Antarctic Forests Reveal Ancient Trees
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 10:13 pm
By Larry O'Hanlon
Discovery News
A quarter-billion years ago, forested islands flashed with autumnal hues near the South Pole ó a polar scene unlike any today, researchers say.
Geologists have discovered in Antarctica the remains of three ancient deciduous forests complete with fossils of fallen leafs scattered around the tree trunks. The clusters of petrified tree stumps were found upright in the original living positions they held during the Permian period.
Some stumps were even poking up through the snowfield in the Beardmore Glacier area, said geologist Molly Miller of Vanderbilt University.
"These were not scrubby little things," Miller said. "These were big trees."
Some are estimated to have attained heights of 80 feet (24.6 meters), based on their trunk diameter.
Read more: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20 ... eaves.html
Discovery News
A quarter-billion years ago, forested islands flashed with autumnal hues near the South Pole ó a polar scene unlike any today, researchers say.
Geologists have discovered in Antarctica the remains of three ancient deciduous forests complete with fossils of fallen leafs scattered around the tree trunks. The clusters of petrified tree stumps were found upright in the original living positions they held during the Permian period.
Some stumps were even poking up through the snowfield in the Beardmore Glacier area, said geologist Molly Miller of Vanderbilt University.
"These were not scrubby little things," Miller said. "These were big trees."
Some are estimated to have attained heights of 80 feet (24.6 meters), based on their trunk diameter.
Read more: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20 ... eaves.html