Ancient rainforests in Antarctica. In 2017, a group of scientists drilled underneath the seabed of West Antarctica (bottom right), and pulled up cores (similar to those on the top panel). . Using X-ray CT scans, they revealed the existence of fossilized roots that indicated that this area close to the South Pole was a dense rainforest 90 million years ago during the much warmer Cretaceous. . At that time, Antarctica would have been still near the pole, and at these latitudes the forest 🌳 would have experienced months of little or no direct sunlight. . Yet even in these conditions, the forest thrived bathed in twilight for months. Using models to simulate conditions in which this forest could thrive, they noticed that at that time the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the air could have been up to 1,680 ppm compared to 407.4 ppm now. . Thus, the rich CO2 environment could enabled these Antarctic forests to thrive and provide habitat for many species of dinosaurs. . While these preliminary research findings are exciting, many more questions still need to be answered about the flora and the fauna of ancient Antarctica. Even more so, a better understanding of the climate conditions of the Earth at that time could give us better insights of how natural habitats could evolve under warmer and carbon rich conditions. . Credit: JPKlages/Alfred-Wegener-Institut/Blastcube. . #antarctica #icecorescience #forests #ancientforests #climatechange #cretaceous #climatescience https://www.instagram.com/p/B-fQ827DuH6/?igshid=x3ahv9n6ewh9
