A Two-Million-Year-Old Insect Fauna from North Greenland Indicating Boreal Conditions at the Plio-Pleistocene Boundary,
Abstract
The Kap Kopenhavn Formation in NE Peary Land, Greenland, is assumed to be 2.0-2.5 Ma old, i.e., from the Plio-Pleistocene transition. Layers of organic detritus contain a wealth of well-preserved remains of land and fresh water organisms, almost all extant species. In striking contrast to the present harsh, high arctic conditions at Kap Kopenhavn, the fossil plants and insects show that immediately prior to the Quaternary glaciations a subarctic climate existed in this northernmost land on earth. A rich forest-tundra bordered the Arctic Ocean, and the plant communities were populated with a diverse, predominantly boreal insect fauna. These discoveries may have significance for the current discussion of the greenhouse effect. What we find imbedded in the sands at Kap Kopenhavn may present a vision of a future climatic development.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADP007343
Entities
People
- J. Bocher
Organizations
- University of Copenhagen