a reply to:
AndyMayhew
540–250 mya - Climate – The accepted hypothesis seem to be that during the Cambrian period Western Antarctica was partially in the Northern
Hemisphere because of the deposited of large amounts sandstone, limestone and shale’s. Eastern Antarctica was at the equator, where sea floor
invertebrates and trilobites flourished in the tropical seas. Glaciations began at the end of the Devonian period (360 mya) as Gondwana moved closer
to the South Pole and the climate cooled
500–250 mya - Impact – Wilkes Land, Antarctica (485km)
206–146 mya - Climate – Here we find some evidence that the Western Antarctic Peninsula began to form during the Jurassic period as islands
gradually rose out of the ocean due to igneous intrusions and volcanism. There is also some evidence suggesting an Antarctic marine glaciation during
the Cretaceous period
160–66 mya - Climate – Gondwana began to break up and Africa separated from Antarctica in the Jurassic
125 mya - Climate – The Indian subcontinent separated form Gondwana
66 mya - Climate – Antarctica (still connected to Australia) had a subtropical climate and flora, complete with a marsupial fauna
48–40 mya - Climate – Australia-New Guinea separated from Antarctica, and its first ice began to appear and global temperature start dropping
10°C as well as the CO2 levels that steadily decrease during the Eocene epoch (55.8–34 mya)
35.6 mya - Impact – Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, USA, and Popigai, Russia (90km and 100km)
23 mya - Climate – The ice on Antarctica began to spread, replacing the forests
15 mya - Climate – The Antarctica is now mostly covered with ice
14–6 mya - Climate – Antarctica separates from South America and the gap widens between Australia and the global temperature drops by 4°C more
3–4 mya - Climate – After the Pleistocene ice age the whole continent of Antarctica was covered in ice and all major plant life destroyed.
Accumulation of ice at both poles causing the global climate to become even colder and drier
2.1 mya - Volcano – Yellowstone supervolcanic eruption (Super eruption)
1.3 mya - Volcano – Yellowstone supervolcanic eruption (Super eruption)
1.3–0.82 mya - Climate – Sherwin Glaciation
1–0.9 mya - Climate – This is where the stronger 41,000 Milankovitch cycle gets overwhelmed by the weaker 100,000 year cycle due to the
accumulated ice on Antarctica