June 01, 2006

If Artic was "balmy," how hot was equitorial Africa and India?

Yale University geologists report that new studies of borings from the floor of the Artic Ocean reveal remains of plant life indicating a long period of temperatures above 70 degrees during the warmest time interval, the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), Today, the Artic's mean temperature is below zero.

Yale Geology Prof. Mark Pagani and Utrecht Univ. biologist Henk Brinkhuis
wrote the article in the June 1, 2006 issue of Nature reporting the findings. "Many argue whether or not rising carbon dioxide concentrations will cause global warming. But, those of us who study Earth history know that there is a direct link between Earth's temperature and carbon dioxide," said Pagani. "The PETM represents the clearest evidence for carbon dioxide-induced global warming in the geologic record."

ScienceDaily: North Pole's Ancient Past Holds Lessons For Future Global Warming

DougSimpson.com/blog

Posted by dougsimpson at June 1, 2006 12:53 PM