Antarctic Ice Caps Formed 33.6 Million Years Back: Researchers Say

The ice caps in Antarctica were formed some 33.6 million years ago during the Oligocene epoch, a new study has found.

The study was led by researchers from the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences (IACT). For the study, researchers collected samples of the ice sediments from different depths in the ice cap.

Before the ice caps were formed at the polar region, the earth was a warm place, with plankton growing in Antarctica. Once the ice caps began forming, only the toughest of the plankton species survived in the region.

Planktons are tiny organisms that include algae, fungi, crustaceans, mollusks, etc. They stay afloat in water since they are non-motile and can't swim against the current. Most of the planktons that we see today are the ones that appeared during the ice cap formation at Antarctica. This ice cap is also associated with the ice pack which disappears during summer and appears during winter.

The information for the study came from the paleoclimatic history preserved in sediment strata in the Antarctic depths. "The fossil record of dinoflagellate cyst communities reflects the substantial reduction and specialization of these species that took place when the ice cap became established and, with it, marked seasonal ice-pack formation and melting began," Carlota Escutia said.

During summer months at Antarctica, the ice-pack melts, which increases the reproduction of the plankton community living in the region. The melting ice frees all the nutrients that were locked inside the ice packs. "This phenomenon influences the dynamics of global primary productivity," said Escutia in a news release.

The study is published in the journal Science.