Berlin: German scientists have found amber in Antarctica for the primary time, revealing that round 90 million years in the past, the continent’s weather conditions favored resin-producing forests, Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI ) reported.
AWI mentioned in a press launch that this southern discovery of amber supplies new data on Cretaceous forests close to the South Pole. Amber was found in a sediment core retrieved from the Amundsen Sea at a depth of 946 meters, utilizing a seafloor drilling rig throughout a 2017 expedition aboard the icebreaker Polarstern. For evaluation, the supply materials was rigorously air-dried and minimize into items roughly 1 mm in diameter to extract the amber. Attainable remnants of tree bark have been additionally recognized, providing additional clues about historical forests close to the South Pole.
AWI marine geologist Johan P. “The amber fragments analyzed present direct details about the environmental situations that prevailed in West Antarctica 90 million years in the past,” mentioned Klegges. “It was thrilling to appreciate that, sooner or later of their historical past, all seven continents had climates that allowed resin-producing timber to outlive.”
The analysis group, led by scientists from the AWI and TU Bergakademie Freiberg, has printed its findings within the journal Antarctic Science, stories Xinhua Information Company.
