Electroverse@Electroversenet
Retreating ice at Alaska's Mendenhall Glacier is exposing ancient tree stumps.
Carbon dating places the stumps at around 1,000 to 2,000 years old. Forests once grew where ice now sits.
Glaciers have been gradually pulling back since the end of the Little Ice Age, since the 1800s.
As they recede, they're exposing land that was previously ice-free as recently as 1,000 years ago (when CO2 levels were far lower than they are today).
We see this not only in Alaska, but across the Arctic.
Retreating ice is uncovering soils, wood, and organic material. In Greenland, buried soils, plant remains, and insects have also been found beneath the ice.
These are direct physical records of far warmer temperatures in the recent past.
Warmth brings vegetation and biodiversity.
Cold brings hardship and advancing ice sheets.
It is obvious which conditions life prefers.