Researchers stunned after making 6,000-year-old discovery underneath Rocky Mountain ice: 'We were really surprised'

As the climate warms, melting snow and ice are revealing how Earth looked and what went on in the not-too-distant past. A group of scientists made one such discovery that dates to nearly 6,000 years ago.

What's happening?

Researchers from Montana State University, the U.S. Geological Survey, and other institutions found about 30 trees 180 meters above the current treeline in Wyoming's Rocky Mountains, CBC Radio reported. The whitebark pines were discovered on the Beartooth Plateau, and the findings were detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"We were really surprised to find a forest was emerging from the margins of the ice. … It was amazing," Cathy Whitlock told As It Happens.

Dating methods showed the "tall-standing" trees, about 10 inches around, were 5,440-5,950 years old. They were killed by a growing ice patch as the climate cooled.

"As a scientist, I'm thrilled because it's a window on the past. It tells us what this high-elevation environment was like 6,000 years ago," Whitlock told the CBC. "... But as a person who worries about the future and climate change and what these alpine areas will look like for my grandchildren, it makes me really sad. These ice patches are melting, and they probably won't be there in a few more decades."

Why is this important?

The concern is that such processes, which have taken thousands of years, are only taking decades today. Whitlock said the environment is already warmer now than it was when the trees began to grow. The rising global temperature — driven by humans' burning of dirty fuels for energy — is melting ice, expanding seas, and causing increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather.

Whitlock said the high elevation of the area makes it susceptible to the effects of the changing climate. It won't take much warming to turn tundra into forest, and the treeline far below will likely creep past where these ancient trees once stood — if fire or drought don't intervene.

There will be less snow, snowpack will melt, and a valuable source of water will be gone, as the Rockies are home to important headwaters. This is already happening, and if it continues, it will only make the West drier than it already is.

What's being done about the changing climate?

The toxic, polluting gases that are a byproduct of dirty energy envelop Earth like a blanket, trapping heat and harming our health directly via asthma, heart problems, cancer and more as well as indirectly by heatstroke, kidney injuries, death, and more.

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This kind of research shows what can change if the climate gets cooler or warmer. To create a healthier, safer future, we can invest in clean energy projects such as solar panels or community solar, make ecosystems more resilient by replacing grass with natural ground cover, and divest from single-use plastics.

If none of these things are up your alley, check out TCD's guide to a cooler future, which provides countless options.

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