Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Willerslev E
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2694912 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland.
Willerslev Eske E Cappellini Enrico E Boomsma Wouter W Nielsen Rasmus R Hebsgaard Martin B MB Brand Tina B TB Hofreiter Michael M Bunce Michael M Poinar Hendrik N HN Dahl-Jensen Dorthe D Johnsen Sigfus S Steffensen Jørgen Peder JP Bennike Ole O Schwenninger Jean-Luc JL Nathan Roger R Armitage Simon S de Hoog Cees-Jan CJ Alfimov Vasily V Christl Marcus M Beer Juerg J Muscheler Raimund R Barker Joel J Sharp Martin M Penkman Kirsty E H KE Haile James J Taberlet Pierre P Gilbert M Thomas P MT Casoli Antonella A Campani Elisa E Collins Matthew J MJ
Science (New York, N.Y.) 20070701 5834
It is difficult to obtain fossil data from the 10% of Earth's terrestrial surface that is covered by thick glaciers and ice sheets, and hence, knowledge of the paleoenvironments of these regions has remained limited. We show that DNA and amino acids from buried organisms can be recovered from the basal sections of deep ice cores, enabling reconstructions of past flora and fauna. We show that high-altitude southern Greenland, currently lying below more than 2 kilometers of ice, was inhabited by a ...[more]
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