Tiny they may be, but fossil diatoms discovered deep under the ocean floor are revealing new details about Antarctica's warmer past. The single-celled algae were pulled up by the Antarctic Geological Drilling (Andrill) Program, which has been operating from the Ross Ice Shelf. The core's sediment particles give an indication of the amount of ice that was in the Ross area over time - whether the shelf was overhead, withdrawn, or even so thick that it was actually grounded and scraping along the bed. For the full article: Click Here.

Since the article states that some of the Antartica Diatoms are normally found in warmer seas
It would be interesting to find how 'high up' the core, these warmer Diatoms are to be found.

This would give an indication (in thousands of years) of the last time the Antartican coast was ice free?

Maybe it would go a long way into solving when the "Piri Reis" map was drawn, showing the Antartican coastline in such detail?
Just how did those ancient cartographers map the coast such visual detail?
Details which we can only roughly plot using radar?

Then again, prehaps we made the mistake in assuming the Piri Reis map was Antartica?

Here are two URL's, each with a different opinion

http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_1.htm (For)

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/PSEUDOSC/PiriRies.HTM (Against)

Either way was Antartica was mapped 300 years before it was discovered?

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"You will never find a real Human being - even in a mirror." .....Mike Kremer.
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Dan. This bit is interesting:

"About 3.5 million years ago, it was very much warmer than today - about 2-3C warmer; but in the temperature region climate models suggest greenhouse gas emissions may be taking us again."

Mike, from your second link:

"We can see the Piri Reis Map bears no resemblance at all to Antarctica. The 600-mile wide Drake Passage is not shown, nor are the large islands in the Weddell Sea. The latitude is thousands of miles off."

It's still an interesting map.

Yes Terry, re the second link.
I am convinced upon the validity of Steve Dutch's dissertation, and findings now.

I first heard of Steve Dutch was just minutes before I posted.
Just had to include him in my second link. But didnt take notice of it, until some hours later.

Mike Kremer.