PREVIEW-HALLIDAY-ICE-10-19.mp3. Otherlands: A Journey Through Earth's Extinct Worlds. Thomas Halliday. Continuing his conversation with John Batchelor, Thomas Halliday, author of Otherlands: A Journey Through Earth's Extinct Worlds, explains that planet E

Episode 1,   Oct 05, 01:58 AM

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PREVIEW-HALLIDAY-ICE-10-19.mp3. Otherlands: A Journey Through Earth's Extinct Worlds. Thomas Halliday.

Continuing his conversation with John Batchelor, Thomas Halliday, author of Otherlands: A Journey Through Earth's Extinct Worlds, explains that planet Earth exists in only two environmental states: greenhouse Earth and icehouse Earth. We currently live in an icehouse Earth, defined by the presence of ice at the poles, which is critical for planetary conditions and the evolution of life. The cooling of Antarctica resulted from the opening of the Drake Passage, which enabled the formation of the circumpolar current. Before this event, large parts of Antarctica, including Seymour Island, contained temperate rainforest ecosystems supporting diverse mammal communities and multiple penguin species. The circumpolar current prevented the exchange of warmth with the tropics, causing the continent to cool and glaciers to form and spread.