Mummified Forest Found on Treeless Arctic Island (Climate Change alert)

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The ancient trees were found in a dry, cold valley in northern Canada.

Pines, spruces buried in landslide millions of years ago, when area was warmer.

An ancient mummified forest, complete with well-preserved logs, leaves, and seedpods, has been discovered deep in the Canadian Arctic, scientists say. The dry, frigid site is now surrounded by glaciers and is completely treeless, except for a few bonsai-size dwarf trees.

The forest was discovered recently by a research team who'd heard a surprising story from rangers in Quttinirpaaq National Park. The park is located on Ellesmere Island (see map), one of the world's northernmost landmasses. The Rangers had come across wood scattered on the ground from much larger trees than the few dwarfs currently in the area, including logs that were several feet long. The Park Rangers "had no idea what they were," but Barker suspected they must be millions of years old

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A piece of ancient wood found recently in the Canadian Arctic. Photograph Joel Barker
Mummified Forest a Window Into Climate Change

"Finding wood that is millions of years old in such good condition—almost as if you just picked it up from the forest floor—will provide an exceptional opportunity," For instance the wood allows the team "to get the clearest view possible of what the world was like during a time when the Earth's climate was drastically changing."

Source: news.nationalgeographic.com...


Very interesting. But, I guess it is not much of a strech of the imagination IF you don't stay in the conventional thought process.

Millions of years ago, um yes, the weather may have been slightly different. I think what would be more interesting is to determine what cause the demise of the tress. Burning, covered in ash, no sunlight etc.

I look at this as another story about how we haven't really got a clue about our planets past. We think we do but when we can't even agree on how long Humans have been on the planet-walking upright etc. How can we possibly get a concensus to other things.

It seems like every week, more stories and/or evidence is presented that shows Humans have been on the planet A LOT longer than what religious teachings-teach.

I wonder what else awaits discovery beneath us.....

I think this is a reapeated post

i love this kind of stuff!

just goes to show how easy it is for the civilisation now to disapear so quickly

reply to post by TedHodgson


I checked but didn't see anything.

Could you please put the post link here for verification.

Thank you.

Great thread ,

many many thanks.

snoopyuk

reply to post by snoopyuk


You are certainly welcome.

Mind telling us what you liked about it?

You didn't say much buddy... your thoughts are appreciated greatly.

Fascinating article, I didn't know we could find actual wood that old! I've seen petrified wood where the opriginal wood was replaced by minerals and you can still see tree tings in the fossil, which is amazing itself, but to see the actual wood of this age is astonishing!

Thanks for posting this!

Originally posted by anon72
I think what would be more interesting is to determine what cause the demise of the tress.

I think this is a clue:

The small number of species also suggests the ancient forest was "an ecosystem right on the edge of being able to survive," according to Barker. For instance, other mummified forests found farther south in Canada have a wide variety of trees. By counting tree rings in some of the logs, the team found the trees were at least 75 years old when they were entombed. But the rings were very small, showing that the trees grew extremely slowly.

According to that, they were so close to the edge of existence, as seen from the small size of the tree rings showing that they grew so slowly, etc, that it would only take a very small change in the climate to push it into a state where the trees could no longer survive.

The age estimate of the trees may put them in the Pliocene era which experienced cooling:

www.palaeos.com...

The Pliocene saw the continuation of the climatic cooling that had began in the Miocene, with subtropical regions retreating equatorially, the beginning of the large ice caps, especially in Antarctica, and the northern hemisphere lands and ocean cooling likewise. Antarctica was not yet completely frozen.

Well if antarctica wasn't completely frozen yet, maybe it was just enough warmer back then to make this currently uninhabitable region slightly more inhabitable by those few species of trees? At least until the cooling continued which is probably what wiped them out, and froze Antarctica.

reply to post by anon72


Makes you 2nd guess about Global Warming and all that BS Gore is touting.

I believe what we're experiencing is just another cycle earth goes through. They're are obviously cycles in our universe that last more than a year, century, or even a millennium.

reply to post by Arbitrageur


Another great reply. Thank you.

Nicely put.

So long ago though. It is amazing that they are even around. And, what else can/will they find if they do some digging?