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#Mammoth
What Was the Bering Land Bridge”
During the Ice Age, between 36,000 and 11,000 years ago, there was a land bridge that connected Siberia (in Asia) to Alaska (in North America)
This bridge, called the Bering Land Bridge, is now submerged beneath the Bering Strait.
For a long time, scientists thought it looked like a dry, grassy landscape, similar to the steppes of modern-day Siberia and Alaska.
But new research has revealed something different: Instead of a dry land, this land bridge was a wet environment, full of rivers, small lakes and marshy areas, like a large bog!
How Did Scientists Figure This Out”
In 2022, a team of scientists led by geologist Sarah Fowell of the University of Alaska Fairbanks set out on the research vessel Sikuliaq to study the seafloor where the land bridge once stood.
They collected samples of marine sediment to investigate what the Bering Bridge environment was like.
What they found was surprising:
– Evidence of many small lakes and river channels, rather than large lakes as previously thought.
– Sediments containing pollen, small fossils, ancient DNA, and organic matter.
– Pollen and fossils indicated that the area had trees and mosses.
They also found eggs from water fleas, tiny crustaceans that live in freshwater, which confirmed that the area was wet.
What Does This Mean for Animals”
The discovery helps explain why some animals were able to cross the bridge while others were left behind:
1.
Animals that were adapted to the marshy environment, such as birds and bison, were able to cross.
– There is evidence of mammoth DNA in the region.
– Horses migrated from North America to Asia, and bison made the opposite journey.
2.
Other animals had a harder time because of the wet environment.
– Woolly rhinos, short-faced bears, and American camels did not cross the bridge.
The area may also have been used as a “waterway” for species that could swim or that needed water-rich environments to survive.
Why Is This Important”
These findings help scientists understand how species migrated between continents during the Ice Age and how changes in the environment may have helped or hindered these migrations.
According to the researchers, there is still much to study about how the swampy environment influenced the movement of animals and people between Asia and North America.
This research shows us that our planet’s past may be much more diverse and complex than we imagine!
Published in 12/12/2024 12h18
Text adapted by AI (ChatGPT/Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption. Information about DOI, author and institution can be found in the body of the article.
Reference article:
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