28 May 2013

Mosses sprout after 400 years under ice

10:26 pm on 28 May 2013

Plants that were frozen 400 years ago during the Little Ice Age have been observed sprouting new growth.

Scientists discovered the seemingly-dead mosses in the Canadian Arctic, where glaciers have retreated in recent years as a result of climate change.

They have since flourished under laboratory conditions.

The scientists from the University of Alberta say this back-from-the-dead trick has implications for how ecosystems recover from Earth's cyclical periods of ice coverage.