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Temperate rainforests near the South Pole during peak Cretaceous warmth.
Klages, Johann P; Salzmann, Ulrich; Bickert, Torsten; Hillenbrand, Claus-Dieter; Gohl, Karsten; Kuhn, Gerhard; Bohaty, Steven M; Titschack, Jürgen; Müller, Juliane; Frederichs, Thomas; Bauersachs, Thorsten; Ehrmann, Werner; van de Flierdt, Tina; Pereira, Patric Simões; Larter, Robert D; Lohmann, Gerrit; Niezgodzki, Igor; Uenzelmann-Neben, Gabriele; Zundel, Maximilian; Spiegel, Cornelia; Mark, Chris; Chew, David; Francis, Jane E; Nehrke, Gernot; Schwarz, Florian; Smith, James A; Freudenthal, Tim; Esper, Oliver; Pälike, Heiko; Ronge, Thomas A; Dziadek, Ricarda.
Affiliation
  • Klages JP; Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany. Johann.Klages@awi.de.
  • Salzmann U; Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
  • Bickert T; MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
  • Hillenbrand CD; British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK.
  • Gohl K; Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany.
  • Kuhn G; Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany.
  • Bohaty SM; School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
  • Titschack J; MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
  • Müller J; Marine Research Department, Senckenberg am Meer, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
  • Frederichs T; Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany.
  • Bauersachs T; MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
  • Ehrmann W; Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
  • van de Flierdt T; MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
  • Pereira PS; Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
  • Larter RD; Institute of Geosciences, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany.
  • Lohmann G; Institute for Geophysics and Geology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
  • Niezgodzki I; Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK.
  • Uenzelmann-Neben G; Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK.
  • Zundel M; Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • Spiegel C; British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK.
  • Mark C; Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany.
  • Chew D; MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
  • Francis JE; Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
  • Nehrke G; Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany.
  • Schwarz F; ING PAN-Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Biogeosystem Modelling Laboratory, Kraków, Poland.
  • Smith JA; Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany.
  • Freudenthal T; Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
  • Esper O; Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
  • Pälike H; Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
  • Ronge TA; School of Earth Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
  • Dziadek R; Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Nature ; 580(7801): 81-86, 2020 04.
Article in En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32238944
The mid-Cretaceous period was one of the warmest intervals of the past 140 million years1-5, driven by atmospheric carbon dioxide levels of around 1,000 parts per million by volume6. In the near absence of proximal geological records from south of the Antarctic Circle, it is disputed whether polar ice could exist under such environmental conditions. Here we use a sedimentary sequence recovered from the West Antarctic shelf-the southernmost Cretaceous record reported so far-and show that a temperate lowland rainforest environment existed at a palaeolatitude of about 82° S during the Turonian-Santonian age (92 to 83 million years ago). This record contains an intact 3-metre-long network of in situ fossil roots embedded in a mudstone matrix containing diverse pollen and spores. A climate model simulation shows that the reconstructed temperate climate at this high latitude requires a combination of both atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations of 1,120-1,680 parts per million by volume and a vegetated land surface without major Antarctic glaciation, highlighting the important cooling effect exerted by ice albedo under high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Subject(s)

Full text: 1 Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Atmosphere / Temperature / Carbon Dioxide / Climate / Rainforest Type of study: Prognostic_studies Country/Region as subject: Oceania Language: En Journal: Nature Year: 2020 Type: Article Affiliation country: Germany

Full text: 1 Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Atmosphere / Temperature / Carbon Dioxide / Climate / Rainforest Type of study: Prognostic_studies Country/Region as subject: Oceania Language: En Journal: Nature Year: 2020 Type: Article Affiliation country: Germany