Ancient North Sea Forest Found, Rewriting Doggerland’s Ice Age Timeline
A sedimentary ancient DNA study of Doggerland (the area now submerged under the North Sea) finds forests—oak, elm, and hazel—were present more than 16,000 years ago, earlier than previously thought, with DNA from Pterocarya suggesting some trees survived in isolated pockets for long periods and lime trees appearing earlier as well. Analyzing 252 samples from 41 marine cores reveals microrefugia and environmental shifts across the end of the last Ice Age, implying Doggerland could have supported early Mesolithic communities before it was submerged.