A recent research proved that Antarctica is not all about Penguins and seals. There’s more creatures in the cold desert than we can imagine and they don’t have to be big always.
The Antarctic has been home to some of the tiniest creatures we can ever imagine. These tiny plants and animals existed in Antarctica even before the ice ages.
Creatures like pin head sized worms, wingless insect like chrinomids, and worms existed during the ice ages. The massive Antarctic continent split up about 40 to 60 million years ago giving way to the Gondwana landmass.
Scientists indicate that the pin head sized creatures existed during this time and in isolation.
Back in the day, the thick lid of Antarctic ice could stretch for about 2000 kilometers(1,200 miles). The ice sheet killed pretty much anything as it moved along.
The current data points that the ice sheet was complex to understand and it also left patches of ice free zones.
It is believed that the tiny creatures existed in these ice free zones, which contradicts the popular theory that ice wiped out all living creatures.
Dominic Hodgson of the British Antarctic Survey agrees,
This data suggests that the ice sheet is much more complex and that ice-free areas remained.
Another aspect of Antarctic ice that the study explored, was the the end of ice age. The latest research proved the fact that there are other causes besides that rise in CO2 levels, which led to the extinction of Antarctica’s tiny home grown species.
This seems to be a pretty important study that rejects all the previous claims. In conclusion, Co2 is not the beginning and end of climate change.
Image Credits:Climateprogress
