Tropical climate in the Antarctic: Palm trees once thrived on today’s icy coasts 52 million years ago
Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - 14:00
in Earth & Climate
Given the predicted rise in global temperatures in the coming decades, climate scientists are particularly interested in warm periods that occurred in the geological past. Knowledge of past episodes of global warmth can be used to better understand the relationship between climate change, variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide and the reaction of Earth’s biosphere. Scientists have discovered an intense warming phase around 52 million years ago in drill cores obtained from the seafloor near Antarctica — a region that is especially important in climate research.