When we looked into northern Canada, where the oldest rocks were found, we found that this area is permafrost. Permafrost is soil or ground that has been frozen for more than two years, and in some places it can be hundreds of meters thick. It is said that 20% of the Northern Hemisphere is permafrost, and it is more widespread than we thought. Apparently, the areas near the summits of Mt. Fuji and Mt. Tate in Japan are also permafrost.
https://j-arcnet.arc.hokudai.ac.jp/public_lecture/lecture_1_2
The long frozen state may have preserved the rocks and crust as they were. The frozen soil, covered with ice, seems to have preserved the remains of various creatures other than rocks, including dogs and wolves from about 20,000 to 50,000 years ago, rhinos, extinct species of horses and lions, and mammoths from about 1 million years ago. The scale of the mammoth is amazing. Furthermore, DNA from about 2 million years ago has been found.
https://www.natureasia.com/ja-jp/ndigest/v18/n5/
https://www.gizmodo.jp/2022/12/oldest-dna-2-million-years-greenland-ecosystem.html
It seems that unknown ancient viruses and microorganisms have also been found in the permafrost, and some of them have been successfully revived. It seems that they were in a dormant state called cryptobiosis when they were trapped in ice and deprived of oxygen, but they were revived when they were given water. It’s like cold sleep.
https://www.cnn.co.jp/fringe/35207168.html
Taking advantage of the high storage capacity of permafrost, a project is underway to preserve about 850,000 seeds of plants from around the world, including their original species and wild species, on the permafrost islands of Svalbard. It is called the Seed Ark. It is a grand project.
https://wired.jp/2017/03/02/the-ark
And apparently the power of lightning in permafrost is incredible. Normally, lightning flows through the ground, which is a conductor, but the permafrost is frozen and does not conduct electricity, so a huge amount of current flows through the ground.
Permafrost also seems to hold large amounts of methane and mercury. Mercury seems to gather in the Arctic due to the action of the atmosphere and ocean, and high concentrations of mercury are said to be lying dormant there. The power of ice is amazing.
https://natgeo.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/18/020800059
I looked up permafrost, and it seems like a huge area, both in terms of the age of the traces and the amount of material it holds. In addition to reflecting sunlight, permafrost must have many other functions. Permafrost is amazing. The Earth’s climate is amazing.
