Climate During the Pliocene Period May Help Improve Climate Change Predictions

Researchers are looking back to climate conditions during the Pliocene Period, 4 to 5 million years ago, to develop a more improved model in predicting future climate change.

The climate during the Pliocene period was similar to the climate of modern times. It was cooler, drier and also experienced seasons just as today. The temperature then was around 2-3°C higher than today and sea level was 25 meters higher. Ocean temperature

The warm period during the mid-Pliocene epoch can be considered as a model of future climate today. The heat from the sun, geography and CO2 levels were similar to what it is now.

By studying the climate during the Pliocene period, researchers are hoping to find previously unknown mechanisms that may give insight on how climate reacts to certain conditions.

Fossil of Giant Camel That Lived During the Pliocene Period Found In Canada's High Arctic

Scientists found fossil fragments of what could be an extinct giant camel that lived during the Pliocene period.

The Pliocene epoch is the period of the Earth 5.3 to 5.6 million years ago. This succeeds the Miocene era where open vegetation systems (such as deserts, tundra, and grasslands)start expanding while closed vegetation systems like forests diminish.

The Pliocene era was much cooler than the Miocene era which further contributed to the expansion of open vegetation systems. This change in vegetation was a major factor in the development and spread of long legged grazers that thrive in these places.

The land-bridge between North America and South America also appeared during this period. This allowed the migration of plants and animals into new habitats. The Pliocene era also led to the accumulation of ice at the Earth's poles. This led to the extinction of most species there as well was the advance of glaciers and ice ages of the Late Pliocene and the following Pleistocene.

The Pliocene was followed by the Miocene era which was characterized by the presence of distinctive large land mammals such as (Mammoths, and Mastodons) and birds. The total collection of organisms during the Miocene resembles the ones found today.

It was during the Pliocene where the extinct giant camel found in Canada's High Arctic was found.

This is an illustration of the High Arctic camel on Ellesmere Island during the Pliocene warm period, about three-and-a-half million years ago. The camels lived in a boreal-type forest. The habitat includes larch trees and the depiction is based on records of plant fossils found at nearby fossil deposits.
Credit: Julius T. Csotonyi