Meribson
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- Aug 23, 2018
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Yesterday the YouTube channel AlternateHisoryHub released a video that asked the question: What if Antarctica stayed green and lush?
Regardless of how its answered, no one can deny that it would make for an incredible setting. Even with warm enough temperatures to allow for tropical ferns and palms (not making this up, that actually happened) the seasons would have a huge impact on any cultural development there. Since its at the bottom of the world, the summer day and winter night both last for FOUR MONTHS. That's four months with no sunlight in the winter, and four months with no darkness in the summer.
That doesn't even go into the plant and animal life that would live there, assuming we go the longer but more interesting route of speculative evolution. We know from the fossil record that marsupials originated in the Americas then migrated south through Antarctica into Australia. So figure 30+ million years to have birds, amphibians, bugs, and marsupials to fill all the ecological niches.
There is so much potential for worldbuilding in this one question! What ideas come to your brain? I need to know!
Regardless of how its answered, no one can deny that it would make for an incredible setting. Even with warm enough temperatures to allow for tropical ferns and palms (not making this up, that actually happened) the seasons would have a huge impact on any cultural development there. Since its at the bottom of the world, the summer day and winter night both last for FOUR MONTHS. That's four months with no sunlight in the winter, and four months with no darkness in the summer.
That doesn't even go into the plant and animal life that would live there, assuming we go the longer but more interesting route of speculative evolution. We know from the fossil record that marsupials originated in the Americas then migrated south through Antarctica into Australia. So figure 30+ million years to have birds, amphibians, bugs, and marsupials to fill all the ecological niches.
There is so much potential for worldbuilding in this one question! What ideas come to your brain? I need to know!