Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested Southern Greenland
E. Willerslev
(1)
,
E. Cappellini
(2)
,
W. Boomsma
(3)
,
R. Nielsen
(4)
,
M. B. Hebsgaard
(1)
,
T. B. Brand
(1)
,
M. Hofreiter
(5)
,
M. Bunce
(6, 7)
,
H. N. Poinar
(7)
,
D. Dahl-Jensen
(8)
,
S. Johnsen
(8)
,
J. P. Steffensen
(8)
,
O. Bennike
(9)
,
J. L. Schwenninger
(10)
,
R. Nathan
(10)
,
S. Armitage
(11)
,
C. J. de Hoog
(12)
,
V. Alfimov
(13)
,
M. Christl
(13)
,
J. Beer
(14)
,
R. Muscheler
(15)
,
J. Barker
(16)
,
M. Sharp
(16)
,
K. E. H. Penkman
(2)
,
J. Haile
(17)
,
P. Taberlet
(18)
,
M. T. P. Gilbert
(1)
,
A. Casoli
(19)
,
E. Campani
(19)
,
M. J. Collins
(2)
1
Center for Ancient Genetics
2 BioArch - Departments of Archaeology [York]
3 Section of Biostatistics [Copenhagen]
4 Centre for Comparative Genomics
5 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology [Leipzig]
6 Ancient DNA Research Laboratory
7 McMaster Ancient DNA Center [Hamilton, Ontario]
8 Centre for Ice and Climate [Copenhagen]
9 GEUS - Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
10 Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art [Oxford]
11 Department of Geography
12 Department of Earth Sciences [Oxford]
13 Laboratory for Ion Beam Physics
14 EAWAG - Swiss Federal Insitute of Aquatic Science and Technology [Dübendorf]
15 GeoBiosphere Science Center
16 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences [Edmonton]
17 Ancient Biomolecules Centre
18 LECA - Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine
19 Dipartimento di Chimica Generale e Inorganica
2 BioArch - Departments of Archaeology [York]
3 Section of Biostatistics [Copenhagen]
4 Centre for Comparative Genomics
5 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology [Leipzig]
6 Ancient DNA Research Laboratory
7 McMaster Ancient DNA Center [Hamilton, Ontario]
8 Centre for Ice and Climate [Copenhagen]
9 GEUS - Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
10 Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art [Oxford]
11 Department of Geography
12 Department of Earth Sciences [Oxford]
13 Laboratory for Ion Beam Physics
14 EAWAG - Swiss Federal Insitute of Aquatic Science and Technology [Dübendorf]
15 GeoBiosphere Science Center
16 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences [Edmonton]
17 Ancient Biomolecules Centre
18 LECA - Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine
19 Dipartimento di Chimica Generale e Inorganica
Résumé
It is difficult to obtain fossil data from the 10% of Earth's terrestrial surface that is covered by thick glaciers and ice sheets, and hence, knowledge of the paleoenvironments of these regions has remained limited. We show that DNA and amino acids from buried organisms can be recovered from the basal sections of deep ice cores, enabling reconstructions of past flora and fauna. We show that high-altitude southern Greenland, currently lying below more than 2 kilometers of ice, was inhabited by a diverse array of conifer trees and insects within the past million years. The results provide direct evidence in support of a forested southern Greenland and suggest that many deep ice cores may contain genetic records of paleoenvironments in their basal sections.