily jealous of sexual infidelity. Homosexual and bisexual men are more jealous of emotional infidelity, in the same way that women are.

Professors Mons Bendixen and Leif Edvard Ottesen Kennair at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have spent many years studying infidelity and jealousy.

For a long time, the researchers interpreted their findings as saying that men are more often most jealous of sexual infidelity, while women are more jealous of emotional infidelity – and that was pretty much that.

However, it turns out it is not that simple after all; sexual orientation can also affect jealousy. Kennair and Bendixen collaborated with Professor David Schmitt from Kansas State University on an article recently published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior journal.

Homosexual and bisexual men are jealous in the same way as women

“It is still the case that the most heterosexual men are most jealous of sexual infidelity. But this is not true for bisexual or homosexual men. They are most jealous of the feelings their partner might have for someone else,” said Kennair, from NTNU’s Department of Psychology.

It is more often the case that homosexual and bisexual men become jealous for reasons other than those of heterosexual men. When it comes to jealousy, they bear a closer resemblance to women.

“This exception to the general rule is not found in lesbian and bisexual women. Lesbian and bisexual women are most jealous of emotional infidelity, in the same way that heterosexual women are,” said Bendixen.

“It is important to point out here that our research did not primarily focus on categorical sexual orientation.

We investigated the degree to which individuals are attracted to men (androphilia) and to women (gynephilia) in both sexes,” emphasized Kennair.

Biological explanation of jealousy

Perhaps there is more logic to this than might at first meet the eye. After all, there is a strong biological explanation behind jealousy. Jealousy is an emotional response to a threat against a valued relationship.

Infidelity is an example of this type of threat, either in the form of a partner falling in love with or having sex with someone else. The way jealousy works is that you react emotionally to signs of infidelity in your partner.

This can in turn trigger a series of actions to protect the relationship. Examples include everything from confrontations, monitoring and restricting the partner’s social contact with other people, to ingratiation, flattery and increased sexual activity.

In homosexual relationships, regardless of gender, mutually hidden sexual infidelity is less relevant. Your partner is unlikely to have a secret child with someone else – a child you believe is yours and therefore invest time and resources in.

Thus, the fear of a partner leaving becomes much more important for homosexual individuals – the jealousy is more centred around the emotions involved.

Predicting sexuality based on questions

Nearly 4500 participants aged 16 to 80 participated in the study. They were recruited partly through Facebook and partly through the Gaysir website and other forums for queer individuals. The way in which the researchers recruited people ensured that sexual minorities were well represented.

“We also developed a method that could more or less predict the participants’ sexual orientation,” said Kennair.

The questions covered personality, childhood interests, career preferences and how the participants experience their own gender role.

The answers could be used to predict the participants’ sexual preference with high certainty, ranked by how strongly they were attracted to men or to women.

Shades of grey

Of course, there are no clear-cut boundaries when it comes to sexual orientation. It is safe to say that some of us are more masculine or feminine than others, regardless of biological sex.

“Biological sex is fixed and strongly linked to the production of sex cells. However, with regards to sexual orientation and how we perceive our own gender and sexuality, there are no clear-cut boundaries,” said Kennair.

He likens it to different volume controls that are balanced in relation to each other. Some people are more attracted to one gender or the other, while others are less so.

“The degree of masculinity and femininity varies greatly from one person to the next and over time, regardless of biological sex.

This challenges the assumption that gender expression is static and inseparably linked to sex. Instead, the expressions are fluid, dependent on context, and shaped by social, cultural and personal factors.

This means that masculinity and femininity are not opposites on a linear scale, but can coexist side by side within an individual to varying degrees over time,” said Professor David Schmitt from Kansas State University. The extent to which this variation is related to sexual jealousy was one of the main focuses of this study

Testosterone levels play an important role, meaning jealousy also varies among individuals, even within the same sex. Therefore, jealousy can be seen as one of the possible evolutionary mechanisms.

“Most humans are chimeras; they are not strictly one thing or another. Everyone has parts that are masculine and parts that are feminine,” explained Kennair.

The mystery of bisexual men with female partners

Note that we constantly assume that jealousy actually serves a purpose. Jealousy is meant to help you keep your partner – or your partner’s resources – for yourself. In doing so, you maximize the chances of passing on your genes to the next generation.

But one great mystery still remains – bisexual men who are partners with women.

“Bisexual men with female partners are different from heterosexual men with female partners. These bisexual men are also more jealous of emotional infidelity and less jealous of sexual infidelity,” explained Bendixen.

This, however, does not fit the pattern. Bisexual men with female partners face the same risk as heterosexual men of investing resources in another man’s child if their partner is unfaithful. Therefore, the picture remains unclear.

“We still don’t know why this is. One possibility is that the jealousy response is easily feminized. As a result, only the most masculine men display typical masculine sexual jealousy,” said Kennair.

This may also help explain why bisexual men are far less common than bisexual women. In the United States, up to 6 per cent of women identify as bisexual, compared with only up to 2 per cent of men. If bisexual men are more often tricked into raising another man’s child, their genes are not passed on to the next generation to the same extent.

This, however, is just a theory, and not something the researchers know or have studied – and is an area that definitely requires more research.

Reference:
Kennair, L.E.O., Bendixen, M. & Schmitt, D.P. Male Sex, Masculinization, Sexual Orientation, and Gynephilia Synergistically Predict Increased Sexual Jealousy. Arch Sex Behav (2025). Published 22 August 2025 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03225-z

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Journal

Archives of Sexual Behavior

DOI

10.1007/s10508-025-03225-z 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Male Sex, Masculinization, Sexual Orientation, and Gynephilia Synergistically Predict Increased Sexual Jealous