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Story summary
- Regan Dunn of La Brea Tar Pits led a study showing 56-million-year-old Wyoming forests lost 60 % of their canopy during the PETM.
- The PETM raised temperatures up to 11 °F (6 °C) and added CO2 over ~130,000 years.
- Researchers inferred canopy density from fossil leaf cuticle shapes, linking elongated cells to denser forests.
- The authors note that forest recovery took over 100,000 years and emissions are ten times faster than PETM, risking ecosystem shifts.
