Meanwhile, other researchers study a northern climate pattern called the Arctic Oscillation. It could play a role in Arctic warming. Speaking of global change, back south again we find the linkages of life. The bones were found in 1990-91 eroding from the heights of a mountain that protrudes through the ice sheet. Those icy conditions are about as far as one can get from the creature's own habitat of about 200 million years ago.
Fish illustrate another polar connection.
Cooling events at both poles have driven convergent evolution of antifreeze in widely separated fish. The poles are living laboratories for the study of evolution. Even at the South Pole, there are hints of life in what was long dismissed as an icy wasteland. Researchers are on the trail of bacteria that could have adapted to the extreme drought and cold and strong ultraviolet radiation of Antarctica. This work is still underway, and we're looking forward to learning more.