Evidence suggest 90M-year rainforest in Antarctica

By Gamze Turkoglu Oguz

ANKARA (AA) - Scientific evidence suggest there was a rainforest in Antarctica 90 million years ago.

British and German scientists examined samples from the ocean bottom using a machine drill on a research ship near Pine Island in Amundsen Sea, according to Science Daily.

Details were published in Nature magazine earlier this week which said samples containing alluvions and thin kaolin were at least 90 million years old.

Scientists examined samples with computer tomography devices and found preserved samples of soil, pollen, seeds and even tree roots.

"That this 90 million year old rainforest is preserved is quite exceptional, but what it represents is much more remarkable,” said research team member Tina van de Flierdt. “Even in dark months, swamp rainforests could grow in an area close to the South Pole. This shows a more temperate climate than we have estimated until now."

Research also implied that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere during the Cretaceous Era, approximately 115 to 80 million years ago, was higher than estimated.

*Writing by Firdevs Bulut in Ankara