When the balance in reflectivity shifts, “the whole circulation of the climate will shift in order to transport energy from the hemisphere that has a surplus to the one that has a deficit,” Soden says. This could influence ocean currents and the location of rainfall bands, which can have ramifications for water availability.

Hidden deep in ancient rocks, scientists have found the surviving traces of Earth’s first form—unchanged for 4.5 billion years.

Roughly 4.5 billion years ago, the young solar system was a swirling cloud of gas and dust that formed the first asteroids and planets, including the young Earth, then a hot, molten sphere likely bubbling with oceans of lava.