Fossil Palm in Alaska and Ancient Warm Climates

Earth before us in the Smithsonian deep time vaults

Chapter 1

The architecture of deep time

Chapter 2

Surviving the great dyings

Chapter 3

Ancient climates and changing worlds

Chapter 4

The library of 148 million secrets

YOUR GOAL

Master of Earth before us in the Smithsonian deep time vaults

Ch 3 · Ancient climates and changing worlds

During the Eocene epoch, the high Arctic was warm enough to grow lush palm trees.

streetspirit Towering fan palms and early crocodilians frame a calm Arctic freshwater lake.

streetspirit Ancient Climates and Changing Worlds

In the cold of Alaska, they found a fossil palm / Long before we were here, the frozen north was warm

streetspirit Giant woolly mammoths ruled the freezing grasslands of the ice age.

The leaves that breathed ancient air

streetspirit Fossilized leaves reveal historic carbon dioxide levels through their microscopic pores.

Microscopic shells as ancient thermometers

streetspirit Foraminifera fossils reveal millions of years of ocean temperature shifts.

Ancient climates and changing worlds

BETA

streetspirit Sort fossil clues to discover how Earth survived extreme climate shifts before humans existed.

Fun Fact

Giant penguins: Fossil records at the Smithsonian show that 37 million years ago, giant penguins grew up to six feet tall.

Glossary

paleoclimatology (noun)
The scientific study of the climates of past geological periods. Smithsonian curator Scott Wing studied fossilized leaves in Wyoming to reconstruct global warming fifty-six million years ago.

Gossip

Would you prefer living in a super-hot or super-cold Earth?

Quiz

What physical adaptation helped woolly mammoths survive the extreme cold of the Pleistocene ice ages?

streetspirit Fossilized palm trees from Ellesmere Island.

Quiz

During which epoch, starting 56 million years ago, did the Arctic experience a warm, ice-free climate?

streetspirit Microscopic fossil shells reveal ancient ocean temperatures.

Quiz

What microscopic, single-celled organisms with shells are used by scientists to measure ancient ocean temperatures?

streetspirit Paleobotanists reconstruct Earth's ancient atmosphere using fossilized leaves.

Quiz

In what substance are the shells of foraminifera made, which preserves ancient chemical clues?

Quiz

How do plants respond to higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over generations?

Quiz

From which regions does the Smithsonian's woolly mammoth collection primarily originate?

Quiz

Fossils of which plants found on Ellesmere Island prove the Arctic was once subtropical?

Quiz

What microscopic leaf structures do paleobotanists count to estimate ancient atmospheric carbon dioxide levels?