11 septembre 2004 07:21
40 million years of Arctic climate history
Isabelle Hontebeyrie
The Arctic Coring Expedition (ACEX) takes place in August and September 2004.
Three icebreakers head for a position at 88 degrees North. Only 250 kilometres away from the North Pole Arctic Ocean sediments will be cored. The deposits from the sea-floor will reveal the global climate swing from an extremely warm "greenhouse" world 50 million years ago to the ice-age era beginning 3.2 million years ago which still persists today.
Yesterday, team members examined sediment from nearly 400 meters below the Arctic Ocean floor.
Fossilized algae found in the core revealed that Arctic waters were once around 68°F, similar to New York waters in August. The telling fossils originated 55 million years ago, when a natural greenhouse effect caused a warm Arctic climate.
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