Understanding the Climate of Ancient Earth

The Earth has been around for a long time. Earth’s climate history is called its paleoclimate, where “paleo” means old or ancient. In this article, we explain how studying paleoclimate helps us understand how and why the Earth (and the life on it) evolved over time. Scientists can study the fossils, chemicals, and minerals preserved in ice or ancient rocks. Using this information, as well as computer models of Earth’s past climate, scientists can figure out climate changes going back millions of years. Understanding past climate changes helps us understand how Earth’s climate is changing now, and how it might further change in the future.