Scientists have recently discovered ice-covered plants in Greenland, largely rewriting what we know about previous warming periods in Earth’s history. When plants have been found under ice, the area has melted at a scale similar to what is currently happening.
Within the last million years, the area has melted away, similar to what we have done on the planet, or as scientists call it – climate change.
The recently discovered plants have a long history. A group of U.S. Army scientists drilled ice in northwestern Greenland in 1966. They removed a long tube of dirt from the bottom.
Lost in a freezer for decades, the tube was discovered in 2017. Shortly afterwards in 2019, Vermont University scientist Andrew Christ looked at what was left closely under a microscope and found that branches and leaves growing in the tube, instead of just sand and rock.
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Through this, Christ discovered that greenery and vegetation have thrived in Greenland in the past, possibly caused by warming cycles like the one that is happening right now.
With a team of scientists led by Joerg Schaefer of Columbia University, along with Dorthe Dahl-Jense at the University of Copenhagen, and Paul Bierman at UVM, it was found that most, if not all, of green Greenland within the last million years.
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It is possible that greenery has flourished in Greenland even in the last few hundred thousand years. Christ described the remains of the find as a “time capsule”, with a quick look at what used to live on Greenland.
This discovery could help scientists understand climate change, and how Greenland will soon respond to global warming. It could also help scientists predict how long it will take for the ice to melt.