Researchers Regenerate 400-Year-Old Frozen Plants

Several readers sent word of a group of University of Alberta researchers, who were exploring the edge of the Teardrop Glacier in northern Canada when they noticed a 'greenish tint' coming out from underneath the glacier. It turned out to be a collection of bryophytes, which likely flourished there the last time the land in that area was exposed to sunlight before the Little Ice Age. They collected samples of plants estimated to be 400 years old, and the researchers were able to get them to sprout new growths in the lab (abstract). "The glaciers in the region have been receding at rates that have sharply accelerated since 2004, at about 3-4m per year. ... Bryophytes are different from the land plants that we know best, in that they do not have vascular tissue that helps pump fluids around different parts of the organism. They can survive being completely desiccated in long Arctic winters, returning to growth in warmer times, but Dr La Farge was surprised by an emergence of bryophytes that had been buried under ice for so long. 'When we looked at them in detail and brought them to the lab, I could see some of the stems actually had new growth of green lateral branches, and that said to me that these guys are regenerating in the field, and that blew my mind.'"

Comments

Re:Global Warming is good for something.

[Jagasian]

You know enough to be dangerous. Yes biodiversity was higher in the distance past when the Earth was warmer, but even more telling is what happened in the distant past when the Earth warmed at a very fast rate. The Permian–Triassic extinction was likely caused by an approximately 10 degree warming event that took place over tens of thousands of years. That lead to the extinction of almost all life on Earth. The current warming trend that the Earth is in is much faster than the trend associated with the Permian-Triassic extinction, and the obvious concern should be that this will lead to an even larger extinction event than the Permian-Triassic extinction. Plants can only migrate at a certain rate. Similarly for animals. Most won't be able to adapt, causing ecosystem failures. Maybe 99.9% of life will go extinct, who knows. Let's just dive right in!

Random fact: You can easily spot the Permian-Triassic sediment deposits because there are two layers: (i) the Permian layer is loaded with fossils, and (ii) the next layer has only sand stone. Why? When almost all of the plants and animals die, all that is left is a giant dust bowl.