An oasis isn’t just a place where Bugs Bunny finds water in the Sahara Desert.
An oasis can also be in the coldest region of planet Earth.
From the University of Plymouth (UK):
“An oasis in the hostile Arctic Ocean sustained marine life and ocean circulation during the last Ice Age, according to a new study. In the research, published in Nature Communications, scientists from Norway and the UK showed that 20,000 years ago, winter Arctic sea ice covered more than twice the area that it does today. However, there was a small ice-free ‘polynya’ between the frozen continents and the open ocean where microscopic marine life prevailed, which would have provided otherwise unavailable food for fish and mammals. . . the polynya was sustained for at least 5,000 years, when the surroundings were largely covered by ice, and global ocean circulation was at a minimum. During a subsequent period of abrupt climate change around 17,500 years ago, cold freshwater from the melting ice caps caused the entire northern oceans to be covered by thick sea ice and the polynya disappeared.”
“Polar researchers refer to a large ice-free area in otherwise frozen seas with the Russian word polynya. In the Arctic and Antarctic, polynyas occur regularly, but typically in coastal regions.” – Phys.org
If Yosemite Sam wants to visit a polar oasis, then he can leave his camel at home.
If Bugs Bunny wants to visit a polar oasis, then perhaps he should take that left turn at Albuquerque.
Featured Image Source: Diego Delso, delso.photo, License CC-BY-SA
The “Wanted” posters say the following about David: “Wanted: A refugee from planet Melmac masquerading as a human. Loves cats. If seen, contact the Alien Task Force.”