 Did Trees Cover Greenland? Operating from a drilling site located atop the Greenland Ice Sheet, an international research team from the North Greenland Ice Core Project has recovered what seem to be bits of plants from nearly 2 miles / 3.2 km below the surface. Several of the pieces look like blades of grass or pine needles. If confirmed, this will be the first organic material ever recovered from a deep ice-core drilling project.
The cores are cylinders of ice 4 inches / 10 cm in diameter that were brought to the surface in 3.5-meter / 11½ foot lengths. The ice also contained trapped gas, and each layer of ice represents yearly records that can reveal past temperatures and precipitation levels, the content of ancient atmospheres, and even evidence storms, fires and volcanic eruptions.
Click pictures for more information and credits. Library: Arctic, Ice, Snow Icebergs, Environment/Atmosphere Links: Arctic, Icebergs Glaciers, Cold Places Arctic Maps & Weather Reports |
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DICTIONARY: Just "double-click" any unlinked word on this page for the definition from Merriam-Webster's Student Electronic Dictionary at Word Central. |
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ARCTIC LIBRARY & GLOSSARY: Check this section for an index of the rest of the things you really need to know about the Arctic. |
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ARCTIC MAPS & WEATHER REPORTS: Maps of the Northwest Passage, explorers' routes, iceberg sources, Nunavut, the Arctic by treeline, temperature... |
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ARCTIC LINKS: Even more information! Links to sites related to the Arctic and "Iceberg: the Story of the Throps and the Squallhoots". |
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GUIDE TO ARCTIC SUNRISE & SUNSET: How much sunlight or darkness is there in the Arctic on each day of the year? |
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