Clues to climate in the early Eocene

The diamond hunt in the far north of Canada has yielded surprising results: a coniferous wood in a volcanic rock for over 50 million years.

Fossils found

This rare fossil has helped experts understand the climate in the early Ecocene period, lasting 56 to 34 million years ago. Accordingly this glacial region once had a swampy past.

Logs have been found inside kimberlite rock, a type of sometimes diamond-containing volcanic rock known as a 315-meter Panda circuit at Ekati diamond mine, in the southern part of the northern part of Lanh. Northern Territory of Canada.

According to a report published in the PLoS ONE journal, the Panda containment area at the beginning of the Eocene body was once covered by a hydroponic forest, like today's dark coniferous wood.

A kimberlite eruption that took place about 53.3 million years ago opened up a gap through the Earth's surface, "swallowing" some of these woods, according to University of Alberta research leader Alex Wolfe. .

Because fossils are perfectly preserved, it allows scientists to imagine a clearer picture of the climate in the early Eocene era.