Antarctica’s Extinct Forests
From November 2016 to January 2017 (in other words, summer in Antarctica) Erik Gulbranson and John Isbell found 13 fossil fragments from trees dating back more than 260 million years. This more than hints at the continent’s green past—with a landscape that would have been densely forested with a network of resilient plants and trees capable of withstanding uninterrupted sunlight and then months of darkness. Of equal importance, fossil microorganisms and fungi have been preserved inside the wood—all of which alludes to a warmer, more humid time period. All of this was, however, before history’s greatest mass extinction event. You can read more at National Geographic.
Via news.nationalgeographic.com link opens in a new window
