Posted on 04/25/2007 1:17:13 PM PDT by Zakeet
Fossil evidence of a hippopotamus-like creature found on an Arctic island hints at a once-balmy climate – "rather like Florida" – in the polar region, an ecologist says.
Fossil footprints of a pantodont, a plant-eating creature weighing about 400 kilograms (880 pounds), add to evidence of sequoia-type trees and crocodile-like beasts in the Arctic millions of years ago, when greenhouse gas concentrations in the air were high.
The footprints were discovered at the end of a horizontal coal mine shaft on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. The find was 5 kilometres inside a mountain and 300 metres below the surface.
"The climate here about 55 million years ago was more like that of Florida," said Appy Sluijs, an expert in ancient ecology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. "Where we are now was once a temperate rainforest," he said.
[Snip]
When Svalbard was hot, 55 million years ago, the islands were also closer to the North Pole. Sea levels were about 100 metres higher than now and Antarctica was free of ice. Many parts of the globe near the equator would have been too hot for modern plants and animals that have adapted to a modern climate, Sluijs adds.
(Excerpt) Read more at environment.newscientist.com ...
That was my first reaction too, but the article says: "When Svalbard was hot, 55 million years ago, the islands were also closer to the North Pole."
Funny, how you rarely hear much about this very hot period in earth history.
Climate is historically very unstable on this planet. From a geological standpoint, trying to “control climate” with our puny human efforts is absurd.
Old News. People have known for 100 years the arctic/antarctic were tropical. They found palm trees under 20 ft clear sheets of ice.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
The poor polar bears, it must have been tough on them.
hippopotamus-like creature ................................You get the GOLD STAR for that one!
( crickets )
I say we outlaw all future volcanic explosions.
Very old news. The event 55 million years ago was known as the Eocene Thermal Maximum, which was one of the warmest spells in Earth’s recent geological history. While it is true that Alaska and Svalbard were much closer to the north pole, it’s also true that there was ocean between North and South America and a huge body of warm shallow water between Africa and Eurasia. All of that warm water circulating about might have led to the conditions at the thermal maximum. It’s also true that the thermal maximum is considered a minor extinction event. It’s all fascinating stuff.
What it tells me is that the Earth’s climate has some mighty powerful swings sometimes without any human impact whatsoever.
They grew until a giant ice cube whacked into earth.
More hype from the causally challenged. High temperatures cause high CO2 levels, not the other way around.
....and SHE lives in Florida, too!..........coincidence? I think not!........
55 million years ago, during the Eocene Thermal Maximum, there were no continents over the poles. Norway was probably close to where it is now but ...
Antarctica moved over the south pole in the next 10 million years (and promptly froze over) and Greenland moved closer to the north pole about 30 million years later (and promptly froze over.)
The continental positions have a huge impact on the amount of sunlight absorbed by the Earth. Think of the sunlight that is reflected by the glaciers on Antarctica and Greenland today. Move those two landmasses, 200 miles away the poles and there is no glaciers there anymore. The Earth would be about 3 degrees warmer and we would be approaching the conditions of the ETM.
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