Deadly oasis: Recurrent annihilation of Cretaceous desert bryophyte colonies; the role of solar, climate and lithospheric forcing

Rodríguez‐López, Juan Pedro; Barrón, Eduardo; Peyrot, Daniel; Hughes, Gary B.

doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2020.06.008

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The presence of freshwater bodies in the study area during the late Albian to early Cenomanian has been inferred from sedimentological and palaeobotanical evidence [ 188 , 189 ]. The existence of habitats with fluctuating humidity or with high moisture is also indicated in San Just by amber inclusions, including the hemipteran Iberofoveopsis miguelesi [ 44 ], as well as the presence of edaphic fauna linked to the litter degradation and soils [ 190 – 192 ] ( Table 2 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), probable monocots ( Monocolpopollenites , Retimonocolpites ) and eudicots ( Table 1 ). These angiosperms were probably well integrated into the landscape, forming part of multiple vegetation types, including terrestrial wetlands (wet interdunes, oases sensu [ 189 ]) and freshwater aquatic ecosystems as helophytes and/or floating elements [ 4 , 34 , 36 ] ( Fig 17 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biodiversity of ecosystems in an arid setting: The late Albian plant communities and associated biota from eastern Iberia

et al. 2023

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Deserts are stressful environments where the living beings must acquire different strategies to survive due to the water stress conditions. From the late Albian to the early Cenomanian, the northern and eastern parts of Iberia were the location of the desert system represented by deposits assigned to the Utrillas Group, which bear abundant amber with numerous bioinclusions, including diverse arthropods and vertebrate remains. In the Maestrazgo Basin (E Spain), the late Albian to early Cenomanian sedimentary succession represents the most distal part of the desert system (fore-erg) that was characterised by an alternation of aeolian and shallow marine sedimentary environments in the proximity of the Western Tethys palaeo-coast, with rare to frequent dinoflagellate cysts. The terrestrial ecosystems from this area were biodiverse, and comprised plant communities whose fossils are associated with sedimentological indicators of aridity. The palynoflora dominated by wind-transported conifer pollen is interpreted to reflect various types of xerophytic woodlands from the hinterlands and the coastal settings. Therefore, fern and angiosperm communities abundantly grew in wet interdunes and coastal wetlands (temporary to semi-permanent freshwater/salt marshes and water bodies). In addition, the occurrence of low-diversity megafloral assemblages reflects the existence of coastal salt-influenced settings. The palaeobotanical study carried out in this paper which is an integrative work on palynology and palaeobotany, does not only allow the reconstruction of the vegetation that developed in the mid-Cretaceous fore-erg from the eastern Iberia, in addition, provides new biostratigraphic and palaeogeographic data considering the context of angiosperm radiation as well as the biota inferred in the amber-bearing outcrops of San Just, Arroyo de la Pascueta and La Hoya (within Cortes de Arenoso succesion). Importantly, the studied assemblages include Afropollis, Dichastopollenites, Cretacaeiporites together with pollen produced by Ephedraceae (known for its tolerance to arid conditions). The presence of these pollen grains, typical for northern Gondwana, associates the Iberian ecosystems with those characterising the mentioned region.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity of ecosystems in an arid setting: The late Albian plant communities and associated biota from eastern Iberia

et al. 2023

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“…Oases are groundwater‐dependent ecosystems and sedimentary systems, the sedimentary processes of which are closely linked to their temporal and spatial variability (e.g. Rodríguez‐López et al ., 2021). The combined action of oasis water table oscillations, oasis shore waves and winter ice floe can generate favourable conditions for ice‐rafted debris (IRD), similar to those observed in glacial sequences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rodríguez‐López et al ., 2014). Oases are, indeed, extremely sensitive depositional systems to environmental change; Cretaceous oases in Iberia have recorded repeated annihilation of desert bryophyte colonies developed in their margins associated with oasis water oscillations controlled by astronomical forcing (solar cycles) (Rodríguez‐López et al ., 2021), or Cainozoic and Mesozoic interdunes have recorded earthquakes in the form of seismites (Liesa et al ., 2016). Wet interdunes from the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone (Utah, USA) developed stromatolites formed during a high‐water‐table episode associated with dune‐dammed palaeodrainage in the desert system (Eisenberg, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cryospheric processes in Quaternary and Cretaceous hyper‐arid plateau desert oases

Rodríguez‐López

2020

Sedimentology

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Winter supercooling of oasis waters in hyper-arid plateau deserts leads to the formation of ice floes on oases water surfaces. Multi-year satellite imagery from recent oases in the Badain Jaran Desert (China) reveals dynamic cryospheric processes including ice floe, ice jams abutting on border ice, hinge and transverse cracks, multiple ice lobes related to aufeis formation on the ice floe surface indicating oases water level oscillations linked with short-term variations of the groundwater input. Oasis ice floe break up and transportation by strong desert winds produce an effective gouge and abrasion mechanism of oasis margin sediments, incorporating them both into the oasis bottom, and as supra-ice floe debris that ultimately will be released to the bottom of the oasis as dropstones as the ice cover melts. Supercooling conditions in the Badain Jarain Desert oases suggest that anchor ice can form in the oases bottoms from fazil ice crystals generated in open supercooled oasis waters. Mud dropstones and diamicton in Cretaceous wet interdune facies from China suggest ice-rafting processes in oases. Rounded and subangular mud intraclasts are mud boudins formed by in situ boudinage of mud interdune sediments due to the combined effect of compaction by prograding aeolian sediments and aufeis formation. Anchor ice formed in the oases bottoms lifted them up due to floatability and released them as dropstones to the oasis bottom when melted. Cryospheric processes in hyper-arid oases are more active than expected and may play a significant role in intraclast reworking. The recognition of these processes is critical for Mesozoic palaeoclimates.

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Valanginian–Hauterivian vegetation inferred from palynological successions from the southern Perth Basin, Western Australia

Peyrot

Ibilola²,

Martin³

et al. 2023

Cretaceous Research

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Deadly oasis: Recurrent annihilation of Cretaceous desert bryophyte colonies; the role of solar, climate and lithospheric forcing

Cited by 6 publications

References 65 publications

Biodiversity of ecosystems in an arid setting: The late Albian plant communities and associated biota from eastern Iberia

Biodiversity of ecosystems in an arid setting: The late Albian plant communities and associated biota from eastern Iberia

Cryospheric processes in Quaternary and Cretaceous hyper‐arid plateau desert oases

Valanginian–Hauterivian vegetation inferred from palynological successions from the southern Perth Basin, Western Australia

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