The Arctic was warm

International scientists claim that the Arctic has experienced a long period of warmth before it was covered by ice.

>>>Detecting shock under the Arctic ice shelf

Campsite of scientists in the west of Lake El'gygytgyn
at Russia's Chukchi peninsula.Chukchi Peninsula in the Arctic.

Martin Melles, a scientist at the University of Cologne in Germany, and colleagues from Russia and the United States drilled deep beneath the El'gygytgyn ice lake in Russia's Chuckchi peninsula to sample sediment, AFP reported. By analyzing sediment samples, researchers will know the climate changes in the Arctic for 2.8 million years. The analysis shows that the Arctic has experienced several warm climates. During that period, ice did not exist here.

Scientists have long known that the Arctic has experienced many climate cycles. But the Melles study shows that the Arctic temperature background in warm climates is much higher than previously anticipated.

However, the team did not know what caused the warm climate cycles in the Arctic. They come up with a hypothesis whereby the decline in Antarctic ice makes cold water in the northern Pacific Ocean decrease and the amount of warm water on the surface increases. As the amount of warm water in the North Pacific increases, the temperature in the Arctic also escalates.

"Another theory is that the melting of Antarctic ice caused sea levels across the globe to rise. When sea levels rise, warm water flows into the Arctic Ocean, causing temperatures in the Arctic to rise." save say.