The Pliocene, the era in Earth History formerly known as the Pleiocene, is being treated as a potential “analogue” for our Globally Warmed world.
Several strands of Climate Change Science research have been undertaken in recent months, and they are all coming up with dismal results.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is the latest to unleash data on us :-
https://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2372&from=rss_home
“Arctic Could Face Warmer and Ice-Free Conditions : There is increased evidence that the Arctic could face seasonally ice-free conditions and much warmer temperatures in the future. Scientists documented evidence that the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas were too warm to support summer sea ice during the mid-Pliocene warm period (3.3 to 3 million years ago). This period is characterized by warm temperatures similar to those projected for the end of this century, and is used as an analog to understand future conditions…“In looking back 3 million years, we see a very different pattern of heat distribution than today with much warmer waters in the high latitudes,” said USGS scientist Marci Robinson. “The lack of summer sea ice during the mid-Pliocene suggests that the record-setting melting of Arctic sea ice over the past few years could be an early warning of more significant changes to come.”…”
Feeling strangely perturbed ? That would be your internal paradigms spinning.
2 replies on “Arctic Meltdown : Sooner Than We Think”
Mammals emerged during the Eocene when there was no polar ice and much higher atmospheric CO2 concentrations than today.
At the other extreme, Ice Ages have not been good for most animals and especially for those that lack hair or feathers.
Reference please for your claims regarding
1. The Eocene
2. CO2 concentrations.
And no Watts Up With That is not a valid reference source.
At the other other extreme, the Permian Crash was bad for 95% of all species on Earth, and that was the last time that the surface temperature increased by 6c in a matter of a few hundred years.
“The Thermal Maximum provoked a sharp extinction event that distinguishes Eocene fauna from the ecosystems of the Paleocene.” -Wikipedia