The Earth’s Cenozoic Era began 66 million years ago with a bang—and with the last mass extinction event on Earth until now. The meteorite impact that marked the end of the Cretaceous Period and the beginning of the Cenozoic Era was followed by a number of dramatic global events, including a heat pulse 56 million years ago. Only after this remarkable boundary did mammals develop the diversity that we know today. The climate had cooled continuously over a long period of time. During this time the environmental conditions, ocean temperatures, ocean circulation, and wind patterns also changed fundamentally. In order to better understand each of these climatic events and the overall development of climate, it is necessary to have records of the Earth’s climate that are as complete and high-resolving as possible. It is especially important that these records include locations that play a key role in understanding the environmental conditions, ocean circulation and wind patterns at higher latitudes.
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Source: Phys.org