How do you figure out how much carbon dioxide was in the atmosphere millions of years ago? In the Jurassic, the fossil forest at Curio Bay in New Zealand was probably growing in higher latitudes than any forest in the Southern Hemisphere today. The reasons for this will be a combination of altered geography (a… Continue reading How Much Carbon Dioxide was in the Atmosphere of New Zealand’s Jurassic Curio Bay Fossil Forest?
Tag: Curio Bay
What latitude did the Jurassic Fossil Forest of Curio Bay grow at?
The Jurassic fossil forest of Curio Bay today lies almost at the southern tip of New Zealand’s South Island. In the Jurassic, you could have walked from Curio Bay to what is now Australia and Antarctica (Dinosaurs may have done just that). We know from Tasman Sea and Southern Ocean sea-floor data that the western… Continue reading What latitude did the Jurassic Fossil Forest of Curio Bay grow at?
Deciduous Conifers in New Zealand’s Jurassic Fossil Forest at Curio Bay
As you pull up in the car park above the fossil forest at Curio Bay (Pole 1999, 2001, 2004, 2009), there is a wonderful patch of living, native forest, just behind. Its conifers, like all New Zealand conifers today, are evergreen. But what of Curio Bay’s forest, back in the Jurassic? The most common type… Continue reading Deciduous Conifers in New Zealand’s Jurassic Fossil Forest at Curio Bay
The Biggest Tree Stump in the Curio Bay Jurassic Forest
Back in the late 1980s I had the pleasure of meeting the English scientist David Bellamy. Bellamy was famous at the time as ‘The Botanic Man’, and he was in New Zealand to film for ‘Moa’s Ark’, a TV series and book about the development of New Zealand’s flora and fauna (including the extinct moa birds)… Continue reading The Biggest Tree Stump in the Curio Bay Jurassic Forest