The late Paleocene to early Eocene Arctic megaflora of Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg islands, Nunavut, Canada

West, Christopher K.; Greenwood, David R.; Basinger, James F.

doi:10.1127/palb/2019/0066

Cited by 14 publications

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“…The sampled sections column shows preliminary stratigraphic placement of four sampled sections and the volcanic ash layer MA-1. Modified from West et al (2019). cysts did not provide age control (McIntyre 1994).…”

Section: Stratigraphy Of Stenkul Fiordmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The late Paleocene to middle Eocene (ca. 57-38 Ma) sediments on Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg islands, part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Nunavut, Canada (Figure 1(B)), preserve fossil evidence of past terrestrial environments, such as in situ fossil tree trunks, leaves, seeds, and pollen and spores (Eberle and Greenwood 2012;West et al 2019). These fossils indicate that during non-hyperthermal conditions of the early Paleogene, the Arctic supported lush swamp and forest communities composed of conifers such as redwoods and cedars (Cupressaceae, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the late Paleocene to early Eocene, concurrent with Eurekan deformation, global temperatures had become substantially warmer than the already warm conditions of the Late Cretaceous. The Arctic was ice free and inhabited by a diverse flora and fauna associated today with subtropical environments, such as palms and mangroves, also including plants of mixed conifer-broadleaf rain forests, and animals like brontotheres, Coryphodon, crocodiles, primates, tapirs, and turtles (Zachos et al 2008;Sluijs et al 2009;Eberle and Greenwood 2012;Suan et al 2017;West et al 2019;Willard et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), linden (Tilia spp.) and other deciduous broadleaf trees were also important (Hills and Ogilvie 1970;Kalgutkar and McIntyre 1991;Frederiksen et al 1994;Greenwood and Basinger 1994;McIver and Basinger 1999;Greenwood et al 2010;Eberle and Greenwood 2012;Suan et al 2017;Willard et al 2019;West et al 2019). During the PETM and ETM2 hyperthermal events, Arctic vegetation was characterized by broadleaf-forests and coniferous swamp forests that notably included thermophilic elements such as palms (Arecaceae) and mangroves (Avicennia sp.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Palynostratigraphy of the lower Paleogene Margaret Formation at Stenkul Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

et al. 2021

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The upper Paleocene to lower Eocene Margaret Formation exposed at Stenkul Fiord on southern Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, represents a nearly continuous terrestrial succession of microfossilrich clastic sediments and coal. These strata were deposited at a time of extensive tectonic activity associated with Eurekan deformation. The precise chronology of the Eurekan deformation is poorly known. Prior studies at Stenkul Fiord provided a stratigraphic overview and relative age estimates for exposed strata but lack the absolute age control required to investigate the timing of deformation events. Strata at Stenkul Fiord preserve evidence of Arctic forests that may have grown during hyperthermal events that characterized the Paleogene, namely, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2). A quantitative palynological approach is herein used to define a new higher-resolution biostratigraphic framework for the Margaret Formation strata at Stenkul Fiord. This resulting improved biostratigraphic framework is integrated with new absolute age control of 53.7 ± 0.06 Ma provided by U-Pb ID-TIMS of zircon preserved in an ash bed within the studied succession. Nine pollen zones are defined based on cluster analysis, NMDS ordination, firstand last occurrences of taxa, and angiosperm pollen taxa diversity (H 0 ). The presence of thermophilic pollen taxa at Stenkul Fiord provides evidence of climates related to the globally warm climates during the early Paleogene.

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Section: Stratigraphy Of Stenkul Fiordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Palynostratigraphy of the lower Paleogene Margaret Formation at Stenkul Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

et al. 2021

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“…Manchester et al (1991) and Wang et al (2009) reported for N. interglacialis elliptical to circular sessile fruits 9-12 mm across in transverse view, with 14-29 fruitlets (typically 18-24), consistent with the Red Lake specimen. Manchester et al (1991) (Penhallow, 1908;Crane et al, 1991;McIver and Basinger, 1999;Wang et al, 2009;West et al, 2019). As the fruits Nordenskioeldia interglacialis at Red Lake are found in association with the Trochodendraceae leaf taxon Zizyphoides auriculata, they are likely from the same plant species.…”

Section: Fossil-genus: Nordenskioeldia Heer 1870mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Miocene Red Lake macroflora of the Deadman River Formation (Chilcotin Group), Interior Plateau, British Columbia, Canada

Greenwood

West

Basinger

2020

Acta Palaeobotanica

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Despite early interest in Neogene floras, primarily Miocene sites associated with Mio–Pliocene volcanic deposits of the Interior Plateau of British Columbia, few systematic accounts of the Miocene macrofloras of British Columbia – or elsewhere in non-Arctic Canada – have been published since the pioneering studies of J.W. Dawson and his contemporaries in the late 19th century. In this report, the Red Lake macroflora from sediments of the middle Miocene Deadman River Formation exposed in the Red Lake diatomite mine north of Kamloops, British Columbia, is illustrated, and a preliminary assessment presented, along with a brief review of Miocene floras from British Columbia and the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The Red Lake macroflora contains rare Ginkgo leaves, shoots of Cupressaceae (Cupressinocladus, Metasequoia, Taxodium) and shoots and seeds of Pinaceae (Pseudotsuga, Tsuga), maple (Acer) seeds and leaves, Liquidambar (fruit), Trochodendraceae (Zizyphoides auriculata leaves, Nordenskioeldia interglacialis fruits), leaves of 4 species of red and white oaks (Quercus columbiana, Q. prelobata, Q. pseudolyrata, Quercus sp.), leaves of an alder (Alnus harneyana) and birch (Betula thor), chestnut (Castanea spokanensis), beech (Fagus pacifica), sycamore (Platanus dissecta), elm (Ulmus speciosa), leaves of unidentified taxa, fruits of Tilia pedunculata (Malvaceae) and fruits and inflorescences of other unidentified taxa, and leaves of a reed or rush (indet. monocot). The Red Lake middle Miocene climate reconstructed from leaf physiognomy was temperate and mesic, with mean annual temperature ~11–13°C, mild winters (coldest month mean temperature ~3°C), mean annual precipitation 170 −51/+73 cm/yr, and growing season precipitation ~92 cm, with moderate seasonality of precipitation (three wettest months ~51 cm vs. three driest months ~25 cm). The Red Lake flora shows similarities to middle to late Miocene floras from the U.S. Pacific Northwest (i.e., richness in oaks) but is of much lower diversity and lacks key elements common to many of the contemporaneous U.S. Miocene floras (e.g., foliage of Pinaceae esp. Pinus), and is missing taxa detected in the microflora, a pattern likely due to sampling effectiveness at the Red Lake Mine and sampling of different lithofacies for macro- and microfloras.

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The early Paleocene (Danian) climate of Svalbard based on palaeobotanical data

Golovneva,

Zolina,

Spicer

2023

Papers in Palaeontology

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The early Paleocene (Danian) Barentsburg flora from the Firkanten Formation, Svalbard, provides a valuable insight into the environment and climate of the Arctic early in the warm Palaeogene prior to the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) event. The flora includes c. 50 species of ferns, ginkgos, conifers and angiosperms. Angiosperms predominate and are represented by the families Platanaceae, Cercidiphyllaceae, Trochodendraceae, Hamamelidaceae, Fagaceae, Betulaceae, Nyssaceae and several taxa of uncertain taxonomic position. Palaeoclimate parameters, calculated using a new calibration of the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP), indicate that Svalbard in the early Paleocene was characterized by a temperate, maritime, humid, seasonal climate with cool mild winters and warm summers. Humidity was highest during winter months. Short‐term winter snow cover and light frosts were likely to have been frequent. The CLAMP analysis yields a mean annual temperature of 10.1 ± 1.98°С, a warmest month mean temperature of 19.2 ± 2.49°C and a coldest month mean temperature of 1.7 ± 3.24°С. The growing season lasted c. 6 months. Precipitation during this growth period was 572.4 ± 296.50 mm, while vapour pressure deficit and potential evapotranspiration indicate very high humidity year‐round, with summer being only slightly drier than winter. Taken together with data from other early Paleocene circum‐Arctic sites, these results point to highly uniform, temperate and extremely humid conditions around the margins of the early Cenozoic Arctic Ocean. This condition represents the warm background condition that dominated in the Arctic prior to the anomalous extreme warmth of the early Eocene.

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The late Paleocene to early Eocene Arctic megaflora of Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg islands, Nunavut, Canada

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Palynostratigraphy of the lower Paleogene Margaret Formation at Stenkul Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

Palynostratigraphy of the lower Paleogene Margaret Formation at Stenkul Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

The Miocene Red Lake macroflora of the Deadman River Formation (Chilcotin Group), Interior Plateau, British Columbia, Canada

The early Paleocene (Danian) climate of Svalbard based on palaeobotanical data

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