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Sensational amber find: What Antarctica reveals about our climate!
German researchers discovered 90-million-year-old amber in Antarctica, revealing important climate insights.
Sensational amber find: What Antarctica reveals about our climate!
An extraordinary discovery is causing excitement in the world of science: a team of researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) discovered amber, a fossil resin, during an expedition in Antarctica. This find, made at a depth of nearly 1,000 meters in the Amundsen Sea, is the southernmost amber known and dates back to the middle Cretaceous period, about 90 million years ago, according to an article by fr.de is reported. The amber provides fascinating insights into the environmental conditions that prevailed at the time and could draw conclusions about the flora of the region.
Analysis of the structures contained in the amber shows evidence of possible remains of tree bark as well as microscopic inclusions such as pollen and spores, which are important for the reconstruction of a former temperate rainforest in Antarctica. These findings suggest that a diverse flora once thrived in the region, surrounded by a climate that allowed temperatures that would be unimaginable in Antarctica today. This also confirms previous theories that the supercontinent Gondwana connected the continents millions of years ago, as the study by nationalgeographic.de shows.
Important insights into the history of the earth
This spectacular discovery could raise not only historical but also current climatic questions. The amber discovery suggests that during the Cretaceous period the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere was significantly higher than previously assumed. This makes researchers think about how sensitive the polar regions are to an increase in greenhouse gases. Johann P. Klages, the AWI's marine geologist, emphasizes that the research results are crucial for better understanding future environmental changes and making predictions about the development of our planet.
Together with other studies, the scientists now want to find out which trees once existed in this Antarctic forest and what environmental influences affected them. Research is therefore on an exciting search for answers to the question of what life in Antarctica looked like in a bygone era.