As Earth faces unprecedented climate change, a look into the planet’s deep past may provide vital insights into what may lie ahead.
As Earth faces unprecedented climate change, a look into the planet’s deep past may provide vital insights into what may lie ahead. But knowledge of the natural world millions of years ago is fragmented.
A 15-year study of a site in Bolivia by a joint U.S.-Bolivia team has provided a comprehensive view of an ancient ecosystem when Earth was much warmer than it is today. The researchers’ findings were published online Nov. 1 by the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
Located in the Andes Mountains of southern Bolivia, the site, known as the Quebrada Honda Basin — or QHB — was deposited 13 million years ago during the Miocene Epoch, when Earth’s climate was rebounding from a prior period of warming. Globally, temperatures were 3-4 degrees Celsius warmer than today, and mammal biodiversity was increasing markedly.
Read More: University of Washington
