In a remarkable discovery, scientists have unearthed a mysterious long-lost world that reportedly disappeared from Earth by a volcanic eruption approximately 22 million years ago.
The rediscovery took place in the Panama Canal, where researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute stumbled upon a lost forest on Barro Colorado Island, revealing that it harbours a species now absent from our planet.
The vast mangrove forest at Barro Colorado Island, a peculiar find by the scientific team, offers a glimpse into a bygone era. This discovery will take you back to the Miocene Epoch, around 23 million years ago, when the South American and Caribbean plates collided, shaping the topography of present-day Panama and Central America.
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Following this geological collision, a gradual transformation occurred, leading from a mound to a hill, and eventually giving rise to an island in the vast oceanic expanse — Barro Colorado Island.
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Its periphery is dotted with towering trees, reaching impressive heights of up to 130 ft, forming a lush forest.
Examinations of sedimentary samples from the island proved instrumental for the scientists. They found out that the area provided an ideal habitat for an ancient species of mangroves, excluding the presence of other tree varieties.
The unique ecological system was the reason behind the forest’s origin in regions where fresh and marine water intermingled. Notably, during the Miocene Epoch, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration soared significantly higher than contemporary levels, estimated to be at least 500 ppmv (parts per million by volume), in contrast to today’s approximately 400 ppmv. This heightened concentration facilitated the growth of these ancient mangroves to towering dimensions unparalleled by their present-day counterparts.
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The team, delving into the scientific intricacies of their discovery, unearthed 121 preserved pieces of wood in a Barro Colorado Island stream. They christened this ancient mangrove species Sonneratioxylon barrocoloradoensis. The genus, Sonneratioxylon, pays homage to the existing group of species, while the latter part of the name acknowledges the island of its origin. Interestingly, although this mangrove species has distant relatives in contemporary Southeast Asia, the lack of other tree fossils near the island suggests the challenges other species faced in surviving there.
Fossil evidence has offered an explanation of the mangrove forest’s disappearance, pointing to a volcanic eruption as the reason behind its extinction. This eruption triggered a ‘lahar,’ an Indonesian term referring to an aggressive flow of water, mud, rocks, and ash. Lahars, akin to a swift and expansive blanket of wet concrete, have a remarkable ability to cover large areas almost instantaneously.
Their silica-rich waters, coupled with rapid flow, played a pivotal role in preserving fossils. The concrete-like blanket prevented decomposition, allowing the waters to seep into the tissues of living organisms and leaving plants and animals with no opportunity to rot.
This rediscovered ancient world at Barro Colorado Island not only offers a glimpse into a prehistoric ecosystem, but also explains how the interplay of geological forces and catastrophic events have shaped Earth’s history.