Geological Climates

Abstract

I SHOULD not say more on this subject, but that the last paragraph of Mr. Starkie Gardner's letter seems to imply that I have adopted some of his views without acknowledgment. Now I certainly read his article in NATURE of December 12, 1878, with much interest and profit; but, as regards the special question of the cause of the mild climates of Eocene and Miocene times, I entirely disagreed with his views, as is sufficiently shown by my recent letter in NATURE. I quite admit that the closing up of the North Atlantic between Europe and North America might have considerably raised the temperature of Britain, but it would just as certainly have rendered the Arctic regions even colder than they are now, by shutting out the Gulf Stream, whereas all the evidence points to continuous mild Arctic climates through Cretaceous, Eocene, and Miocene times. Again, though I admit that there has probably, on more than one occasion during the Tertiary period, been a land connection between North-West Europe and North-East America, yet the peculiar distribution of the Tertiary mammalia of Europe and North America indicates that such connection was exceptional, and only endured for very short periods, the rule being a separation like that which now exists. I could therefore only have quoted Mr. Gardner's view to disagree with it; and I did not think it advisable to encumber the exposition of my own theory with more references of this kind than were absolutely necessary. I may add, that the extension of the Miocene Arctic flora to Grinnell Land since Mr. Gardner's article appeared, renders his views still more untenable. Of course I here refer to my chapter on “Mild Arctic Climates” in “Island Life.” In my letter to NATURE I confined myself strictly to the point raised by Prof. Haughton, which I did not consider had been adequately met by Mr. Gardner's hypothesis.