Ancient Global Warming In Antarctica

 

Ancient Global Warming

Antarctica is a frozen wasteland today but 75 million years ago, it was a forested area with lots of wildfires, a recent study found.

Scientists analyzed fossilized charcoal chunks found in Antarctica to determine whether it had experienced prehistoric wildfires – also known as paleofires, the New York Times reported.

There is a wealth of evidence about paleofires in the northern hemisphere but scholars have wondered for years whether the icy continent also burned during the Cretaceous period – an era marked with mass extinctions, as well as fluctuating amounts of oxygen and vegetation.

In their study, a research team used imaging software and scanning electron microscopy to analyze the fossilized charcoal. They discovered homogenized cells and a pitted pattern that showed that these fossils began as ancient plants.

Their analysis revealed that the plant in question was an Araucariaceae, an ancient family of conifers. This suggests that Antarctica was once a warm, forested area – that was also prone to wildfires.

“It’s really interesting for us because now we’re showing that not only the Northern Hemisphere was burning, but the Southern Hemisphere too,” said co-author André Jasper. “It was global.”

Jasper and his team have been seeking evidence of paleofires that burned between 60 million and 300 million years ago.

The key question remains as to whether these ancient wildfires had an effect on Earth. Understanding them could help researchers create models for periods of rapid ecological change and an uptick of fires – such as the ones happening now.