Paratropical floral extinction in the Late Palaeocene–Early Eocene

Harrington, Guy J.; Jaramillo, Carlos

doi:10.1144/0016-76492006-027

Cited by 54 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…The same conclusions arose from a palynological study in the Belgian Basin (Kallo borehole; Steurbaut et al, 2003). At much lower latitude, the paratropical palynoflora of the US Gulf Coast shows a pronounced decrease in diversity during the Early Eocene (Harrington and Jaramillo, 2007). In the equatorial palynoflora of eastern Colombia and western Venezuela, the PETM is characterized by an increase in rainforest vegetation compared with the Late Paleocene (Jaramillo et al, 2010).…”

Section: Impact On Plant Diversitysupporting

confidence: 53%

“…In the London Basin, the vegetation adapted to episodic fires, which characterizes the latest Paleocene, disappears after the P-E boundary (Collinson et al, 2003(Collinson et al, , 2007(Collinson et al, 2009. At lower latitudes, a decrease in diversity has been observed in the paratropical flora of America (US Gulf Coast) during the earliest Eocene (Harrington and Jaramillo, 2007), whereas the equatorial flora of eastern Colombia and western Venezuela was subjected to an increase in diversity (Jaramillo et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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High frequency floral changes at the Paleocene–Eocene boundary revealed by comparative biomarker and palynological studies

Garel

Quesnel

Jacob

et al. 2014

Organic Geochemistry

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The Cap d'Ailly area (Upper Normandy, France) shows several terrestrial-lagoonal sections recording the negative Carbon Isotope Excursion (CIE) associated with the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; 55.8 Ma). A study of the biomarkers and spores/pollen content of the Vasterival section gave complementary information on paleofloral changes that occurred around the PaleoceneEocene (P-E) boundary. Aliphatic hydrocarbon fractions revealed a high abundance of vascular plant biomarkers, including tricyclic diterpanes derived from conifers, fernenes derived from ferns and des-A-triterpenes derived from angiosperms. Whereas the vegetation of the depositional environment surroundings seemed alternately dominated by ferns and angiosperms (as revealed by biomarkers), the regional flora seemed strictly dominated by angiosperms such as Juglandaceae (as revealed by pollen).Spores/pollen assemblages reveal no major turnover in the paleovegetation, but slight variation in vegetation composition. However, both biomarkers and spores/pollen exhibited two intervals of rapid floral changes: the first occurred around the P-E boundary and the second at the top of the strictly terrestrial unit that coincides with a marine transgression. Comparison of these data with published paleoclimatic results, obtained from the same samples, indicated that the first interval of floral change was correlated with strong paleohydrological perturbations, whereas the second was linked to an increasing marine influence.

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Section: Impact On Plant Diversitysupporting

confidence: 53%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High frequency floral changes at the Paleocene–Eocene boundary revealed by comparative biomarker and palynological studies

Garel

Quesnel

Jacob

et al. 2014

Organic Geochemistry

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“…Thus, any changes are definitely on a lower scale than those proposed for the hyperthermal events as known, e.g. from the earlier Palaeogene in North America (Wing et al 2003;Harrington and Jaramillo 2007). According to the southern hemisphere deep sea temperature data of Zachos et al (2001) which are commonly regarded as a standard of Cenozoic climate evolution (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous climate-related palaeobotanical studies on the Palaeocene and the Eocene focused on these so-called hyperthermal events, particularly on the question whether an important floral turnover was associated with the PETM in mid-latitudes of Europe (Beerling and Jolley 1998;Collinson et al 2003) and North America (Wing et al 2005, Harrington et al 2004, Harrington and Jaramillo 2007. However, their conclusions appear to be somewhat inconsistent and generally range from significant to moderate vegetation responses depending on the palaeogeographic position of the studied sections.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term fluctuations in vegetation and phytoplankton during the Middle Eocene greenhouse climate: a 640-kyr record from the Messel oil shale (Germany)

Lenz

Wilde

Riegel

2010

Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch)

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The Palaeogene was the most recent greenhouse period on Earth. Especially for the Late Palaeocene and Early Eocene, several superimposed short-term hyperthermal events have been described, including extremes such as the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Major faunal and floral turnovers in the marine and terrestrial realms were recorded in association with these events. High-resolution palynological analysis of the early Middle Eocene maar lake sediments at Messel, near Darmstadt, Germany, provides an insight into the dynamics of a climax vegetation during the Middle Eocene greenhouse climate in a time span without significant climatic excursions. Numerical techniques like detrended correspondence analysis and wavelet analysis have been applied to recognize cyclic fluctuations and long-term trends in the vegetation through a time interval of approximately 640 kyr. Based on the numerical zoning of the pollen diagram, three phases in the development of the vegetation may be distinguished. Throughout these phases, the climax vegetation did not change substantially in qualitative composition, but a trend towards noticeably less humid conditions probably in combination with a drop of the water level in the lake may be recognized. A shift in algal population from the freshwater dinoflagellate cyst Messelodinium thielepfeifferae to a dominance of Botryococcus in the uppermost part of the core is interpreted as a response to changes in acidity and nutrient availability within the lake. Time series analyses of pollen assemblages show that variations in the Milankovitch range of eccentricity, obliquity and precession can be distinguished. In addition, fluctuations in the sub-Milankovitch range are indicated. This demonstrates that floral changes during steady depositional conditions in the Middle Eocene of Messel were controlled by orbital forcing.

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“…However, the PETM triggered major reorganization and dispersal of animals, particularly in mammals [21,88,89], which also experienced a reduction in mean body size, probably in response to warming or less nutritious vegetation [90]. Plants experienced a major, but temporary, reorganization and drop in diversity related to changes in climate, particularly precipitation [91,92]. In essence, the impacts on biota were largely transient in nature on geological time scales, but long on human time scales.…”

Section: Biotic Recoverymentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term legacy of massive carbon input to the Earth system: Anthropocene versus Eocene

Zeebe

Zachos

2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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Over the next few centuries, with unabated emissions of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), a total of 5000 Pg C may enter the atmosphere, causing CO 2 concentrations to rise to approximately 2000 ppmv, global temperature to warm by more than 8 ° C and surface ocean pH to decline by approximately 0.7 units. A carbon release of this magnitude is unprecedented during the past 56 million years—and the outcome accordingly difficult to predict. In this regard, the geological record may provide foresight to how the Earth system will respond in the future. Here, we discuss the long-term legacy of massive carbon release into the Earth's surface reservoirs, comparing the Anthropocene with a past analogue, the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, approx. 56 Ma). We examine the natural processes and time scales of CO 2 neutralization that determine the atmospheric lifetime of CO 2 in response to carbon release. We compare the duration of carbon release during the Anthropocene versus PETM and the ensuing effects on ocean acidification and marine calcifying organisms. We also discuss the conundrum that the observed duration of the PETM appears to be much longer than predicted by models that use first-order assumptions. Finally, we comment on past and future mass extinctions and recovery times of biotic diversity.

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Paratropical floral extinction in the Late Palaeocene–Early Eocene

Cited by 54 publications

References 71 publications

High frequency floral changes at the Paleocene–Eocene boundary revealed by comparative biomarker and palynological studies

High frequency floral changes at the Paleocene–Eocene boundary revealed by comparative biomarker and palynological studies

Short-term fluctuations in vegetation and phytoplankton during the Middle Eocene greenhouse climate: a 640-kyr record from the Messel oil shale (Germany)

Long-term legacy of massive carbon input to the Earth system: Anthropocene versus Eocene

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