“Unearthed Secrets: What a 90-Million-Year-Old Antarctic Rainforest Reveals About Earth’s Lost Climate”
Imagine Antarctica—today’s icy wilderness—teeming with life, warmth, and, believe it or not, exotic rainforests! It sounds like the backdrop for a sequel to Jurassic Park, doesn’t it? But here’s the kicker: evidence from ancient soil samples reveals that this frozen region was once a flourishing rainforest during the Cretaceous Period. Researchers unearthed mind-boggling findings from sediment core samples taken near the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers, uncovering forest soil, pollen, and even root structures that are 90 million years old. It’s like unlocking a time capsule of Earth’s distant history! So, what exactly was going on down there when dinosaurs roamed and the world was a tropical paradise? Buckle up, because the revelation of a verdant, swampy Antarctica challenges everything we thought we knew about the planet’s climatic past! LEARN MORE.
Evidence found in an ancient soil sample indicates that during the Cretaceous Period, Antarctica was home to a thriving rainforest on its iceless terrain.
Alfred Wegener InstituteThe new study was based on sediment core samples taken in 2017 near the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers.
Though the Earth was much warmer when dinosaurs roamed 90 million years ago, it’s hard to imagine the South Pole as a luscious, vibrant environment. According to CNN, however, new evidence suggests that Antarctica was once a swampy rainforest.
Between February and March 2017, researchers drilled into the seafloor near West Antarctica’s Amundsen Sea. More precisely, the sediment core sample was taken near the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers. The results of the subsequent CT scans came as an utter shock.
