A lump of amber unearthed in the South Pole that is the first ever to be discovered there has proven how Antarctica was once covered in lush rainforests.
The amber, which dates back 90 million years, has kept perfectly preserved sheds of tree bark frozen in time since the Cretaceous age.
Scientists from Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven made the discovery in a sediment core drilled out in 2017.
Images of the amber nugget, made of fossilised tree resin, show shreds of a tree’s outer bark and other bark fragments.
The revelation, published in the journal ‘Antarctic Science‘, proves that at one time the Earth was so warm that forests existed on all its continents, say experts.
Institute marine geologist Johann P. Klages said: “The amber fragments that we were now able to analyse provide a direct insight into the environmental conditions of West Antarctica around 90 million years ago.
“It is exciting that at some point in their history, all seven continents had climatic conditions that allowed resin-producing trees to survive.”
The amber emerged from deep core drilling done by the research icebreaker ‘Polarstern’ at Pine Island Bay in the Amundsen Sea.
Now experts hope that the amber will tell them even more about the Earth’s history.
Klage said: “We want to know whether there was a fire, whether we can still find traces of life in the resin.”
Researcher Henny Gerschel explained: “Our discovery is another piece of the puzzle that helps us better understand the swampy, conifer-dominated temperate rainforest near the South Pole from the middle Cretaceous period.”
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Clive Goodman, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
