Upon furhter review it seems that the PETM was actually REALLY good for the planet. The extra heat (6 degrees C) and moisture content of the air seems to have been really beneficial to plants worldwide with the concurrent increase in fauna.
"Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama examined pollen trapped in rocks in Colombia and Venezuela before, during and after the PETM.
They found that the amount of plant-life in the forests increased rapidly during the warming event with new plant species evolving much more quickly than the older species became extinct."
The researchers believe the hotter, wetter conditions - and additional carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - boosted plant-life and increased biodiversity.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...rainforests-global-warming.html#ixzz156mShQPi
Environmentalists 'exaggerated' threat to tropical rainforests from global warming | Mail Online
"Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama examined pollen trapped in rocks in Colombia and Venezuela before, during and after the PETM.
They found that the amount of plant-life in the forests increased rapidly during the warming event with new plant species evolving much more quickly than the older species became extinct."
The researchers believe the hotter, wetter conditions - and additional carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - boosted plant-life and increased biodiversity.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...rainforests-global-warming.html#ixzz156mShQPi
Environmentalists 'exaggerated' threat to tropical rainforests from global warming | Mail Online
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