Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested Southern Greenland

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Willerslev, E., Cappellini, E., Boomsma, W., Nielsen, R., Hebsgaard, M. B., Brand, T. B., Hofreiter, M., Bunce, M., Poinar, H. N., Dahl-Jensen, D., Johnsen, S., Steffensen, J. P., Bennike, O., Schwenninger, J. L., Nathan, R., Armitage, S., De Hoog, C. J., Alfimov, V., Christl, M., Beer, J., Muscheler, R., Barker, J., Sharp, M., Penkman, K. E. H., Haile, J., Taberlet, P., Gilbert, M. T. P., Casoli, A., Campani, E., Collins, M. J.
• Other Authors: Center for Ancient Genetics, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU), Departments of Archaeology York (BioArch), University of York York, UK, Section of Biostatistics Copenhagen, Department of Public Health Copenhagen, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU), Centre for Comparative Genomics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Ancient DNA Research Laboratory, Murdoch University, McMaster Ancient DNA Center, McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario, Centre for Ice and Climate Copenhagen, Niels Bohr Institute Copenhagen (NBI), Faculty of Science Copenhagen, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-Faculty of Science Copenhagen, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art Oxford, University of Oxford Oxford, Department of Geography, University College of London London (UCL), Department of Earth Sciences Oxford, Laboratory for Ion Beam Physics, Institute for Particle Physics, Swiss Federal Insitute of Aquatic Science and Technology Dübendorf (EAWAG), GeoBiosphere Science Center, Lund University Lund, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Edmonton, University of Alberta, Ancient Biomolecules Centre, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry ), Dipartimento di Chimica Generale e Inorganica, University of Parma = Università degli studi di Parma Parme, Italie
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2007
• Subjects: ELLESMERE ISLAND; DNA; GLACIER; CLIMATE; POLLEN; INSTABILITY; CHRONOLOGY; SEDIMENTS; HOLOCENE; RECORD; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDV.BID]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity; [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology; environment; Ellesmere Island; Greenland; glacier
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halsde-00276493; https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141758

Times Cited: 1 International audience It is difficult to obtain fossil data from the 10% of Earth's terrestrial surface that is covered by thick glaciers and ice sheets, and hence, knowledge of the paleoenvironments of these regions has remained limited. We show that DNA and amino acids from buried organisms can be recovered from the basal sections of deep ice cores, enabling reconstructions of past flora and fauna. We show that high-altitude southern Greenland, currently lying below more than 2 kilometers of ice, was inhabited by a diverse array of conifer trees and insects within the past million years. The results provide direct evidence in support of a forested southern Greenland and suggest that many deep ice cores may contain genetic records of paleoenvironments in their basal sections.