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The Icelandic plume, a major mantle upwelling located beneath the North Atlantic Ocean, plays a dominant role in controlling periodic uplift of continental margins and of oceanographic gateways during Cenozoic times. Independent evidence shows that plume activity fluctuates on timescales of ≤1 Myr. Here, we describe and analyze a spectacular sequence of Paleogene buried landscapes imaged on seismic reflection surveys from the continental margin of northwest Europe. These transient landscapes recur on intervals of 2–3 Myrs, coincide with volcanic activity, and exhibit topographic relief of hundreds of meters. They probably represent the surficial expression of thermal fluctuations that spread radially away from the plume conduit. Five landscapes are coeval with global hyperthermal aberrations characterized by negative excursions of δ 13 C and by positive excursions of Fe intensity, which is a proxy for carbonate dissolution. We propose a causal relationship whereby thermal fluctuations of the mantle plume generate transient uplift and volcanic activity, which act to release significant quantities of greenhouse gases and thus trigger hyperthermal aberrations. A longer period oscillation of δ 13 C values is superimposed upon these aberrations that is attributable to a combination of silicate weathering and volcanic degassing caused by the interaction of plume activity and plate spreading. • Landscapes are coeval with volcanic activity and global hyperthermal events. • Plume fluctuations generate transient uplift and trigger climatic aberrations. • Long-period oscillation caused by interplay of plume activity and plate spreading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of obvious visible manifestations of ovulation in human females, compared with the prominent sexual swellings of many primates, has led to the idea that human ovulation is concealed. While human ovulation is clearly not advertised to the same extent as in some other species, we show here that both men and women judge photographs of women's faces that were taken in the fertile window of the menstrual cycle as more attractive than photographs taken during the luteal phase. This indicates the existence of visible cues to ovulation in the human face, and is consistent with similar cyclical changes observed for preferences of female body odour. This heightened allure could be an adaptive mechanism for raising a female's relative value in the mating market at the time in the cycle when the probability of conception is at its highest.