300 million year old forest found in Mongolia

[Egilbe]

http://gizmodo.com/5886774/extraordi...nese-coal-mine

American and Chinese scientists are flabbergasted after discovering a giant 298-million-year-old forest buried intact under a coal mine near Wuda, in Inner Mongolia, China.

They are calling it the Pompeii of the Permian period because, like the ancient Roman city, it was covered and preserved by volcanic ash.

Like Pompeii, this swamp forest is so perfectly maintained that scientists know where every plant originally was. This has allowed them to map it and to create the images above. This extraordinary finding "is like Pompeii", according to University of Pennsylvania paleobotanist Hermann Pfefferkorn, who characterized it as "a time capsule."

comments underneath about creationists are pretty comical

[strskatr05]

Lol at the comments of that story with everybody arguing over God and creationism.

Awesome find though. I want to see real pictures of it.

[TheDarkEnergist]

Wow. I'm completely in awe.

I can't wait to see pictures!

[bluerabbit0886]

"Fossils were placed in the ground by God to test Christians' faith in him."

Quotation of a girl I used to know in college.

[J-Tim]

Wow! I wonder how long before they start finding well-preserved animals!

[Mr. Roloff]

Time for Chinese to get revenge on those damn Mongorians!

[C4 A6]

I lol'd hard at the debate below.

[Turbio!]

Wow. This is GIGANTIC for a couple of different fields. I know some paleoecologists who are probably blacking out right now. The fact that they can narrow down spatial positions is just insanely wonderful, because that allows you to get a really good, detailed look at not just the organisms, but their relationships on the landscape. Geeking out so hard right now...

[peoples_car]

Wow. Geeking out so hard right now...

We know

[J-Tim]

Wow. This is GIGANTIC for a couple of different fields. I know some paleoecologists who are probably blacking out right now. The fact that they can narrow down spatial positions is just insanely wonderful, because that allows you to get a really good, detailed look at not just the organisms, but their relationships on the landscape. Geeking out so hard right now...

Exactly. This so far is the biggest discovery of 21st Century so far.
I predict it'll take them at least 20 to 30 years to completely excavate everything that is buried under that ash.

[rsj0714]

Wow. This is GIGANTIC for a couple of different fields. I know some paleoecologists who are probably blacking out right now. The fact that they can narrow down spatial positions is just insanely wonderful, because that allows you to get a really good, detailed look at not just the organisms, but their relationships on the landscape. Geeking out so hard right now...

[Turbio!]

Exactly. This so far is the biggest discovery of 21st Century so far.
I predict it'll take them at least 20 to 30 years to completely excavate everything that is buried under that ash.

Yeah. Comparing it to Pompeii might not actually be strong enough. I could be the discovery of the century for paleontology. It's easily as big as anything discovered in the 20th.

[Turbio!]

We know

You shut your whore mouths when Turbio is geeking.

[J-Tim]

Yeah. Comparing it to Pompeii might not actually be strong enough.

Do you have any more info on this discovery, outside of Gizmodo ?

[peoples_car]

Maybe that forest was the Florida of Pangea.
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(Turbio head explode)

[Turbio!]

Do you have any more info on this discovery, outside of Gizmodo ?

Not yet, but I'm trying to get the PNAS article.

[Turbio!]

Maybe that forest was the Florida of Pangea.
.
.
.
.
(Turbio head explode)

Swampy? Moist? Subtropical?

BOOMF

[.LSinLV.]

this made me

"Christianity: the unblemished hallmark of peace, love and kindness throughout the ages."

[J-Tim]

Maybe that forest was the Florida of Pangea.
.
.
.
.
(Turbio head explode)

Not enough old people for that.

[Turbio!]

Not enough old people for that.

But plenty of large, wrinkly, lumbering creatures that are cold all the time.

[J-Tim]

But plenty of large, wrinkly, lumbering creatures that are cold all the time.

I think you are being unfair to dinosaurs as those were warm blooded.

[nemo1ner]

Dig it up and log aaaaalllll the trees!!!!!

[peoples_car]

"Christianity: the unblemished hallmark of peace, love and kindness throughout the ages."

That was my favorite too

[barry2952]

this made me

"Christianity: the unblemished hallmark of peace, love and kindness throughout the ages."

[Robstr]

[rsj0714]

Whatever happened to those Russian dudes digging in the ice?

[TheDarkEnergist]

Whatever happened to those Russian dudes digging in the ice?

Last I heard they packed up and left for the winter season. They'll be back when that spot has "summer" and start gathering samples.

[Time for a GTI]

[ATL_Av8r]

Between Antarctica and now this we're really making it easy for pre-historic bacteria to wipe us all out by December 21st.

[mavric_ac]

I agree with many of the posters on Gimodo tha5t is most likely a hoax that will clearly be dismissed due to the fact that the earth is only and Can only be 6000 years old.

[woofster]

The writer of the article is obviously forgetting rule #1.

[Mk1Racer]

Wow. I'm completely in awe.

I can't wait to see pictures!

This.

[bluerabbit0886]

The writer of the article is obviously forgetting rule #1.

Tits or gtfo?

[Merc-MarkO]

Wow. This is GIGANTIC for a couple of different fields. I know some paleoecologists who are probably blacking out right now. The fact that they can narrow down spatial positions is just insanely wonderful, because that allows you to get a really good, detailed look at not just the organisms, but their relationships on the landscape. Geeking out so hard right now...

You couldn't just say "that's cool" or something, no ?

[Turbio!]

You couldn't just say "that's cool" or something, no ?

Of course not. I was geeking. I am incapable of slowing my roll while geeking.