Ocean Drilling Expedition off Antarctica May Predict Ice Sheet's Response to Warmer Global Temperatures
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 - 19:10
in Earth & Climate
(PhysOrg.com) -- New results from a drilling expedition off Antarctica may help scientists learn more about a dramatic turn in climate 34 million years ago, when the planet cooled from a "greenhouse" to an "icehouse" state. In just 400,000 years - a blink of an eye in geologic time - carbon dioxide levels dropped, temperatures plunged and ice sheets formed over what was then the lush continent of Antarctica.