Editing Miocene (section)

==Oceans==
[[Image:VMNH megalodon.jpg|thumb|200px|Artistic impression of two ''[[Eobalaenoptera]]'' whales pursued by the giant shark ''[[Otodus megalodon]]'' ]]

There is evidence from oxygen isotopes at [[Deep Sea Drilling Program]] sites that ice began to build up in Antarctica about 36 Ma during the [[Eocene]]. Further marked decreases in temperature during the [[Middle Miocene]] at 15 Ma probably reflect increased ice growth in Antarctica. It can therefore be assumed that East Antarctica had some glaciers during the early to mid Miocene (23–15 Ma). Oceans cooled partly due to the formation of the [[Antarctic Circumpolar Current]], and about 15 million years ago the ice cap in the southern hemisphere started to grow to its present form. The Greenland ice cap developed later, in the [[Middle Pliocene]] time, about 3 million years ago.