Scientists Drill into 20,000-Year-Old Underwater Coral Reef

[revhtree]

Scientists Drill into 20,000-Year-Old Underwater Coral Reef

Andrea Mustain
Source: MSNBC
September 7, 2010

A voyage to the outer edges of Australia's Great Barrier Reef has brought back pieces of an ancient, fossilized ancestor to the vast, living ecosystem.

This fossilized coral reef was alive about 20,000 years ago, during the height of the last glacial period, a time when Earth was around 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) cooler than it is now, and the city of Chicago was buried beneath an ice sheet almost 2 miles (3 kilometers) thick.

By studying this ancient coral, scientists are hoping to put together the most accurate picture yet of how sea levels have changed over thousands of years, data that can help inform projections of how sea levels may change in the future.

Read full article here.

 

[ReefDreams]

pretty interesting. Thanks for the link

 

[encieno]

Definitely very interesting... thanks.

 

[BayCorals]

Wow! Great info. If it was to be found, around the great barrier reef would be it.

 

[ddinox64]

What were cavemen doing 20,000 years ago to create global warming and melt all that ice?
I thought they drove cars like Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. Foot powered. Or rode dinosaurs.
Maybe it was the great Kazoo, Gazoo? and his alien spaceship that started it.
Did I just date myself?

 

[stedfast82]

thank's rev

 

[Acezwild]

I love info like this thanks.

 

[DirectAquarium]

Nice read. Hopefully some of the findings can help us understand the coral reefs we have now better