Antarctica’s…Rainforest?

Scientists have discovered the remnants of a rainforest that existed about ninety million years ago, in Antarctica.  Yes, that’s not a typo, Antarctica. 

“They were surprised to find fossil remnants of this forest in a sediment core sample retrieved in February 2017 from the ocean floor in the Amundsen Sea off the coast of West Antarctica,”  says Earthsky, a science website that started in 1991.

Basically, this means that scientists found residue of a rainforest on the floor of the ocean by the coast of West Antarctica.  This residue, (or a fossil, to speak more correctly,) contained soil, plus flower pollen and much more.  Scans of this fossil reveal many roots, implying that there may be many more plants and/or trees.  Something very surprising is that this prehistoric paradise was very close to the South Pole, yet research shows that its climate was extremely mild (I mean, what do you expect, a rainforest can’t thrive, let alone exist in temperatures below freezing).

Personally, I find this topic very interesting, since Antarctica is now a barren desert of ice and no human beings live there (except researchers).  I find it almost unbelievable that a rainforest once existed near (if not on) one of the coldest places on Earth.  I hope this topic was interesting for you, too, but for now, that’s all.