Tortoises and Alligators Once Thrived in the Arctic, New Study Shows
25.08.2010 - Flora & Fauna, Arctic
The results of a new study conducted on Ellesmere Island well above the Arctic Circle, suggest that ancient alligators and giant tortoises were able to thrive on the island despite six months of darkness per year. The new study, which was published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, looked at temperatures during the early Eocene period (52 to 53 million years ago). The results could hold some implications for the impacts of future climate change in the face of rising Arctic temperatures.
Using a combination of oxygen isotopes gathered from mammals’ fossil bone and tooth enamel on Ellesmere Island, the team was able to make estimates of the average annual Eocene temperatures for the site. The average temperatures, according to the team, were from 19 to 20°C during the warmest months to 0 to 3.5°C for the coldest. Basing themselves on the most “comprehensive data set for the early Eocene High Arctic”, the researchers found that during the Eocene, Ellesmere Island must have hosted giant tortoises, aquatic turtles, large snakes and similar fauna.
While Ellesmere Island is one of the coldest and driest environments on Earth today, the researchers call the results "a deep time analogue" for the current rapidly warming Arctic region. The new study gives into the possible long-term impacts of global warming on Arctic plants and animals as temperatures there have been rising twice as fast as anywhere else on Earth.
