Geochronological evidence supporting Antarctic deglaciation three million years ago
Article Abstract:
The contention that the East Antarctic ice sheet melted substantially during the mid-Pliocene epoch around three million years ago received support from the discovery of fossil diatoms in the glacial till of the Transantarctic Mountains. Since diatoms are ocean-dwelling microscopic marine plants, the presence of three million year old fossil diatoms in the Antarctic interior strongly suggests that the ice sheet was much smaller then. The likelihood that rising global temperatures caused this Pliocene deglaciation suggests further that modern global warming may produce a similar result.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1992
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Molecules record sea change
Article Abstract:
G. Eglinton and others used measurements of alkenones in marine sediments to create a 650,000-year record of sea surface temperature changes in the Atlantic Ocean off northwestern Africa. Alkenones are phytoplankton-produced organic molecular fossils that vary with the ocean temperature. The alkenone data yielded evidence of periodicity in the global climate. In particular, three intervals of deglaciation ranging from 339,000 to 12,000 years ago were marked by short-period fluctuations in sea surface temperature.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1992
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High frequency of "super-cyclones" along the Great Barrier Reef over the past 5,000 years
Article Abstract:
Research describing prehistoric tropical cyclones along the coast of Australia is presented. In particular the frequency and intensity of these cyclones are investigated by analysis of coral and shell depositions.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2001
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