A comparison of late Paleocene and late Eocene lignite depositional systems using palynology, upper Wilcox and upper Jackson Groups, east-central Texas

O’Keefe, Jennifer M.K.; Sancay, Recep Hayrettin; Raymond, Anne; Yancey, Thomas E.

doi:10.1130/0-8137-2387-6.59

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…(e.g., Harris, 1962;Fisher and McGowen 1967;Baker 1995); however, they have been shown to represent tidal to nearshore marine environments, based on tidal heterolithic strata, tidal sedimentary structures, and marine trace fossils that collectively indicate deposition in an overall mesotidal coastal setting (Breyer and McCabe 1986;O'Keefe et al 2005;Denison et al 2017;Demchuk et al 2019). Thus, all floras in this study would have been strongly influenced by and adapted to coastal, marine environments.…”

Section: Geologic Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pollen and spores indicate that around the PEB the low-lying GCP in Central Texas was populated with an abundance of palms and moderately diverse dicots (e.g., O'Keefe et al, 2005;Denison et al, 2017;Stephenson et al, 2018). The coastal plain was dissected by tidally influenced lagoons or marshes, which transitioned to an offshore shallow-shelf.…”

Section: Geologic Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant Community Change Across the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary in the Gulf Coastal Plain, Central Texas

Wagner¹,

Peppe²

2020

Geological Society of America Abstracts With Programs

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During the early Paleogene the Earth experienced long-term global warming punctuated by several short-term 'hyperthermal' events, the most pronounced of which is the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). During this time, tropical climates expanded into extratropical areas potentially forming a wide band of 'paratropical' forests that are hypothesized to have expanded into the mid-latitude Northern Great Plains (NGP). Relatively little is known about these 'paratropical' floras, which would have extended across the Gulf Coastal Plain (GCP). This study assesses the preserved floras from the GCP in Central Texas before and after the PETM to define plant ecosystem changes associated with the hyperthermal event in this region. These floras suggest a high turnover rate, change in plant community composition, and uniform plant communities across the GCP at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary. Paleoecology and paleoclimate estimates from Central Texas PETM floras suggest a warm and wet environment, indicative of tropical seasonal forest to tropical rainforest biomes. Fossil evidence from the GCP combined with data from the NGP and modern tropics suggest that warming during the PETM helped create a 'paratropical belt' that extended into the mid-latitudes. Evaluating the response of plant communities to rapid global warming is important for understanding and preparing for current and future global warming and climate change.

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Section: Geologic Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geologic Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Community Change Across the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary in the Gulf Coastal Plain, Central Texas

Wagner¹,

Peppe²

2020

Geological Society of America Abstracts With Programs

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“…However, such environments in the modern world do not appear to be likely analogs for most Pennsylvanian coal beds (Cameron et al, 1989), although they may be analogs for parts of the extensive coal seams developed in the Wilcox Group of the US Gulf Coast (O'Keefe et al, 2005), as well as other coals worldwide. This is a topic that needs further investigation, as our understanding of coal deposits is in large part shaped by resource analyses, and coals that exemplify this type tend to be high ash, and thus poor resource rocks.…”

Section: Organic Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the fundamental difference between coal rank and coal type

O’Keefe

Bechtel

Christanis

et al. 2013

International Journal of Coal Geology

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298

104

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Sphagnoid spores as tracers of environmental and climatic changes in peatland habitats of the early Eocene

Riegel,

Lenz,

Wilde

2024

Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch)

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Peat mosses have been an important part of the lignite forming vegetation in the early Eocene of the Helmstedt Lignite Mining District. Three genera of Sphagnum-type spores can be distinguished: Tripunctisporis, Distancoraesporis and Sphagnumsporites. The distribution of these sphagnoid spores is traced through seven lignite seams including most of the known hyperthermal events from the PETM to the EECO. In general, Sphagnum-type spores increase in importance from base to top in each seam as a result of acidification and nutrient depletion during peat accumulation. The proportion of Tripunctisporis increases from Main Seam to Seam 6. The lower three seams are characterized by assemblages typical for coastal plain swamp forests including tree stumps and charcoal in distinct layers and lenses. The upper seams, in which Tripunctisporis is dominant and woody material is rare, are thin-bedded with charcoal in numerous thin drapes on bedding planes. The palynomorph assemblages here indicate a low growing mainly herbaceous vegetation typical of ombrogenous bogs. The change from topogenous swamp forests to open ombrogenous bogs takes place along with the hyperthermals of the early Eocene from the PETM to the EECO. The change from a swamp forest to a shrub forest in the middle of the Main Seam coincides with the isotope excursion of the PETM. Similar changes in other seams independent of thermal events indicate that thermal events merely amplify changes in vegetation, which are primarily imposed by edaphic constraints. It is rather the rapid accumulation of hyperthermals during the EECO that exerts sufficient environmental stress to fundamentally alter the peat forming vegetation. Graphical abstract

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A comparison of late Paleocene and late Eocene lignite depositional systems using palynology, upper Wilcox and upper Jackson Groups, east-central Texas

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Plant Community Change Across the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary in the Gulf Coastal Plain, Central Texas

Plant Community Change Across the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary in the Gulf Coastal Plain, Central Texas

On the fundamental difference between coal rank and coal type

Sphagnoid spores as tracers of environmental and climatic changes in peatland habitats of the early Eocene

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