Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland.

Eske Willerslev; Enrico Cappellini; Wouter Krogh Boomsma; Rasmus Nielsen; Martin Bay Hebsgaard; Tina Blumensaadt Brand; Michael Hofreiter; Michael Bunce; Hendrik N. Poinar; Dorthe Dahl-Jensen; Sigfus Johann Johnsen; Jørgen Peder Steffensen; Ole Bennike; Jean-Luc Schwenninger; Roger Nathan; Simon Armitage; Cees-Jan de Hoog; Vasily Alfimov; Marcus Christl; Juerg Beer; Raimund Muscheler; Joel Barker; Martin Sharp; Kirsty E. H. Penkman; James Haile; Pierre Taberlet; M. Thomas. P. Gilbert; Antonella Casoli; Elisa Campani; Matthew J. Collins

doi:10.1126/science.1141758

Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland.

Eske Willerslev, Enrico Cappellini, Wouter Krogh Boomsma, Rasmus Nielsen, Martin Bay Hebsgaard, Tina Blumensaadt Brand, Michael Hofreiter, Michael Bunce, Hendrik N. Poinar, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Sigfus Johann Johnsen, Jørgen Peder Steffensen, Ole Bennike, Jean-Luc Schwenninger, Roger Nathan, Simon Armitage, Cees-Jan de Hoog, Vasily Alfimov, Marcus Christl, Juerg BeerRaimund Muscheler, Joel Barker, Martin Sharp, Kirsty E. H. Penkman, James Haile, Pierre Taberlet, M. Thomas. P. Gilbert, Antonella Casoli, Elisa Campani, Matthew J. Collins

290 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Journal	Science
Volume	317
Issue number	5834
Pages (from-to)	111-114
Number of pages	4
ISSN	0036-8075
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141758
Publication status	Published - 2007

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Willerslev, E., Cappellini, E., Boomsma, W. K., Nielsen, R., Hebsgaard, M. B., Brand, T. B., Hofreiter, M., Bunce, M., Poinar, H. N., Dahl-Jensen, D., Johnsen, S. J., Steffensen, J. P., Bennike, O., Schwenninger, J.-L., Nathan, R., Armitage, S., de Hoog, C.-J., Alfimov, V., Christl, M., ... Collins, M. J. (2007). Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland. Science, 317(5834), 111-114. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141758

Willerslev, E , Cappellini, E , Boomsma, WK , Nielsen, R, Hebsgaard, MB, Brand, TB, Hofreiter, M, Bunce, M, Poinar, HN, Dahl-Jensen, D, Johnsen, SJ, Steffensen, JP, Bennike, O, Schwenninger, J-L, Nathan, R, Armitage, S, de Hoog, C-J, Alfimov, V, Christl, M, Beer, J, Muscheler, R, Barker, J, Sharp, M, Penkman, KEH, Haile, J, Taberlet, P, Gilbert, MTP, Casoli, A, Campani, E & Collins, MJ 2007, 'Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland.', Science, vol. 317, no. 5834, pp. 111-114. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141758

@article{ca50ef40149411ddbee902004c4f4f50,

title = "Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland.",

abstract = "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.",

author = "Eske Willerslev and Enrico Cappellini and Boomsma, {Wouter Krogh} and Rasmus Nielsen and Hebsgaard, {Martin Bay} and Brand, {Tina Blumensaadt} and Michael Hofreiter and Michael Bunce and Poinar, {Hendrik N.} and Dorthe Dahl-Jensen and Johnsen, {Sigfus Johann} and Steffensen, {J{\o}rgen Peder} and Ole Bennike and Jean-Luc Schwenninger and Roger Nathan and Simon Armitage and {de Hoog}, Cees-Jan and Vasily Alfimov and Marcus Christl and Juerg Beer and Raimund Muscheler and Joel Barker and Martin Sharp and Penkman, {Kirsty E. H.} and James Haile and Pierre Taberlet and Gilbert, {M. Thomas. P.} and Antonella Casoli and Elisa Campani and Collins, {Matthew J.}",

note = "Keywords: Amino Acids; Animals; Bayes Theorem; Climate; DNA; Ecosystem; Fossils; Geography; Greenland; History, Ancient; Ice Cover; Invertebrates; Plants; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Time; Trees",

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doi = "10.1126/science.1141758",

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T1 - Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland.

AU - Willerslev, Eske

AU - Cappellini, Enrico

AU - Boomsma, Wouter Krogh

AU - Nielsen, Rasmus

AU - Hebsgaard, Martin Bay

AU - Brand, Tina Blumensaadt

AU - Hofreiter, Michael

AU - Bunce, Michael

AU - Poinar, Hendrik N.

AU - Dahl-Jensen, Dorthe

AU - Johnsen, Sigfus Johann

AU - Steffensen, Jørgen Peder

AU - Bennike, Ole

AU - Schwenninger, Jean-Luc

AU - Nathan, Roger

AU - Armitage, Simon

AU - de Hoog, Cees-Jan

AU - Alfimov, Vasily

AU - Christl, Marcus

AU - Beer, Juerg

AU - Muscheler, Raimund

AU - Barker, Joel

AU - Sharp, Martin

AU - Penkman, Kirsty E. H.

AU - Haile, James

AU - Taberlet, Pierre

AU - Gilbert, M. Thomas. P.

AU - Casoli, Antonella

AU - Campani, Elisa

AU - Collins, Matthew J.

N1 - Keywords: Amino Acids; Animals; Bayes Theorem; Climate; DNA; Ecosystem; Fossils; Geography; Greenland; History, Ancient; Ice Cover; Invertebrates; Plants; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Time; Trees

PY - 2007

Y1 - 2007

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

U2 - 10.1126/science.1141758

DO - 10.1126/science.1141758

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 17615355

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 317

SP - 111

EP - 114

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 5834

ER -

Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland.

Abstract

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