‘I decided to camp and spend the rest of the day geologising. It has been extremely interesting…Wilson, with his sharp eyes, has picked several plant impressions, the last a piece of coal with beautifully traced leaves in layers.’
Fossils collected by Captain Scott show that the climate of Antarctica was much warmer millions of years ago.
Captain Scott and his companions were in a desperate struggle for survival as they travelled back from the South Pole. Even so, they stopped to collect fossils which they carried until they died.
They did this because they knew these fossils would help scientists to understand what Antarctica had been like in the past.
The fossils found with Captain Scott’s body showed that Antarctica was once free from ice, with a warm climate.