Wednesday, December 22, 2010

[Geology2] Mummified Forest Found on Treeless Arctic Island

Mummified Forest Found on Treeless Arctic Island

An ancient mummified forest, complete with well-preserved logs, leaves,
and seedpods, has been discovered deep in the Canadian Arctic,
scientists say. The dry, frigid site is now surrounded by glaciers and
is completely treeless, except for a few bonsai-size dwarf trees.

The forest was discovered recently by a research team who'd heard a
surprising story from rangers in Quttinirpaaq National Park. The park is
located
on Ellesmere Island, one of the world's northernmost landmasses.

The rangers had come across wood scattered on the ground from much
larger
trees than the few dwarfs currently in the area, including logs that
were
several feet long. "Walking through the area, they're everywhere," said
Joel
Barker, an environmental scientist at Ohio State University who's
leading
a study of the mummified forest. "You'd have trouble not tripping over
them."

Read more:
http://ow.ly/3syqz

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