Palm phytoliths in subarctic Canada imply ice-free winters 48M years ago
7 comments
·March 2, 2025Stratoscope
Popularized summaries:
Study reveals palm trees once thrived in subarctic Canada
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1074307
New study reveals Canada’s subarctic was once a tropical paradise
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/article/new-study-reveals-ca...
indoordin0saur
What would the equator have been like at this time? Too hot for human life?
semi-extrinsic
For some reason, the temperature difference from the poles to the equator was much smaller at that time than it is now. Explaining why is an open challenge known as the equable climate problem.
justinsaccount
Am I the only one that read that as "Palm Pilots" and was every confused about 48M year old PDAs?
TacticalCoder
[dead]
The kimberlite source of these phytoliths and their age makes me question our confidence in their origination from the arctic surface. Is it at all possible this material was cycled through plate tectonics which subducted it from a southern source and eventually ejected far north through volcanic action? I mean, a lot could happen over 48M years...