Glacier Science Discoveries: Ancient Forest Emerges from Alaskan Glacier, Iron Age Horse in Norway
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An ancient forest was discovered beneath a melting glacier in Alaska by scientists who believed it was more than 1,000 years old.
Parts of the ancient forest can be seen underneath the thawing Mendenhall Glacier in the southern part of Alaska, United States. Some of the old trees were still standing in their original position complete with bark and roots.
Cathy Connor, a professor at the University of Alaska Southeast's Geology department, said the discovery of the ancient forest was exciting since most of the trees were preserved. Scientists can see the bark of the tree and deter
glacier, the ancient forest with trees intact will allow researchers to study more about the old flora and fauna.
Initial findings suggest that the trees are hemlock or spruce. Further analysis is still being done as scientists believe that the trees were protected from the ice because of the tomb of gravel. The emerging ancient forest from beneath the glacier has raised concerns among locals. Alaskan residents were worried about rising sea levels and dwindling freshwater sources.
Meanwhile, global warming continues to melt glaciers and ice sheets around the world with the rising number of discoveries made. Aside from the ancient forest, one of the recent finds is the remains of a horse believed to be from the Iron Age was found in Norway's mountains.
According to reports, this was the first time that an Iron Age animal has been found on elevated ground. Scientists also believe the horse had a broken leg with horseshoes about 800 to 900 years old. The discovery shows that people in the Iron Age may have used horses in mountains.
Despite the latest reports that scientists have made a mistake in saying that the earth's temperatures are rising at an increasing speed, they are still convinced that the Earth's climate is warming. However, world leaders continue to struggle in developing measures to address climate change because the pace has slowed down unexpectedly.
The new data has led the United Nations to reduce predictions regarding the pace of global warming by 2100, according to Bloomberg reports which has acquired documents prior to its official publication on Sept 27.
