260 million-yr-old fossil forests discovered

[Still Waters]

Scientists exploring a remote region of Antarctica have discovered evidence of a 260 million-year-old forest, recovering fossilized tree fragments from the frozen ground of the Transantarctic Mountains.

The forest would have existed before the Great Dying Mass Extinction Event 252 million years ago—an event that saw around 95 percent of life on Earth wiped out. This mass extinction—the worst in Earth's history—is thought to have been caused by huge, prolonged volcanic eruptions in Siberia, which caused global temperatures to skyrocket. Around 20 million years later, the first dinosaurs started to emerge.

http://www.newsweek.com/antarctica-ancient-forest-dinosaurs-discovered-709192

[pallidin]

I can't even begin to imagine the wonders which are there to find underneath all that extremely thick snow and ice.

Antarctica is a continent of great size, and was once in warmer waters for many millions of years.

The plant life, trees, animal life, fossils, etc... long dead and frozen in various times must be truly extraordinary and untouched.

 

[paperdyer]

Somehow pallidin, I fear scientists will find someway to claim a first generation of humans caused the extinction event and created the dinosaurs in a "What could go wrong" scenario.