Geology, October 2009

Palynomorphs from a Sediment Core Reveal a Sudden Remarkably Warm Antarctica During the Middle Miocene

On the cover: The ANDRILL (ANtarctic geological DRILLing) Program’s drilling system successfully recovered more than 1100 meters of rock core (with >98% recovery) from a floating ice platform during the International Polar Year. Palynomorphs recovered from the AND-2A drillcore in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, provide evidence for terrestrial vegetation and marine algal blooms, revealing a stage in Antarctica’s climate evolution during the Mid- Miocene Climatic Optimum.

Art by Angie Fox, University of Nebraska State Museum; educational resources funded by the National Science Foundation; www.andrill.org/fl exhibit. Cover design by Heather L. Sutphin.

Sophie Warny, Rosemary A. Askin, Michael J. Hannah, Barbara A.R. Mohr, J. Ian Raine, David M. Harwood, Fabio Florindo, and the SMS Science Team. October 2009. Palynomorphs from a sediment core reveal a sudden remarkably warm Antarctica during the middle Miocene. Geology 37(10), p. 955-958.

David Harwood is Stout Chair of Stratigraphy in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences. Angie Fox is scientific illustrator for the University of Nebraska State Museum.

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