Located just outside Fairbanks, Alaska is a research facility called the permafrost tunnel. This tunnel was originally drilled into the side of a mountain in the 1960s by the US Army. It was dug through a layer of the ground called permafrost.
Permafrost is a layer of the ground that is permanently frozen. One of the amazing things about this is that remains of plants and animals trapped in the permafrost have been preserved. Many plants, for example, that are found in the permafrost are still green, indicating that their chlorophyll has been preserved. In the walls of the permafrost tunnel, you can find remains of plants and animals from thousands of years ago.
This is a bone found in the wall of the permafrost tunnel.
The permafrost tunnel is a unique research facility where scientists can learn a great deal about the past. It has even been used by scientists to replicate conditions that can be found on Mars!
This is a view looking into part of the permafrost tunnel.
I am preparing to enter the permafrost tunnel with George.
I was lucky enough to be able to visit the tunnel today. As I walked through the door into the tunnel, it was like be transported back in time. Within 25 feet of entering the tunnel, I spotted bones from long extinct species such as mammoths and bisons. Deeper in the tunnel, there were ice wedges from 30,000+ years ago. Finally, at the lowest point of the tunnel, I saw rocks from the Birch Creek Schist. These rocks were deposited there about 550 million years ago!
This gravel is from the Birch Creek Schist. It is about 550 million years old.
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