90 million years ago, Antarctica had a temperate forest just 900 kilometers from the South Pole despite months of darkness. 90 million years later, scientists found its roots, pollen and spores preserved in seafloor sediment beneath today's frozen continent

Ancient West Antarctica hosted a temperate rainforest approximately ninety million years ago. Fossil roots and pollen indicate dense vegetation grew near the South Pole. This forest experienced months of darkness annually, unlike modern rainforests. Scientists reconstructed a warm climate with high carbon dioxide levels.