According to a new study, the Arctic region, which is very sensitive to even the slightest carbon dioxide fluctuation, was warmer than it is today, about 2 to 3.5 million years ago.
There have been countless studies reporting the drastic meltdown and warmer climates of the Arctic region, which is posing to be a major threat to the planet. A new study reveals that the region , which is very sensitive to even the slightest fluctuation in the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, was warmer than it is today. During a period about 2 to 3.5 million years ago the Artic was very warm.
Researchers found the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at that time was comparable to the level it is today.
"One of our major findings is that the Arctic was very warm in the middle Pliocene and Early Pleistocene-roughly 3.6 to 2.2 million years ago-when others have suggested atmospheric carbon dioxide was not much higher than levels we see today," Julie Brigham-Grette, of the University of Massachusetts Amherst said.
According to the researchers of the study, 2 to 3.5 million years ago, the climate in the Arctic was so warm that it was capable of being home to a full forest.
"This could tell us where we are going in the near future," Brigham-Grette said. "In other words, the Earth system response to small changes in carbon dioxide is bigger than suggested by earlier climate models."
