Missing from this press release, though not from the journal paper, is the unstable effect of ocean currents on water temperatures. The fact that the oceans have a straight shot around Antarctica at the moment generates a huge ocean current which blocks water from warmer latitudes making it south. Antarctica and South America were connected as recently as 30 MYa, blocking the circumpolar current and allowing water in the southern oceans to be much more mixed.
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Missing from this press release, though not from the journal paper, is the unstable effect of ocean currents on water temperatures. The fact that the oceans have a straight shot around Antarctica at the moment generates a huge ocean current which blocks water from warmer latitudes making it south. Antarctica and South America were connected as recently as 30 MYa, blocking the circumpolar current and allowing water in the southern oceans to be much more mixed.