An oasis in the hostile Arctic Ocean sustained marine life and ocean circulation during the last Ice Age, according to a new study.
An oasis in the hostile Arctic Ocean sustained marine life and ocean circulation during the last Ice Age, according to a new study.
In the research, published in Nature Communications, scientists from Norway and the UK showed that 20,000 years ago, winter Arctic sea ice covered more than twice the area that it does today.
However, there was a small ice-free ‘polynya’ between the frozen continents and the open ocean where microscopic marine life prevailed, which would have provided otherwise unavailable food for fish and mammals.
The study was led by Geological Survey of Norway (NGU), the Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate at The Arctic University of Norway, and the Centre for Chemical Sciences at the University of Plymouth.
Read more at University of Plymouth
Image: Sea ice and open water off the coast of Svalbard. (Credit: Matthias Forwick)
