Shallow marine response to global climate change during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Salisbury Embayment, USA

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Self-Trail, Jean; Robinson, Marci M.; Bralower, Timothy J.; Sessa, Jocelyn A.; Hajek, Elizabeth A.; Kump, Lee R.; Trampush, Sheila M.; Willard, Debra A.; Edwards, Lucy E.; Powars, David S.; Wandless, Gregory A.

2017-01-01

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was an interval of extreme warmth that caused disruption of marine and terrestrial ecosystems on a global scale. Here we examine the sediments, flora, and fauna from an expanded section at Mattawoman Creek-Billingsley Road (MCBR) in Maryland and explore the impact of warming at a nearshore shallow marine (30–100 m water depth) site in the Salisbury Embayment. Observations indicate that at the onset of the PETM, the site abruptly shifted from an open marine to prodelta setting with increased terrestrial and fresh water input. Changes in microfossil biota suggest stratification of the water column and low-oxygen bottom water conditions in the earliest Eocene. Formation of authigenic carbonate through microbial diagenesis produced an unusually large bulk carbon isotope shift, while the magnitude of the corresponding signal from benthic foraminifera is similar to that at other marine sites. This proves that the landward increase in the magnitude of the carbon isotope excursion measured in bulk sediment is not due to a near instantaneous release of 12C-enriched CO2. We conclude that the MCBR site records nearshore marine response to global climate change that can be used as an analog for modern coastal response to global warming.

Shallow marine response to global climate change during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Salisbury Embayment, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Self-Trail, Jean M.; Robinson, Marci M.; Bralower, Timothy J.; Sessa, Jocelyn A.; Hajek, Elizabeth A.; Kump, Lee R.; Trampush, Sheila M.; Willard, Debra A.; Edwards, Lucy E.; Powars, David S.; Wandless, Gregory A.

2017-07-01

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was an interval of extreme warmth that caused disruption of marine and terrestrial ecosystems on a global scale. Here we examine the sediments, flora, and fauna from an expanded section at Mattawoman Creek-Billingsley Road (MCBR) in Maryland and explore the impact of warming at a nearshore shallow marine (30-100 m water depth) site in the Salisbury Embayment. Observations indicate that at the onset of the PETM, the site abruptly shifted from an open marine to prodelta setting with increased terrestrial and fresh water input. Changes in microfossil biota suggest stratification of the water column and low-oxygen bottom water conditions in the earliest Eocene. Formation of authigenic carbonate through microbial diagenesis produced an unusually large bulk carbon isotope shift, while the magnitude of the corresponding signal from benthic foraminifera is similar to that at other marine sites. This proves that the landward increase in the magnitude of the carbon isotope excursion measured in bulk sediment is not due to a near instantaneous release of 12C-enriched CO2. We conclude that the MCBR site records nearshore marine response to global climate change that can be used as an analog for modern coastal response to global warming.

Nannoplankton malformation during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum and its paleoecological and paleoceanographic significance

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Bralower, Timothy J.; Self-Trail, Jean

2016-01-01

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is characterized by a transient group of nannoplankton, belonging to the genus Discoaster. Our investigation of expanded shelf sections provides unprecedented detail of the morphology and phylogeny of the transient Discoasterduring the PETM and their relationship with environmental change. We observe a much larger range of morphological variation than previously documented suggesting that the taxa belonged to a plexus of highly gradational morphotypes rather than individual species. We propose that the plexus represents malformed ecophenotypes of a single species that migrated to a deep photic zone refuge during the height of PETM warming and eutrophication. Anomalously, high rates of organic matter remineralization characterized these depths during the event and led to lower saturation levels, which caused malformation. The proposed mechanism explains the co-occurrence of malformed Discoaster with pristine species that grew in the upper photic zone; moreover, it illuminates why malformation is a rare phenomenon in the paleontological record.

Evidence of late Palaeocene-early Eocene equatorial rain forest refugia in southern Western Ghats, India.

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Prasad, V; Farooqui, A; Tripathi, S K M; Garg, R; Thakur, B

2009-11-01

Equatorial rain forests that maintain a balance between speciation and extinction are hot-spots for studies of biodiversity. Western Ghats in southern India have gained attention due to high tropical biodiversity and endemism in their southern most area. We attempted to track the affinities of the pollen fl ora of the endemic plants of Western Ghat area within the fossil palynoflora of late Palaeocene-early Eocene (approximately 55-50 Ma) sedimentary deposits of western and northeastern Indian region. The study shows striking similarity of extant pollen with twenty eight most common fossil pollen taxa of the early Palaeogene. Widespread occurrences of coal and lignite deposits during early Palaeogene provide evidence of existence of well diversified rain forest community and swampy vegetation in the coastal low lying areas all along the western and northeastern margins of the Indian subcontinent. Prevalence of excessive humid climate during this period has been seen as a result of equatorial positioning of Indian subcontinent, superimposed by a long term global warming phase (PETM and EECO) during the early Palaeogene. The study presents clear evidence that highly diversifi ed equatorial rain forest vegetation once widespread in the Indian subcontinent during early Palaeogene times, are now restricted in a small area as a refugia in the southernmost part of the Western Ghat area. High precipitation and shorter periods of dry months seem to have provided suitable environment to sustain lineages of ancient tropical vegetation in this area of Western Ghats in spite of dramatic climatic changes subsequent to the post India-Asia collision and during the Quaternary and Recent times.

Revision of species of Minerisporites, Azolla and associated plant microfossils from deposits of the Upper Palaeocene and Palaeocene/Eocene transition in the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA.

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Batten, D J.; Collinson, M E.

2001-05-01

Species of the megaspore genus Minerisporites Potonié, megaspore apparatuses of species of the water fern Azolla Lamarck, and some associated organic-walled microfossils recovered from deposits of the Upper Palaeocene and Palaeocene/Eocene transition in the southern part of the Netherlands and neighbouring Belgium are redescribed on the basis of an examination of specimens under scanning and transmission electron microscopes. Originally studied about 40 years ago by S.J. Dijkstra, the re-examination has enabled emended diagnoses to be produced for six taxa: Minerisporites glossoferus (Dijkstra) Tschudy, M. mirabilis (Miner) Potonié, M. mirabilissimus (Dijkstra) Potonié, Azolla schopfii Dijkstra, A. teschiana Florschütz, and A. velus (Dijkstra) Jain and Hall. In addition, a revised description is provided for massulae of Salvinia Séguier that were originally thought to be megaspores and, hence, named by Dijkstra as Triletes? exiguus. The gross morphology and construction of the exospore of the species of Minerisporites are similar, but nevertheless sufficiently distinct for them to be maintained as separate taxa. Monolete microspores are preserved in hollows in the reticulate surface of some of the specimens of M. mirabilissimus. This is consistent with the presumed isoetalean affinity of Minerisporites. An apparent stratigraphic morphocline from M. glossoferus to M. mirabilis, suggested previously, is confirmed following our reassessment of their characteristics. The species of Azolla are all multi-floated, but they differ from each other in several ways, in particular with respect to the ultrastructure of the megaspore wall. They are also distinct from all other species that have been considered in sufficient detail for satisfactory comparisons to be made. The massulae of A. teschiana are described for the first time. The floats in A. velus are attached to the proximal part of the megaspore only by suprafilosal hairs. There are no maniculae. It is argued that

Southern ocean warming, sea level and hydrological change during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum

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A. Sluijs

2011-01-01

Full Text Available A brief (~150 kyr period of widespread global average surface warming marks the transition between the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, ~56 million years ago. This so-called "Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum" (PETM is associated with the massive injection of ¹³C-depleted carbon, reflected in a negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE. Biotic responses include a global abundance peak (acme of the subtropical dinoflagellate Apectodinium. Here we identify the PETM in a marine sedimentary sequence deposited on the East Tasman Plateau at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP Site 1172 and show, based on the organic paleothermometer TEX₈₆, that southwest Pacific sea surface temperatures increased from ~26 °C to ~33°C during the PETM. Such temperatures before, during and after the PETM are >10 °C warmer than predicted by paleoclimate model simulations for this latitude. In part, this discrepancy may be explained by potential seasonal biases in the TEX₈₆ proxy in polar oceans. Additionally, the data suggest that not only Arctic, but also Antarctic temperatures may be underestimated in simulations of ancient greenhouse climates by current generation fully coupled climate models. An early influx of abundant Apectodinium confirms that environmental change preceded the CIE on a global scale. Organic dinoflagellate cyst assemblages suggest a local decrease in the amount of river run off reaching the core site during the PETM, possibly in concert with eustatic rise. Moreover, the assemblages suggest changes in seasonality of the regional hydrological system and storm activity. Finally, significant variation in dinoflagellate cyst assemblages during the PETM indicates that southwest Pacific climates varied significantly over time scales of 10³ – 10⁴ years during this event, a finding comparable to similar studies of PETM successions from the New Jersey Shelf.

Transient dwarfism of soil fauna during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.

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Smith, Jon J; Hasiotis, Stephen T; Kraus, Mary J; Woody, Daniel T

2009-10-20

Soil organisms, as recorded by trace fossils in paleosols of the Willwood Formation, Wyoming, show significant body-size reductions and increased abundances during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). Paleobotanical, paleopedologic, and oxygen isotope studies indicate high temperatures during the PETM and sharp declines in precipitation compared with late Paleocene estimates. Insect and oligochaete burrows increase in abundance during the PETM, suggesting longer periods of soil development and improved drainage conditions. Crayfish burrows and molluscan body fossils, abundant below and above the PETM interval, are significantly less abundant during the PETM, likely because of drier floodplain conditions and lower water tables. Burrow diameters of the most abundant ichnofossils are 30-46% smaller within the PETM interval. As burrow size is a proxy for body size, significant reductions in burrow diameter suggest that their tracemakers were smaller bodied. Smaller body sizes may have resulted from higher subsurface temperatures, lower soil moisture conditions, or nutritionally deficient vegetation in the high-CO(2) atmosphere inferred for the PETM. Smaller soil fauna co-occur with dwarf mammal taxa during the PETM; thus, a common forcing mechanism may have selected for small size in both above- and below-ground terrestrial communities. We predict that soil fauna have already shown reductions in size over the last 150 years of increased atmospheric CO(2) and surface temperatures or that they will exhibit this pattern over the next century. We retrodict also that soil fauna across the Permian-Triassic and Triassic-Jurassic boundary events show significant size decreases because of similar forcing mechanisms driven by rapid global warming.

Transient dwarfism of soil fauna during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

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Smith, J.J.; Hasiotis, S.T.; Kraus, M.J.; Woody, D.T.

2009-01-01

Soil organisms, as recorded by trace fossils in paleosols of the Willwood Formation, Wyoming, show significant body-size reductions and increased abundances during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). Paleobotanical, paleopedologic, and oxygen isotope studies indicate high temperatures during the PETM and sharp declines in precipitation compared with late Paleocene estimates. Insect and oligochaete burrows increase in abundance during the PETM, suggesting longer periods of soil development and improved drainage conditions. Crayfish burrows and molluscan body fossils, abundant below and above the PETM interval, are significantly less abundant during the PETM, likely because of drier floodplain conditions and lower water tables. Burrow diameters of the most abundant ichnofossils are 30-46% smaller within the PETM interval. As burrow size is a proxy for body size, significant reductions in burrow diameter suggest that their tracemakers were smaller bodied. Smaller body sizes may have resulted from higher subsurface temperatures, lower soil moisture conditions, or nutritionally deficient vegetation in the high-CO2 atmosphere inferred for the PETM. Smaller soil fauna co-occur with dwarf mammal taxa during the PETM; thus, a common forcing mechanism may have selected for small size in both above- and below-ground terrestrial communities. We predict that soil fauna have already shown reductions in size over the last 150 years of increased atmospheric CO2 and surface temperatures or that they will exhibit this pattern over the next century. We retrodict also that soil fauna across the Permian-Triassic and Triassic-Jurassic boundary events show significant size decreases because of similar forcing mechanisms driven by rapid global warming.

Impact of dissolution on the sedimentary record of the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum

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Bralower, Timothy J.; Kelly, D. Clay; Gibbs, Samantha; Farley, Kenneth; Eccles, Laurie; Lindemann, T. Logan; Smith, Gregory J.

2014-09-01

The input of massive amounts of carbon to the atmosphere and ocean at the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; ˜55.53 Ma) resulted in pervasive carbonate dissolution at the seafloor. At many sites this dissolution also penetrated into the underlying sediment column. The magnitude of dissolution at and below the seafloor, a process known as chemical erosion, and its effect on the stratigraphy of the PETM, are notoriously difficult to constrain. Here, we illuminate the impact of dissolution by analyzing the complete spectrum of sedimentological grain sizes across the PETM at three deep-sea sites characterized by a range of bottom water dissolution intensity. We show that the grain size spectrum provides a measure of the sediment fraction lost during dissolution. We compare these data with dissolution and other proxy records, electron micrograph observations of samples and lithology. The complete data set indicates that the two sites with slower carbonate accumulation, and less active bioturbation, are characterized by significant chemical erosion. At the third site, higher carbonate accumulation rates, more active bioturbation, and possibly winnowing have limited the impacts of dissolution. However, grain size data suggest that bioturbation and winnowing were not sufficiently intense to diminish the fidelity of isotopic and microfossil assemblage records.

Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and its Effects on Continental Biotas: Evidence from Polecat Bench in Northwestern Wyoming

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Gingerich, P. D.

2012-12-01

Many important environmental events in the geological past were first recognized by their effects on the associated biota, and this is true for the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum or PETM global greenhouse warming event, which happened 55 million years before present. In the Southern Ocean, PETM carbon and oxygen isotope anomalies were found to coincide with a major terminal-Paleocene disappearance or extinction of benthic foraminiferans. On North America the PETM carbon isotope excursion (CIE) was found to coincide with mammalian dwarfing and a major initial-Eocene appearance or origination event of continental mammals. Linking the two records, marine and continental, resolved a long-standing disagreement over competing definitions of the Paleocene-Eocene epoch boundary, and more importantly indicated that the PETM greenhouse warming event was global. Dwarfing of herbivorous mammals can be interpreted as a response to elevated atmospheric CO2. The origin of modern orders of mammals including Artiodactyla, Perissodactyla, and Primates ('APP' taxa) is more complicated and difficult to explain but the origin of these orders may also be a response, directly or indirectly, to PETM warming. We now know from Polecat Bench and elsewhere in North America that the biotic response to PETM greenhouse warming involved the appearance of at least two new mammalian faunas distinct from previously known Clarkforkian mammals of the upper or late Paleocene and previously known Wasatchian mammals of the lower or early Eocene. Three stages and ages of the former are known (Cf-1 to Cf-3) and seven stages and ages of the latter are known (Wa-1 to Wa-7), each occupying about a hundred meters of strata representing a half-million years or so of time. Between the standard Clarkforkian and Wasatchian faunal zones is an initial 'Wa-M' faunal zone of only five or so meters in thickness and something on the order of 20 thousand years of geological time. The Wa-M fauna includes the first

Chromium Isotope Anomaly Scaling with Past Warming Episodes

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Remmelzwaal, S.; O'Connor, L.; Preston, W.; Parkinson, I. J.; Schmidt, D. N.

2017-12-01

The recent expansion of oxygen minimum zones caused by anthropogenic global warming raises questions about the scale of this expansion with different emission scenarios. Ocean deoxygenation will impact marine ecosystems and fisheries demanding an assessment of the possible extent and intensity of deoxygenation. Here, we used past climate warming events to quantify a potential link between warming and the spread of oxygen minimum zones: including Ocean Anoxic Event (OAE) 1a, OAE 2 in the Cretaceous, the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), the Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2), and Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles. We applied the emerging proxy of chromium isotopes in planktic foraminifera to assess redox changes during the PETM, ETM2, and Pleistocene and bulk carbonate for the OAEs. Both δ53Cr and chromium concentrations respond markedly during the PETM indicative of a reduction in dissolved oxygen concentrations caused by changes in ocean ventilation and associated warming [1]. A strong correlation between Δδ53Cr and benthic Δδ18O, a measure of the excursion size in both oxygen and chromium isotopes, suggest temperatures to be one of the main drivers of ocean deoxygenation in the past [1]. Chromium concentrations decrease during ETM2 and OAE1a, and, increase by 4.5 ppm over the Plenus Cold Event during OAE2, which suggests enhanced seafloor ventilation. [1] Remmelzwaal, S.R.C., Dixon, S., Parkinson, I.J., Schmidt, D.N., Monteiro, F.M., Sexton, P., Fehr, M., Peacock, C., Donnadieu, Y., James, R.H., in review. Ocean deoxygenation during the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. EPSL.

Pronounced peramorphosis in lissamphibians--Aviturus exsecratus (Urodela, Cryptobranchidae from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum of Mongolia.

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Davit Vasilyan

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The oldest and largest member of giant salamanders (Cryptobranchidae Aviturus exsecratus appears in the latest Paleocene (near the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum of Mongolia. Based on femoral and vertebral morphology and metrics, a terrestrial adaptation has been supposed for this species. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A detailed morphological reinvestigation of published as well as unpublished material reveals that this salamander shows a vomerine dentition that is posteriorly shifted and arranged in a zigzag pattern, a strongly developed olfactory region within the cranial cavity, and the highest bone ossification and relatively longest femur among all fossil and recent cryptobranchids. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The presence of these characteristics indicates a peramorphic developmental pattern for Aviturus exsecratus. Our results from Av. exsecratus indicate for the first time pronounced peramorphosis within a crown-group lissamphibian. Av. exsecratus represents a new developmental trajectory within both fossil and recent lissamphibian clades characterized by extended ontogeny and large body size, resembling the pattern known from late Paleozoic eryopines. Moreover, Av. exsecratus is not only a cryptobranchid with distinctive peramorphic characters, but also the first giant salamander with partially terrestrial (amphibious lifestyle. The morphology of the vomers and dentaries suggests the ability of both underwater and terrestrial feeding.

Scaled biotic disruption during early Eocene global warming events

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S. J. Gibbs

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Late Paleocene and early Eocene hyperthermals are transient warming events associated with massive perturbations of the global carbon cycle, and are considered partial analogues for current anthropogenic climate change. Because the magnitude of carbon release varied between the events, they are natural experiments ideal for exploring the relationship between carbon cycle perturbations, climate change and biotic response. Here we quantify marine biotic variability through three million years of the early Eocene that include five hyperthermals, utilizing a method that allows us to integrate the records of different plankton groups through scenarios ranging from background to major extinction events. Our long time-series calcareous nannoplankton record indicates a scaling of biotic disruption to climate change associated with the amount of carbon released during the various hyperthermals. Critically, only the three largest hyperthermals, the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2 and the I1 event, show above-background variance, suggesting that the magnitude of carbon input and associated climate change needs to surpass a threshold value to cause significant biotic disruption.

Tropical Atlantic climate and ecosystem regime shifts during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

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Frieling, Joost; Reichart, Gert-Jan; Middelburg, Jack J.; Röhl, Ursula; Westerhold, Thomas; Bohaty, Steven M.; Sluijs, Appy

2018-01-01

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 56 Ma) was a phase of rapid global warming associated with massive carbon input into the ocean-atmosphere system from a 13C-depleted reservoir. Many midlatitude and high-latitude sections have been studied and document changes in salinity, hydrology and sedimentation, deoxygenation, biotic overturning, and migrations, but detailed records from tropical regions are lacking. Here, we study the PETM at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 959 in the equatorial Atlantic using a range of organic and inorganic proxies and couple these with dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) assemblage analysis. The PETM at Site 959 was previously found to be marked by a ˜ 3.8 ‰ negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) and a ˜ 4 °C surface ocean warming from the uppermost Paleocene to peak PETM, of which ˜ 1 °C occurs before the onset of the CIE. We record upper Paleocene dinocyst assemblages that are similar to PETM assemblages as found in extratropical regions, confirming poleward migrations of ecosystems during the PETM. The early stages of the PETM are marked by a typical acme of the tropical genus Apectodinium, which reaches abundances of up to 95 %. Subsequently, dinocyst abundances diminish greatly, as do carbonate and pyritized silicate microfossils. The combined paleoenvironmental information from Site 959 and a close-by shelf site in Nigeria implies the general absence of eukaryotic surface-dwelling microplankton during peak PETM warmth in the eastern equatorial Atlantic, most likely caused by heat stress. We hypothesize, based on a literature survey, that heat stress might have reduced calcification in more tropical regions, potentially contributing to reduced deep sea carbonate accumulation rates, and, by buffering acidification, also to biological carbonate compensation of the injected carbon during the PETM. Crucially, abundant organic benthic foraminiferal linings imply sustained export production, likely driven by prokaryotes. In

Hydrological and associated biogeochemical consequences of rapid global warming during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

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Carmichael, Matthew J.; Inglis, Gordon N.; Badger, Marcus P. S.; Naafs, B. David A.; Behrooz, Leila; Remmelzwaal, Serginio; Monteiro, Fanny M.; Rohrssen, Megan; Farnsworth, Alexander; Buss, Heather L.; Dickson, Alexander J.; Valdes, Paul J.; Lunt, Daniel J.; Pancost, Richard D.

2017-10-01

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) hyperthermal, 56 million years ago (Ma), is the most dramatic example of abrupt Cenozoic global warming. During the PETM surface temperatures increased between 5 and 9 °C and the onset likely took hydrological and associated biogeochemical feedbacks, and proxy data from the PETM can provide constraints on changes in warm climate hydrology simulated by general circulation models (GCMs). In this paper, we provide a critical review of biological and geochemical signatures interpreted as direct or indirect indicators of hydrological change at the PETM, explore the importance of adopting multi-proxy approaches, and present a preliminary model-data comparison. Hydrological records complement those of temperature and indicate that the climatic response at the PETM was complex, with significant regional and temporal variability. This is further illustrated by the biogeochemical consequences of inferred changes in hydrology and, in fact, changes in precipitation and the biogeochemical consequences are often conflated in geochemical signatures. There is also strong evidence in many regions for changes in the episodic and/or intra-annual distribution of precipitation that has not widely been considered when comparing proxy data to GCM output. Crucially, GCM simulations indicate that the response of the hydrological cycle to the PETM was heterogeneous - some regions are associated with increased precipitation - evaporation (P - E), whilst others are characterised by a decrease. Interestingly, the majority of proxy data come from the regions where GCMs predict an increase in PETM precipitation. We propose that comparison of hydrological proxies to GCM output can be an important test of model skill, but this will be enhanced by further data from regions of model-simulated aridity and simulation of extreme precipitation events.

Chemistry of the Marlboro Clay in Virginia and Implications for the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

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Zimmer, M.; Cai, Y.; Corley, A.; Liang, J. A.; Powars, D.; Goldstein, S. L.; Kent, D. V.; Broecker, W. S.

2017-12-01

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was a global hyperthermal ( 5ºC warming) event marked by a rapid carbon isotope excursion (CIE) of >1‰ in the marine carbonate record (e.g. Zeebe et al. Nature Geoscience 2009). Possible explanations for the CIE include intrusion of a sill complex into organic carbonate (Aarnes et al. J. Geol. Soc. 2015), dissolution of methane hydrates (Thomas et al. Geology 2002), and a comet impact event (Schaller et al. Science 2016). Here we present new data across the PETM from the VirginiaDEQ-USGS Surprise Hill (SH) core, Northumberland Co., VA. We analyzed the Marlboro Clay, a thick, kaolinite-rich clay unit that marks the initiation of the PETM in the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of North America, as well as units above and below it. Bulk sediment records a δ13C excursion of approximately -5‰ across the CIE, while benthic foraminifera (Cibicidoides spp.) record a synchronous excursion of approximately -4.5‰. These results are consistent with other records from the New Jersey Coastal Plain (Makarova et al. Paleoceanography 2017). The excursion coincides with an increase in magnetic susceptibility, a decrease in bulk CaCO3 content, and an 2.5‰ decrease of δ18O in both the bulk sediment and benthic foraminifera of the SH core. Pb isotope analyses of the fraction sediments indicate a unique provenance make-up for the Marlboro Clay. The results of the study thus indicate that PETM Marlboro Clay was not generated simply by intensified weathering of the same source area as the underlying Aquia Formation and overlying Nanjemoy Formation. Any hypothesis that aims to explain the mechanism that triggered the PETM must also account for the observed distinct provenance make-up of the Marlboro Clay.

Tropical Atlantic climate and ecosystem regime shifts during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

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J. Frieling

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 56 Ma was a phase of rapid global warming associated with massive carbon input into the ocean–atmosphere system from a 13C-depleted reservoir. Many midlatitude and high-latitude sections have been studied and document changes in salinity, hydrology and sedimentation, deoxygenation, biotic overturning, and migrations, but detailed records from tropical regions are lacking. Here, we study the PETM at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP Site 959 in the equatorial Atlantic using a range of organic and inorganic proxies and couple these with dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst assemblage analysis. The PETM at Site 959 was previously found to be marked by a  ∼  3.8 ‰ negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE and a  ∼  4 °C surface ocean warming from the uppermost Paleocene to peak PETM, of which  ∼  1 °C occurs before the onset of the CIE. We record upper Paleocene dinocyst assemblages that are similar to PETM assemblages as found in extratropical regions, confirming poleward migrations of ecosystems during the PETM. The early stages of the PETM are marked by a typical acme of the tropical genus Apectodinium, which reaches abundances of up to 95 %. Subsequently, dinocyst abundances diminish greatly, as do carbonate and pyritized silicate microfossils. The combined paleoenvironmental information from Site 959 and a close-by shelf site in Nigeria implies the general absence of eukaryotic surface-dwelling microplankton during peak PETM warmth in the eastern equatorial Atlantic, most likely caused by heat stress. We hypothesize, based on a literature survey, that heat stress might have reduced calcification in more tropical regions, potentially contributing to reduced deep sea carbonate accumulation rates, and, by buffering acidification, also to biological carbonate compensation of the injected carbon during the PETM. Crucially, abundant organic benthic foraminiferal linings imply

Effects of ocean acidification on the marine calcium isotope record at the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

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Griffith, Elizabeth M.; Fantle, Matthew S.; Eisenhauer, Anton; Paytan, Adina; Bullen, Thomas D.

2015-06-01

Carbonates are used extensively to reconstruct paleoclimate and paleoceanographic conditions over geologic time scales. However, these archives are susceptible to diagenetic alteration via dissolution, recrystallization and secondary precipitation, particularly during ocean acidification events when intense dissolution can occur. Despite the possible effects of diagenesis on proxy fidelity, the impacts of diagenesis on the calcium isotopic composition (δ44Ca) of carbonates are unclear. To shed light on this issue, bulk carbonate δ44Ca was measured at high resolution in two Pacific deep sea sediment cores (ODP Sites 1212 and 1221) with considerably different dissolution histories over the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ∼ 55 Ma). The δ44Ca of marine barite was also measured at the deeper Site 1221, which experienced severe carbonate dissolution during the PETM. Large variations (∼ 0.8 ‰) in bulk carbonate δ44Ca occur in the deeper of the two sites at depths corresponding to the peak carbon isotope excursion, which correlate with a large drop in carbonate weight percent. Such an effect is not observed in either the 1221 barite record or the bulk carbonate record at the shallower Site 1212, which is also less affected by dissolution. We contend that ocean chemical changes associated with abrupt and massive carbon release into the ocean-atmosphere system and subsequent ocean acidification at the PETM affected the bulk carbonate δ44Ca record via diagenesis in the sedimentary column. Such effects are considerable, and need to be taken into account when interpreting Ca isotope data and, potentially, other geochemical proxies over extreme climatic events that drive sediment dissolution.

Variability in climate and productivity during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum in the western Tethys (Forada section)

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Giusberti, L.; Boscolo Galazzo, F.; Thomas, E.

2016-02-01

The Forada section (northeastern Italy) provides a continuous, expanded deep-sea record of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) in the central-western Tethys. We combine a new, high-resolution, benthic foraminiferal assemblage record with published calcareous plankton, mineralogical and biomarker data to document climatic and environmental changes across the PETM, highlighting the benthic foraminiferal extinction event (BEE). The onset of the PETM, occurring ˜ 30 kyr after a precursor event, is marked by a thin, black, barren clay layer, possibly representing a brief pulse of anoxia and carbonate dissolution. The BEE occurred within the 10 cm interval including this layer. During the first 3.5 kyr of the PETM, several agglutinated recolonizing taxa show rapid species turnover, indicating a highly unstable, CaCO3-corrosive environment. Calcareous taxa reappeared after this interval, and the next ˜9 kyr were characterized by rapid alternation of peaks in abundance of various calcareous and agglutinated recolonizers. These observations suggest that synergistic stressors, including deepwater CaCO3 corrosiveness, low oxygenation, and high environmental instability caused the extinction. Combined faunal and biomarker data (BIT index, higher plant n-alkane average chain length) and the high abundance of the mineral chlorite suggest that erosion and weathering increased strongly at the onset of the PETM, due to an overall wet climate with invigorated hydrological cycle, which led to storm flood events carrying massive sediment discharge into the Belluno Basin. This interval was followed by the core of the PETM, characterized by four precessionally paced cycles in CaCO3 %, hematite %, δ13C, abundant occurrence of opportunistic benthic foraminiferal taxa, and calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal taxa typical of high-productivity environments, radiolarians, and lower δDn-alkanes. We interpret these cycles as reflecting alternation between an overall

Outpacing the Anthropocene: New Constraints for the Rate of Carbon Release at the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

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Wright, J. D.; Schaller, M. F.

2012-12-01

The Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) Carbon Isotope Excursion (CIE) is linked to benthic foraminiferal extinction and excursion taxa in planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils. Previous studies have used integrated bio-magneto-stratigraphies, cycle counting, and extraterrestrial 3He accumulation rates to produce a range of estimates for the duration of the initial onset of the PETM CIE between 750 years to 30 kyr. Durations for the total release time (onset to initiation of recovery) range from 45 to 95 kyr. Uncertainty in the timing of the onset of the PETM CIE prevents the identification of a causal mechanism, and hence understanding the biological responses. Recent work on the Paleocene/Eocene Marlboro Clay has unveiled the presence of regular couplets (~2 cm) expressed in multiple cores and exposures throughout the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Specifically, the Millville and newly recovered Wilson Lake B cores contain 750 and 660 layers through the CIE, respectively. These couplets have corresponding oxygen stable isotope cycles, arguing for a climatic origin. Orbital and millennial periodicities are far too long to explain the ~750 layers identified in the Millville core. Seasonal insolation is the only regular climate cycle that can plausibly account for the observed δ18O amplitudes (~1‰, with some cycles up to 2‰) and layer counts. Seasonal freshwater input can also augment the cyclic oscillations in δ18O, but the majority of the variability is most plausibly ascribed to temperature. Wilson Lake B and Millville have total δ13C excursions of -5 and -4.5‰ respectively, as well as highly expanded sections of the PETM CIE. In the Millville core, high-resolution, bulk stable isotope records show a 3.5‰ δ13C decrease over 12 layers across the PETM CIE onset. Concomitant with this δ13C decrease is a sharp drop in CaCO3. Decreases in both proxies require a large, sudden release of isotopically light carbon. The couplet chronology indicates

Down the Rabbit Hole: toward appropriate discussion of methane release from gas hydrate systems during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum and other past hyperthermal events

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G. R. Dickens

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Enormous amounts of ¹³C-depleted carbon rapidly entered the exogenic carbon cycle during the onset of the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM, as attested to by a prominent negative carbon isotope (δ¹³C excursion and deep-sea carbonate dissolution. A widely cited explanation for this carbon input has been thermal dissociation of gas hydrate on continental slopes, followed by release of CH₄ from the seafloor and its subsequent oxidation to CO₂ in the ocean or atmosphere. Increasingly, papers have argued against this mechanism, but without fully considering existing ideas and available data. Moreover, other explanations have been presented as plausible alternatives, even though they conflict with geological observations, they raise major conceptual problems, or both. Methane release from gas hydrates remains a congruous explanation for the δ¹³C excursion across the PETM, although it requires an unconventional framework for global carbon and sulfur cycling, and it lacks proof. These issues are addressed here in the hope that they will prompt appropriate discussions regarding the extraordinary carbon injection at the start of the PETM and during other events in Earth's history.

A dynamic climate and ecosystem state during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: inferences from dinoflagellate cyst assemblages on the New Jersey Shelf

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A. Sluijs

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Late Paleocene and Early Eocene climates and ecosystems underwent significant change during several transient global warming phases, associated with rapidly increasing atmospheric carbon concentrations, of which the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; ~55.5 Ma is best studied. While biotic response to the PETM as a whole (~170 kyrs has been relatively well documented, variations during the PETM have been neglected. Here we present organic dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst distribution patterns across two stratigraphically expanded PETM sections from the New Jersey Shelf, Bass River and Wilson Lake. Many previously studied sites show a uniform abundance of the thermophilic and presumably heterotrophic taxon Apectodinium that spans the entire carbon isotope excursion (CIE of the PETM. In contrast, the New Jersey sections show large variations in abundances of many taxa during the PETM, including the new species Florentinia reichartii that we formally propose. We infer paleoecological preferences of taxa that show temporal abundance peaks, both qualitative and absolute quantitative, from empirical as well as statistical information, i.e., principle (PCA and canonical correspondence analyses (CCA. In the CCAs, we combine the dinocyst data with previously published environmental proxy data from these locations, such as TEX₈₆ paleothermometry, magnetic susceptibility and sedimentary size fraction. The combined information supports previous inferences that sea level rose during the PETM, but also indicates a (regional increase in fresh-water runoff that started ~10 kyr after the onset of the CIE, and perhaps precession-paced cycles in sea surface productivity. The highly variable dinocyst assemblages of the PETM contrast with rather stable Upper Paleocene assemblages, which suggests that carbon input caused a dynamic climate state, at least regionally.

Release of Volatiles During North Atlantic Flood Basalt Volcanism and Correlation to the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

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Pedersen, J. M.; Tegner, C.; Kent, A. J.; Ulrich, T.

2017-12-01

The opening of the North Atlantic Ocean between Greenland and Norway during the lower Tertiary led to intense flood basalt volcanism and the emplacement of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP). The volcanism is temporally overlapping with the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), but ash stratigraphy and geochronology suggests that the main flood basalt sequence in East Greenland postdates the PETM. Significant environmental changes during the PETM have been attributed to the release of CO2 or methane gas due to either extensive melting of hydrates at the ocean floor or as a consequence of the interaction of mantle derived magmas with carbon rich sediments.Estimates suggest that a minimum of 1.8x106 km3 of basaltic lava erupted during North Atlantic flood basalt volcanism. Based on measurements of melt inclusions from the flood basalts our preliminary calculations suggest that approximately 2300 Gt of SO2 and 600 Gt of HCl were released into the atmosphere. Calculated yearly fluxes approach 23 Mt/y SO2 and 6 Mt/y HCl. These estimates are regarded as conservative.The S released into to the atmosphere during flood basalt volcanism can form acid aerosols that absorb and reflect solar radiation, causing an effective cooling effect. The climatic effects of the release of Cl into the atmosphere are not well constrained, but may be an important factor for extinction scenarios due to destruction of the ozone layer.The climatic changes due to the release of S and Cl in these amounts, and for periods extending for hundred thousand of years, although not yet fully constrained are likely to be significant. One consequence of the North Atlantic flood basalt volcanism may have been the initiation of global cooling to end the PETM.

Intercontinental dispersal of giant thermophilic ants across the Arctic during early Eocene hyperthermals.

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Archibald, S Bruce; Johnson, Kirk R; Mathewes, Rolf W; Greenwood, David R

2011-12-22

Early Eocene land bridges allowed numerous plant and animal species to cross between Europe and North America via the Arctic. While many species suited to prevailing cool Arctic climates would have been able to cross throughout much of this period, others would have found dispersal opportunities only during limited intervals when their requirements for higher temperatures were met. Here, we present Titanomyrma lubei gen. et sp. nov. from Wyoming, USA, a new giant (greater than 5 cm long) formiciine ant from the early Eocene (approx. 49.5 Ma) Green River Formation. We show that the extinct ant subfamily Formiciinae is only known from localities with an estimated mean annual temperature of about 20°C or greater, consistent with the tropical ranges of almost all of the largest living ant species. This is, to our knowledge, the first known formiciine of gigantic size in the Western Hemisphere and the first reported cross-Arctic dispersal by a thermophilic insect group. This implies intercontinental migration during one or more brief high-temperature episodes (hyperthermals) sometime between the latest Palaeocene establishment of intercontinental land connections and the presence of giant formiciines in Europe and North America by the early middle Eocene.

Benthic foraminifera at the Paleocene/Eocene thermal maximum in the western Tethys (Forada section): variability in climate and productivity

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Giusberti, L.; Boscolo Galazzo, F.; Thomas, E.

2015-09-01

The Forada section (northeastern Italy) provides a continuous, expanded deep-sea record of the Paleocene/Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) in the central-western Tethys. We combine a new, high resolution, benthic foraminiferal assemblage record with published calcareous plankton, mineralogical and biomarker data to document climatic and environmental changes across the PETM, highlighting the benthic foraminiferal extinction event (BEE). The onset of the PETM, occurring ~ 30 kyr after a precursor event, is marked by a thin, black, barren clay layer, possibly representing a brief pulse of anoxia and carbonate dissolution. The BEE occurred within the 10 cm interval including this layer. During the first 3.5 kyr of the PETM several agglutinated recolonizing taxa show rapid species turnover, indicating a highly unstable, CaCO3-corrosive environment. Calcareous taxa reappeared after this interval, and the next ~ 9 kyr were characterized by rapid alternation of peaks in abundance of various calcareous and agglutinant recolonizers. These observations suggest that synergistic stressors including deep water CaCO3-corrosiveness, low oxygenation, and high environmental instability caused the extinction. Combined faunal and biomarker data (BIT index, higher plant n-alkane average chain length) and the high abundance of the mineral chlorite suggest that erosion and weathering increased strongly at the onset of the PETM, due to an overall wet climate with invigorated hydrological cycle, which led to storm flood-events carrying massive sediment discharge into the Belluno Basin. This interval was followed by the core of the PETM, characterized by four precessionally paced cycles in CaCO3%, hematite%, δ13C, abundant occurrence of opportunistic benthic foraminiferal taxa, as well as calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal taxa typical of high productivity environments, radiolarians, and lower δDn-alkanes. We interpret these cycles as reflecting alternation between an

Impact ejecta at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary.

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Schaller, Morgan F; Fung, Megan K; Wright, James D; Katz, Miriam E; Kent, Dennis V

2016-10-14

Extraterrestrial impacts have left a substantial imprint on the climate and evolutionary history of Earth. A rapid carbon cycle perturbation and global warming event about 56 million years ago at the Paleocene-Eocene (P-E) boundary (the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum) was accompanied by rapid expansions of mammals and terrestrial plants and extinctions of deep-sea benthic organisms. Here, we report the discovery of silicate glass spherules in a discrete stratigraphic layer from three marine P-E boundary sections on the Atlantic margin. Distinct characteristics identify the spherules as microtektites and microkrystites, indicating that an extraterrestrial impact occurred during the carbon isotope excursion at the P-E boundary. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Intercontinental dispersal of giant thermophilic ants across the Arctic during early Eocene hyperthermals

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Archibald, S. Bruce; Johnson, Kirk R.; Mathewes, Rolf W.; Greenwood, David R.

2011-01-01

Early Eocene land bridges allowed numerous plant and animal species to cross between Europe and North America via the Arctic. While many species suited to prevailing cool Arctic climates would have been able to cross throughout much of this period, others would have found dispersal opportunities only during limited intervals when their requirements for higher temperatures were met. Here, we present Titanomyrma lubei gen. et sp. nov. from Wyoming, USA, a new giant (greater than 5 cm long) formiciine ant from the early Eocene (approx. 49.5 Ma) Green River Formation. We show that the extinct ant subfamily Formiciinae is only known from localities with an estimated mean annual temperature of about 20°C or greater, consistent with the tropical ranges of almost all of the largest living ant species. This is, to our knowledge, the first known formiciine of gigantic size in the Western Hemisphere and the first reported cross-Arctic dispersal by a thermophilic insect group. This implies intercontinental migration during one or more brief high-temperature episodes (hyperthermals) sometime between the latest Palaeocene establishment of intercontinental land connections and the presence of giant formiciines in Europe and North America by the early middle Eocene. PMID:21543354

Palaeoceanographic and biotic response during early Eocene extreme global warming events. Geologica Ultraiectina (328)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stap, H.L.

2010-01-01

Studying past intervals of abrupt global warming and massive carbon release can improve our knowledge in ways relevant to understanding future climate change. Possible paleo-analogues for future climate change are the early Paleogene hyperthermal events, such as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

A Pelagic Paleocene Seouence in the Biga Peninsula Northwest Turkey

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M. Burak YIKILMAZ

2002-06-01

Full Text Available A sequence of pelagic limestone, calciturbidite, debris flow, greywacke, basalt and limestone blocks. up to several hundred metres across, occur west of the town of Biga in northwest Turkey. The pelagic limestones in this sequence, named as the Ballıkaya formation, comprise pelagic foraminifera of Palaeocene age. Neritic limestone of Mid-Eocene age lies unconformably over the Ballıkaya formation. The age and the sedimentary environment of the Ballıkaya formation indicate the presence of a tectonically active deep-sea environment in northwest Turkey during the Palaeocene, and constrain the main Alpide deformation in northwest Turkey to the Late Palaeocene - Early Eocene interval.

Paleo-Productivity across the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Walvis Ridge Transect (ODP Sites 1262, 1263, and 1266)

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Chun, C. O.; Delaney, M. L.; Zachos, J. C.

2005-12-01

Walvis Ridge transect (Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 208) provides the first high-resolution depth-transect of deep-sea sediments recovered from the south Atlantic across the P/E boundary. A geographically restricted depth transect (~ 2.2 km, water depths between 2500 and 4770 m) allows us to constrain the surface waters by assuming marine productivity conditions in the overlying water column are similar across all sites. The sediment record will reveal variations for processes that are water-depth dependent. We use the geochemical tracers; biogenic barium, phosphorus, calcium carbonate, and the redox sensitive trace elements manganese and uranium, to reconstruct nutrient burial, paleoproductivity, and bottom water redox chemistry across the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). We calculate our concentrations on a calcium carbonate-free basis to account for dilution by non-carbonate sediments. Trace metal enrichment factors (EFs) are calculated relative to bulk crustal averages. We chose three sites from the depth transect: the shallowest (Site 1263, 2717 m water depth), an intermediate site (Site 1266, 3798 m water depth), and the deepest site (Site 1262, 4755 m water depth). We sampled each site at a sample resolution of ~ 1-2 kyr for 5 m.y. centered at 55 Ma. Uranium EFs at the shallow site exhibits values ~ 5 pre-event and drop to values near crustal averages during and after the carbon isotope excursion (CIE). No dramatic changes in U EFs across the P/E boundary are recorded at the deep and intermediate sites. Mn EFs range between 2.9 -8.6 prior to the event across all three sites, suggesting an oxygenated depositional environment. At the boundary, Mn EFs drop to crustal averages at all sites, then gradually return to pre-event values, indicating more reducing environments during the CIE, a possible explanation for the benthic extinction event (BEE) observed across this transect. Ba excess and reactive phosphorus exhibit decreased concentrations during

Growth response of a deep-water ferromanganese crust to evolution of the Neogene Indian Ocean

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Banakar, V.K.; Hein, J.R.

of crust accretion. PSsPleistocene; PLsPliocene; LMsLate Miocene; MMsMiddle Miocene; EMsEarly Miocene; LOsLate Oligocene; EOsEarly Oligocene; LEsLate Eocene; MEsMiddle Eocene; EEsEarly Eocene; and PsPalaeocene. High carbonate accumulation due to substantial...

Magnetostratigraphy in the Lodo Formation, CA: An Attempt to Locate Hyperthermals of the Early Eocene

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Aldrich, N. C.; Pluhar, C. J.; Gibbs, S.; Rieth, J. A.

2015-12-01

The Lodo Formation in the California Coast Range, Fresno County records the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and possibly other Early Eocene hyperthermal events. The Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2, ELMO, or H1) represents a hyperthermal event that occurred approximately 2 million years after the PETM and just prior to the C24r - C24n magnetic reversal (≈ 53.9 Ma) in the Ypresian. While the ETM2 event has been located in offshore samples, it has been more difficult to locate in a terrestrial section. This project attempts to locate the ETM2 magnetostratigraphically by finding the paleomagnetic reversal at C24r-C24n.3n, provide geochronological framework, and assess sedimentation rate changes during this time. This area is known to have had a high rate of deposition (16.8 cm/kyr ) during the PETM, which is found lower in the section. We collected 36 new samples from a 13.44m section spanning stratigraphy thought to cover the ETM2 along with 31 previous samples spanning the PETM, and prepared them for paleomagnetic and paleontological analysis. We analyzed samples using standard paleomagnetic methods including low-temperature and thermal demagnetization. Preliminary results suggest that the magnetostratigraphy spans the C24r-C24n boundary, while the micropaleontology shows the NP10-NP11 boundary, which occurs near the ETM2 as well as the NP11-NP12 boundary. The data indicate an order-of-magnitude drop in sedimentation rate in the lower Eocene at this site, concomitant with a drop in grain size, compared with the PETM.

Reconstructing Atmospheric CO2 Through The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum Using Stomatal Index and Stomatal Density Values From Ginkgo adiantoides

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Barclay, R. S.; Wing, S. L.

2013-12-01

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was a geologically brief interval of intense global warming 56 million years ago. It is arguably the best geological analog for a worst-case scenario of anthropogenic carbon emissions. The PETM is marked by a ~4-6‰ negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) and extensive marine carbonate dissolution, which together are powerful evidence for a massive addition of carbon to the oceans and atmosphere. In spite of broad agreement that the PETM reflects a large carbon cycle perturbation, atmospheric concentrations of CO2 (pCO2) during the event are not well constrained. The goal of this study is to produce a high resolution reconstruction of pCO2 using stomatal frequency proxies (both stomatal index and stomatal density) before, during, and after the PETM. These proxies rely upon a genetically controlled mechanism whereby plants decrease the proportion of gas-exchange pores (stomata) in response to increased pCO2. Terrestrial sections in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, contain macrofossil plants with cuticle immediately bracketing the PETM, as well as dispersed plant cuticle from within the body of the CIE. These fossils allow for the first stomatal-based reconstruction of pCO2 near the Paleocene-Eocene boundary; we also use them to determine the relative timing of pCO2 change in relation to the CIE that defines the PETM. Preliminary results come from macrofossil specimens of Ginkgo adiantoides, collected from an ~200ka interval prior to the onset of the CIE (~230-30ka before), and just after the 'recovery interval' of the CIE. Stomatal index values decreased by 37% within an ~70ka time interval at least 100ka prior to the onset of the CIE. The decrease in stomatal index is interpreted as a significant increase in pCO2, and has a magnitude equivalent to the entire range of stomatal index adjustment observed in modern Ginkgo biloba during the anthropogenic CO2 rise during the last 150 years. The inferred CO2 increase prior to the

Astronomical calibration of the geological timescale: closing the middle Eocene gap

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Westerhold, T.; Röhl, U.; Frederichs, T.; Bohaty, S. M.; Zachos, J. C.

2015-09-01

To explore cause and consequences of past climate change, very accurate age models such as those provided by the astronomical timescale (ATS) are needed. Beyond 40 million years the accuracy of the ATS critically depends on the correctness of orbital models and radioisotopic dating techniques. Discrepancies in the age dating of sedimentary successions and the lack of suitable records spanning the middle Eocene have prevented development of a continuous astronomically calibrated geological timescale for the entire Cenozoic Era. We now solve this problem by constructing an independent astrochronological stratigraphy based on Earth's stable 405 kyr eccentricity cycle between 41 and 48 million years ago (Ma) with new data from deep-sea sedimentary sequences in the South Atlantic Ocean. This new link completes the Paleogene astronomical timescale and confirms the intercalibration of radioisotopic and astronomical dating methods back through the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 55.930 Ma) and the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (66.022 Ma). Coupling of the Paleogene 405 kyr cyclostratigraphic frameworks across the middle Eocene further paves the way for extending the ATS into the Mesozoic.

The Eocene climate of China, the early elevation of the Tibetan Plateau and the onset of the Asian Monsoon.

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Wang, Qing; Spicer, Robert A; Yang, Jian; Wang, Yu-Fei; Li, Cheng-Sen

2013-12-01

Eocene palynological samples from 37 widely distributed sites across China were analysed using co-existence approach to determine trends in space and time for seven palaeoclimate variables: Mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, mean temperature of the warmest month, mean temperature of the coldest month, mean annual range of temperature, mean maximum monthly precipitation and mean minimum monthly precipitation. Present day distributions and observed climates within China of the nearest living relatives of the fossil forms were used to find the range of a given variable in which a maximum number of taxa can coexist. Isotherm and isohyet maps for the early, middle and late Eocene were constructed. These illustrate regional changing patterns in thermal and precipitational gradients that may be interpreted as the beginnings of the modern Asian Monsoon system, and suggest that the uplift of parts of the Tibetan Plateau appear to have taken place by the middle to late Eocene. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Stratigraphy of Eocene Sediments in the Soutwest Thrace

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Muhsin SÜMENGEN

1991-06-01

Full Text Available The area concerned is situated in the Gelibolu peninsula, north of the Saros Bay and northwest of the Marmara sea sediments of Upper Cretaceous to Miocene age, having a variety of fades crop out SW of Thrace. During the present survey, the goal was to examine the stratigraphic features of the Eocene sediments in the region. The Tertiary basin is underlain by an ophiolitic complex emplaced prior to Maastrichtian and limestone of Maastrichtian to Palaeocene age. The base of the limestone is not exposed within the region. The Tertiary transgression began in the Early Eocene in the Gelibolu peninsula. Massive mudstones, sandstone sequences that become thicker and coarser upward, and channel fill sediments are the first products of this transgression (Karaağaç limanı formation. This sequence is overlain by deltaic sediments beginning with massive mudstones and becoming thicker and coarser upward (Koyun limanı formation. These sediments are conformably and transitionally overlain by interbedded mudstone and sandstone, cut by channel fill deposits (Rcitepe formation. This formation was formed by meandering rivers. The sea that progressed inward to the Gelibolu peninsula during the Early Eocene began to become shallower again at the beginning of Lutetian and as a result, the region as a whole became a positive area during the Middle Lutetian. During the Late Lutetian, a new transgression occurred in the entire region. The first product of this transgression was a limestone (Soğucak formation. This limestone which was deposited in a shallow sea environment is locally intercalated with sandstone and conglomerate. The sea became deeper from the beginning of Upper Eocene. Firstly, turbiditic sandstone, and mudstone interbedded hemipelagic mudstone (Gaziköy formation with tuff, and carbonate mudstone and massive mudstone (Burgaz formation were deposited. These units are products of flat basins. These are, in turn, overlain by sequences consisting of

Calcium Isotope (δ44/40Ca) Composition of Morozovella Velascoensis During the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum Ocean Acidification Event

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Kitch, G. D.; Jacobson, A. D.; Hurtgen, M.; Sageman, B. B.; Harper, D. T.; Zachos, J. C.

2017-12-01

Ocean acidification (OA) events are transient disruptions to the carbonate chemistry of seawater that involve decreases in pH, [CO32-] and carbonate mineral saturation states (Ω). Numerical modeling studies predict that the Ca isotope (δ44/40Ca) composition of primary marine carbonate should be sensitive to OA1, and recent evidence from the rock record may support this hypothesis2. Boron isotope (δ11B) data for the planktonic foraminifera Morozovella velascoensis indicate that the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; 55 Mya) was an interval of pronounced OA3, although the Ca isotope composition of the bulk carbonate record appears to show post-burial diagenetic effects4. To further evaluate the Ca isotope proxy, we used a high-precision (2σSD=±0.04‰), double-spike (43Ca-42Ca) TIMS method5 to measure δ44/40Ca values of well-preserved M. velascoensis tests spanning the PETM. M. velascoensis tests (250-355 µm) were picked from samples recovered during ODP Leg 198, Site 1209 on Shatsky Rise in the equatorial Pacific. Five M. velascoensis tests were combined per sample, dissolved, spiked, and analyzed using a Triton TIMS. Repeat dissolutions of ten samples gave δ44/40Ca values within ±0.04‰ of the original measurements. Method and procedural blanks were negligible. δ44/40Ca values are elevated, even before the negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) that marks the PETM. When δ11/10B values decrease during the CIE, δ44/40Ca values remain elevated, but then decrease by 0.10‰ as δ11B values return to pre-CIE levels. The apparent inverse correlation between δ44/40Ca and δ11B values suggests that Ca isotope fractionation by M. velascoensis was sensitive to OA. A decrease in pH indicated by lower δ11B values is consistent with higher δ44/40Ca values (decreased fractionation) due to elevated [Ca2+]/[CO32-] ratios and reduced W. The Ca isotope composition of pristine foraminiferal calcite may have potential for reconstructing [CO32-]. The current

Testing the ``Wildfire Hypothesis:'' Terrestrial Organic Carbon Burning as the Cause of the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary Carbon Isotope Excursion

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Moore, E. A.; Kurtz, A. C.

2005-12-01

The 3‰ negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary has generally been attributed to dissociation of seafloor methane hydrates. We are testing the alternative hypothesis that the carbon cycle perturbation resulted from wildfires affecting the extensive peatlands and coal swamps formed in the Paleocene. Accounting for the CIE with terrestrial organic carbon rather than methane requires a significantly larger net release of fossil carbon to the ocean-atmosphere, which may be more consistent with the extreme global warming and ocean acidification characteristic of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). While other researchers have noted evidence of fires at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary in individual locations, the research presented here is designed to test the "wildfire hypothesis" for the Paleocene-Eocene boundary by examining marine sediments for evidence of a global increase in wildfire activity. Such fires would produce massive amounts of soot, widely distributed by wind and well preserved in marine sediments as refractory black carbon. We expect that global wildfires occurring at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary would produce a peak in black carbon abundance at the PETM horizon. We are using the method of Gelinas et al. (2001) to produce high-resolution concentration profiles of black carbon across the Paleocene-Eocene boundary using seafloor sediments from ODP cores, beginning with the Bass River core from ODP leg 174AX and site 1209 from ODP leg 198. This method involves the chemical and thermal extraction of non-refractory carbon followed by combustion of the residual black carbon and measurement as CO2. Measurement of the δ 13C of the black carbon will put additional constraints on the source of the organic material combusted, and will allow us to determine if this organic material was formed prior to or during the CIE.

Atmospheric pCO2 reconstructed across five early Eocene global warming events

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Cui, Ying; Schubert, Brian A.

2017-11-01

Multiple short-lived global warming events, known as hyperthermals, occurred during the early Eocene (56-52 Ma). Five of these events - the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM or ETM1), H1 (or ETM2), H2, I1, and I2 - are marked by a carbon isotope excursion (CIE) within both marine and terrestrial sediments. The magnitude of CIE, which is a function of the amount and isotopic composition of carbon added to the ocean-atmosphere system, varies significantly between marine versus terrestrial substrates. Here we use the increase in carbon isotope fractionation by C3 land plants in response to increased pCO2 to reconcile this difference and reconstruct a range of background pCO2 and peak pCO2 for each CIE, provided two potential carbon sources: methane hydrate destabilization and permafrost-thawing/organic matter oxidation. Although the uncertainty on each pCO2 estimate using this approach is low (e.g., median uncertainty = + 23% / - 18%), this work highlights the potential for significant systematic bias in the pCO2 estimate resulting from sampling resolution, substrate type, diagenesis, and environmental change. Careful consideration of each of these factors is required especially when applying this approach to a single marine-terrestrial CIE pair. Given these limitations, we provide an upper estimate for background early Eocene pCO2 of 463 +248/-131 ppmv (methane hydrate scenario) to 806 +127/-104 ppmv (permafrost-thawing/organic matter oxidation scenario). These results, which represent the first pCO2 proxy estimates directly tied to the Eocene hyperthermals, demonstrate that early Eocene warmth was supported by background pCO2 less than ∼3.5× preindustrial levels and that pCO2 > 1000 ppmv may have occurred only briefly, during hyperthermal events.

New euprimate postcrania from the early Eocene of Gujarat, India, and the strepsirrhine-haplorhine divergence.

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Dunn, Rachel H; Rose, Kenneth D; Rana, Rajendra S; Kumar, Kishor; Sahni, Ashok; Smith, Thierry

2016-10-01

The oldest primates of modern aspect (euprimates) appear abruptly on the Holarctic continents during a brief episode of global warming known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, at the beginning of the Eocene (∼56 Ma). When they first appear in the fossil record, they are already divided into two distinct clades, Adapoidea (basal members of Strepsirrhini, which includes extant lemurs, lorises, and bushbabies) and Omomyidae (basal Haplorhini, which comprises living tarsiers, monkeys, and apes). Both groups have recently been discovered in the early Eocene Cambay Shale Formation of Vastan lignite mine, Gujarat, India, where they are known mainly from teeth and jaws. The Vastan fossils are dated at ∼54.5 Myr based on associated dinoflagellates and isotope stratigraphy. Here, we describe new, exquisitely preserved limb bones of these Indian primates that reveal more primitive postcranial characteristics than have been previously documented for either clade, and differences between them are so minor that in many cases we cannot be certain to which group they belong. Nevertheless, the small distinctions observed in some elements foreshadow postcranial traits that distinguish the groups by the middle Eocene, suggesting that the Vastan primates-though slightly younger than the oldest known euprimates-may represent the most primitive known remnants of the divergence between the two great primate clades. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Atmospheric pCO2 Reconstructed across the Early Eocene Hyperthermals

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Y.; Schubert, B.

2015-12-01

Negative carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) are commonly associated with extreme global warming. The Early Eocene is punctuated by five such CIEs, the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM, ca. 55.8 Ma), H1 (ca. 53.6 Ma), H2 (ca. 53.5 Ma), I1 (ca. 53.3 Ma), and I2 (ca. 53.2 Ma), each characterized by global warming. The negative CIEs are recognized in both marine and terrestrial substrates, but the terrestrial substrates exhibit a larger absolute magnitude CIE than the marine substrates. Here we reconcile the difference in CIE magnitude between the terrestrial and marine substrates for each of these events by accounting for the additional carbon isotope fractionation by C3 land plants in response to increased atmospheric pCO2. Our analysis yields background and peak pCO2 values for each of the events. Assuming a common mechanism for each event, we calculate that background pCO2 was not static across the Early Eocene, with the highest background pCO2 immediately prior to I2, the last of the five CIEs. Background pCO2 is dependent on the source used in our analysis with values ranging from 300 to 720 ppmv provided an injection of 13C-depleted carbon with δ13C value of -60‰ (e.g. biogenic methane). The peak pCO2 during each event scales according to the magnitude of CIE, and is therefore greatest during the PETM and smallest during H2. Both background and peak pCO2 are higher if we assume a mechanism of permafrost thawing (δ13C = -25‰). Our reconstruction of pCO2 across these events is consistent with trends in the δ18O value of deep-sea benthic foraminifera, suggesting a strong link between pCO2 and temperature during the Early Eocene.

Tempo and scale of late Paleocene and early Eocene carbon isotope cycles: Implications for the origin of hyperthermals

Science.gov (United States)

Zachos, James C.; McCarren, Heather; Murphy, Brandon; Röhl, Ursula; Westerhold, Thomas

2010-10-01

The upper Paleocene and lower Eocene are marked by several prominent (> 1‰) carbon isotope (δ 13C) excursions (CIE) that coincide with transient global warmings, or thermal maxima, including the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The CIE, which are recorded mainly in marine sedimentary sequences, have also been identified in continental sequences, occurred episodically, and yet appear to be paced or triggered by orbital forcing. To constrain the timing and scale of the CIE relative to long-term baseline variability, we have constructed a 4.52 million year (myr) long, high-resolution (~ 3 kyr) bulk sediment carbon isotope record spanning the lower Eocene to upper Paleocene (C25r-C24n) from a pelagic sediment section recovered at ODP Site 1262 in the southeast Atlantic. This section, which was orbitally-tuned utilizing high-resolution core log physical property and geochemical records, is the most stratigraphically complete upper Paleocene to lower Eocene sequence recovered to date. Time-series analysis of the carbon isotope record along with a high-resolution Fe intensity record obtained by XRF core scanner reveal cyclicity with variance concentrated primarily in the precession (21 kyr) and eccentricity bands (100 and 400-kyr) throughout the upper Paleocene-lower Eocene. In general, minima in δ 13C correspond with peaks in Fe (i.e., carbonate dissolution), both of which appear to be in phase with maxima in eccentricity. This covariance is consistent with excess oceanic uptake of isotopically depleted carbon resulting in lower carbonate saturation during periods of high eccentricity. This relationship includes all late Paleocene and early Eocene CIE confirming pacing by orbital forcing. The lone exception is the PETM, which appears to be out of phase with the 400-kyr cycle, though possibly in phase with the 100-kyr cycle, reinforcing the notion that a mechanism other than orbital forcing and/or an additional source of carbon is required to account for the

On the validity of discocyclina ramaraoi Samanta n.sp. 1967

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Setty, M.G.A

@iDiscocyclina ramaraoi@@ described as a new species by Samanta in 1967 from the Discocyclinid limestone-Upper Marlstone of Pondichery formation (Upper Palaeocene-Lower Eocene) of South India is compared with @iD. boetonensis@@ (van der Vlerk...

Synchronizing early Eocene deep-sea and continental records - cyclostratigraphic age models for the Bighorn Basin Coring Project drill cores

Science.gov (United States)

Westerhold, Thomas; Röhl, Ursula; Wilkens, Roy H.; Gingerich, Philip D.; Clyde, William C.; Wing, Scott L.; Bowen, Gabriel J.; Kraus, Mary J.

2018-03-01

A consistent chronostratigraphic framework is required to understand the effect of major paleoclimate perturbations on both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Transient global warming events in the early Eocene, at 56-54 Ma, show the impact of large-scale carbon input into the ocean-atmosphere system. Here we provide the first timescale synchronization of continental and marine deposits spanning the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and the interval just prior to the Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM-2). Cyclic variations in geochemical data come from continental drill cores of the Bighorn Basin Coring Project (BBCP, Wyoming, USA) and from marine deep-sea drilling deposits retrieved by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). Both are dominated by eccentricity-modulated precession cycles used to construct a common cyclostratigraphic framework. Integration of age models results in a revised astrochronology for the PETM in deep-sea records that is now generally consistent with independent 3He age models. The duration of the PETM is estimated at ˜ 200 kyr for the carbon isotope excursion and ˜ 120 kyr for the associated pelagic clay layer. A common terrestrial and marine age model shows a concurrent major change in marine and terrestrial biota ˜ 200 kyr before ETM-2. In the Bighorn Basin, the change is referred to as Biohorizon B and represents a period of significant mammalian turnover and immigration, separating the upper Haplomylus-Ectocion Range Zone from the Bunophorus Interval Zone and approximating the Wa-4-Wa-5 land mammal zone boundary. In sediments from ODP Site 1262 (Walvis Ridge), major changes in the biota at this time are documented by the radiation of a second generation of apical spine-bearing sphenolith species (e.g., S. radians and S. editus), the emergence of T. orthostylus, and the marked decline of D. multiradiatus.

Maximum neutron flux in thermal reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strugar, P.V.

1968-12-01

Direct approach to the problem is to calculate spatial distribution of fuel concentration if the reactor core directly using the condition of maximum neutron flux and comply with thermal limitations. This paper proved that the problem can be solved by applying the variational calculus, i.e. by using the maximum principle of Pontryagin. Mathematical model of reactor core is based on the two-group neutron diffusion theory with some simplifications which make it appropriate from maximum principle point of view. Here applied theory of maximum principle are suitable for application. The solution of optimum distribution of fuel concentration in the reactor core is obtained in explicit analytical form. The reactor critical dimensions are roots of a system of nonlinear equations and verification of optimum conditions can be done only for specific examples

The Paleocene Eocene carbon isotope excursion in higher plant organic matter: Differential fractionation of angiosperms and conifers in the Arctic

Science.gov (United States)

Schouten, Stefan; Woltering, Martijn; Rijpstra, W. Irene C.; Sluijs, Appy; Brinkhuis, Henk; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.

2007-06-01

A study of upper Paleocene-lower Eocene (P-E) sediments deposited on the Lomonosov Ridge in the central Arctic Ocean reveals relatively high abundances of terrestrial biomarkers. These include dehydroabietane and simonellite derived from conifers (gymnosperms) and a tetra-aromatic triterpenoid derived from angiosperms. The relative percentage of the angiosperm biomarker of the summed angiosperm + conifer biomarkers was increased at the end of the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), different when observed with pollen counts which showed a relative decrease in angiosperm pollen. Stable carbon isotopic analysis of these biomarkers shows that the negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) during the PETM amounts to 3‰ for both conifer biomarkers, dehydroabietane and simonellite, comparable to the magnitude of the CIE inferred from marine carbonates, but significantly lower than the 4.5‰ of the terrestrial C 29n-alkane [M. Pagani, N. Pedentchouk, M. Huber, A. Sluijs, S. Schouten, H. Brinkhuis, J.S. Sinninghe Damsté, G.R. Dickens, and the IODP Expedition 302 Expedition Scientists (2006), Arctic's hydrology during global warming at the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum. Nature, 442, 671-675.], which is a compound sourced by both conifers and angiosperms. Conspicuously, the angiosperm-sourced aromatic triterpane shows a much larger CIE of 6‰ and suggests that angiosperms increased in their carbon isotopic fractionation during the PETM. Our results thus indicate that the 4.5‰ C 29n-alkane CIE reported previously represents the average CIE of conifers and angiosperms at this site and suggest that the large and variable CIE observed in terrestrial records may be partly explained by the variable contributions of conifers and angiosperms. The differential response in isotopic fractionation of angiosperms and conifers points to different physiological responses of these vegetation types to the rise in temperature, humidity, and greenhouse gases during the PETM.

Ultimate Eocene (Priabonian) Chondrichthyans (Holocephali, Elasmobranchii) of Antarctica.

Science.gov (United States)

Kriwet, Jürgen; Engelbrecht, Andrea; Mörs, Thomas; Reguero, Marcelo; Pfaff, Cathrin

2016-01-01

The Eocene La Meseta Formation on Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, is known for its remarkable wealth of fossil remains of chondrichthyans and teleosts. Chondrichthyans seemingly were dominant elements in the Antarctic Paleogene fish fauna, but decreased in abundance from middle to late Eocene, during which time remains of bony fishes increase. This decline of chondrichthyans at the end of the Eocene generally is related to sudden cooling of seawater, reduction in shelf area, and increasing shelf depth due to the onset of the Antarctic thermal isolation. The last chondrichthyan records known so far include a chimeroid tooth plate from TELM 6 (Lutetian) and a single pristiophorid rostral spine from TELM 7 (Priabonian). Here, we present new chondrichthyan records of Squalus , Squatina , Pristiophorus , Striatolamia , Palaeohypotodus , Carcharocles , and Ischyodus from the upper parts of TELM 7 (Priabonian), including the first record of Carcharocles sokolovi from Antarctica. This assemblage suggests that chondrichthyans persisted much longer in Antarctic waters despite rather cool sea surface temperatures of approximately 5°C. The final disappearance of chondrichthyans at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary concurs with abrupt ice sheet formation in Antarctica. Diversity patterns of chondrichthyans throughout the La Meseta Formation appear to be related to climatic conditions rather than plate tectonics.

Palynostratigraphy, palynofacies and palaeoenvironment of deposition of Selandian to Aquitanian sediments, southeastern Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Okeke, Kingsley K.; Umeji, Obianuju P.

2016-08-01

Investigation of outcrop sections along the Onitsha-Awka transect in the Niger Delta Basin southeastern Nigeria was undertaken to assess the palynological composition, palynofacies and palaeoenvironment of deposition. Stratigraphic ranges of palynomorphs suggest an age of Selandian to Aquitanian. The palynological composition is marked by abundance of dinoflagellate cysts in the Imo Formation (Selandian to Thanetian), dominance of spores and pollen over dinoflagellate cysts in the Nanka Formation (Ypresian to Bartonian), and overwhelming amounts of spore and pollen in the Ogwashi Formation (Pariabonian to Aquitanian). Palynofacies content shows dominance of structureless organic matter in the Imo Formation, few phytoclasts in the Nanka Formation and maximum phytoclast amounts in the Ogwashi Formation. Thanetian to Ypresian boundary was marked by the mixing of older Palaeocene and younger Eocene microfossils, decrease of microflora towards the end of Palaeocene and the evolution of abundant and more diverse Eocene taxa. The Imo Formation was deposited in middle to outer neritic zone based on abundance of gonyaulacacean cysts. However, peridiniacean and terrestrial microflora extend the deposition range to shallow waters of inner neritic and coastal zone. Increase in diversity and abundance of terrestrial palynomorphs over marine palynomorphs assemblages in the overlying Nanka Formation suggest deposition under alternating coastal and inner neritic conditions while the Ogwashi Formation records oscillating coastal plain and brackish water depositional conditions. The palaeoenvironments illustrate that general retrogradation was followed by progradation of the delta during the Cenozoic.

Fission track dating of tuffaceous eocene formations of the North Bakony Mountains (Transdanubia, Hungary)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunkl, I.

1990-01-01

Fission track dating was performed in accessory minerals of strongly altered, clay mineralized tuffite strata lying in the upper part of the Eocene sequence of the North Bakony Mountains. The homogeneity of the fission track (FT) ages measured on apatite and zircon refers only to insignificant redeposition, no remarkable mingling of the detrital matter vould be stated. The average of the FT-ages falls to the Bartonian, into the time interval determined by nannoplankton guide horizons for the volcanic activity (41.9 ± 4.1 Ma). As to their biostratigraphic age the Middle Eocene samples show an FT-average of 44.2 ± 3.4 Ma, the average of the Upper Eocene group is 39.9 ± 4.1 Ma. The difference between the two groups refers to the two phases of the volcanic activity. The first maximum of volcanism generated the Upper Lutetian to Bartonian glauconitic sequence while the second maximum at the Bartonian-Priabonian boundary produced the tuff strata. The strata in the neighbouring areas relate to continuous volcanism in the Upper Eocene, in the studied area, however, the upper part of the Priabonian was eroded. (author) 51 refs.; 4 figs.; 1 tab

Analysis of Benthic Foraminiferal Size Change During the Eocene-Oligocene Transition

Science.gov (United States)

Zachary, W.; Keating-Bitonti, C.

2017-12-01

The Eocene-Oligocene transition is a significant global cooling event with the first growth of continental ice on Antarctica. In the geologic record, the size of fossils can be used to indirectly observe how organisms respond to climate change. For example, organisms tend to be larger in cooler environments as a physiological response to temperature. This major global cooling event should influence organism physiology, resulting in significant size trends observed in the fossil record. Benthic foraminifera are protists and those that grow a carbonate shell are both well-preserved and abundant in marine sediments. Here, we used the foraminiferal fossil record to study the relationship between their size and global cooling. We hypothesize that cooler temperatures across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary promoted shell size increase. To test this hypothesis, we studied benthic foraminifera from 10 deep-sea cores drilled at Ocean Drilling Program Site 744, located in the southern Indian Ocean. We washed sediment samples over a 63-micron sieve and picked foraminifera from a 125-micron sieve. We studied the benthic foraminiferal genus Cibicidoides and its size change across this cooling event. Picked specimens were imaged and we measured the diameter of their shells using "imageJ". Overall, we find that Cibicidoides shows a general trend of increasing size during this transition. In particular, both the median and maximum sizes of Cibicidoides increase from the Eocene into the Oligocene. We also analyzed C. pachyderma and C. mundulus for size trends. Although both species increase in median size across the boundary, only C. pachyderma shows a consistent trend of increasing maximum, median, and minimum shell diameter. After the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, we observe that shell diameter decreases following peak cooling and that foraminiferal sizes remain stable into the early Oligocene. Therefore, the Eocene-Oligocene cooling event appears to have strong influence on shell size.

Marine Export Production and Remineralization During Early Eocene Hyperthermal Events at ODP Site 1263, Walvis Ridge, ODP Site 1209, Shatsky Rise and ODP Site 1215, Equatorial Pacific Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, A.; Griffith, E. M.; Thomas, E.; Winguth, A. M. E.

2017-12-01

Understanding the impacts of global hyperthermal events on marine productivity and remineralization is important for understanding the reaction of the ocean to major climate change. Marine export production and remineralization was reconstructed using marine (pelagic) barite accumulation rates (BAR) coupled with records of benthic foraminiferal assemblages across the Paleocene - Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) at 55.3 Ma, Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2) 2 Ma later, and ETM3 3.1 Ma after the PETM. Marine barite accumulates in deep sea sediment precipitating in the overlying water column during degradation of organic matter exported from the photic zone. Foraminiferal data indicate the amount of organic matter reaching the seafloor. We use the difference between these records to infer changes in rates of remineralization. We present data from ODP Site on Walvis Ridge, Southeastern Atlantic; ODP Site 1209 on Shatsky Rise, North Pacific; and ODP Site 1215, equatorial Pacific. Sites 1263 and 1215 had maximum BAR roughly centered over the maximum negative PETM CIE, whereas at Site 1209 the maximum was before the PETM. The maximum BAR across ETM2 and ETM3 (0.5 and 0.25 of that at the PETM, respectively) was centered over the maximum negative CIE at Site 1263. At Site 1209, the BAR (0.5 the maximum value before the PETM) peaked before ETM2. Barite concentration at Site 1215 was low across at the smaller hyperthermals, but the onset of ETM2 had a maximum value food arrival at the seafloor during elevated BAR, thus indicating enhanced remineralization. During the PETM, at all 3 sites, increases in barite coincided with reduced BFAR. Similar trends were observed during ETM2 at Sites 1263 and 1215, suggesting dramatic changes in remineralization over all hyperthermal events at these sites. Increased remineralization rates could partly account for differences in planktonic and benthic extinction, as observed during the PETM.

Cenozoic tectono-thermal history of the Tordrillo Mountains, Alaska: Paleocene-Eocene ridge subduction, decreasing relief, and late Neogene faulting

Science.gov (United States)

Benowitz, Jeff A.; Haeussler, Peter J.; Layer, Paul W.; O'Sullivan, Paul B.; Wallace, Wes K.; Gillis, Robert J.

2012-01-01

Topographic development inboard of the continental margin is a predicted response to ridge subduction. New thermochronology results from the western Alaska Range document ridge subduction related orogenesis. K-feldspar thermochronology (KFAT) of bedrock samples from the Tordrillo Mountains in the western Alaska Range complement existing U-Pb, 40Ar/39Ar and AFT (apatite fission track) data to provide constraints on Paleocene pluton emplacement, and cooling as well as Late Eocene to Miocene vertical movements and exhumation along fault-bounded blocks. Based on the KFAT analysis we infer rapid exhumation-related cooling during the Eocene in the Tordrillo Mountains. Our KFAT cooling ages are coeval with deposition of clastic sediments in the Cook Inlet, Matanuska Valley and Tanana basins, which reflect high-energy depositional environments. The Tordrillo Mountains KFAT cooling ages are also the same as cooling ages in the Iliamna Lake region, the Kichatna Mountains of the western Alaska Range, and Mt. Logan in the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains, thus rapid cooling at this time encompasses a broad region inboard of, and parallel to, the continental margin extending for several hundred kilometers. We infer these cooling events and deposition of clastic rocks are related to thermal effects that track the eastward passage of a slab window in Paleocene-Eocene time related to the subduction of the proposed Resurrection-Kula spreading ridge. In addition, we conclude that the reconstructed KFATmax negative age-elevation relationship is likely related to a long period of decreasing relief in the Tordrillo Mountains.

A Possible Late Paleocene-Early Eocene Ocean Acidification Event Recoded in the Adriatic Carbonate Platform

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, A.; Martindale, R. C.; Kosir, A.; Oefinger, J.

2017-12-01

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) event ( 56.3 Ma) was a period of massive carbon release into the Earth system, resulting in significant shifts in ocean chemistry. It has been proposed that ocean acidification - a decrease in the pH and carbonate saturation state of the water as a result of dissolved carbon dioxide in sea water - occurred in both the shallow and deep marine realms. Ocean acidification would have had a devastating impact on the benthic ecosystem, and has been proposed as the cause of decreased carbonate deposition in marine sections and coral reef collapse during the late Paleocene. To date, however, the only physical evidence of Paleocene-Eocene ocean acidification has been shown for offshore sites (i.e., a shallow carbonate compensation depth), but isotope analysis (i.e. B, I/Ca) suggests that acidification occurred in the shallow shelves as well. Several sites in the Kras region of Slovenia, has been found to contain apparent erosion surfaces coeval with the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary. We have investigated these potentially acidified horizons using petrography, stable carbon isotopes, cathodoluminescence, and elemental mapping. These datasets will inform whether the horizons formed by seafloor dissolution in an acidified ocean, or are due to subaerial exposure, or burial diagenesis (i.e. stylotization). Physical erosion and diagenesis can easily be ruled out based on field relationships and petrography, but the other potential causes must be analyzed more critically.

Characteristics of microfossils assemblages of core SB-01 from Sanshui basin and discussion of paleocene-eocene boundary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Liang; Xie Yecai; Wang Zhengqing; Ma Chuang

2011-01-01

Characteristics of microfossils assemblages of core SB-01 from Sanshui Basin have been analysised in this paper. Based on micropaleontological study and data from carbon and oxygen isotopes of bulk carbonates, which depth of Paleocene-Eocene boundary from the core was discussed. Ostracode assemblages include the Sinocypris nitela-Cyprois buxinensis-Limnocythere honggangensis assemblage(89.0-73.38 m) with few species and low abundance and the Sinocypris nitela-Cyprois buxinensis-Limnocythere honggangensis assemblage (73.38-0 m) with few species and low abundance during early and middle the core deposition and relatively many species and abundance increasing quickly of the late time of the core deposition; Charophyte assemblages contain the Peckichara subspherica-Rhabdochara jiangduensis assemblage (89.0-73.38 m) with rich species, high abundance and large sizes of fossils and the Gyrogona qianjiangica-Obtusochara brevicylindrica assemblage (73.38-53.75 m) with few species,low abundance and small sizes of fossils. At 73.38 m core depth, the great changes of microfossils assemblages and carbon isotopes values (decrease by more than 3.0 per thousand) and oxygen isotopes values of bulk carbonates take place, which consist with the geological records of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). Hence, Paleocene-Eocene boundary of SanShui Basin should be roughly placed at 73.38 m core depth. (authors)

Extinction vs. Rapid Radiation: The Juxtaposed Evolutionary Histories of Coelotine Spiders Support the Eocene-Oligocene Orogenesis of the Tibetan Plateau.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Zhe; Li, Shuqiang

2017-11-01

Evolutionary biology has long been concerned with how changing environments affect and drive the spatiotemporal development of organisms. Coelotine spiders (Agelenidae: Coelotinae) are common species in the temperate and subtropical areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Their long evolutionary history and the extremely imbalanced distribution of species richness suggest that Eurasian environments, especially since the Cenozoic, are the drivers of their diversification. We use phylogenetics, molecular dating, ancestral area reconstructions, diversity, and ecological niche analyses to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution of 286 coelotine species from throughout the region. Based on eight genes (6.5 kb) and 2323 de novo DNA sequences, analyses suggest an Eocene South China origin for them. Most extant, widespread species belong to the southern (SCG) or northern (NCG) clades. The origin of coelotine spiders appears to associate with either the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum or the hot period in early Eocene. Tibetan uplifting events influenced the current diversity patterns of coelotines. The origin of SCG lies outside of the Tibetan Plateau. Uplifting in the southeastern area of the plateau blocked dispersal since the Late Eocene. Continuous orogenesis appears to have created localized vicariant events, which drove rapid radiation in SCG. North-central Tibet is the likely location of origin for NCG and many lineages likely experienced extinction owing to uplifting since early Oligocene. Their evolutionary histories correspond with recent geological evidence that high-elevation orographical features existed in the Tibetan region as early as 40-35 Ma. Our discoveries may be the first empirical evidence that links the evolution of organisms to the Eocene-Oligocene uplifting of the Tibetan Plateau. [Tibet; biogeography; ecology; molecular clock; diversification.]. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Society of Systematic

Identification of the Paleocene-Eocene boundary in coastal strata in the Otway Basin, Victoria, Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Frieling, Joost; Huurdeman, Emiel P.; Rem, Charlotte C. M.; Donders, Timme H.; Pross, Jörg; Bohaty, Steven M.; Holdgate, Guy R.; Gallagher, Stephen J.; McGowran, Brian; Bijl, Peter K.

2018-02-01

dinocyst Apectodinium prior to this negative carbon isotope excursion prohibit a direct correlation of this regional bio-event with the quasi-global Apectodinium acme at the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; 56 Ma). Therefore, the first occurrence of the pollen species Spinizonocolpites prominatus and the dinocyst species Florentinia reichartii are here designated as regional markers for the PETM. In the Latrobe-1 drill core, dinocyst biostratigraphy further indicates that the early Eocene ( ˜ 56-51 Ma) sediments are truncated by a ˜ 10 Myr long hiatus overlain by middle Eocene ( ˜ 40 Ma) strata. These sedimentary archives from southeast Australia may prove key in resolving the model-data discrepancy in this region, and the new stratigraphic data presented here allow for detailed comparisons between paleoclimate records on both sides of the Tasmanian Gateway.

A new record of the Paleocene Carbon Isotope Maximum from the Mississippi Embayment

Science.gov (United States)

Platt, B. F.; Gerweck, E. D.

2017-12-01

The Paleocene-Eocene interval is well known as a time of climatic transitions, especially hyperthermals associated with disturbances in the carbon cycle that are used as proxies for impacts of projected anthropogenic global climate change. A recent roadcut in Benton County, Mississippi exposes a disconformity between the Paleocene Naheola Formation and the Eocene Meridian Sand. The disconformity is developed on a thick, kaolinitic paleosol, which we interpret as a mature Oxisol that supported tropical rainforest vegetation (as evidenced by associated well preserved leaf fossils). The nature of the paleosol at the disconformity led us to hypothesize that the strata might contain evidence of the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). We sampled two Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute (MMRI) cores from the equivalent stratigraphic interval from Benton and Tippah Counties, Mississippi, for bulk organic carbon stable isotopes at 25-cm intervals. Results showed no evidence of the negative excursion characteristic of the PETM. Instead, we found a gradual upsection enrichment that we interpret as the positive trend characteristic of the lower Paleocene Carbon Isotope Maximum (PCIM). This is reasonable based on published biostratigraphy and absolute ages from elsewhere in the Naheola Formation. Further analyses will be performed to determine whether the PCIM trend continues throughout the remainder of the core. The identification of the PCIM in Mississippi Embayment (ME) sediments is important because stable carbon isotope data may be useful for improving chronostratigraphy in the ME. Also, the PCIM is associated with a gradual warming trend as indicated by previously published stable oxygen isotopes from benthic foraminifera. Studying successive ME paleosols throughout the PCIM may yield information about the impacts of gradual atmospheric warming on soils and associated terrestrial systems.

Analysis of Eocene depositional environments - Preliminary TM and TIMS results, Wind River Basin, Wyoming

Science.gov (United States)

Stucky, Richard K.; Krishtalka, Leonard; Redline, Andrew D.; Lang, Harold R.

1987-01-01

Both Landsat TM and aircraft Thermal IR Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) data have been used to map the lithofacies of the Wind River Basin's Eocene physical and biological environments. Preliminary analyses of these data have furnished maps of a fault contact boundary and a complex network of fluvial ribbon channel sandstones. The synoptic view thereby emerging for Eocene fluvial facies clarifies the relationships of ribbon channel sandstones to fossil-bearing overbank/floodplain facies and certain peleosols. The utility of TM and TIMS data is thereby demonstrated.

Global change during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sluijs, A.

2006-01-01

Proxy data indicate that atmospheric CO2 concentrations expected for the next centuries have not been equaled since the early Paleogene, approximately 66 to 45 Million years (Ma) ago. The early Paleogene global climate appears to have been substantially warmer than that of present day, likely in

Porosity and sonic velocity depth trends of Eocene chalk in Atlantic Ocean: Influence of effective stress and temperature

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Awedalkarim, Ahmed; Fabricius, Ida Lykke

2014-01-01

We aimed to relate changes in porosity and sonic velocity data, measured on water-saturated Eocene chalks from 36 Ocean Drilling Program drill sites in the Atlantic Ocean, to vertical effective stress and thermal maturity. We considered only chalk of Eocene age to avoid possible influence...... not show or at least it is difficult to define a clear pore-stiffening contact cementation trend as the Ontong Java Plateau chalk. Mechanical compaction is the principal cause of porosity reduction (at shallow depths) in the studied Eocene chalk, at least down to about 5MPa Terzaghi׳s effective stress...

On a grain of sand - a microhabitat for the opportunistic agglutinated foraminifera Hemisphaerammina apta n. sp., from the early Eocene Arctic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

McNeil, David H.; Neville, Lisa A.

2018-02-01

Hemisphaerammina apta n. sp. is an attached monothalamous agglutinated foraminifera discovered in shelf sediments of the early Eocene Arctic Ocean. It is a simple yet distinctive component of the endemic agglutinated foraminiferal assemblage that colonized the Arctic Ocean after the microfaunal turnover caused by the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Associated foraminifera are characterized by a high percentage of monothalamous species (up to 60 %) and are entirely agglutinated indicating a brackish (mesohaline) early Eocene Arctic Ocean. Hemisphaerammina apta occurs exclusively as individuals attached to fine detrital grains (0.2 to 1.8 mm) of sediment. It is a small species (0.06 to 0.2 mm in diameter), fine-grained, with a low hemispherical profile, no floor across the attachment area, no substantive marginal flange, no internal structures, and no aperture. Lacking an aperture, it apparently propagated and fed through minute (micrometre-sized) interstitial pores in the test wall. Attachment surfaces vary from concave to convex and rough to smooth. Grains for attachment are diverse in shape and type but are predominantly of quartz and chert. The presence of H. apta in the early Eocene was an opportunistic response to an environment with an active hydrological system (storm events). Attachment to grains of sand would provide a more stable base on a sea floor winnowed by storm-generated currents. Active transport is indicated by the relative abundance of reworked foraminifera mixed with in situ species. Contemporaneous reworking and colonization by H. apta is suggested by its attachment to a reworked specimen of Cretaceous foraminifera.

Oldest skeleton of a plesiadapiform provides additional evidence for an exclusively arboreal radiation of stem primates in the Palaeocene

Science.gov (United States)

Chester, Stephen G. B.; Williamson, Thomas E.; Bloch, Jonathan I.; Silcox, Mary T.; Sargis, Eric J.

2017-05-01

Palaechthonid plesiadapiforms from the Palaeocene of western North America have long been recognized as among the oldest and most primitive euarchontan mammals, a group that includes extant primates, colugos and treeshrews. Despite their relatively sparse fossil record, palaechthonids have played an important role in discussions surrounding adaptive scenarios for primate origins for nearly a half-century. Likewise, palaechthonids have been considered important for understanding relationships among plesiadapiforms, with members of the group proposed as plausible ancestors of Paromomyidae and Microsyopidae. Here, we describe a dentally associated partial skeleton of Torrejonia wilsoni from the early Palaeocene (approx. 62 Ma) of New Mexico, which is the oldest known plesiadapiform skeleton and the first postcranial elements recovered for a palaechthonid. Results from a cladistic analysis that includes new data from this skeleton suggest that palaechthonids are a paraphyletic group of stem primates, and that T. wilsoni is most closely related to paromomyids. New evidence from the appendicular skeleton of T. wilsoni fails to support an influential hypothesis based on inferences from craniodental morphology that palaechthonids were terrestrial. Instead, the postcranium of T. wilsoni indicates that it was similar to that of all other plesiadapiforms for which skeletons have been recovered in having distinct specializations consistent with arboreality.

Fossils in Late Cretaceous to early Palaeocene flint nodules embedded in pleistocene glaciofluvial sediments near Fukov (Děčín District, Northern Bohemia)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pokorný, R.; Kaše, J.; Kvaček, J.; Zágoršek, K.; Kočí, T.; Žítt, Jiří

2012-01-01

Roč. 68, 3/4 (2012), s. 119-131 ISSN 0036-5343 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : Erratic boulders * Flint * Glaciofluvial sediments * Late Cretaceous * Northern Bohemia * Palaeocene * Pleistocene glaciation * Taphocoenosis Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy http://www.nm.cz/publikace/archiv.php?id=4&rok=68&kcislu=3-4&f_=Zobrazit

Mid-latitude continental temperatures through the early Eocene in western Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Inglis, Gordon N.; Collinson, Margaret E.; Riegel, Walter; Wilde, Volker; Farnsworth, Alexander; Lunt, Daniel J.; Valdes, Paul; Robson, Brittany E.; Scott, Andrew C.; Lenz, Olaf K.; Naafs, B. David A.; Pancost, Richard D.

2017-02-01

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are increasingly used to reconstruct mean annual air temperature (MAAT) during the early Paleogene. However, the application of this proxy in coal deposits is limited and brGDGTs have only been detected in immature coals (i.e. lignites). Using samples recovered from Schöningen, Germany (∼48°N palaeolatitude), we provide the first detailed study into the occurrence and distribution of brGDGTs through a sequence of early Eocene lignites and associated interbeds. BrGDGTs are abundant and present in every sample. In comparison to modern studies, changes in vegetation type do not appear to significantly impact brGDGT distributions; however, there are subtle differences between lignites - representing peat-forming environments - and siliciclastic nearshore marine interbed depositional environments. Using the most recent brGDGT temperature calibration (MATmr) developed for soils, we generate the first continental temperature record from central-western continental Europe through the early Eocene. Lignite-derived MAAT estimates range from 23 to 26 °C while those derived from the nearshore marine interbeds exceed 20 °C. These estimates are consistent with other mid-latitude environments and model simulations, indicating enhanced mid-latitude, early Eocene warmth. In the basal part of the section studied, warming is recorded in both the lignites (∼2 °C) and nearshore marine interbeds (∼2-3 °C). This culminates in a long-term temperature maximum, likely including the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). Although this long-term warming trend is relatively well established in the marine realm, it has rarely been shown in terrestrial settings. Using a suite of model simulations we show that the magnitude of warming at Schöningen is broadly consistent with a doubling of CO2, in agreement with late Paleocene and early Eocene pCO2 estimates.

Quantified abundance of magnetofossils at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary from synchrotron-based transmission X-ray microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Huapei; Wang, Jun; Chen-Wiegart, Yu-Chen Karen; Kent, Dennis V

2015-10-13

The Paleocene-Eocene boundary (∼55.8 million years ago) is marked by an abrupt negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) that coincides with an oxygen isotope decrease interpreted as the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum. Biogenic magnetite (Fe3O4) in the form of giant (micron-sized) spearhead-like and spindle-like magnetofossils, as well as nano-sized magnetotactic bacteria magnetosome chains, have been reported in clay-rich sediments in the New Jersey Atlantic Coastal Plain and were thought to account for the distinctive single-domain magnetic properties of these sediments. Uncalibrated strong field magnet extraction techniques have been typically used to provide material for scanning and transmission electron microscopic imaging of these magnetic particles, whose concentration in the natural sediment is thus difficult to quantify. In this study, we use a recently developed ultrahigh-resolution, synchrotron-based, full-field transmission X-ray microscope to study the iron-rich minerals within the clay sediment in their bulk state. We are able to estimate the total magnetization concentration of the giant biogenic magnetofossils to be only ∼10% of whole sediment. Along with previous rock magnetic studies on the CIE clay, we suggest that most of the magnetite in the clay occurs as isolated, near-equidimensional nanoparticles, a suggestion that points to a nonbiogenic origin, such as comet impact plume condensates in what may be very rapidly deposited CIE clays.

Early Eocene birds from La Borie, southern France

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bourdon, Estelle; Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile; Laurent, Yves

2016-01-01

The Early Eocene locality of La Borie is located in the village of Saint-Papoul, in southern France. These Eocene fluvio-lacustrine clay deposits have yielded numerous vertebrate remains. Mammalian taxa found in the fossiliferous levels indicate an age near the reference level MP 8–9, which...... corresponds to the middle Ypresian, Lower Eocene. Here we provide a detailed description of the avian remains that were preliminarily reported in a recent study of the vertebrate fauna from La Borie. A maxilla, a quadrate, cervical vertebrae, a femur and two tibiotarsi are assigned to the giant ground bird...... Gastornis parisiensis Hébert, 1855 (Gastornithidae). These new avian remains add to the fossil record of Gastornis, which is known from the Upper Paleocene to Middle Eocene of Europe, Early Eocene of Asia, and Early Eocene of North America. Gastornis parisiensis differs from the North American Gastornis...

New interpretations based on seismic and modelled well data and their implications for the tectonic evolution of the west Greenland continental margin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mcgregor, E.D.; Nielsen, S.B.; Stephenson, R.A.

Davis Strait is situated between Baffin Island and Greenland and forms part of a sedimentary basin system, linking Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay, developed during Cretaceous and Palaeocene rifting that culminated in a brief period of sea-floor spreading in the late Palaeocene and Eocene. Seismic...... reflection profiles and exploration wells along the Greenland margin of Davis Strait have been analysed in order to elucidate uplift events affecting sedimentary basin development during the Cenozoic with a focus on postulated Neogene (tectonic) uplift affecting the west Greenland continental margin...... tectonic event. An interpretation in which the inferred onshore cooling is related to erosion of pre-existing topography is more consistent with our new results from the offshore region. These results will have important implications for other continental margins developed throughout the Atlantic...

Early Eocene birds from La Borie, southern France

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Estelle Bourdon

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The early Eocene locality of La Borie is located in the village of Saint-Papoul, in southern France. These Eocene flu-vio-lacustrine clay deposits have yielded numerous vertebrate remains. Mammalian taxa found in the fossiliferous levels indicate an age near the reference level MP 8–9, which corresponds to the middle Ypresian, early Eocene. Here we provide a detailed description of the avian remains that were preliminarily reported in a recent study of the vertebrate fauna from La Borie. A maxilla, a quadrate, cervical vertebrae, a femur and two tibiotarsi are assigned to the giant ground bird Gastornis parisiensis (Gastornithidae. These new avian remains add to the fossil record of Gastornis, which is known from the late Paleocene to middle Eocene of Europe, early Eocene of Asia and early Eocene of North America. Gastornis parisiensis differs from the North American Gastornis giganteus in several features, including the more ventral position of the narial openings and the slender orbital process of quadrate. Two tibiotarsi and one tarsometatarsus are assigned to a new genus and species of Geranoididae, Galligeranoides boriensis gen. et sp. nov. So far, this family was known only from the early and middle Eocene of North America. The fossils from La Borie constitute the first record of the Geranoididae in Europe. We show that Gastornis coexisted with the Geranoididae in the early Eocene of both Europe (La Borie and North America (Willwood Formation. The presence of Geranoididae and the large flightless bird Gastornis on either side of the present-day North Atlantic provides further evidence that a high-latitude land connection existed between Europe and North America in the early Eocene.

maximum neutron flux at thermal nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strugar, P.

1968-10-01

Since actual research reactors are technically complicated and expensive facilities it is important to achieve savings by appropriate reactor lattice configurations. There is a number of papers, and practical examples of reactors with central reflector, dealing with spatial distribution of fuel elements which would result in higher neutron flux. Common disadvantage of all the solutions is that the choice of best solution is done starting from the anticipated spatial distributions of fuel elements. The weakness of these approaches is lack of defined optimization criteria. Direct approach is defined as follows: determine the spatial distribution of fuel concentration starting from the condition of maximum neutron flux by fulfilling the thermal constraints. Thus the problem of determining the maximum neutron flux is solving a variational problem which is beyond the possibilities of classical variational calculation. This variational problem has been successfully solved by applying the maximum principle of Pontrjagin. Optimum distribution of fuel concentration was obtained in explicit analytical form. Thus, spatial distribution of the neutron flux and critical dimensions of quite complex reactor system are calculated in a relatively simple way. In addition to the fact that the results are innovative this approach is interesting because of the optimization procedure itself [sr

Antarctic glaciation caused ocean circulation changes at the Eocene-Oligocene transition.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldner, A; Herold, N; Huber, M

2014-07-31

Two main hypotheses compete to explain global cooling and the abrupt growth of the Antarctic ice sheet across the Eocene-Oligocene transition about 34 million years ago: thermal isolation of Antarctica due to southern ocean gateway opening, and declining atmospheric CO2 (refs 5, 6). Increases in ocean thermal stratification and circulation in proxies across the Eocene-Oligocene transition have been interpreted as a unique signature of gateway opening, but at present both mechanisms remain possible. Here, using a coupled ocean-atmosphere model, we show that the rise of Antarctic glaciation, rather than altered palaeogeography, is best able to explain the observed oceanographic changes. We find that growth of the Antarctic ice sheet caused enhanced northward transport of Antarctic intermediate water and invigorated the formation of Antarctic bottom water, fundamentally reorganizing ocean circulation. Conversely, gateway openings had much less impact on ocean thermal stratification and circulation. Our results support available evidence that CO2 drawdown--not gateway opening--caused Antarctic ice sheet growth, and further show that these feedbacks in turn altered ocean circulation. The precise timing and rate of glaciation, and thus its impacts on ocean circulation, reflect the balance between potentially positive feedbacks (increases in sea ice extent and enhanced primary productivity) and negative feedbacks (stronger southward heat transport and localized high-latitude warming). The Antarctic ice sheet had a complex, dynamic role in ocean circulation and heat fluxes during its initiation, and these processes are likely to operate in the future.

Heavy mineral sorting in downwards injected Palaeocene sandstone, Siri Canyon, Danish North Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kazerouni, Afsoon Moatari; Friis, Henrik; Svendsen, Johan Byskov

2011-01-01

Post-depositional remobilization and injection of sand are often seen in deep-water clastic systems and has been recently recognised as a significant modifier of deep-water sandstone geometry. Large-scale injectite complexes have been interpreted from borehole data in the Palaeocene Siri Canyon...... of depositional structures in deep-water sandstones, the distinction between "in situ" and injected or remobilised sandstones is often ambiguous. Large scale heavy mineral sorting (in 10 m thick units) is observed in several reservoir units in the Siri Canyon and has been interpreted to represent the depositional...... sorting. In this study we describe an example of effective shear-zone sorting of heavy minerals in a thin downward injected sandstone dyke which was encountered in one of the cores in the Cecilie Field, Siri Canyon. Differences in sorting pattern of heavy minerals are suggested as a tool for petrographic...

Two Mechanisms for Methane Release at the Paleocene/Eocene Boundary

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, M. E.; Cramer, B. S.; Mountain, G. S.; Mountain, G. S.; Katz, S.; Miller, K. G.; Miller, K. G.

2001-12-01

The rapid global warming of the Paleocene/Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) has been attributed to a massive methane release from marine gas hydrate reservoirs. Two mechanisms have been proposed for this methane release. The first relies on a deepwater circulation change and water temperature increase that was sufficiently large and rapid to trigger massive thermal dissociation of gas hydrate frozen beneath the seafloor (Dickens et al., 1995). The second relies on slope failure (via erosion or seismic activity) of the oversteepened continental margins of the western North Atlantic to allow methane to escape from gas reservoirs trapped between the hydrate-bearing sediments and the underlying reef front (Katz et al., in press). We evaluate thermal dissociation by modeling heat flow through the sediments to show the effect of the temperature change on the gas hydrate stability zone through time. We use Paleocene bottom water temperatures (constrained by isotope records) and assume an instantaneous water temperature increase (i.e., no time allotted for ocean circulation change and water mass mixing). This yields an end-member minimum estimate of >2350 years necessary to melt all gas hydrate at locations shallower than 1570m; gas hydrates at greater depths remain frozen. We also use this model to predict the amount of C12-enriched methane that could have contributed to the carbon isotope excursion (CIE). Using reasonable methane distributions within sediments, we conclude that thermal dissociation alone cannot account for the full magnitude of the CIE. We propose that thermal dissociation did not initiate the CIE; rather, a different mechanism injected a large amount of carbon into the atmosphere, causing global greenhouse warming that could have led to subsequent thermal dissociation. Methane remains a plausible source for this initial carbon injection; however, initial release would have resulted from mechanical disruption of sediments rather than thermal dissociation

A middle Eocene carbon cycle conundrum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sluijs, A.; Zeebe, R.; Bijl, P.K.; Bohaty, S.M.

2013-01-01

The Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) was an approximately 500,000-year-long episode of widespread ocean-atmosphere warming about 40 million years ago, superimposed on a long-term middle Eocene cooling trend. It was marked by a rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, biotic changes and prolonged

Maximum thermal loading test of BWR fuel assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, Yoshitaka; Yoshimura, Kunihiro; Nakamura, Satoshi; Ishizuka, Takao.

1987-01-01

Various proving tests on the reliability of nuclear power plants have been conducted at the Nuclear Power Engineering Test Center and at the Japan Power Plant Engineering and Inspection Corporation. The tests were initiated at the request of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). Toshiba undertook one of the proving tests on the reliability of nuclear fuel assembly; the maximum thermal loading test of BWR fuel assembly from the Nuclear Power Engineering Test Center. These tests are part of the proving tests mentioned above, and their purpose is to confirm the reliability of the thermal hydraulic engineering techniques. Toshiba has been engaged for the past nine years in the design, fabrication and testing of the equipment. For the project, a test model fuel assembly was used to measure the critical power of the BWR fuel assembly and the void and fluidity of the coolant. From the test results, it has been confirmed that the heat is transferred safely from the fuel assembly to the coolant in the BWR nuclear power plant. In addition, the propriety and reliability of the thermal hydraulic engineering techniques for the fuel assembly have been proved. (author)

Eocene squalomorph sharks (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Engelbrecht, Andrea; Mörs, Thomas; Reguero, Marcelo A.; Kriwet, Jürgen

2017-10-01

Rare remains of predominantly deep-water sharks of the families Hexanchidae, Squalidae, Dalatiidae, Centrophoridae, and Squatinidae are described from the Eocene La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, which has yielded the most abundant chondrichthyan assemblage from the Southern Hemisphere to date. Previously described representatives of Hexanchus sp., Squalus weltoni, Squalus woodburnei, Centrophorus sp., and Squatina sp. are confirmed and dental variations are documented. Although the teeth of Squatina sp. differ from other Palaeogene squatinid species, we refrain from introducing a new species. A new dalatiid taxon, Eodalatias austrinalis gen. et sp. nov. is described. This new material not only increases the diversity of Eocene Antarctic elasmobranchs but also allows assuming that favourable deep-water habitats were available in the Eocene Antarctic Ocean off Antarctica in the Eocene. The occurrences of deep-water inhabitants in shallow, near-coastal waters of the Antarctic Peninsula agrees well with extant distribution patterns.

Eocene squalomorph sharks (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from Antarctica.

Science.gov (United States)

Engelbrecht, Andrea; Mörs, Thomas; Reguero, Marcelo A; Kriwet, Jürgen

2017-10-01

Rare remains of predominantly deep-water sharks of the families Hexanchidae, Squalidae, Dalatiidae, Centrophoridae, and Squatinidae are described from the Eocene La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, which has yielded the most abundant chondrichthyan assemblage from the Southern Hemisphere to date. Previously described representatives of Hexanchus sp., Squalus weltoni , Squalus woodburnei , Centrophorus sp., and Squatina sp. are confirmed and dental variations are documented. Although the teeth of Squatina sp. differ from other Palaeogene squatinid species, we refrain from introducing a new species. A new dalatiid taxon, Eodalatias austrinalis gen. et sp. nov. is described. This new material not only increases the diversity of Eocene Antarctic elasmobranchs but also allows assuming that favourable deep-water habitats were available in the Eocene Antarctic Ocean off Antarctica in the Eocene. The occurrences of deep-water inhabitants in shallow, near-coastal waters of the Antarctic Peninsula agrees well with extant distribution patterns.

Possible role of oceanic heat transport in early Eocene climate

Science.gov (United States)

Sloan, L. C.; Walker, J. C.; Moore, T. C. Jr

1995-01-01

Increased oceanic heat transport has often been cited as a means of maintaining warm high-latitude surface temperatures in many intervals of the geologic past, including the early Eocene. Although the excess amount of oceanic heat transport required by warm high latitude sea surface temperatures can be calculated empirically, determining how additional oceanic heat transport would take place has yet to be accomplished. That the mechanisms of enhanced poleward oceanic heat transport remain undefined in paleoclimate reconstructions is an important point that is often overlooked. Using early Eocene climate as an example, we consider various ways to produce enhanced poleward heat transport and latitudinal energy redistribution of the sign and magnitude required by interpreted early Eocene conditions. Our interpolation of early Eocene paleotemperature data indicate that an approximately 30% increase in poleward heat transport would be required to maintain Eocene high-latitude temperatures. This increased heat transport appears difficult to accomplish by any means of ocean circulation if we use present ocean circulation characteristics to evaluate early Eocene rates. Either oceanic processes were very different from those of the present to produce the early Eocene climate conditions or oceanic heat transport was not the primary cause of that climate. We believe that atmospheric processes, with contributions from other factors, such as clouds, were the most likely primary cause of early Eocene climate.

Continental temperatures through the early Eocene in western central Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Inglis, G. N.; Collinson, M. E.; Riegel, W.; Wilde, V.; Farnsworth, A.; Lunt, D. J.; Robson, B.; Scott, A. C.; Lenz, O.; Pancost, R.

2016-12-01

In contrast to the marine realm, our understanding of terrestrial temperature change during greenhouse climates is poorly constrained. Recently, branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) have been used to successfully reconstruct mean annual air temperature (MAAT) during the early Paleogene. However, despite the potential to provide new insights into terrestrial climate, the application of this proxy in lignite and coal deposits is still limited. Using samples recovered from Schöningen, Germany ( 48°N), we provide the first detailed study into the occurrence and distribution of brGDGTs through a sequence of Early Eocene lignites and associated marine interbeds. Branched GDGTs are abundant and present in every sample. In comparison to modern studies, changes in vegetation type do not appear to significantly impact brGDGT distributions; however, there are subtle differences in these distributions between lignites and siliciclastic nearshore marine interbed sediments. Using the most recent brGDGT temperature calibration, we generate the first continental temperature record from central-western continental Europe through the Early Eocene. Lignite-derived MAAT estimates range from 23 to 26°C and those derived from the nearshore marine interbeds always exceed 20°C. These estimates are consistent with other mid-latitude palaeoclimate proxy records which indicate enhanced early Eocene warmth. In the basal part of the section, warming is recorded in both the lignites ( 2°C) and nearshore marine interbeds ( 2-3°C). This culminates in a long-term temperature maximum, likely including the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). Although this trend is relatively well established in marginal marine sediments within the SW Pacific, it has rarely been shown in other regions or terrestrial settings. Using a suite of new climate model simulations, our warming trend is consistent with a doubling of CO2 (from 560ppmv to 1120ppmv) which broadly agrees with proxy

Mechanistic insights into a hydrate contribution to the Paleocene-Eocene carbon cycle perturbation from coupled thermohydraulic simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Minshull, T. A.; Marín-Moreno, H.; Armstrong McKay, D. I.; Wilson, P. A.

2016-08-01

During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), the carbon isotopic signature (δ13C) of surface carbon-bearing phases decreased abruptly by at least 2.5 to 3.0‰. This carbon isotope excursion (CIE) has been attributed to widespread methane hydrate dissociation in response to rapid ocean warming. We ran a thermohydraulic modeling code to simulate hydrate dissociation due to ocean warming for various PETM scenarios. Our results show that hydrate dissociation in response to such warming can be rapid but suggest that methane release to the ocean is modest and delayed by hundreds to thousands of years after the onset of dissociation, limiting the potential for positive feedback from emission-induced warming. In all of our simulations at least half of the dissociated hydrate methane remains beneath the seabed, suggesting that the pre-PETM hydrate inventory needed to account for all of the CIE is at least double that required for isotopic mass balance.

Maximum neutron flux in thermal reactors; Maksimum neutronskog fluksa kod termalnih reaktora

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strugar, P V [Institute of Nuclear Sciences Boris Kidric, Vinca, Beograd (Yugoslavia)

1968-07-01

Direct approach to the problem is to calculate spatial distribution of fuel concentration if the reactor core directly using the condition of maximum neutron flux and comply with thermal limitations. This paper proved that the problem can be solved by applying the variational calculus, i.e. by using the maximum principle of Pontryagin. Mathematical model of reactor core is based on the two-group neutron diffusion theory with some simplifications which make it appropriate from maximum principle point of view. Here applied theory of maximum principle are suitable for application. The solution of optimum distribution of fuel concentration in the reactor core is obtained in explicit analytical form. The reactor critical dimensions are roots of a system of nonlinear equations and verification of optimum conditions can be done only for specific examples.

Clear as Mud: Changes in Paleoshelf Environments and Deposition Rates at Medford, New Jersey during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Science.gov (United States)

Podrecca, L.; Miller, K. G.; Wright, J. D.; Browning, J. V.; Emge, T.

2017-12-01

The Paleocene-Eocene boundary marks a time of swift global climatic change. Constraining the timeframe of this event is a first order question necessary for ascertaining the origin of the event and the potential for its use as an analog for modern climate change. The New Jersey shelf sediments of the Marlboro Formation records this time period with exceptionally thick (5-15m) records of the period of global low carbon isotopic values ("the core") which requires minimum sedimentation rates of 10's cm/kyr. Rhythmic layers have been previously reported from Wilson Lake & Millville, NJ (IODP Leg 174AX). These structures coined "laminae couplets" consist of semi-periodic 1-2mm thick raised laminations separated by matrix of varying width (averaging 1.8cm). These have been dismissed as artifacts of drilling "biscuits". We report here on a series of shallow auger cores drilled on a transect at Medford, NJ, without using drilling fluid. These cores also show a similar set of structures on the 2cm scale verifying that they are primary depositional features. The mm width laminae in the auger core show remarkable swelling within minutes of splitting. XRD, XRF, bulk carbonate geochemistry, and grain size analysis have been determined at regular depth intervals throughout the core. We have analyzed differences in these parameters between the laminae and interbedded matrix material, as well as across the transect as a whole. In general, the Marlboro formation at this updip location consists of micaceous, lignitic, very clayey silt (mean size 6 micrometers) with occasional organic debris indicating proximal deposition from a fluvial system. Paleodepth of 40m and normal marine salinities are estimated using a paleoslope model and the presence of common though not abundant planktonic foraminifera. We discuss a model of deposition for the Marlboro Formation as fluid mud (nearbed suspension flows) associated with the "Appalachian Amazon" alluding toward the finer grained inter

Palaeocene-early Eocene inversion of the Phuquoc-Kampot Som Basin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fyhn, Michael B. W.; Pedersen, Stig A.S.; Boldreel, Lars Ole

2010-01-01

/Pb analysis is used to unravel the basin history. This reveals a hitherto unknown earliest Palaeogene basin inversion associated with the Luconian suturing to SE Asia and the shutdown of palaeo-Pacific subduction underneath SE Asia. The Phuquoc–Kampot Som Basin and the Khorat Basin in Thailand constitute...... the erosional remnants of a larger basin that covered large parts of SE Asia in Late Mesozoic time, and subsequently became segregated during earliest Palaeogene inversion and erosion. Inversion was focused along the several hundred kilometres long Kampot and Khmer–Chanthaburi fold belts that confine...

Are there pre-Quaternary geological analogues for a future greenhouse warming?

Science.gov (United States)

Haywood, A.M.; Ridgwell, A.; Lunt, D.J.; Hill, D.J.; Pound, M.J.; Dowsett, H.J.; Dolan, A.M.; Francis, J.E.; Williams, M.

2011-01-01

Given the inherent uncertainties in predicting how climate and environments will respond to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, it would be beneficial to society if science could identify geological analogues to the human race's current grand climate experiment. This has been a focus of the geological and palaeoclimate communities over the last 30 years, with many scientific papers claiming that intervals in Earth history can be used as an analogue for future climate change. Using a coupled ocean-atmosphere modelling approach, we test this assertion for the most probable pre-Quaternary candidates of the last 100 million years: the Mid- and Late Cretaceous, the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), the Early Eocene, as well as warm intervals within the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. These intervals fail as true direct analogues since they either represent equilibrium climate states to a long-term CO2 forcing-whereas anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases provide a progressive (transient) forcing on climate-or the sensitivity of the climate system itself to CO2 was different. While no close geological analogue exists, past warm intervals in Earth history provide a unique opportunity to investigate processes that operated during warm (high CO2) climate states. Palaeoclimate and environmental reconstruction/modelling are facilitating the assessment and calculation of the response of global temperatures to increasing CO2 concentrations in the longer term (multiple centuries); this is now referred to as the Earth System Sensitivity, which is critical in identifying CO2 thresholds in the atmosphere that must not be crossed to avoid dangerous levels of climate change in the long term. Palaeoclimatology also provides a unique and independent way to evaluate the qualities of climate and Earth system models used to predict future climate. ?? 2011 The Royal Society.

Humidity estimate for the middle Eocene Arctic rain forest

Science.gov (United States)

Jahren, A. Hope; Silveira Lobo Sternberg, Leonel

2003-05-01

The exquisite preservation of fossilized Metasequoia trees that grew near 80°N latitude during the middle Eocene (ca. 45 Ma) in Nunavut, Canada, allowed for δD and δ18O analyses of cellulose, techniques previously restricted to wood <30,000 yr old. From the isotopic results, we determined that the middle Eocene Arctic atmosphere contained ˜2× the water found in the region's atmosphere today. This water vapor contributed to a middle Eocene greenhouse effect that insulated the polar region during dark polar winters.

Foraminiferal and carbon isotope stratigraphy through the Paleocene-Eocene transition at Dee Stream, Marlborough, New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hancock, H.J.L.; Dickens, G.R.; Strong, C.P.; Hollis, C.J.; Field, B.D.

2003-01-01

Dee Stream in the Clarence River valley of New Zealand bisects a well-exposed section of marine sedimentary rocks deposited in the Early Paleogene at high southern latitudes. One hundred metres of strata lying within this section and comprising cm-dm well-bedded, siliceous limestone with marly partings was mapped, logged, and sampled to establish a detailed foraminiferal and carbon isotope stratigraphy and to examine environmental changes across the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). Although low abundance and poor preservation of planktic and benthic foraminifera characterises much of the Paleocene, foraminifera and carbon isotopes clearly show that the section spans the Upper Paleocene to Lower Eocene planktic foraminiferal zones from Zone P4 to Subzone P6b, and the Subbotina triloculinoides to Pseudohastigerina wilcoxensis Zones. The δ 13 C record correlates closely to other δ 13 C curves generated from other key Early Paleogene carbonate sequences. The Dee Stream logged section contains a 1 m thick PETM interval at 26.5 m at the base of Zone P5, or the Morozovella velascoensis Subzone. Here, benthic foraminifera undergo significant extinction, Morozovella aequa makes its first appearance, and the δ 13 C of carbonate decreases by 2 permille. The benthic foraminifer Bulimina tuxpamensis dominates benthic assemblages immediately following the onset of the PETM interval, suggesting dysoxic bottom waters during this event. In conjunction with other recently examined sections from the Marlborough region, the thick and apparently continuous Paleogene record at Dee Stream provides an important site for understanding environmental change on high-latitude continental margins during the Paleogene, including the PETM. (author). 54 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs

A terrestrial Eocene stack: tying terrestrial lake ecology to marine carbon cycling through the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum

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Grogan, D. S.; Whiteside, J. H.; Musher, D.; Rosengard, S. Z.; Vankeuren, M. A.; Pancost, R. D.

2010-12-01

The lacustrine Green River Formation is known to span ≥15 million years through the early-middle Eocene, and recent work on radioisotopic dating has provided a framework on which to build ties to the orbitally-tuned marine Eocene record. Here we present a spliced stack of Fischer assay data from drilled cores of the Green River Formation that span both an East-West and a North-South transect of the Uinta Basin of Utah. Detailed work on two cores demonstrate that Fischer assay measurements covary with total organic carbon and bulk carbon isotopes, allowing us to use Fisher assay results as a representative carbon cycling proxy throughout the stack. We provide an age model for this core record by combining radioisotopic dates of tuff layers with frequency analysis of Fischer assay measurements. Identification of orbital frequencies tied directly to magnetochrons through radioisotopic dates allows for a direct comparison of the terrestrial to the marine Eocene record. Our analysis indicates that the marker beds used to correlate the stack cores represent periods of enhanced lake productivity and extreme carbon burial; however, unlike the hyperthermal events that are clearly marked in the marine Eocene record, the hydrocarbon-rich "Mahogany Bed" period of burial does not correspond to a clear carbon isotope excursion. This suggests that the terrestrial realm may have experienced extreme ecological responses to relatively small perturbations in the carbon cycle during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum. To investigate the ecological responses to carbon cycle perturbations through the hydrocarbon rich beds, we analyzed a suite of microbial biomarkers, finding evidence for cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates, and potentially green sulfur bacteria. These taxa indicate fluctuating oxic/anoxic conditions in the lake during abrupt intervals of carbon burial, suggesting a lake biogeochemical regime with no modern analogues.

The Early Eocene equable climate problem: can perturbations of climate model parameters identify possible solutions?

Science.gov (United States)

Sagoo, Navjit; Valdes, Paul; Flecker, Rachel; Gregoire, Lauren J

2013-10-28

Geological data for the Early Eocene (56-47.8 Ma) indicate extensive global warming, with very warm temperatures at both poles. However, despite numerous attempts to simulate this warmth, there are remarkable data-model differences in the prediction of these polar surface temperatures, resulting in the so-called 'equable climate problem'. In this paper, for the first time an ensemble with a perturbed climate-sensitive model parameters approach has been applied to modelling the Early Eocene climate. We performed more than 100 simulations with perturbed physics parameters, and identified two simulations that have an optimal fit with the proxy data. We have simulated the warmth of the Early Eocene at 560 ppmv CO2, which is a much lower CO2 level than many other models. We investigate the changes in atmospheric circulation, cloud properties and ocean circulation that are common to these simulations and how they differ from the remaining simulations in order to understand what mechanisms contribute to the polar warming. The parameter set from one of the optimal Early Eocene simulations also produces a favourable fit for the last glacial maximum boundary climate and outperforms the control parameter set for the present day. Although this does not 'prove' that this model is correct, it is very encouraging that there is a parameter set that creates a climate model able to simulate well very different palaeoclimates and the present-day climate. Interestingly, to achieve the great warmth of the Early Eocene this version of the model does not have a strong future climate change Charney climate sensitivity. It produces a Charney climate sensitivity of 2.7(°)C, whereas the mean value of the 18 models in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) is 3.26(°)C±0.69(°)C. Thus, this value is within the range and below the mean of the models included in the AR4.

Late Paleocene-middle Eocene benthic foraminifera on a Pacific seamount (Allison Guyot, ODP Site 865): Greenhouse climate and superimposed hyperthermal events

Science.gov (United States)

Arreguín-Rodríguez, Gabriela J.; Alegret, Laia; Thomas, Ellen

2016-03-01

We investigated the response of late Paleocene-middle Eocene (~60-37.5 Ma) benthic foraminiferal assemblages to long-term climate change and hyperthermal events including the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 865 on Allison Guyot, a seamount in the Mid-Pacific Mountains. Seamounts are isolated deep-sea environments where enhanced current systems interrupt bentho-pelagic coupling, and fossil assemblages from such settings have been little evaluated. Assemblages at Site 865 are diverse and dominated by cylindrical calcareous taxa with complex apertures, an extinct group which probably lived infaunally. Dominance of an infaunal morphogroup is unexpected in a highly oligotrophic setting, but these forms may have been shallow infaunal suspension feeders, which were ecologically successful on the current-swept seamount. The magnitude of the PETM extinction at Site 865 was similar to other sites globally, but lower diversity postextinction faunas at this location were affected by ocean acidification as well as changes in current regime, which might have led to increased nutrient supply through trophic focusing. A minor hyperthermal saw less severe effects of changes in current regime, with no evidence for carbonate dissolution. Although the relative abundance of infaunal benthic foraminifera has been used as a proxy for surface productivity through bentho-pelagic coupling, we argue that this proxy can be used only in the absence of changes in carbonate saturation and current-driven biophysical linking.

The Paleocene and lower Eocene pollen flora of Guyana

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leidelmeyer, P.

1966-01-01

A description is given of a Paleocene and Lower Eocene pollen flora of two bore-holes in Guana. Some new species are described and some remarks are made on their stratigraphical significance. Pollen diagrams are presented, one probably representing the entire Paleocene and a part of the Eocene.

Before the freeze: otoliths from the Eocene of Seymour Island, Antarctica, reveal dominance of gadiform fishes (Teleostei).

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Schwarzhans, Werner; Mörs, Thomas; Engelbrecht, Andrea; Reguero, Marcelo; Kriwet, Jürgen

2017-01-01

The first record of fossil teleostean otoliths from Antarctica is reported. The fossils were obtained from late Early Eocene shell beds of the La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island that represent the last temperate marine climate phase in Antarctica prior to the onset of cooling and subsequent glaciation during the late Eocene. A total of 17 otolith-based teleost taxa are recognized, with 10 being identifiable to species level containing nine new species and one new genus: Argentina antarctica sp. nov., Diaphus? marambionis sp. nov., Macruronus eastmani sp. nov., Coelorinchus balushkini sp. nov., Coelorinchus nordenskjoeldi sp. nov., Palimphemus seymourensis sp. nov., Hoplobrotula? antipoda sp. nov., Notoberyx cionei gen. et sp. nov. and Cepola anderssoni sp. nov. Macruronus eastmani sp. nov. is also known from the late Eocene of Southern Australia, and Tripterophycis immutatus Schwarzhans, widespread in the southern oceans during the Eocene, has been recorded from New Zealand, southern Australia, and now Antarctica. The otolith assemblage shows a typical composition of temperate fishes dominated by gadiforms, very similar at genus and family levels to associations known from middle Eocene strata of New Zealand and the late Eocene of southern Australia, but also to the temperate Northern Hemisphere associations from the Paleocene of Denmark. The Seymour Island fauna bridges a gap in the record of global temperate marine teleost faunas during the early Eocene climate maximum. The dominant gadiforms are interpreted as the main temperate faunal component, as in the Paleocene of Denmark. Here they are represented by the families Moridae, Merlucciidae (Macruroninae), Macrouridae and Gadidae. Nowadays Gadidae are a chiefly Northern Hemisphere temperate family. Moridae, Macruroninae and Macrouridae live today on the lower shelf to deep-water or mesopelagically with Macruroninae being restricted to the Southern Ocean. The extant endemic Antarctic gadiform family

Deformation mechanisms accommodating the emplacement of an igneous sill-complex in the Irish sector of the Rockall Basin, offshore NW Ireland

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Magee, Craig; Jackson, Christopher; Schofield, Nick

2013-04-01

Magma intrusion within the subsurface is heavily influenced by the pre-existing architecture of the upper crust and, depending on the emplacement mechanisms, may modify basin structure and fluid flow pathways. Seismic reflection data reveal that intrusive networks predominantly consist of interconnected, saucer-shaped sills that are often associated with dome-shaped 'forced' folds generated by intrusion-induced uplift. Previous studies of intrusion-related forced folds have primarily focused on isolated sills or laccoliths and have shown that the fold amplitude is less than the intrusion thickness, suggesting that additional space-making mechanisms (e.g. grain comminution, fluidization) accompanied emplacement. Furthermore, forced folding is often considered as an instantaneous process over geological time. However, fold growth and the interplay between accompanying ductile and brittle deformation styles remains poorly understood. Here, we use 3D seismic reflection data from the eastern margin of the Irish Rockall Basin, NE Atlantic, to quantitatively study eighty-two igneous intrusions (i.e. saucer-shaped sills and inclined sheets) in order to constrain the emplacement history of a Palaeocene-to-Middle Eocene sill-complex. Emplacement occurred across a Cretaceous clastic-to-marl dominated succession at palaeodepths of limbs. The saucer-shaped sills are characterized by radial magma flow patterns, emanating from the inner sill, distinguished by mapping the long axes of magma lobes and fingers. These magma flow indictors also provide a proxy for intrusion style; i.e. where sills intrude the Lower Cretaceous sandstones, magma propagation was facilitated by brittle fracturing while non-brittle processes (e.g. fluidization) accompanied shallow-level intrusions into the Upper Cretaceous marls. Directly overlying the sill-complex, within the Palaeocene-Mid-Eocene succession, are a series of 22 forced folds that are interpreted to have formed via intrusion-induced uplift

First record of eocene bony fishes and crocodyliforms from Canada's Western Arctic.

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Eberle, Jaelyn J; Gottfried, Michael D; Hutchison, J Howard; Brochu, Christopher A

2014-01-01

Discovery of Eocene non-marine vertebrates, including crocodylians, turtles, bony fishes, and mammals in Canada's High Arctic was a critical paleontological contribution of the last century because it indicated that this region of the Arctic had been mild, temperate, and ice-free during the early - middle Eocene (∼53-50 Ma), despite being well above the Arctic Circle. To date, these discoveries have been restricted to Canada's easternmost Arctic - Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands (Nunavut). Although temporally correlative strata crop out over 1,000 km west, on Canada's westernmost Arctic Island - Banks Island, Northwest Territories - they have been interpreted as predominantly marine. We document the first Eocene bony fish and crocodyliform fossils from Banks Island. We describe fossils of bony fishes, including lepisosteid (Atractosteus), esocid (pike), and amiid, and a crocodyliform, from lower - middle Eocene strata of the Cyclic Member, Eureka Sound Formation within Aulavik National Park (∼76°N. paleolat.). Palynology suggests the sediments are late early to middle Eocene in age, and likely spanned the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). These fossils extend the geographic range of Eocene Arctic lepisosteids, esocids, amiids, and crocodyliforms west by approximately 40° of longitude or ∼1100 km. The low diversity bony fish fauna, at least at the family level, is essentially identical on Ellesmere and Banks Islands, suggesting a pan-High Arctic bony fish fauna of relatively basal groups around the margin of the Eocene Arctic Ocean. From a paleoclimatic perspective, presence of a crocodyliform, gar and amiid fishes on northern Banks provides further evidence that mild, year-round temperatures extended across the Canadian Arctic during early - middle Eocene time. Additionally, the Banks Island crocodyliform is consistent with the phylogenetic hypothesis of a Paleogene divergence time between the two extant alligatorid lineages Alligator

Hydrologic Cycle Response to the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum at Austral, High-Latitude Site 690 as Revealed by In Situ Measurements of Foraminiferal Oxygen Isotope and Mg/Ca Ratios

Science.gov (United States)

Kozdon, R.; Kelly, D.; Fournelle, J.; Valley, J. W.

2012-12-01

Earth surface temperatures warmed by ~5°C during an ancient (~55.5 Ma) global warming event termed the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). This transient (~200 ka) "hyperthermal" climate state had profound consequences for the planet's surficial processes and biosphere, and is widely touted as being an ancient analog for climate change driven by human activities. Hallmarks of the PETM are pervasive carbonate dissolution in the ocean basins and a negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) recorded in variety of substrates including soil and marine carbonates. Together these lines of evidence signal the rapid (≤30 ka) release of massive quantities (≥2000 Gt) of 13C-depleted carbon into the exogenic carbon cycle. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on pedogenic features in paleosols, clay mineralogy and sedimentology of coastal and continental deposits, and land-plant communities indicate that PETM warmth was accompanied by a major perturbation to the hydrologic cycle. Micropaleontological evidence and n-alkane hydrogen isotope records indicate that increased poleward moisture transport reduced sea-surface salinities (SSSs) in the central Arctic Ocean during the PETM. Such findings are broadly consistent with predictions of climate model simulations. Here we reassess a well-studied PETM record from the Southern Ocean (ODP Site 690) in light of new δ18O and Mg/Ca data obtained from planktic foraminiferal shells by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA), respectively. The unparalleled spatial resolution of these in situ techniques permits extraction of more reliable δ18O and Mg/Ca data by targeting of minute (≤10 μm spots), biogenic domains within individual planktic foraminifera that retain the original shell chemistry (Kozdon et al. 2011, Paleocean.). In general, the stratigraphic profile and magnitude of the δ18O decrease (~2.2‰) delimiting PETM warming in our SIMS-generated record are similar to those of

Late Eocene rings around the earth

Science.gov (United States)

King, E. A.

1980-01-01

The suggestion of O'Keefe (1980) that the terminal Eocene event was caused by rings of tektite material encircling the earth is discussed. It is argued that the assumption that the tektites are of lunar volcanic origin is unwarranted and contrary to existing data, including the lack of lunar rocks of suitable composition, the lack of lunar rocks of the correct age, the lack of evidence that the North American tektites fell throughout a sedimentary rock column of a few million years, and the nondetection of a tektite with a measurable cosmic ray exposure age. Alternatively, it is suggested that the terminal Eocene event may be associated with volcanic ash, air-fall tuff and bentonite in the late Eocene. O'Keefe replies that the hypothesis of the terrestrial origin of the tektites conflicts with the laws of physics, for example in the glass structure and shaping of the tektites. Furthermore, evidence is cited for lunar rocks of the proper major-element composition and ages, and it is noted that the proposed solar Poynting-Robertson effect would account for the particle fall distributions and cosmic ray ages.

Dispersal of thermophilic beetles across the intercontinental Arctic forest belt during the early Eocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Brunke, Adam J; Chatzimanolis, Stylianos; Metscher, Brian D; Wolf-Schwenninger, Karin; Solodovnikov, Alexey

2017-10-11

Massive biotic change occurred during the Eocene as the climate shifted from warm and equable to seasonal and latitudinally stratified. Mild winter temperatures across Arctic intercontinental land bridges permitted dispersal of frost-intolerant groups until the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, while trans-Arctic dispersal in thermophilic groups may have been limited to the early Eocene, especially during short-lived hyperthermals. Some of these lineages are now disjunct between continents of the northern hemisphere. Although Eocene climate change may have been one of the most important drivers of these ancient patterns in modern animal and plant distributions, its particular events are rarely implicated or correlated with group-specific climatic requirements. Here we explored the climatic and geological drivers of a particularly striking Neotropical-Oriental disjunct distribution in the rove beetle Bolitogyrus, a suspected Eocene relict. We integrated evidence from Eocene fossils, distributional and climate data, paleoclimate, paleogeography, and phylogenetic divergence dating to show that intercontinental dispersal of Bolitogyrus ceased in the early Eocene, consistent with the termination of conditions required by thermophilic lineages. These results provide new insight into the poorly known and short-lived Arctic forest community of the Early Eocene and its surviving lineages.

Lygistorrhinidae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha: Sciaroidea in early Eocene Cambay amber

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frauke Stebner

2017-05-01

Full Text Available One new genus and three new species of Lygistorrhinidae in early Eocene Cambay amber from India are described, which significantly increases our knowledge about this group in the Eocene. Lygistorrhina indica n. sp. is the oldest fossil known from this extant genus. Indorrhina sahnii n. gen. et sp. shows morphological similarities to each of the two extant genera Lygistorrhina and Asiorrhina. Palaeognoriste orientale is the third species known from a group that has only been recorded from Eocene Baltic amber before. The latter finding reveals faunal links between Cambay amber and the probably slightly younger Baltic amber, adding further evidence that faunal exchange between Europe/Asia and India took place before the formation of Cambay amber.

Lygistorrhinidae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha: Sciaroidea) in early Eocene Cambay amber.

Science.gov (United States)

Stebner, Frauke; Singh, Hukam; Rust, Jes; Grimaldi, David A

2017-01-01

One new genus and three new species of Lygistorrhinidae in early Eocene Cambay amber from India are described, which significantly increases our knowledge about this group in the Eocene. Lygistorrhina indica n. sp. is the oldest fossil known from this extant genus. Indorrhina sahnii n. gen. et sp. shows morphological similarities to each of the two extant genera Lygistorrhina and Asiorrhina . Palaeognoriste orientale is the third species known from a group that has only been recorded from Eocene Baltic amber before. The latter finding reveals faunal links between Cambay amber and the probably slightly younger Baltic amber, adding further evidence that faunal exchange between Europe/Asia and India took place before the formation of Cambay amber.

Palaeointensity determinations and magnetic properties on Eocene rocks from Izu-Bonin-Mariana forearc (IODP Exp. 352)

Science.gov (United States)

Carvallo, C.; Camps, P.; Sager, W. W.; Poidras, T.

2017-09-01

IODP Expedition 352 cored igneous rocks from the Izu-Bonin-Mariana forearc crust. Cores from Sites U1440 and U1441 recovered Eocene basalts and related rocks and cores from Sites U1439 and U1442 recovered Eocene boninites and related rocks. We selected samples from Holes U1439C, U1440B and U1442A for palaeointensity measurements. Hysteresis measurements and high and low-temperature magnetization curves show that samples from Hole U1440B undergo magneto-chemical changes when heated and are mostly composed of single-domain (SD) or pseudo-single-domain (PSD) titanomaghemite. In contrast, the same measurements show that most selected samples from Holes U1439C and U1442A are thermally stable and are composed of either SD or PSD titanomagnetite with very little titanium content, or SD ferromagnetic grains with a large paramagnetic contribution. Thellier-Thellier palaeointensity experiments carried out on U1439C and U1442A samples give a good success rate of 25/60 and Virtual Dipole Moment (VDM) values between 1.3 and 3.5 × 1022 Am2. Multispecimen palaeointensity experiments with the domain-state corrected method carried out on 55 samples from Hole U1440B (divided into four groups) and 20 from Hole U1439C gave poor quality results, but indicated a VDM around 4-6 × 1022 Am2 in Hole U1440B forearc basalts. These results are in agreement with the few, low VDM values previously measured on Eocene rocks. However, they do not support an inverse relationship between field intensity and reversal rate for this period of time, since the Eocene reversal rate was low.

Mesozoic to Eocene ductile deformation of western Central Iran: From Cimmerian collisional orogeny to Eocene exhumation

Science.gov (United States)

Kargaranbafghi, Fariba; Neubauer, Franz; Genser, Johann; Faghih, Ali; Kusky, Timothy

2012-09-01

To advance our understanding of the Mesozoic to Eocene tectonics and kinematics of basement units exposed in the south-western Central Iran plateau, this paper presents new structural and thermochronological data from the Chapedony metamorphic core complex and hangingwall units, particularly from the Posht-e-Badam complex. The overall Paleogene structural characteristics of the area are related to an oblique convergent zone. The Saghand area represents part of a deformation zone between the Arabian and Eurasian plates, and can be interpreted to result from the Central Iran intracontinental deformation acting as a weak zone during Mesozoic to Paleogene times. Field and microstructural evidence reveal that the metamorphic and igneous rocks suffered a ductile shear deformation including mylonitization at the hangingwall boundary of the Eocene Chapedony metamorphic core complex. Comparison of deformation features in the mylonites and other structural features within the footwall unit leads to the conclusion that the mylonites were formed in a subhorizontal shear zone by NE-SW stretching during Middle to Late Eocene extensional tectonics. The Chapedony metamorphic core complex is characterized by amphibolite-facies metamorphism and development of S and S-L tectonic fabrics. The Posht-e-Badam complex was deformed by two stages during Cimmerian tectonic processes forming the Paleo-Tethyan suture.

Lower Eocene on Majevica north of Tuzla (NE Bosnia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jernej Pavšič

2005-06-01

Full Text Available In Lower Eocene marlstones on Mt. Majevica in northeastern Bosnia species Nummulites atacicus and N. robustus were determined, the latter first found on the Balkan Peninsula.In the beds occur next to Paleogene many redeposited Cretaceous nannoplankton species, an indication of the exposure of Cretaceous beds in Lower Eocene in the investigated area.

Revision of Eocene Antarctic carpet sharks (Elasmobranchii, Orectolobiformes) from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula.

Science.gov (United States)

Engelbrecht, Andrea; Mörs, Thomas; Reguero, Marcelo A; Kriwet, Jürgen

2017-01-01

Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, was once called the 'Rosetta Stone' of Southern Hemisphere palaeobiology, because this small island provides the most complete and richly fossiliferous Palaeogene sequence in Antarctica. Among fossil marine vertebrate remains, chondrichthyans seemingly were dominant elements in the Eocene Antarctic fish fauna. The fossiliferous sediments on Seymour Island are from the La Meseta Formation, which was originally divided into seven stratigraphical levels, TELMs 1-7 (acronym for Tertiary Eocene La Meseta) ranging from the upper Ypresian (early Eocene) to the late Priabonian (late Eocene). Bulk sampling of unconsolidated sediments from TELMs 5 and 6, which are Ypresian (early Eocene) and Lutetian (middle Eocene) in age, respectively, yielded very rich and diverse chondrichthyan assemblages including over 40 teeth of carpet sharks representing two new taxa, Notoramphoscyllium woodwardi gen. et sp. nov. and Ceolometlaouia pannucae gen. et sp. nov. Two additional teeth from TELM 5 represent two different taxa that cannot be assigned to any specific taxon and thus are left in open nomenclature. The new material not only increases the diversity of Eocene Antarctic selachian faunas but also allows two previous orectolobiform records to be re-evaluated. Accordingly, Stegostoma cf. faciatum is synonymized with Notoramphoscyllium woodwardi gen. et sp. nov., whereas Pseudoginglymostoma cf. brevicaudatum represents a nomen dubium . The two new taxa, and probably the additional two unidentified taxa, are interpreted as permanent residents, which most likely were endemic to Antarctic waters during the Eocene and adapted to shallow and estuarine environments.

Diachronous ranges of benthonic Foraminifera in the Eocene of Alabama and South Carolina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willard, G.D.; Fallaw, W.C.; Snipes, D.S.

1994-01-01

Seventeen species of benthonic Foraminifera reported by Bandy (1949) from the Eocene of Little Stave Creek in Clarke County, Alabama were identified from the middle eocene Santee Limestone and the upper Eocene Dry Branch Formation in Aiken and Barnwell counties, South Carolina. Of the 17 species, seven occurred in South Carolina stratigraphically above or below the ranges listed by Bandy. Bandy made a detailed study of Foraminifera from the Claibornian and Jacksonian Tallahatta, Lisbon, Gosport, Moodys Branch, and Yazoo formations exposed on Little Stave Creek and plotted the stratigraphic ranges within the section of numerous species. The authors' samples came from well cores at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Of 13 species from the middle Eocene Santee and also reported by Bandy, four are stratigraphically below the lowest occurrence listed by Bandy, and one is stratigraphically above the highest occurrence. Of four species from the upper Eocene Dry Branch Formation and also listed by Bandy, two are stratigraphically above his highest occurrence. Dockery and Nystrom (1992) and Campbell (1993) have described diachroneity among mollusks in the Eocene of South Carolina. Caution should be used in relying on a small number of species in correlating Eocene deposits in the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains

The response of the southern Greenland ice sheet to the Holocene thermal maximum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Nicolaj Krog; Kjaer, Kurt H.; Lecavalier, Benoit

2015-01-01

contribution of 0.16 m sea-level equivalent from the entire Greenland ice sheet, with a centennial ice loss rate of as much as 100 Gt/yr for several millennia during the Holocene thermal maximum. Our results provide an estimate of the long-term rates of volume loss that can be expected in the future...

Application of Markov chain model to daily maximum temperature for thermal comfort in Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nordin, Muhamad Asyraf bin Che; Hassan, Husna

2015-01-01

The Markov chain’s first order principle has been widely used to model various meteorological fields, for prediction purposes. In this study, a 14-year (2000-2013) data of daily maximum temperatures in Bayan Lepas were used. Earlier studies showed that the outdoor thermal comfort range based on physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) index in Malaysia is less than 34°C, thus the data obtained were classified into two state: normal state (within thermal comfort range) and hot state (above thermal comfort range). The long-run results show the probability of daily temperature exceed TCR will be only 2.2%. On the other hand, the probability daily temperature within TCR will be 97.8%

A small galliform bird from the Lower Eocene Fur Formation, northwestern Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindow, Bent Erik Kramer; Dyke, Gareth John

2007-01-01

A pair of fossilized imprints of feet represent the first published galliform (landfowl) specimen from the Lower Eocene Fur Formation of northwest Denmark. The specimen is referable to Galliformes due to the presence of a distinctly asymmetric trochlea metatarsi III. The specimen appears distinct...... from previously described Eocene Galliformes (e.g. Gallinuloididae, Quercymegapodiidae and Paraortygidae) and may represent a new taxon of Galliformes, increasing the diversity of this group in the Lower Eocene....

Towards a robust and consistent middle Eocene astronomical timescale

Science.gov (United States)

Boulila, Slah; Vahlenkamp, Maximilian; De Vleeschouwer, David; Laskar, Jacques; Yamamoto, Yuhji; Pälike, Heiko; Kirtland Turner, Sandra; Sexton, Philip F.; Westerhold, Thomas; Röhl, Ursula

2018-03-01

Until now, the middle Eocene has remained a poorly constrained interval of efforts to produce an astrochronological timescale for the entire Cenozoic. This has given rise to a so-called "Eocene astronomical timescale gap" (Vandenberghe et al., 2012). A high-resolution astrochronological calibration for this interval has proven to be difficult to realize, mainly because carbonate-rich deep-marine sequences of this age are scarce. In this paper, we present records from middle Eocene carbonate-rich sequences from the North Atlantic Southeast Newfoundland Ridge (IODP Exp. 342, Sites U1408 and U1410), of which the cyclical sedimentary patterns allow for an orbital calibration of the geologic timescale between ∼38 and ∼48 Ma. These carbonate-rich cyclic sediments at Sites U1408 and U1410 were deposited as drift deposits and exhibit prominent lithological alternations (couplets) between greenish nannofossil-rich clay and white nannofossil ooze. The principal lithological couplet is driven by the obliquity of Earth's axial tilt, and the intensity of their expression is modulated by a cyclicity of about 173 kyr. This cyclicity corresponds to the interference of secular frequencies s3 and s6 (related to the precession of nodes of the Earth and Saturn, respectively). This 173-kyr obliquity amplitude modulation cycle is exceptionally well recorded in the XRF (X-ray fluorescence)-derived Ca/Fe ratio. In this work, we first demonstrate the stability of the (s3-s6) cycles using the latest astronomical solutions. Results show that this orbital component is stable back to at least 50 Ma, and can thus serve as a powerful geochronometer in the mid-Eocene portion of the Cenozoic timescale. We then exploit this potential by calibrating the geochronology of the recovered middle Eocene timescale between magnetic polarity Chrons C18n.1n and C21n. Comparison with previous timescales shows similarities, but also notable differences in durations of certain magnetic polarity chrons. We

Asian monsoons in a late Eocene greenhouse world.

Science.gov (United States)

Licht, A; van Cappelle, M; Abels, H A; Ladant, J-B; Trabucho-Alexandre, J; France-Lanord, C; Donnadieu, Y; Vandenberghe, J; Rigaudier, T; Lécuyer, C; Terry, D; Adriaens, R; Boura, A; Guo, Z; Soe, Aung Naing; Quade, J; Dupont-Nivet, G; Jaeger, J-J

2014-09-25

The strong present-day Asian monsoons are thought to have originated between 25 and 22 million years (Myr) ago, driven by Tibetan-Himalayan uplift. However, the existence of older Asian monsoons and their response to enhanced greenhouse conditions such as those in the Eocene period (55-34 Myr ago) are unknown because of the paucity of well-dated records. Here we show late Eocene climate records revealing marked monsoon-like patterns in rainfall and wind south and north of the Tibetan-Himalayan orogen. This is indicated by low oxygen isotope values with strong seasonality in gastropod shells and mammal teeth from Myanmar, and by aeolian dust deposition in northwest China. Our climate simulations support modern-like Eocene monsoonal rainfall and show that a reinforced hydrological cycle responding to enhanced greenhouse conditions counterbalanced the negative effect of lower Tibetan relief on precipitation. These strong monsoons later weakened with the global shift to icehouse conditions 34 Myr ago.

Pronounced zonal heterogeneity in Eocene southern high-latitude sea surface temperatures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Douglas, P.M.J.; Affek, H.P.; Ivany, L.C.; Houben, A.J.P.; Sijp, W.P.; Sluijs, A.; Schouten, S.; Pagani, M.

2014-01-01

Paleoclimate studies suggest that increased global warmth during the Eocene epoch was greatly amplified at high latitudes, a state that climate models cannot fully reproduce. However, proxy estimates of Eocene near-Antarctic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have produced widely divergent results at

Sea surface salinity of the Eocene Arctic Azolla event using innovative isotope modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Speelman, E. N.; Sewall, J. O.; Noone, D.; Huber, M.; Sinninghe Damste, J. S.; Reichart, G. J.

2009-04-01

With the realization that the Eocene Arctic Ocean was covered with enormous quantities of the free floating freshwater fern Azolla, new questions regarding Eocene conditions facilitating these blooms arose. Our present research focuses on constraining the actual salinity of, and water sources for, the Eocene Arctic basin through the application of stable water isotope tracers. Precipitation pathways potentially strongly affect the final isotopic composition of water entering the Arctic Basin. Therefore we use the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM3), developed by NCAR, combined with a recently developed integrated isotope tracer code to reconstruct the isotopic composition of global Eocene precipitation and run-off patterns. We further addressed the sensitivity of the modeled hydrological cycle to changes in boundary conditions, such as pCO2, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and sea ice formation. In this way it is possible to assess the effect of uncertainties in proxy estimates of these parameters. Overall, results of all runs with Eocene boundary conditions, including Eocene topography, bathymetry, vegetation patterns, TEX86 derived SSTs and pCO2 estimates, show the presence of an intensified hydrological cycle with precipitation exceeding evaporation in the Arctic region. Enriched, precipitation weighted, isotopic values of around -120‰ are reported for the Arctic region. Combining new results obtained from compound specific isotope analyses (δD) on terrestrially derived n-alkanes extracted from Eocene sediments, and model outcomes make it possible to verify climate reconstructions for the middle Eocene Arctic. Furthermore, recently, characteristic long-chain mid-chain ω20 hydroxy wax constituents of Azolla were found in ACEX sediments. δD values of these C32 - C36 diols provide insight into the isotopic composition of the Eocene Arctic surface water. As the isotopic signature of the runoff entering the Arctic is modelled, and the final isotopic composition of

Pronounced zonal heterogeneity in Eocene southern high-latitude sea surface temperatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, Peter M J; Affek, Hagit P; Ivany, Linda C; Houben, Alexander J P; Sijp, Willem P; Sluijs, Appy; Schouten, Stefan; Pagani, Mark

2014-05-06

Paleoclimate studies suggest that increased global warmth during the Eocene epoch was greatly amplified at high latitudes, a state that climate models cannot fully reproduce. However, proxy estimates of Eocene near-Antarctic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have produced widely divergent results at similar latitudes, with SSTs above 20 °C in the southwest Pacific contrasting with SSTs between 5 and 15 °C in the South Atlantic. Validation of this zonal temperature difference has been impeded by uncertainties inherent to the individual paleotemperature proxies applied at these sites. Here, we present multiproxy data from Seymour Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula, that provides well-constrained evidence for annual SSTs of 10-17 °C (1σ SD) during the middle and late Eocene. Comparison of the same paleotemperature proxy at Seymour Island and at the East Tasman Plateau indicate the presence of a large and consistent middle-to-late Eocene SST gradient of ∼7 °C between these two sites located at similar paleolatitudes. Intermediate-complexity climate model simulations suggest that enhanced oceanic heat transport in the South Pacific, driven by deep-water formation in the Ross Sea, was largely responsible for the observed SST gradient. These results indicate that very warm SSTs, in excess of 18 °C, did not extend uniformly across the Eocene southern high latitudes, and suggest that thermohaline circulation may partially control the distribution of high-latitude ocean temperatures in greenhouse climates. The pronounced zonal SST heterogeneity evident in the Eocene cautions against inferring past meridional temperature gradients using spatially limited data within given latitudinal bands.

First Record of Eocene Bony Fishes and Crocodyliforms from Canada’s Western Arctic

Science.gov (United States)

Eberle, Jaelyn J.; Gottfried, Michael D.; Hutchison, J. Howard; Brochu, Christopher A.

2014-01-01

Background Discovery of Eocene non-marine vertebrates, including crocodylians, turtles, bony fishes, and mammals in Canada’s High Arctic was a critical paleontological contribution of the last century because it indicated that this region of the Arctic had been mild, temperate, and ice-free during the early – middle Eocene (∼53–50 Ma), despite being well above the Arctic Circle. To date, these discoveries have been restricted to Canada’s easternmost Arctic – Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands (Nunavut). Although temporally correlative strata crop out over 1,000 km west, on Canada’s westernmost Arctic Island – Banks Island, Northwest Territories – they have been interpreted as predominantly marine. We document the first Eocene bony fish and crocodyliform fossils from Banks Island. Principal Findings We describe fossils of bony fishes, including lepisosteid (Atractosteus), esocid (pike), and amiid, and a crocodyliform, from lower – middle Eocene strata of the Cyclic Member, Eureka Sound Formation within Aulavik National Park (∼76°N. paleolat.). Palynology suggests the sediments are late early to middle Eocene in age, and likely spanned the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). Conclusions/Significance These fossils extend the geographic range of Eocene Arctic lepisosteids, esocids, amiids, and crocodyliforms west by approximately 40° of longitude or ∼1100 km. The low diversity bony fish fauna, at least at the family level, is essentially identical on Ellesmere and Banks Islands, suggesting a pan-High Arctic bony fish fauna of relatively basal groups around the margin of the Eocene Arctic Ocean. From a paleoclimatic perspective, presence of a crocodyliform, gar and amiid fishes on northern Banks provides further evidence that mild, year-round temperatures extended across the Canadian Arctic during early – middle Eocene time. Additionally, the Banks Island crocodyliform is consistent with the phylogenetic hypothesis of a Paleogene divergence

Seasonal variability in Arctic temperatures during the early Eocene

Science.gov (United States)

Eberle, J. J.; Fricke, H. C.; Humphrey, J.; Hackett, L.; Newbrey, M.; Hutchison, H.

2009-12-01

As a deep time analog for today’s rapidly warming Arctic region, early Eocene (~53 Ma) rocks on Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada (~79° N.) preserve evidence of lush swamp forests inhabited by turtles, alligators, primates, tapirs, and hippo-like Coryphodon. Although the rich flora and fauna of the early Eocene Arctic imply warmer, wetter conditions that at present, quantitative estimates of Eocene Arctic climate are rare. By analyzing oxygen isotope ratios of biogenic phosphate from mammal, fish, and turtle fossils from a single locality on central Ellesmere Island, we provide estimates of early Eocene Arctic temperature, including mean annual temperature (MAT) of ~ 8° C, mean annual range in temperature (MART) of ~ 16.5° C, warm month mean temperature (WMMT) of 16 - 19° C, and cold month mean temperature (CMMT) of 0 - 1° C. Our seasonal range in temperature is similar to the range in estimated MAT obtained using different proxies. In particular, unusually high estimates of early Eocene Arctic MAT and sea surface temperature (SST) by others that are based upon the distribution of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) membrane lipids in terrestrial soil bacteria and marine Crenarchaeota fall within our range of WMMT, suggesting a bias towards summer values. Consequently, caution should be taken when using these methods to infer MAT and SST that, in turn, are used to constrain climate models. From a paleontologic perspective, our temperature estimates verify that alligators and tortoises, by way of nearest living relative-based climatic inference, are viable paleoclimate proxies for mild, above-freezing year-round temperatures. Although in both of these reptiles, past temperature tolerances were greater than in their living descendants.

Diagenesis and reservoir quality evolution of palaeocene deep-water, marine sandstones, the Shetland-Faroes Basin, British continental shelf

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mansurbeg, H. [Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavaegen 16, SE 752 36 Uppsala (Sweden); Morad, S. [Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavaegen 16, SE 752 36 Uppsala (Sweden); Department of Petroleum Geosciences, The Petroleum Institute, P.O. Box 2533, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates); Salem, A. [Faculty of Education at Kafr El-Sheikh, Tanta University, Kafr El-Sheikh (Egypt); Marfil, R.; Caja, M.A. [Departmento Petrologia y Geoquimica, Facultad de Geologia, UCM, 28040 Madrid (Spain); El-ghali, M.A.K. (Geology Department, Al-Fateh University, P.O. Box 13696, Libya); Nystuen, J.P. [Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047 Blindern, NO-0316 Oslo (Norway); Amorosi, A. [Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Zamboni 67, 40127 Bologna (Italy); Garcia, D. [Centre SPIN, Department GENERIC, Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines de Saint Etienne 158, Cours Fauriel 42023, Saint-Etienne (France); La Iglesia, A. [Instituto de Geologia Economica (CSIC-UCM), Facultad de Geologia, UCM, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

2008-06-15

The Palaeocene, deep-water marine sandstones recovered from six wells in the Shetland-Faroes Basin represent lowstand, transgressive and highstand systems tract turbiditic sediments. Mineralogic, petrographic, and geochemical analyses of these siliciclastics are used to decipher and discuss the diagenetic alterations and subsequent reservoir quality evolution. The Middle-Upper Palaeocene sandstones (subarkoses to arkoses) from the Shetland-Faroes Basin, British continental shelf are submarine turbiditic deposits that are cemented predominantly by carbonates, quartz and clay minerals. Carbonate cements (intergranular and grain replacive calcite, siderite, ferroan dolomite and ankerite) are of eogenetic and mesogenetic origins. The eogenetic alterations have been mediated by marine, meteoric and mixed marine/meteoric porewaters and resulted mainly in the precipitation of calcite ({delta}{sup 18}O{sub V-PDB}=-10.9 permille and -3.8 permille), trace amounts of non-ferroan dolomite, siderite ({delta}{sup 18}O{sub V-PDB}=-14.4 permille to -0.6 permille), as well as smectite and kaolinite in the lowstand systems tract (LST) and highstand systems tract (HST) turbiditic sandstone below the sequence boundary. Minor eogenetic siderite has precipitated between expanded and kaolinitized micas, primarily biotite. The mesogenetic alterations are interpreted to have been mediated by evolved marine porewaters and resulted in the precipitation of calcite ({delta}{sup 18}O{sub V-PDB}=-12.9 permille to -7.8 permille) and Fe-dolomite/ankerite ({delta}{sup 18}O{sub V-PDB}=-12.1 permille to -6.3 permille) at temperatures of 50-140 and 60-140 C, respectively. Quartz overgrowths and outgrowth, which post- and pre-date the mesogenetic carbonate cements is more common in the LST and TST of distal turbiditic sandstone. Discrete quartz cement, which is closely associated with illite and chlorite, is the final diagenetic phase. The clay minerals include intergranular and grain replacive

Eocene Acritarchs of Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng-Long Shaw

2001-03-01

Full Text Available Four new taxa (Multiplicisphaeridium taiwanianum C. L. Shaw sp. nov., Trichosphaeridium taiwanianum C. L. Shaw sp. nov., Tylosphaeridium taiwanianum C. L. Shaw sp. nov., and Cymatiosphaera taiwaniana C. L. Shaw sp. nov. of the fossil acritarchs obtained from Eocene sediments from offshore of the Keelung area in northern Taiwan are reported. They belong to two subgroups, four genera.

Lytostratigraphy of the eocene sediments in the Serbian-Macedonian Massif, Republic of Macedonia

OpenAIRE

Stojanova, Violeta; Petrov, Gose; Sijakova-Ivanova, Tena

2017-01-01

This paper presents the lithostratography of the eocene sedimentary series in the Serbian Macedonian massif on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. Sediments of Eocene age in the Serbian Macedonian massif are represented in the Delchevo, Deve Bair and Strumi ca basin, with the orientation of NW-SE to S-J. With lithostratigraphic studies of eocene sediments in the basins in SMM, 3 superposition lithostratigraphic units (lithozones) were isolated:...

Eocene relatives of cod icefishes (Perciformes: Notothenioidei) from Seymour Island, Antarctica

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bieńkowska-Wasiluk, Małgorzata; Bonde, Niels Christensøn; Møller, Peter Rask

2013-01-01

Fragmentary skull bones and vertebra from the Upper Eocene La Meseta Formation on Seymour (Marambio) Island, Antarctic Peninsula have been described as gadiform fishes, informally named “Mesetaichthys”. Here we describe jaws as Mesetaichthys jerzmanskae n. g. and n. sp., and refer this taxon...... to the perciform suborder Notothenioidei. This group is almost unknown as fossils. Similarities to the living, ‘primitive’ nototheniid Dissostichus eleginoides are indicated in the dentition. Gadiform evolution in the Paleocene-Eocene, and the possibility of a correlation between the origin and evolution...... of notothenioids in connection with the deterioration of the climate in Antarctica during the Late Eocene-Oligocene is discussed....

Multiple states in the late Eocene ocean circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Baatsen, M. L. J.; von der Heydt, A. S.; Kliphuis, M.; Viebahn, J.; Dijkstra, H. A.

2018-04-01

The Eocene-Oligocene Transition (EOT) marks a major step within the Cenozoic climate in going from a greenhouse into an icehouse state, with the formation of a continental-scale Antarctic ice sheet. The roles of steadily decreasing CO2 concentrations versus changes in ocean circulation at the EOT are still debated and the threshold for Antarctic glaciation is obscured by uncertainties in global geometry. Here, a detailed study of the late Eocene ocean circulation is carried out using an ocean general circulation model under two slightly different geography reconstructions of the middle-to-late Eocene (38 Ma). Using the same atmospheric forcing, both geographies give a profoundly different equilibrium ocean circulation state. The underlying reason for this sensitivity is the presence of multiple equilibria characterised by either North or South Pacific deep water formation. A possible shift from a southern towards a northern overturning circulation would result in significant changes in the global heat distribution and consequently make the Southern Hemisphere climate more susceptible for significant cooling and ice sheet formation on Antarctica.

High bat (Chiroptera) diversity in the Early Eocene of India

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Thierry; Rana, Rajendra S.; Missiaen, Pieter; Rose, Kenneth D.; Sahni, Ashok; Singh, Hukam; Singh, Lachham

2007-12-01

The geographic origin of bats is still unknown, and fossils of earliest bats are rare and poorly diversified, with, maybe, the exception of Europe. The earliest bats are recorded from the Early Eocene of North America, Europe, North Africa and Australia where they seem to appear suddenly and simultaneously. Until now, the oldest record in Asia was from the Middle Eocene. In this paper, we report the discovery of the oldest bat fauna of Asia dating from the Early Eocene of the Cambay Formation at Vastan Lignite Mine in Western India. The fossil taxa are described on the basis of well-preserved fragments of dentaries and lower teeth. The fauna is highly diversified and is represented by seven species belonging to seven genera and at least four families. Two genera and five species are new. Three species exhibit very primitive dental characters, whereas four others indicate more advanced states. Unexpectedly, this fauna presents strong affinities with the European faunas from the French Paris Basin and the German Messel locality. This could result from the limited fossil record of bats in Asia, but could also suggest new palaeobiogeographic scenarios involving the relative position of India during the Early Eocene.

A warm thermal enclave in the late Pleistocene of the south-eastern United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Dale A; Rich, Fredrick J; Schneider, Vincent; Lynch-Stieglitz, Jean

2009-05-01

Physical and biological evidence supports the probable existence of an enclave of relatively warm climate located between the Southern Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean in the United States during the Last Glacial Maximum. The region supported a mosaic of forest and prairie habitats inhabited by a "Floridian" ice-age biota. Plant and vertebrate remains suggest an ecological gradient towards Cape Hatteras (35 degreesN) wherein forests tended to replace prairies, and browsing proboscideans tended to replace grazing proboscideans. Beyond 35 degreesN, warm waters of the Gulf Stream were deflected towards the central Atlantic, and a cold-facies biota replaced "Floridian" biota on the Atlantic coastal plain. Because of niche diversity and relatively benign climate, biodiversity may have been greater in the south-eastern thermal enclave than in other unglaciated areas of North America. However, the impact of terminal Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions may also have been shorter and more severe in the enclave than further north. A comparison with biotic changes that occurred in North America approximately 55 million years (ma) ago at the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum suggests that similar processes of change took place under both ice-house and greenhouse climates.

Eocene cooling linked to early flow across the Tasmanian Gateway.

Science.gov (United States)

Bijl, Peter K; Bendle, James A P; Bohaty, Steven M; Pross, Jörg; Schouten, Stefan; Tauxe, Lisa; Stickley, Catherine E; McKay, Robert M; Röhl, Ursula; Olney, Matthew; Sluijs, Appy; Escutia, Carlota; Brinkhuis, Henk

2013-06-11

The warmest global temperatures of the past 85 million years occurred during a prolonged greenhouse episode known as the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (52-50 Ma). The Early Eocene Climatic Optimum terminated with a long-term cooling trend that culminated in continental-scale glaciation of Antarctica from 34 Ma onward. Whereas early studies attributed the Eocene transition from greenhouse to icehouse climates to the tectonic opening of Southern Ocean gateways, more recent investigations invoked a dominant role of declining atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations (e.g., CO2). However, the scarcity of field data has prevented empirical evaluation of these hypotheses. We present marine microfossil and organic geochemical records spanning the early-to-middle Eocene transition from the Wilkes Land Margin, East Antarctica. Dinoflagellate biogeography and sea surface temperature paleothermometry reveal that the earliest throughflow of a westbound Antarctic Counter Current began ~49-50 Ma through a southern opening of the Tasmanian Gateway. This early opening occurs in conjunction with the simultaneous onset of regional surface water and continental cooling (2-4 °C), evidenced by biomarker- and pollen-based paleothermometry. We interpret that the westbound flowing current flow across the Tasmanian Gateway resulted in cooling of Antarctic surface waters and coasts, which was conveyed to global intermediate waters through invigorated deep convection in southern high latitudes. Although atmospheric CO2 forcing alone would provide a more uniform middle Eocene cooling, the opening of the Tasmanian Gateway better explains Southern Ocean surface water and global deep ocean cooling in the apparent absence of (sub-) equatorial cooling.

New Eocene damselflies and first Cenozoic damsel-dragonfly of the isophlebiopteran lineage (Insecta: Odonata).

Science.gov (United States)

Garrouste, Romain; Nel, André

2015-10-09

The study of a new specimen of Petrolestes hendersoni from the Eocene Green Formation allows a more precise description of the enigmatic damselfly and the diagnosis of the Petrolestini. Petrolestes messelensis sp. nov. is described from the Eocene Messel Formation in Germany, extending the distribution of the Petrolestini to the European Eocene. The new damsel-dragonfly family Pseudostenolestidae is described for the new genus and species Pseudostenolestes bechlyi, from the Eocene Messel Formation. It is the first Cenozoic representative of the Mesozoic clade Isophlebioptera.

Icacinaceae from the eocene of Western North America.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Sarah E; Stull, Gregory W; Manchester, Steven R

2015-05-01

The Icacinaceae are a pantropical family of trees, shrubs, and climbers with an extensive Paleogene fossil record. Our improved understanding of phylogenetic relationships within the family provides an excellent context for investigating new fossil fruit and leaf material from the Eocene of western North America. We examined fossils from early and middle Eocene sediments of western Wyoming, northeastern Utah, northwestern Colorado, and Oregon and compared them with extant species of Iodes and other icacinaceous genera as well as previously described fossils of the family. Three new fossil species are described, including two based on endocarps (Iodes occidentalis sp. nov. and Icacinicaryites lottii sp. nov.) and one based on leaves (Goweria bluerimensis sp. nov.). The co-occurrence of I. occidentalis and G. bluerimensis suggests these might represent detached organs of a single species. A new genus, Biceratocarpum, is also established for morphologically distinct fossil fruits of Icacinaceae previously placed in Carpolithus. Biceratocarpum brownii gen. et comb. nov. resembles the London Clay species "Iodes" corniculata in possessing a pair of subapical protrusions. These fossils increase our knowledge of Icacinaceae in the Paleogene of North America and highlight the importance of the Northern Hemisphere in the early diversification of the family. They also document interchange with the Eocene flora of Europe and biogeographic connections with modern floras of Africa and Asia, where Icacinaceae are diverse today. The present-day restriction of this family to tropical regions offers ecological implications for the Eocene floras in which they occur. © 2015 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Warm ocean processes and carbon cycling in the Eocene.

Science.gov (United States)

John, Eleanor H; Pearson, Paul N; Coxall, Helen K; Birch, Heather; Wade, Bridget S; Foster, Gavin L

2013-10-28

Sea surface and subsurface temperatures over large parts of the ocean during the Eocene epoch (55.5-33.7 Ma) exceeded modern values by several degrees, which must have affected a number of oceanic processes. Here, we focus on the effect of elevated water column temperatures on the efficiency of the biological pump, particularly in relation to carbon and nutrient cycling. We use stable isotope values from exceptionally well-preserved planktonic foraminiferal calcite from Tanzania and Mexico to reconstruct vertical carbon isotope gradients in the upper water column, exploiting the fact that individual species lived and calcified at different depths. The oxygen isotope ratios of different species' tests are used to estimate the temperature of calcification, which we converted to absolute depths using Eocene temperature profiles generated by general circulation models. This approach, along with potential pitfalls, is illustrated using data from modern core-top assemblages from the same area. Our results indicate that, during the Early and Middle Eocene, carbon isotope gradients were steeper (and larger) through the upper thermocline than in the modern ocean. This is consistent with a shallower average depth of organic matter remineralization and supports previously proposed hypotheses that invoke high metabolic rates in a warm Eocene ocean, leading to more efficient recycling of organic matter and reduced burial rates of organic carbon.

Fossil palm beetles refine upland winter temperatures in the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum.

Science.gov (United States)

Archibald, S Bruce; Morse, Geoffrey E; Greenwood, David R; Mathewes, Rolf W

2014-06-03

Eocene climate and associated biotic patterns provide an analog system to understand their modern interactions. The relationship between mean annual temperatures and winter temperatures-temperature seasonality-may be an important factor in this dynamic. Fossils of frost-intolerant palms imply low Eocene temperature seasonality into high latitudes, constraining average winter temperatures there to >8 °C. However, their presence in a paleocommunity may be obscured by taphonomic and identification factors for macrofossils and pollen. We circumvented these problems by establishing the presence of obligate palm-feeding beetles (Chrysomelidae: Pachymerina) at three localities (a fourth, tentatively) in microthermal to lower mesothermal Early Eocene upland communities in Washington and British Columbia. This provides support for warmer winter Eocene climates extending northward into cooler Canadian uplands.

The Eocene-Oligocene sedimentary record in the Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Implications for climate and sea-level changes on the western Atlantic margin

Science.gov (United States)

Schulte, P.; Wade, B.S.; Kontny, A.; ,

2009-01-01

other northwest Atlantic margin sections. It could result from a shift to more distal depositional environments and condensed sedimentation during maximum fl ooding, rather than refl ecting a climatic change in the hinterland. The distinct 1% increase of the oxygen isotopes may correspond to the short-term latest Eocene "precursor isotope event." (4) The abrupt increase of sediment grainsize, carbonate content, and abundance of authigenic minerals (glauconite) across the major unconformity that separates Eocene from Oligocene sediments in the Eyreville core refl ects deposition in shallower settings associated with erosion, winnowing, and reworking. Sediments within the central crater were affected by the rapid eustatic sea-level changes associated with the greenhouse-icehouse transition, as well as by an abrupt major uplift event and possibly enhanced current activity on the northwestern Atlantic margin. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Early to Middle Eocene vegetation dynamics at the Wilkes Land Margin (Antarctica)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Contreras, L.; Pross, J.; Bijl, P.K.; Koutsodendris, A.; Raine, J.I.; van de Schootbrugge, B.; Brinkhuis, H.

2013-01-01

The early Eocene epoch was characterized by extreme global warmth, which in terrestrial settings was characterized by an expansion of near-tropical vegetation belts into the high latitudes. During the middle to late Eocene, global cooling caused the retreat of tropical vegetation to lower latitudes.

Late Lutetian Thermal Maximum—Crossing a Thermal Threshold in Earth's Climate System?

Science.gov (United States)

Westerhold, T.; Röhl, U.; Donner, B.; Frederichs, T.; Kordesch, W. E. C.; Bohaty, S. M.; Hodell, D. A.; Laskar, J.; Zeebe, R. E.

2018-01-01

Recognizing and deciphering transient global warming events triggered by massive release of carbon into Earth's ocean-atmosphere climate system in the past are important for understanding climate under elevated pCO2 conditions. Here we present new high-resolution geochemical records including benthic foraminiferal stable isotope data with clear evidence of a short-lived (30 kyr) warming event at 41.52 Ma. The event occurs in the late Lutetian within magnetochron C19r and is characterized by a ˜2°C warming of the deep ocean in the southern South Atlantic. The magnitudes of the carbon and oxygen isotope excursions of the Late Lutetian Thermal Maximum are comparable to the H2 event (53.6 Ma) suggesting a similar response of the climate system to carbon cycle perturbations even in an already relatively cooler climate several million years after the Early Eocene Climate Optimum. Coincidence of the event with exceptionally high insolation values in the Northern Hemisphere at 41.52 Ma might indicate that Earth's climate system has a thermal threshold. When this tipping point is crossed, rapid positive feedback mechanisms potentially trigger transient global warming. The orbital configuration in this case could have caused prolonged warm and dry season leading to a massive release of terrestrial carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system initiating environmental change.

Biostratigraphy of a Paleocene–Eocene Foreland Basin boundary in southern Tibet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoqiao Wan

2010-10-01

Full Text Available This study of the Paleocene–Eocene boundary within a foreland basin of southern Tibet, which was dominated by a carbonate ramp depositional environment, documents more complex environmental conditions than can be derived from studies of the deep oceanic environment. Extinction rates for larger foraminiferal species in the Zongpu-1 Section apply to up to 46% of the larger foraminiferal taxa. The extinction rate in southern Tibet is similar to rates elsewhere in the world, but it shows that the Paleocene fauna disappeared stepwise through the Late Paleocene, with Eocene taxa appearing abruptly above the boundary. A foraminifera turnover was identified between Members 3 and 4 of the Zongpu Formation—from the Miscellanea–Daviesina assemblage to an Orbitolites–Alveolina assemblage. The Paleocene and Eocene boundary is between the SBZ 4 and SBZ 5, where it is marked by the extinction of Miscellanea miscella and the first appearance of Alveolina ellipsodalis and a large number of Orbitolites. Chemostratigraphically, the δ13C values from both the Zongpu-1 and Zongpu-2 Sections show three negative excursions in the transitional strata, one in Late Paleocene, one at the boundary, and one in the early Eocene. The second negative excursion of δ13C, which is located at the P–E boundary, coincides with larger foraminifera overturn. These faunal changes and the observed δ13C negative excursions provide new evidence on environmental changes across the Paleocene–Eocene boundary in Tibet.

Thermal neutron measurement using the instrumented test bundle and assessment of maximum linear power in HANARO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, C. S.; Seo, C. K.; Lee, B. C.; Kim, H. N.; Kang, B. W. [KAERI, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

2000-10-01

The HANARO fuel, U{sub 3}Si-Al, has been developed by AECL and tested in NRU reactor. Due to the lack of the data performed under the high power, the repetitive conduct of the irradiation test was required under the power greater than 108kW/m, which is the estimated maximum linear power in the design stage. Accordingly, the instrumented test bundle with SPND(Self Powered Neutron Detector) was fabricated and its irradiation test was performed in IR2 of HANARO. The measured thermal neutron flux with SPND is compared with calculation results by HANAFMS(HANARO Fuel Management System). The difference in the measured and calculated thermal flux values are below {+-}11% and the accuracy of the linear power predicted by HANAFMS is consequently accompanied. Therefore, it is believed that the maximum linear power above 120kW/m is achieved during the irradiation test of the test bundle.

Development of the Philippine Mobile Belt in northern Luzon from Eocene to Pliocene

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Shigeyuki; Peña, Rolando E.; Tam, Tomas A.; Yumul, Graciano P.; Dimalanta, Carla B.; Usui, Mayumi; Ishida, Keisuke

2017-07-01

The origin of the Philippine Archipelago is characterized by the combination of the oceanic Philippine Mobile Belt (PMB) and the Palawan Continental Block (PCB). This paper is focused on the geologic evolution of the PMB in northern Luzon from Eocene to Pliocene. The study areas (northern Luzon) are situated in the central part of the PMB which is occupied by its typical components made up of a pre-Paleocene ophiolitic complex, Eocene successions, Eocene to Oligocene igneous complex and late Oligocene to Pliocene successions. Facies analysis of the middle Eocene and late Oligocene to early Pliocene successions was carried out to understand the depositional environment of their basins. Modal sandstone compositions, which reflect the basement geology of the source area, were analyzed. Major element geochemistry of sediments was considered to reconstruct the tectonic settings. The following brief history of the PMB is deduced. During the middle Eocene, the PMB was covered by mafic volcanic rocks and was a primitive island arc. In late Eocene to late Oligocene time, the intermediate igneous complex was added to the mafic PMB crust. By late Oligocene to early Miocene time, the PMB had evolved into a volcanic island arc setting. Contributions from alkalic rocks are detected from the rock fragments in the sandstones and chemical composition of the Zigzag Formation. During the middle Miocene to Pliocene, the tectonic setting of the PMB remained as a mafic volcanic island arc.

Paleocene-Eocene warming and biotic response in the epicontinental West Siberian Sea

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frieling, Joost|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/338017909; Iakovleva, Alina I.; Reichart, Gert Jan|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/165599081; Aleksandrova, Galina N.; Gnibidenko, Zinaida N.; Schouten, Stefan|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/137124929; Sluijs, Appy|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/311474748

2014-01-01

We present a Paleocene-Eocene (ca. 60-52 Ma) sea-surface temperature record from sediments deposited in the epicontinental West Siberian Sea. TEX86 paleothermometry indicates long-term late Paleocene (~17 °C ca. 59 Ma) to early Eocene (26 °C at 52 Ma) sea-surface warming, consistent with trends

Evaluation of parameters effect on the maximum fuel temperature in the core thermal and hydraulic design of HTTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujimoto, Nozomu; Maruyama, Soh; Sudo, Yukio; Fujii, Sadao; Niguma, Yoshinori.

1988-10-01

This report presents the results of quantitative evaluation on the effects of the dominant parameters on the maximum fuel temperature in the core thermal hydraulic design of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor(HTTR) of 30 MW in thermal power, 950 deg C in reactor outlet coolant temperature and 40 kg/cm 2 G in coolant pressure. The dominant parameters investigated are 1) Gap conductance. 2) Effect of eccertricity of fuel compacts in graphite sleeve. 3) Effect of spacer ribs on heat transfer coefficients. 4) Contact probability of fuel compact and graphite sleeve. 5) Validity of uniform radial power density in the fuel compacts. 6) Effect of impurity gas on gap conductance. 7) Effect of FP gas on gap conductance. The effects of these items on the maximum fuel temperature were quantitalively identified as hot spot factors. A probability of the appearance of the maximum fuel temperature was also evaluated in this report. (author)

Eocene lake basins in Wyoming and Nevada record rollback of the Farallon flat-slab beneath western North America

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, M. E.; Cassel, E. J.; Jicha, B. R.; Singer, B. S.; Carroll, A.

2014-12-01

Numerical and conceptual models of flat-slab rollback predict broad initial dynamic subsidence above the slab hinge then uplift and volcanism triggered by the advection of asthenosphere beneath the overriding plate. These predicted surface effects provide a viable but largely untested explanation for lake basin formation in Cordilleran-type orogenies. We argue that the hydrologic closure of both the foreland (early Eocene) and hinterland (late Eocene) of the North American Cordillera were caused by a trenchward-migrating wave of dynamic and thermal topography resulting from progressive removal of the Farallon flat-slab. Two major episodes of hydrologic drainage closure are recorded by Eocene terrestrial strata in the western United States. The first occurred in the retroarc foreland during the early Eocene, and resulted in the deposition of the Green River Fm. The second occurred in the hinterland during the late Eocene and resulted in accumulation of the Elko Fm. In both regions, lake strata overlie fluvial strata and become progressively more evaporative up-section, and are overlain by volcaniclastic strata. Both successions were then truncated by regional unconformities that extend until the Oligocene. We interpret these stratigraphic successions to record trenchward propagation of a regional topographic wave, caused by slab rollback. Migration of the slab-hinge initially caused dynamic subsidence and initiation of lacustrine deposition. Regional surface uplift followed, and was associated with scattered volcanism. Uplift promoted formation of endorheic basins and ultimately the development of regional unconformities. The height of the uplift can be roughly approximated by the preserved thickness of lacustrine and other nonmarine deposits at both locations (0.2-1.0 km). The 40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb geochronology of Green River Fm ash beds indicate that this surface topographic wave migrated trenchward (SW) across the foreland from 53 to 47 Ma at a velocity of ~6 cm

Eocene climate and Arctic paleobathymetry: A tectonic sensitivity study using GISS ModelE-R

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, C. D.; Legrande, A. N.; Tripati, A. K.

2009-12-01

The early Paleogene (65-45 million years ago, Ma) was a ‘greenhouse’ interval with global temperatures warmer than any other time in the last 65 Ma. This period was characterized by high levels of CO2, warm high-latitudes, warm surface-and-deep oceans, and an intensified hydrological cycle. Sediments from the Arctic suggest that the Eocene surface Arctic Ocean was warm, brackish, and episodically enabled the freshwater fern Azolla to bloom. The precise mechanisms responsible for the development of these conditions remain uncertain. We present equilibrium climate conditions derived from a fully-coupled, water-isotope enabled, general circulation model (GISS ModelE-R) configured for the early Eocene. We also present model-data comparison plots for key climatic variables (SST and δ18O) and analyses of the leading modes of variability in the tropical Pacific and North Atlantic regions. Our tectonic sensitivity study indicates that Northern Hemisphere climate would have been very sensitive to the degree of oceanic exchange through the seaways connecting the Arctic to the Atlantic and Tethys. By restricting these seaways, we simulate freshening of the surface Arctic Ocean to ~6 psu and warming of sea-surface temperatures by 2°C in the North Atlantic and 5-10°C in the Labrador Sea. Our results may help explain the occurrence of low-salinity tolerant taxa in the Arctic Ocean during the Eocene and provide a mechanism for enhanced warmth in the north western Atlantic. We also suggest that the formation of a volcanic land-bridge between Greenland and Europe could have caused increased ocean convection and warming of intermediate waters in the Atlantic. If true, this result is consistent with the theory that bathymetry changes may have caused thermal destabilisation of methane clathrates in the Atlantic.

Paleocene–Eocene warming and biotic response in the epicontinental West Siberian Sea

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frieling, J.; Iakovleva, A.I.; Reichart, G.-J.; Aleksandrova, G.N.; Gnibidenko, Z.N.; Schouten, S.; Sluijs, A.

2014-01-01

We present a Paleocene–Eocene (ca. 60–52 Ma) sea-surface temperature record from sediments deposited in the epicontinental West Siberian Sea. TEX86 paleothermometry indicates long-term late Paleocene (~17 °C ca. 59 Ma) to early Eocene (26 °C at 52 Ma) sea-surface warming, consistent with trends

Revision of the Maastrichtian-Palaeocene charophyte biostratigraphy of the Fontllonga reference section (southern Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vicente, A.; Villalba-Breva, S.; Ferrandez-Cañadell, C.; Martin-Closa

2016-07-01

The Fontllonga section is one of the best-known stratigraphic sections wordwide for the study of charophyte biostratigraphy of the Maastrichtian and lower Palaeocene. An updated proposal for the charophyte biostratigraphy of this section is presented after summarizing previous knowledge. The zone of Peckichara cancellata allows the upper Campanian–lowermost Maastrichtian to be characterised in the base of the section (La Maçana Formation). The Microchara punctata biozone represents most of the Maastrichtian (Figuerola Formation). Within this biozone, a Clavator ultimus subzone is proposed to improve characterisation of the lower and middle Maastrichtian. Both the upper and lower boundaries of the Microchara punctata biozone proposed in previous studies are modified based on new occurrences of the index species. A charophyte assemblage belonging to the Dughiella bacillaris biozone is reported for the first time from the middle of the section (Perauba Complex) and provides an age for this unit ranging from the upper Danian to lower Thanetian. A foraminifer assemblage found in the basal marine deposits above the non-marine succession of the Fontllonga section provides new biostratigraphic data to locate the upper boundary of the non-marine succession at least within the upper Thanetian. (Author)

Paleoceanographic, and paleoclimatic constraints on the global Eocene diatom and silicoflagellate record

Science.gov (United States)

Barron, John A.; Stickley, Catherine E.; Bukry, David

2015-01-01

Eocene diatom and silicoflagellate biostratigraphy are summarized and correlated with the most recent geologic time scale as well as with the global oxygen isotope and eustatic sea level curves. The global distribution of Eocene diatom/silicoflagellate-bearing sediments varies considerably, reflecting changing oceanic gateways and paleoceanography with changing patterns that are punctuated by four major depositional events.

A structural intermediate between triisodontids and mesonychians (Mammalia, Acreodi) from the earliest Eocene of Portugal.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabuce, Rodolphe; Clavel, Julien; Antunes, Miguel Telles

2011-02-01

A new mammal, Mondegodon eutrigonus gen. et sp. nov., is described from the earliest Eocene locality of Silveirinha, Portugal. This species shows dental adaptations indicative of a carnivorous diet. M. eutrigonus is referred to the order Acreodi and considered, along with the early Paleocene North American species Oxyclaenus cuspidatus, as a morphological intermediate between two groups of ungulate-like mammals, namely, the triisodontids and mesonychians. Considering that triisodontids are early to early-late Paleocene North American taxa, Mondegodon probably belongs to a group that migrated from North America towards Europe during the first part of the Paleocene. Mondegodon could represent thus a relict genus, belonging to the ante-Eocene European mammalian fauna. The occurrence of such a taxon in Southern Europe may reflect a period of isolation of this continental area during the Paleocene/Eocene transition. In this context, the non-occurrence of closely allied forms of Mondegodon in the Eocene North European mammalian faunas is significant. This strengthens the hypothesis that the mammalian fauna from Southern Europe is characterized by a certain degree of endemism during the earliest Eocene. Mondegodon also presents some striking similarities with an unnamed genus from the early Eocene of India which could represent the first Asian known transitional form between the triisodontids and mesonychians.

The oldest African bat from the early Eocene of El Kohol (Algeria).

Science.gov (United States)

Ravel, Anthony; Marivaux, Laurent; Tabuce, Rodolphe; Adaci, Mohammed; Mahboubi, Mohammed; Mebrouk, Fateh; Bensalah, Mustapha

2011-05-01

The Afro-Arabian Paleogene fossil record of Chiroptera is very poor. In North Africa and Arabia, this record is limited, thus far, to a few localities mainly in Tunisia (Chambi, late early Eocene), Egypt (Fayum, late Eocene to early Oligocene), and Sultanate of Oman (Taqah, early Oligocene). It consists primarily of isolated teeth or mandible fragments. Interestingly, these African fossil bats document two modern groups (Vespertilionoidea and Rhinolophoidea) from the early Eocene, while the bat fossil record of the same epoch of North America, Eurasia, and Australia principally includes members of the "Eochiroptera." This paraphyletic group contains all primitive microbats excluding modern families. In Algeria, the region of Brezina, southeast of the Atlas Mountains, is famous for the early Eocene El Kohol Formation, which has yielded one of the earliest mammalian faunas of the African landmass. Recent fieldwork in the same area has led to the discovery of a new vertebrate locality, including isolated teeth of Chiroptera. These fossils represent the oldest occurrence of Chiroptera in Africa, thus extending back the record of the group to the middle early Eocene (Ypresian) on that continent. The material consists of an upper molar and two fragments of lower molars. The dental character association matches that of "Eochiroptera." As such, although very fragmentary, the material testifies to the first occurrence of "Eochiroptera" in Algeria, and by extension in Africa. This discovery demonstrates that this basal group of Chiroptera had a worldwide distribution during the early Paleogene.

Terrestrial cooling in Northern Europe during the eocene-oligocene transition.

Science.gov (United States)

Hren, Michael T; Sheldon, Nathan D; Grimes, Stephen T; Collinson, Margaret E; Hooker, Jerry J; Bugler, Melanie; Lohmann, Kyger C

2013-05-07

Geochemical and modeling studies suggest that the transition from the "greenhouse" state of the Late Eocene to the "icehouse" conditions of the Oligocene 34-33.5 Ma was triggered by a reduction of atmospheric pCO2 that enabled the rapid buildup of a permanent ice sheet on the Antarctic continent. Marine records show that the drop in pCO2 during this interval was accompanied by a significant decline in high-latitude sea surface and deep ocean temperature and enhanced seasonality in middle and high latitudes. However, terrestrial records of this climate transition show heterogeneous responses to changing pCO2 and ocean temperatures, with some records showing a significant time lag in the temperature response to declining pCO2. We measured the Δ47 of aragonite shells of the freshwater gastropod Viviparus lentus from the Solent Group, Hampshire Basin, United Kingdom, to reconstruct terrestrial temperature and hydrologic change in the North Atlantic region during the Eocene-Oligocene transition. Our data show a decrease in growing-season surface water temperatures (~10 °C) during the Eocene-Oligocene transition, corresponding to an average decrease in mean annual air temperature of ~4-6 °C from the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene. The magnitude of cooling is similar to observed decreases in North Atlantic sea surface temperature over this interval and occurs during major glacial expansion. This suggests a close linkage between atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, Northern Hemisphere temperature, and expansion of the Antarctic ice sheets.

Volcano-climate interactions during the PETM and U-Pb dating from the Fur Formation, Denmark

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Morgan; Augland, Lars; Svensen, Henrik; Tegner, Christian; Planke, Sverre; Willumsen, Pi

2016-04-01

The Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) at ~56 Ma is one of the most extreme global warming events in Earth's history. Vast quantities of CO2 and CH4 were released to the atmosphere, causing a rapid (within 20,000 years) 5-6 °C warming that persisted for ~170,000 years. The PETM occurred during an abnormally warm period in Earth history, and was followed by other hyperthermal events later in the Eocene. The PETM also coincided with the second and major pulse of magmatism from the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP) during the break-up of Laurentia and Eurasia at 54-56 Ma. Evidence of explosive volcanism is prevalent at Fur, an island in northern Denmark, where over 180 distinct >1 cm thick ash horizons are preserved in a shallow marine succession (numbered from #-39 to #+140). These ash layers are believed to have originated from volcanic centres in east Greenland and western UK, which indicates that that they were formed during very large volcanic eruptions. Here we present the results of two key sections of the Fur Formation: a beach section at Stolleklint that includes sediment deposited syn-PETM, and a quarry section at Jenshøj that encompasses post-PETM sediments. A detailed chemostratigraphic log of δ13C (TOC) and δ15N values through the section suggests that there may be part of sequence missing, either through glaciotectonism or a depositional hiatus. The δ13C values around ash #-33 are typical of the PETM negative carbon isotope excursion (-31 to -32 ‰), yet are back to background values of ~-26 ‰ just four metres up section. The quarry section around ash #+19 displays further variations in δ13C values, suggesting a coincidence with one of the later Eocene hyperthermal events. High precision U-Pb dating of magmatic zircons from ash layer #+19 conforms to a post-PETM depositional age, giving a mean deposition rate of approximately ~5 cm kyr-1. The correlation between the largest ash layers (#-33 and #+19) and the largest perturbations to

Eocene diversification of crown group rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae).

Science.gov (United States)

García-R, Juan C; Gibb, Gillian C; Trewick, Steve A

2014-01-01

Central to our understanding of the timing of bird evolution is debate about an apparent conflict between fossil and molecular data. A deep age for higher level taxa within Neoaves is evident from molecular analyses but much remains to be learned about the age of diversification in modern bird families and their evolutionary ecology. In order to better understand the timing and pattern of diversification within the family Rallidae we used a relaxed molecular clock, fossil calibrations, and complete mitochondrial genomes from a range of rallid species analysed in a Bayesian framework. The estimated time of origin of Rallidae is Eocene, about 40.5 Mya, with evidence of intrafamiliar diversification from the Late Eocene to the Miocene. This timing is older than previously suggested for crown group Rallidae, but fossil calibrations, extent of taxon sampling and substantial sequence data give it credence. We note that fossils of Eocene age tentatively assigned to Rallidae are consistent with our findings. Compared to available studies of other bird lineages, the rail clade is old and supports an inference of deep ancestry of ground-dwelling habits among Neoaves.

Paleocene-Eocene Sediments Interbedded With Volcanics Within the Lycian Nappes: Faralya Formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa Şenel

1991-06-01

Full Text Available The presumably allochthonous structural units in the Southwestern Turkey between the Menderes massif and Beydağları autochthon are known as the Lycian nappes. Some of these units particularly beneath the ophiolite nappe end up with the Faralya formation of Paleocene-Lutetian age. The striking feature of this formation which includes micrite, clayey micrite, claystone, sandstone and conglomerate, is the presence of basic volcanite interbeds of Eocene age, This volcanite bearing formation exhibits a strong similarity to those of the other formations in Southwestern Turkey most of which include similar basic volcanites. Eocene basic volcanites are also known in the Akseki autochthon to the south of Seydişehir (Geyikdağ unit in broad sense. Similar extensive lateral movements (Eocene mountain building processes developed over the Faralya formation are seen over the volcanite bearing formations to the south of Menderes massif as well as to the north of Isparta angle and the Akseki autochthon. These features indicate that the area between the Menderes massif and Akseki autochthon (Geyikdağ unit reflects common basinal characters in terms of depositional conditions, volcanism and the traces of Eocene mountain building process.

Nonexplosive and explosive magma/wet-sediment interaction during emplacement of Eocene intrusions into Cretaceous to Eocene strata, Trans-Pecos igneous province, West Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Befus, K.S.; Hanson, R.E.; Miggins, D.P.; Breyer, J.A.; Busbey, A.B.

2009-01-01

Eocene intrusion of alkaline basaltic to trachyandesitic magmas into unlithified, Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to Eocene fluvial strata in part of the Trans-Pecos igneous province in West Texas produced an array of features recording both nonexplosive and explosive magma/wet-sediment interaction. Intrusive complexes with 40Ar/39Ar dates of ~ 47-46??Ma consist of coherent basalt, peperite, and disrupted sediment. Two of the complexes cutting Cretaceous strata contain masses of conglomerate derived from Eocene fluvial deposits that, at the onset of intrusive activity, would have been > 400-500??m above the present level of exposure. These intrusive complexes are inferred to be remnants of diatremes that fed maar volcanoes during an early stage of magmatism in this part of the Trans-Pecos province. Disrupted Cretaceous strata along diatreme margins record collapse of conduit walls during and after subsurface phreatomagmatic explosions. Eocene conglomerate slumped downward from higher levels during vent excavation. Coherent to pillowed basaltic intrusions emplaced at the close of explosive activity formed peperite within the conglomerate, within disrupted Cretaceous strata in the conduit walls, and within inferred remnants of the phreatomagmatic slurry that filled the vents during explosive volcanism. A younger series of intrusions with 40Ar/39Ar dates of ~ 42??Ma underwent nonexplosive interaction with Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene mud and sand. Dikes and sills show fluidal, billowed, quenched margins against the host strata, recording development of surface instabilities between magma and groundwater-rich sediment. Accentuation of billowed margins resulted in propagation of intrusive pillows into the adjacent sediment. More intense disruption and mingling of quenched magma with sediment locally produced fluidal and blocky peperite, but sufficient volumes of pore fluid were not heated rapidly enough to generate phreatomagmatic explosions. This work suggests that

Eocene Antarctic seasonality inferred from high-resolution stable isotope profiles of fossil bivalves and driftwood

Science.gov (United States)

Judd, E. J.; Ivany, L. C.; Miklus, N. M.; Uveges, B. T.; Junium, C. K.

2017-12-01

The Eocene Epoch was a time of large-scale global climate change, experiencing both the warmest temperatures of the Cenozoic and the onset of southern hemisphere glaciation. The record of average global temperatures throughout this transition is reasonably well constrained, however considerably less is known about the accompanying changes in seasonality. Seasonally resolved temperature data provide a wealth of information not readily available from mean annual temperature data alone. These data are particularly important in the climatically sensitive high latitudes, as they can elucidate the means by which climate changes and the conditions necessary for the growth of ice sheets. Several recent studies, however, have suggested the potential for monsoonal precipitation regimes in the early-middle Eocene high latitudes, which complicates interpretation of seasonally resolved oxygen isotope records in shallow nearshore marine settings. Seasonal precipitation and runoff could create a brackish, isotopically depleted lens in these environments, depleting summertime δ18Ocarb and thereby inflating the inferred mean and range of isotope-derived temperatures. Here, we assess intra-annual variations in temperature in shallow nearshore Antarctic waters during the middle and late Eocene, inferred from high-resolution oxygen isotope profiles from accretionary bivalves of the La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctica. To address concerns related to precipitation and runoff, we also subsample exceptionally preserved fossil driftwood from within the formation and use seasonal differences in δ13Corg values to estimate the ratio of summertime to wintertime precipitation. Late Eocene oxygen isotope profiles exhibit strongly attenuated seasonal amplitudes and more enriched mean annual values in comparison with data from the middle Eocene. Preliminary fossil wood data are not indicative of a strongly seasonal precipitation regime, implying that intra-annual variation in oxygen

The palaeobiology of high latitude birds from the early Eocene greenhouse of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Stidham, Thomas A; Eberle, Jaelyn J

2016-02-12

Fossils attributable to the extinct waterfowl clade Presbyornithidae and the large flightless Gastornithidae from the early Eocene (~52-53 Ma) of Ellesmere Island, in northernmost Canada are the oldest Cenozoic avian fossils from the Arctic. Except for its slightly larger size, the Arctic presbyornithid humerus is not distinguishable from fossils of Presbyornis pervetus from the western United States, and the Gastornis phalanx is within the known size range of mid-latitude individuals. The occurrence of Presbyornis above the Arctic Circle in the Eocene could be the result of annual migration like that of its living duck and geese relatives, or it may have been a year-round resident similar to some Eocene mammals on Ellesmere and some extant species of sea ducks. Gastornis, along with some of the mammalian and reptilian members of the Eocene Arctic fauna, likely over-wintered in the Arctic. Despite the milder (above freezing) Eocene climate on Ellesmere Island, prolonged periods of darkness occurred during the winter. Presence of these extinct birds at both mid and high latitudes on the northern continents provides evidence that future increases in climatic warming (closer to Eocene levels) could lead to the establishment of new migratory or resident populations within the Arctic Circle.

Tectonic Reorganization and the Cause of Paleocene and Eocene pCO2 Anomalies

Science.gov (United States)

Austermann, Jacqueline; Carter, Laura B.; Middleton, Jennifer; Stellmann, Jessica; Pyle, Lacey

2017-04-01

Oxygen isotope records reveal that deep-sea temperatures were relatively stable in the early and mid Paleocene before they rose by approx. 4°C to peak in the early Eocene. This Early Eocene Climate Optimum was followed by a 17 Myr cooling trend that led to the onset of Antarctic glaciation at the end of the Eocene. Several studies have examined the potential influence of perturbations to the sinks and sources of atmospheric carbon as mechanisms for the temperature drawdown over the Eocene. Examination of the changing magnitude of carbon sinks has focused on the importance of increased weathering associated with the uplift of the Tibetan plateau (Raymo and Ruddiman, 1992), the continental drift of basaltic provinces through the equatorial humid belt (Kent and Muttoni, 2013), or the emplacement of ophiolites during arc-continent collision in the face of a closing Tethys ocean (Jagoutz et al., 2016). With respect to carbon sources, the shutdown of Tethys subduction and related arc volcanism has been argued to significantly decrease carbon emissions and consequently global temperatures (Hoareau et al., 2015). In this study, we re-assess and quantify proposed atmospheric carbon sinks and sources to obtain an integrated picture of carbon flux changes over the Paleocene and Eocene and to estimate the relative importance of different mechanisms. To constrain carbon sources, we attempt to calculate the outgassing associated with large igneous provinces, mid-ocean ridges and volcanic arcs. We use plate reconstructions to track changes in length and divergence / convergence rates at plate boundaries as well as account for the onset and extinction of volcanic arcs. To constrain carbon sinks, we account for the sequestering of carbon due to silicate weathering and organic carbon burial. We again make use of plate reconstructions to trace highly weatherable arc systems and basaltic extrusions through the tropical humid belt and to assess the interplay between warmer Eocene

Mass-movement deposits in the lacustrine Eocene Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, western Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Ronald C.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Mercier, Tracey J.

2015-01-01

The Eocene Green River Formation was deposited in two large Eocene saline lakes, Lake Uinta in the Uinta and Piceance Basins and Lake Gosiute in the Greater Green River Basin. Here we will discuss mass-movement deposits in just the Piceance Basin part of Lake Uinta.

Earliest record of the fossil snake Palaeophis from the Paleocene/Eocene boundary in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Hans Viborg; Cuny, Gilles; Redsted Rasmussen, Arne

2012-01-01

Abstract. – The earliest record of Palaeophis ever found in Denmark is here based on vertebrae described from the Paleocene/Eocene Stolleklint Clay of the Isle of Mors (northern Denmark). Although much smaller, they appear quite similar to the Eocene vertebra described from the Fur Formation...

Asian Eocene monsoons as revealed by leaf architectural signatures

Science.gov (United States)

Spicer, Robert A.; Yang, Jian; Herman, Alexei B.; Kodrul, Tatiana; Maslova, Natalia; Spicer, Teresa E. V.; Aleksandrova, Galina; Jin, Jianhua

2016-09-01

The onset and development of the Asian monsoon systems is a topic that has attracted considerable research effort but proxy data limitations, coupled with a diversity of definitions and metrics characterizing monsoon phenomena, have generated much debate. Failure of geological proxies to yield metrics capable of distinguishing between rainfall seasonality induced by migrations of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) from that attributable to topographically modified seasonal pressure reversals has frustrated attempts to understand mechanisms underpinning monsoon development and dynamics. Here we circumvent the use of such single climate parameter metrics in favor of detecting directly the distinctive attributes of different monsoon regimes encoded in leaf fossils. Leaf form adapts to the prevailing climate, particularly under the extreme seasonal stresses imposed by monsoons, so it is likely that fossil leaves carry a unique signature of past monsoon regimes. Leaf form trait spectra obtained from fossils from Eocene basins in southern China were compared with those seen in modern leaves growing under known climate regimes. The fossil leaf trait spectra, including those derived from previously published fossil floras from northwestern India, were most similar to those found in vegetation exposed to the modern Indonesia-Australia Monsoon (I-AM), which is largely a product of seasonal migrations of the ITCZ. The presence of this distinctive leaf physiognomic signature suggests that although a monsoon climate existed in Eocene time across southern Asia the characteristics of the modern topographically-enhanced South Asia Monsoon had yet to develop. By the Eocene leaves in South Asia had become well adapted to an I-AM type regime across many taxa and points to the existence of a pervasive monsoon climate prior to the Eocene. No fossil trait spectra typical of exposure to the modern East Asia monsoon were seen, suggesting the effects of this system in southern

A redescription of Lithornis vulturinus (Aves, Palaeognathae) from the Early Eocene Fur Formation of Denmark.

Science.gov (United States)

Bourdon, Estelle; Lindow, Bent

2015-10-20

The extinct Lithornithidae include several genera and species of flying palaeognathous birds of controversial affinities known from the Early Paleogene of North America and Europe. An almost complete, articulated skeleton from the Early Eocene marine deposits of the Fur Formation (Denmark) was recently assigned to Lithornis vulturinus Owen, 1840. This study provides a detailed redescription and comparison of this three-dimensionally preserved specimen (MGUH 26770), which is one of the best preserved representatives of the Lithornithidae yet known. We suggest that some new features might be diagnostic of Lithornis vulturinus, including a pterygoid fossa shallower than in other species of Lithornis and the presence of a small caudal process on the os palatinum. We propose that Lithornis nasi (Harrison, 1984) is a junior synonym of Lithornis vulturinus and we interpret minor differences in size and shape among the specimens as intraspecific variation. To date, Lithornis vulturinus is known with certainty from the latest Paleocene-earliest Eocene to Early Eocene of the North Sea Basin (Ølst, Fur and London Clay Formations). Among the four species of the genus Lithornis, the possibility that Lithornis plebius Houde, 1988 (Early Eocene of Wyoming) is conspecific with either Lithornis vulturinus or Lithornis promiscuus Houde, 1988 (Early Eocene of Wyoming) is discussed. The presence of closely related species of Lithornis on either side of the North Atlantic in the Early Eocene reflects the existence of a high-latitude land connection between Europe and North America at that time.

Astronomical calibration of the middle Eocene Contessa Highway section (Gubbio, Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Jovane, Luigi; Sprovieri, Mario; Coccioni, Rodolfo; Florindo, Fabio; Marsili, Andrea; Laskar, Jacques

2010-09-01

The Eocene climatic system experienced an important transition from warm Paleocene greenhouse to icehouse Oligocene conditions. This transition could first appear as a long-term cooling trend but, at an up-close look, this period is a complex combination of climatic events and, for most of them, causes and consequences are still not fully characterized. In this context, a study has been carried out on the middle Eocene sedimentary succession of the Contessa Highway section, central Italy, which is proposed as the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Lutetian/Bartonian boundary at the top of the Chron 19n, with an astronomically calibrated age of 41.23 Ma. Through a cyclostratigraphic analysis of the rhythmic sedimentary alternations and combination with the results of time series analysis of the proxy record, we provide an orbital tuning of the middle Eocene and astronomical calibration of the bio-magnetostratigraphic events (particularly for the C19n/C18r Chron boundary) recognized at the Contessa Highway section.

High-resolution magneto stratigraphic of the Eocene-Oligocene boundary in the Umbria-Marche sequence; Stratigrafia magnetica ad alta risoluzione del limite Eocene-Oligocene nella successione Umbro-Marchigiana

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lanci, L.; Lowrie, W.; Montanari, A.

1998-12-31

High-resolution magneto stratigraphy across the Eocene-Olicene boundary has been employed in a detailed investigation of the nature of low-amplitude, short-wavelength oceanic magnetic anomalies. [Italiano] La stratigrafia magnetica ad alta risoluzione del limite Eocene-Oligocene ed il magnetismo delle rocce sono stati studiati in dettaglio per verificare la presenza di eventuali inversioni di polarita` brevi (short chrons) e variazioni delle intensita` del campo geomagnetico che possano essere messe in relazione con le anomalie oceaniche a bassa ampiezza e corto periodo.

Late Eocene impact events recorded in deep-sea sediments

Science.gov (United States)

Glass, B. P.

1988-01-01

Raup and Sepkoski proposed that mass extinctions have occurred every 26 Myr during the last 250 Myr. In order to explain this 26 Myr periodicity, it was proposed that the mass extinctions were caused by periodic increases in cometary impacts. One method to test this hypothesis is to determine if there were periodic increases in impact events (based on crater ages) that correlate with mass extinctions. A way to test the hypothesis that mass extinctions were caused by periodic increases in impact cratering is to look for evidence of impact events in deep-sea deposits. This method allows direct observation of the temporal relationship between impact events and extinctions as recorded in the sedimentary record. There is evidence in the deep-sea record for two (possibly three) impact events in the late Eocene. The younger event, represented by the North American microtektite layer, is not associated with an Ir anomaly. The older event, defined by the cpx spherule layer, is associated with an Ir anomaly. However, neither of the two impact events recorded in late Eocene deposits appears to be associated with an unusual number of extinctions. Thus there is little evidence in the deep-sea record for an impact-related mass extinction in the late Eocene.

Early-middle Eocene birds from the Lillebaelt Clay Formation of Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindow, Bent Erik Kramer

2009-01-01

The marine Lillebaelt Clay Formation of central Denmark is of early-middle Eocene age (late Ypresian - middle Lutetian; microfossil zones NP 13-NP 15). Over 20 bird fossils collected by amateur palaeontologists have been acquired through the Danish national ‘Danekrae' fossil treasure trove...... Clay Formation deposits derive from just after the Early Eocene Climate Optimum, a period of global elevated temperatures resulting from rapid greenhouse warming. Comparison between this bird assemblage and the recently revised assemblage from the older (earliest Ypresian) Fur Formation of Denmark...

Post-Eocene tectonics of the Central Taurus Mountains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ergün AKAY

1988-06-01

Full Text Available In post-Eocene time, the Central Taurus mountains have been subjected to four episodes of compression in probably Upper Eocene — Lower Oligocene, Langhian, Upper Tortonian, and Upper Pliocene to recent times. In the Upper Eocene — Lower Oligocene compressional period, Ecemiş, and Beyşehir conjugate faults which have both vertical and lateral components have been formed after an N - S compression. In the Langhian compression period, the Lycian nappes were emplaced from the NW to SE and this tectonic movement has also effected the Antalya and the Adana Miocene basins. In the Upper Tortonian compression period, firstly a WSW-ENE compression has resulted in the formation of Aksu thrust, Kırkkavak oblique reverse fault, Köprüçay syncline, Beşkonak anticline, Radyoring anticline, Taşağıl syncline and Kargı reverse faults. In this period a later phase of N — S compression has formed Çakallar folds, Gökçeler normal fault, the smooth anticline in Mut Karaman and the syncline in Ulukışla. In the latest compressional period from Upper Pliocene to recent, first on E — W compression which can be recognized by some mesoscopic faults has been developed and later a N — S compression resulted in the formation of the active faults on Ecemiş and Gökçeler faults, and the Antalya bay graben.

First South American Agathis (Araucariaceae), Eocene of Patagonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilf, Peter; Escapa, Ignacio H; Cúneo, N Rubén; Kooyman, Robert M; Johnson, Kirk R; Iglesias, Ari

2014-01-01

Agathis is an iconic genus of large, ecologically important, and economically valuable conifers that range over lowland to upper montane rainforests from New Zealand to Sumatra. Exploitation of its timber and copal has greatly reduced the genus's numbers. The early fossil record of Agathis comes entirely from Australia, often presumed to be its area of origin. Agathis has no previous record from South America. We describe abundant macrofossils of Agathis vegetative and reproductive organs, from early and middle Eocene rainforest paleofloras of Patagonia, Argentina. The leaves were formerly assigned to the New World cycad genus Zamia. Agathis zamunerae sp. nov. is the first South American occurrence and the most complete representation of Agathis in the fossil record. Its morphological features are fully consistent with the living genus. The most similar living species is A. lenticula, endemic to lower montane rainforests of northern Borneo. Agathis zamunerae sp. nov. demonstrates the presence of modern-aspect Agathis by 52.2 mya and vastly increases the early range and possible areas of origin of the genus. The revision from Zamia breaks another link between the Eocene and living floras of South America. Agathis was a dominant, keystone element of the Patagonian Eocene floras, alongside numerous other plant taxa that still associate with it in Australasia and Southeast Asia. Agathis extinction in South America was an integral part of the transformation of Patagonian biomes over millions of years, but the living species are disappearing from their ranges at a far greater rate.

Eocene crabs (Crustacea, Brachyura) from Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Collins, J.H.S.; Donovan, S.K.

2005-01-01

Recently discovered crabs from the Middle to Upper Eocene of northern Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, include well-preserved carapaces of Montezumella rutteni Van Straelen, originally described from an incomplete holotype. The more comprehensive description of this species provided herein includes

Persistent near-tropical warmth on the Antarctic continent during the early Eocene epoch.

Science.gov (United States)

Pross, Jörg; Contreras, Lineth; Bijl, Peter K; Greenwood, David R; Bohaty, Steven M; Schouten, Stefan; Bendle, James A; Röhl, Ursula; Tauxe, Lisa; Raine, J Ian; Huck, Claire E; van de Flierdt, Tina; Jamieson, Stewart S R; Stickley, Catherine E; van de Schootbrugge, Bas; Escutia, Carlota; Brinkhuis, Henk

2012-08-02

The warmest global climates of the past 65 million years occurred during the early Eocene epoch (about 55 to 48 million years ago), when the Equator-to-pole temperature gradients were much smaller than today and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were in excess of one thousand parts per million by volume. Recently the early Eocene has received considerable interest because it may provide insight into the response of Earth's climate and biosphere to the high atmospheric carbon dioxide levels that are expected in the near future as a consequence of unabated anthropogenic carbon emissions. Climatic conditions of the early Eocene 'greenhouse world', however, are poorly constrained in critical regions, particularly Antarctica. Here we present a well-dated record of early Eocene climate on Antarctica from an ocean sediment core recovered off the Wilkes Land coast of East Antarctica. The information from biotic climate proxies (pollen and spores) and independent organic geochemical climate proxies (indices based on branched tetraether lipids) yields quantitative, seasonal temperature reconstructions for the early Eocene greenhouse world on Antarctica. We show that the climate in lowland settings along the Wilkes Land coast (at a palaeolatitude of about 70° south) supported the growth of highly diverse, near-tropical forests characterized by mesothermal to megathermal floral elements including palms and Bombacoideae. Notably, winters were extremely mild (warmer than 10 °C) and essentially frost-free despite polar darkness, which provides a critical new constraint for the validation of climate models and for understanding the response of high-latitude terrestrial ecosystems to increased carbon dioxide forcing.

Late Eocene white pines (Pinus subgenus Strobus) from southern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Qingqing; Zhou, Wenjun; Kodrul, Tatiana M; Naugolnykh, Serge V; Jin, Jianhua

2015-11-09

Fossil records indicate that the genus Pinus L. split into two subgenera by the Late Cretaceous, although subgenus Strobus (D. Don) Lemmon is less well documented than subgenus Pinus L., especially in eastern Asia. In this paper, Pinus maomingensis sp. nov. is established based on a compressed seed cone from the upper Eocene of the Maoming Basin of southern China. This species is attributed to genus Pinus, subgenus Strobus, section Quinquefoliae Duhamel, subsection Strobus Loudon based on the combination of morphological characters obtained from the cone scales, specifically from the terminal umbo, rhombic apophysis, and cuticle structure. Associated fascicles of needle leaves with deciduous sheaths and bulbous bases are recognized as Pinus sp. and also represent Pinus subgenus Strobus. This new discovery from the Maoming Basin constitutes the first megafossil record of subgenus Strobus from southern China and implies that the members of this subgenus arrived in the southern region of China by the late Eocene. The extant species of subgenus Strobus are mainly distributed in northern temperate and tropical to subtropical mountainous regions. We propose that the Maoming Basin was adjacent to a mountainous region during the late Eocene.

Effect of in-pile degradation of the meat thermal conductivity on the maximum temperature of the plate-type U-Mo dispersion fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Medvedev, Pavel G.

2009-01-01

Effect of in-pile degradation of thermal conductivity on the maximum temperature of the plate-type research reactor fuels has been assessed using the steady-state heat conduction equation and assuming convection cooling. It was found that due to very low meat thickness, characteristic for this type of fuel, the effect of thermal conductivity degradation on the maximum fuel temperature is minor. For example, the fuel plate featuring 0.635 mm thick meat operating at heat flux of 600 W/cm2 would experience only a 20 C temperature rise if the meat thermal conductivity degrades from 0.8 W/cm-s to 0.3 W/cm-s. While degradation of meat thermal conductivity in dispersion-type U-Mo fuel can be very substantial due to formation of interaction layer between the particles and the matrix, and development of fission gas filled porosity, this simple analysis demonstrates that this phenomenon is unlikely to significantly affect the temperature-based safety margin of the fuel during normal operation.

CRUSTOSE CORALLINE ALGAL PAVEMENTS FROM LATE EOCENE COLLI BERICI OF NORTHERN ITALY

OpenAIRE

BASSI, DAVIDE

2017-01-01

The Eocene from the Prealpine region records the first phase of the crustose coralline algae flourishing in the Cenozoic. These algae are very frequent in the Marne di Priabona Formation (Late Eocene). This palaeoecological research involves ourcrop at Barbarano Vicentino(Vicenza) in the Colli Berici which is well known for its Paleogene stratigraphy. The coralline unit consists of a floatstone bank 6 m thick with rhodoliths and laminar crusts; it lies between macroforaminifer dominated limes...

Tip of the clade on the top of the World—the first fossil Lophopidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) from the Palaeocene of Tibet

Science.gov (United States)

Szwedo, Jacek; Stroiński, Adam; Lin, Qibin

2015-06-01

Lophopidae is a family of planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) present today in tropical and subtropical zones of the Old World. The most recent taxonomic studies and phylogeny of these insects do not include the extinct representatives. Therefore, each new discovery of a fossil lophopid is of high interest, giving new insights to their evolutionary history and enabling to test the proposed relationships. The recent findings of extinct Lophopidae in Europe, in various Palaeogene deposits, put in doubts their proposed evolutionary and biogeographic scenario. The new fossil from the Palaeocene of Northern Tibet is related to one of the Lophopidae clades, Apia+ group, believed to be the most advanced one, and recently distributed in the recent Sundaland-New Guinea-Queensland area. A new genus and species Gesaris gnapo gen. et sp. n. provide information on early lophopids diversity and relationships and demonstrates the necessity for a revision of the existing hypotheses for the initial diversification and distributional pattern of the Lophopidae.

Synchronous turnover of flora, fauna, and climate at the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary in Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Jimin; Ni, Xijun; Bi, Shundong; Wu, Wenyu; Ye, Jie; Meng, Jin; Windley, Brian F

2014-12-12

The Eocene-Oligocene Boundary (~34 million years ago) marks one of the largest extinctions of marine invertebrates in the world oceans and of mammalian fauna in Europe and Asia in the Cenozoic era. A shift to a cooler climate across this boundary has been suggested as the cause of this extinction in the marine environment, but there is no manifold evidence for a synchronous turnover of flora, fauna and climate at the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary in a single terrestrial site in Asia to support this hypothesis. Here we report new data of magnetostratigraphy, pollen and climatic proxies in the Asian interior across the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary; our results show that climate change forced a turnover of flora and fauna, suggesting there was a change from large-size perissodactyl-dominant fauna in forests under a warm-temperate climate to small rodent/lagomorph-dominant fauna in forest-steppe in a dry-temperate climate across the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary. These data provide a new terrestrial record for this significant Cenozoic environmental event.

Apatite fission-track evidence of widespread Eocene heating and exhumation in the Yukon-Tanana Upland, interior Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Dusel-Bacon, C.; Murphy, J.M.

2001-01-01

We present an apatite fission-track (AFT) study of five plutonic rocks and seven metamorphic rocks across 310 km of the Yukon-Tanana Upland in east-central Alaska. Samples yielding ???40 Ma AFT ages and mean confined track lengths > 14 ??m with low standard deviations cooled rapidly from >120??C to 40 Ma suggest partial annealing and, therefore, lower maximum temperatures (???90-105??C). A few samples with single-grain ages of ???20 Ma apparently remained above ???50??C after initial cooling. Although the present geothermal gradient in the western Yukon-Tanana Upland is ???32??C/km, it could have been as high as 45??C/km during a widespread Eocene intraplate magmatic episode. Prior to rapid exhumation, samples with ???40 Ma AFT ages were >3.8-2.7 km deep and samples with >50 Ma AFT ages were >3.3-2.0 km deep. We calculate a 440-320 m/Ma minimum rate for exhumation of all samples during rapid cooling. Our AFT data, and data from rocks north of Fairbanks and from the Eielson deep test hole, indicate up to 3 km of post-40 Ma vertical displacement along known and inferred northeast-trending high-angle faults. The predominance of 40-50 Ma AFT ages throughout the Yukon-Tanana Upland indicates that, prior to the post-40 Ma relative uplift along some northeast-trending faults, rapid regional cooling and exhumation closely followed the Eocene extensional magmatism. We propose that Eocene magmatism and exhumation were somehow related to plate movements that produced regional-scale oroclinal rotation, northward translation of outboard terranes, major dextral strike-slip faulting, and subduction of an oceanic spreading ridge along the southern margin of Alaska.

Quantifying the Eocene to Pleistocene topographic evolution of the southwestern Alps, France and Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Fauquette, Séverine; Bernet, Matthias; Suc, Jean-Pierre; Grosjean, Anne-Sabine; Guillot, Stéphane; van der Beek, Peter; Jourdan, Sébastien; Popescu, Speranta-Maria; Jiménez-Moreno, Gonzalo; Bertini, Adele; Pittet, Bernard; Tricart, Pierre; Dumont, Thierry; Schwartz, Stéphane; Zheng, Zhuo; Roche, Emile; Pavia, Giulio; Gardien, Véronique

2015-02-01

We evaluate the topographic evolution of the southwestern Alps using Eocene to Pleistocene pollen data combined with existing sedimentological, petrographic and detrital geo- and thermochronological data. We report 32 new pollen analyses from 10 sites completed by an existing dataset of 83 samples from 14 localities situated across the southwestern Alps, including both the pro- and the retro-foreland basins. The presence of microthermic tree pollen (mainly Abies, Picea) indicates that this part of the mountain belt attained elevations over 1900 m as early as the Oligocene. Inferred rapid surface uplift during the mid-Oligocene coincided with a previously documented brief phase of rapid erosional exhumation, when maximum erosion rates may have reached values of up to 1.5-2 km/Myr. Slower long-term average exhumation rates of ∼0.3 km/Myr since the Late Oligocene helped maintaining the high Alpine topography of the southwestern Alps until today. The relative abundances of meso-microthermic tree pollen (Cathaya, Cedrus and Tsuga) and microthermic tree pollen (Abies, Picea) in the pro- and retro-foreland basin deposits, indicate that the present-day asymmetric topography, with a relatively gentle western flank and steeper eastern flank, was established early in the southwestern Alps, at least since the Early Miocene, and possibly since the Oligocene or Late Eocene. Therefore, the high topography and asymmetric morphology of this part of the Alps has been maintained throughout the past ∼30 Ma.

The crazy hollow formation (Eocene) of central Utah

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, M.P.; Warner, K.N.

2001-01-01

the Crazy Hollow beds dip beneath Quaternary sediments that fill the two valleys. The Crazy Hollow Formation ranges from 0 to 1,307 feet (0-398 m) thick in the region, but is usually much thinner than the maximum value. At most outcrops it is only a few scores of feet (12-50 m) thick. Its age is middle Eocene, for it is only a little younger than the underlying Green River Formation. The unit developed by the washing of detritus into the basin of the southwest arm of Lake Uinta from the various source rocks in the highlands surrounding the basin. The limestone beds and lenses formed in ponds and small lakes that developed in the basin from time to time during and following the draining and evaporation of Lake Uinta. The qualities of the Crazy Hollow Formation are described in detail for 10 different areas of outcrops in the Sanpete and Sevier Valleys and vicinity.

Passifloraceae seeds from the late Eocene of Colombia.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez, Camila

2017-12-01

The plant fossil record for the neotropics is still sparse and temporally discontinuous. The location and description of new fossil material are fundamental for understanding evolutionary and biogeographic patterns of lineages. A new fossil record of Passifloraceae from the late Eocene of Colombia is described in this study. Plant fossils were collected from a new locality from the Eocene Esmeraldas Formation. Eighteen fossil seeds were selected, described, and compared with fossil and extant angiosperm seeds based on the literature and herbarium collections. Taxonomic affinities of the fossil seeds within Passifloraceae s.l. were evaluated by comparing morphological characters of the seeds in a phylogenetic context. Stratigraphic information associated with the fossil locality was used to interpret the environment and taphonomic processes associated with fossil deposition. A new seed fossil genus and species, Passifloroidesperma sogamosense gen. and sp. nov., is described and associated with the subfamily Passifloroideae based on the presence of a foveolate seed surface, ruminate endosperm, and a seed coat with prismatic palisade cells. The depositional environment of the locality is described as a floodplain associated with river channels. A detailed review of the Passifloraceae fossil record indicates that P. sogamosense is the oldest confirmed record of Passifloraceae. Its late Eocene age provides a minimum age that can be used as a calibration point for the crown Passifloroideae node in future dating analyses that together with its neotropical geographic location can shed light on the origin and diversification of the subfamily. © 2017 Botanical Society of America.

Diatom and silicoflagellate biostratigraphy for the late Eocene: ODP 1090 (sub-Antarctic Atlantic)

Science.gov (United States)

Barron, John A.; Bukry, David B.; Gersonde, Rainer

2014-01-01

Abundant and well-preserved diatoms and silicofl agellate assemblages are documented through a complete late Eocene sequence, ODP Hole 1090B, recovered from the southern Agulhas Ridge in the sub-Antarctic South Atlantic. A sequence of Cestodiscus (diatom) species occurrence events involving C. pulchellus var. novazealandica, C. fennerae, C. antarcticus, C. convexus, C. trochus, and C. robustus is tied with paleomagnetic stratigraphy and provides the basis of proposing a new diatom zonation for the latest middle Eocene to early Oligocene (~37.6–33.4 Ma) of the sub-Antarctic South Atlantic. Comparison with previously published diatom occurrence charts suggested this zonation should be applicable throughout the low latitude regions of the world’s oceans. Silicofl agellates belong to the Dictyocha hexacantha and the overlying Corbisema apiculata Zones. The late Eocene succession of silicofl agellate species is dominated by Naviculopsis (20–60%). Naviculopsis constricta and N. foliacea dominate the D. hexacantha Zone, followed by the N. constricta, then N. biapiculata in the C. apiculata Zone. Cold-water Distephanus is most abundant in the latest Eocene along with N. biapiculata. The tops of zonal guide fossils Dictyocha hexacantha and Hannaites quadria (both 36.6 Ma) and Dictyocha spinosa (37.1 Ma) are tied with paleomagnetic stratigraphy.

Exploration potential of the Eocene deposits in central Romanian block sea off shore

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tambrea, D; Raileanu, A; Barbuliceanu, N; Borosi, V.

2002-01-01

Full text:The study area comprises the Eocene Istria Depression bounded by Peceneaga- Camena and Heracleea faults, in front of North Dobrogea Orogene and Central Dobrogea, in the Romanian Black Sea offshore. The analysis of 100 two- dimensional (2D) seismic lines and two- three dimensional (3D) seismic surveys and well data has permitted to outline that the geo dynamic evolution of Eocene basins has led to the deposition of carbonate- sliciclastic turbidity, porous carbonate shelf margin reservoir deposits, and muddy carbonate turbiditic source rocks that present new Eocene petroleum targets. The main Eocene sub basin located in Iris-Venus area is deep, rhombic shaped, del imitated by normal faults, and may be connected with the strike-slip deformation component of Peceneaga- Camena fault. The next sub basin, located on West Lebeda area may be considered a cross- fault extensional zone. In the following sub basin East Lebada- Minerva area, normal faults generated a tectonic corridor characterized by high subsidence rate and local submarine/sub aerial intra slope topographic high. The last sub basin localized in Histria is a ponded one and captured highly organic matter rich muddly carbonate turgidities. In all sub basins, there is a progression from structure control to sediment control deposition

A Model-Model and Data-Model Comparison for the Early Eocene Hydrological Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Carmichael, Matthew J.; Lunt, Daniel J.; Huber, Matthew; Heinemann, Malte; Kiehl, Jeffrey; LeGrande, Allegra; Loptson, Claire A.; Roberts, Chris D.; Sagoo, Navjit; Shields, Christine

2016-01-01

A range of proxy observations have recently provided constraints on how Earth's hydrological cycle responded to early Eocene climatic changes. However, comparisons of proxy data to general circulation model (GCM) simulated hydrology are limited and inter-model variability remains poorly characterised. In this work, we undertake an intercomparison of GCM-derived precipitation and P - E distributions within the extended EoMIP ensemble (Eocene Modelling Intercomparison Project; Lunt et al., 2012), which includes previously published early Eocene simulations performed using five GCMs differing in boundary conditions, model structure, and precipitation-relevant parameterisation schemes. We show that an intensified hydrological cycle, manifested in enhanced global precipitation and evaporation rates, is simulated for all Eocene simulations relative to the preindustrial conditions. This is primarily due to elevated atmospheric paleo-CO2, resulting in elevated temperatures, although the effects of differences in paleogeography and ice sheets are also important in some models. For a given CO2 level, globally averaged precipitation rates vary widely between models, largely arising from different simulated surface air temperatures. Models with a similar global sensitivity of precipitation rate to temperature (dP=dT ) display different regional precipitation responses for a given temperature change. Regions that are particularly sensitive to model choice include the South Pacific, tropical Africa, and the Peri-Tethys, which may represent targets for future proxy acquisition. A comparison of early and middle Eocene leaf-fossil-derived precipitation estimates with the GCM output illustrates that GCMs generally underestimate precipitation rates at high latitudes, although a possible seasonal bias of the proxies cannot be excluded. Models which warm these regions, either via elevated CO2 or by varying poorly constrained model parameter values, are most successful in simulating a

Fossil cyclanthus (cyclanthaceae, pandanales) from the eocene of Germany and England.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Selena Y; Collinson, Margaret E; Rudall, Paula J

2008-06-01

The first known fossil fruits and seeds of Cyclanthaceae are described here. Cyclanthus messelensis sp. nov., from the Middle Eocene of Messel, Germany, has discoidal fruiting cycles up to 6 cm in diameter, with a central hole, radiating fiber strands, a thickened outer rim, and paratetracytic stomata. In situ seeds are up to 2 mm long, with an elongate micropylar end, a chalazal neck, and adpressed bands. The Messel fruits and seeds are nearly identical to those of Cyclanthus, differing in minor details of cuticular structure and seeds. The exceptional preservation at Messel (including in situ and isolated seeds) has also allowed us to establish the taxonomic affinity of isolated seeds ('Scirpus' lakensis) that are spatially and temporally widespread in the late Early and early Middle Eocene of southern England. Cyclanthus lakensis comb. nov. is described here as a morphotaxon for isolated fossil Cyclanthus seeds, preserved only as cuticular envelopes. Cyclanthus is another example of links between Eocene Europe and Recent South American floras because it is found today only from Mexico to South America. This material represents the first fossil fruits and seeds of Cyclanthus, which clearly was once growing in the Paleogene of the Old World.

Assessing offsets between the δ13C of sedimentary components and the global exogenic carbon pool across early Paleogene carbon cycle perturbations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sluijs, A.; Dickens, G.R.

2012-01-01

Negative stable carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) across the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM; ∼56 Ma) range between 2‰ and 7‰, even after discounting sections with truncated records. Individual carbon isotope records differ in shape and magnitude from variations in the global exogenic carbon

Body size and premolar evolution in the early-middle eocene euprimates of Wyoming.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Katrina E; Rose, Kenneth D; Perry, Jonathan M G

2014-01-01

The earliest euprimates to arrive in North America were larger-bodied notharctids and smaller-bodied omomyids. Through the Eocene, notharctids generally continued to increase in body size, whereas omomyids generally radiated within small- and increasingly mid-sized niches in the middle Eocene. This study examines the influence of changing body size and diet on the evolution of the lower fourth premolar in Eocene euprimates. The P4 displays considerable morphological variability in these taxa. Despite the fact that most studies of primate dental morphology have focused on the molars, P4 can also provide important paleoecological insights. We analyzed the P4 from 177 euprimate specimens, representing 35 species (11 notharctids and 24 omomyids), in three time bins of approximately equal duration: early Wasatchian, late Wasatchian, and Bridgerian. Two-dimensional surface landmarks were collected from lingual photographs, capturing important variation in cusp position and tooth shape. Disparity metrics were calculated and compared for the three time bins. In the early Eocene, notharctids have a more molarized P4 than omomyids. During the Bridgerian, expanding body size range of omomyids was accompanied by a significant increase in P4 disparity and convergent evolution of the semimolariform condition in the largest omomyines. P4 morphology relates to diet in early euprimates, although patterns vary between families. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Thermal maturity history and implications for hydrocarbon exploration in the Catatumbo basin, Colombia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rangel, Antonio; Hernandez, Roberto

2007-01-01

A thermal model integrated with oil and gas geochemical study has been constructed for the Catatumbo basin, Colombia for provides petroleum system data for hydrocarbon exploration. The calibration of the thermal model with maturity data took into account a changing heat flow scheme which included a thermal increase towards the end of the Jurassic and another one in the early Eocene, associated with rifting events. Locally, active/generating source rocks are within the synclines axes. The hydrocarbon expulsion time for Cretaceous source rocks (Capacho and La Luna formations) started in the upper Paleocene-Eocene, while for the los Cuervos Formation the generation and expulsion started of 1 0 my. The petroleum expelled during the Paleocene-Miocene, were likely accumulated in structures formed since the end of the cretaceous, while the younger structures that resulted from the Andean orogen were charged by remigration from the older structures and additionally with the youngest lately generated hydrocarbons. The accumulations of hydrocarbons are mainly the result of generation and migration locally within the basin. The Catatumbo Basin contains thermogenic wet gases with different degrees of thermal maturity which varies from around 1,0 for 2,5 equivalent Ro. The highest degree of thermal evolution according to maturity indicators and thermal modeling is in the southern area, which is prospective for wet gas. The central and northern area appears more prospective for oil with minor amounts of gas

Scaled biotic disruption during early Eocene global warming events

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gibbs, S.J.; Bown, P.R.; Murphy, B.H.; Sluijs, A.; Edgar, K.M.; Pälike, H.; Bolton, C.T.; Zachos, J.C.

2012-01-01

Late Paleocene and early Eocene hyperthermals are transient warming events associated with massive perturbations of the global carbon cycle, and are considered partial analogues for current anthropogenic climate change. Because the magnitude of carbon release varied between the events, they are

Emplacement and geochemical evolution of eocene plutonic rocks in the Colville batholith

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holder, R.W.

1986-01-01

Eocene plutonic rocks in the Colville batholith are divided on the basis of field evidence and chemical composition into, in order of decreasing age, (1) several calc-alkalic biotite-hornblende monzodiorite to granodiorite intrusions referred to as the Devils Elbow suite, and (2) compositionally variable calc-alkalic to alkali-calcic intrusions referred to as the Herron Creek suite. These Eocene suites are distinct from older, more voluminous, leucocratic granite and granodiorite intrusions, designated the Keller Butte suite, which are calcic and characteristically lack hornblende. Results of qualitative and computer modeling of major element variation and quantitative models of trace element variation in the chemically coherent Bridge Creek intrusions, a member of the Herron Creek suite, are compatible with fractionation of plagioclase feldspar + hornblende + biotite + magnetite + apatite from a parent magma of andesitic composition to account for the observed variation. Strongly curved variation trends preclude mixing as the primary mechanism for the observed variation. It is suggested that parallel variation trends in the other Eocene intrusions are also the result of crystal fractionation. Lateral chemical variations including a decrease in silica saturation suggest the chemical characteristics of these rocks reflect those of parental magmas derived from the mantle, with an unknown amount of crustal contribution. Rotated and angular xenoliths, discordant contacts, and temporal and spatial proximity to graben structures indicate that the Eocene plutons were passively implaced into the upper crust along graben-bounding faults during graben formation, the earlier stages of which appear to have been contemporaneous with regional mylonitic deformation

Monophyly and extensive extinction of advanced eusocial bees: Insights from an unexpected Eocene diversity

OpenAIRE

Engel, Michael S.

2001-01-01

Advanced eusociality sometimes is given credit for the ecological success of termites, ants, some wasps, and some bees. Comprehensive study of bees fossilized in Baltic amber has revealed an unsuspected middle Eocene (ca. 45 million years ago) diversity of eusocial bee lineages. Advanced eusociality arose once in the bees with significant post-Eocene losses in diversity, leaving today only two advanced eusocial tribes comprising less than 2% of the total bee divers...

Orbital signals in carbon isotopes: phase distortion as a signature of the carbon cycle

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Laurin, Jiří; Růžek, Bohuslav; Giorgioni, M.

2017-01-01

Roč. 32, č. 11 (2017), s. 1236-1255 ISSN 0883-8305 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-10982S Institutional support: RVO:67985530 Keywords : Eocene thermal maximum * global warming events * Milankovitch cycles Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy OBOR OECD: Geology Impact factor: 3.254, year: 2016

Eocene and miocene rocks off the northeastern coast of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, T.G.

1965-01-01

A grab sample from a depth of 1675 m at a point south of Cape Cod contains early Eocene planktonic Foraminifera and is correlated with the Globorotalia rex zone of Trinidad. The assemblage indicates a depth comparable to that existing today. Regional relations suggest that the Cretaceous and Eocene deposits deepen to the west toward New Jersey. Two mollusk-bearing blocks dredged from the northern side of Georges Bank are correlative with the Miocene Yorktown Formation. Rocks from two other stations are probably Miocene. Benthonic Foraminifera in one sample indicate deposition in cool temperate waters of less than 60 m depth. ?? 1965.

MECO Warming Changes Continental Rainfall Patterns in Eocene Western North America

Science.gov (United States)

Methner, K.; Mulch, A.; Fiebig, J.; Wacker, U.; Gerdes, A.; Graham, S. A.; Chamberlain, C. P.

2016-12-01

Eocene hyperthermals represent temperature extremes superimposed on an existing warm climate. They dramatically affected the marine and terrestrial biosphere, but still remain among the most enigmatic phenomena of Cenozoic climate dynamics. To evaluate the impacts of global warm periods on terrestrial temperature and rainfall records in continental interiors, we sampled a suite of middle Eocene ( 40 Ma) paleosols from a high-elevation mammal fossil locality in the hinterland of the North American Cordillera (Sage Creek Basin, Montana, USA) and integrated laser ablation U-Pb dating of pedogenic carbonate, stable isotope (δ18O) and clumped isotope temperature (Δ47) records. Δ47 temperature data of soil carbonates progressively increase from 23 °C ±3 °C to peak temperatures of 32 °C ±3 °C and subsequently drop to 21 °C ±2 °C and delineate a rapid +9/-11 °C temperature excursion in the paleosol record. This hyperthermal event is accompanied by large and rapid shifts towards low δ18O values and reduced pedogenic CaCO3 contents. U-Pb geochronology of the paleosol carbonate confirms a middle Eocene age for soil carbonate formation (39.5 ±1.4 Ma and 40.1 ±0.8 Ma). Based on U-Pb geochronology, magneto- and biostratigraphy we suggest that the recorded Δ47 temperature excursion reflects peak warming during the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO). The MECO in continental western North America appears to be characterized by warmer and wetter (sub-humid) conditions in this high-elevation site. Shifts in δ18O values of precipitation and pedogenic CaCO3 contents parallel temperature changes and require modification of mid-latitude rainfall patterns, indicating a profound impact of the MECO on the hydrological cycle and consequently on atmospheric circulation patterns in the hinterland of the North American Cordillera.

Eocene fluvial drainage patterns and their implications for uranium and hydrocarbon exploration in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seeland, D.A.

1975-01-01

Paleocurrent maps of the fluvial early Eocene Wind River Formation in the Wind River Basin of central Wyoming define promising uranium and hydrocarbon exploration target areas. The Wind River Formation is thought to have the greatest potential for uranium mineralization in areas where it includes arkosic channel sandstones derived from the granitic core of the Granite Mountains as in the channel sandstones deposited by the 25-mile segment of the Eocene Wind River extending westward from near the town of Powder River on the east edge of the basin. Channel sandstones with a Granite Mountain source occur south of this segment of the Eocene Wind River and north of the Granite Mountains. The southwestern part of this area includes the Gas Hills uranium district but channel sandstones between the Gas Hills district and the 25-mile segment of the Eocene Wind River are potentially mineralized. This area includes the entire southeasternmost part of the Wind River Basin southeast of Powder River and contains northeasterly trending channel sandstones derived from the Granite Mountains. Limited paleocurrent information from the margins of the Wind River Basin suggests that the Paleocene Wind River flowed eastward and had approximately the same location as the eastward-flowing Eocene Wind River. If leaks of sulfur-containing gas have created a reducing environment in the Eocene Wind River channel sandstones, then I speculate that the areas of overlap of the channel sandstones and natural gas fields in the underlying rocks may be particularly favorable areas in which to search for uranium deposits. The channel sandstones of the Paleocene and Eocene Wind Rivers are potential hydrocarbon reservoirs, particularly where underlain or overlain by the organic-rich shale and siltstone of the Waltman Shale Member of the Fort Union Formation

Sequence stratigraphic interpretation of parts of Anambra Basin, Nigeria using geophysical well logs and biostratigraphic data

Science.gov (United States)

Anakwuba, E. K.; Ajaegwu, N. E.; Ejeke, C. F.; Onyekwelu, C. U.; Chinwuko, A. I.

2018-03-01

The Anambra basin constitutes the southeastern lower portion of the Benue Trough, which is a large structural depression that is divided into lower, middle and upper parts; and is one of the least studied inland sedimentary basins in Nigeria. Sequence stratigraphic interpretation had been carried out in parts of the Anambra Basin using data from three wells (Alo-1 Igbariam-1 and Ajire-1). Geophysical well logs and biostratigraphic data were integrated in order to identify key bounding surfaces, subdivide the sediment packages, correlate sand continuity and interpret the environment of deposition in the fields. Biostratigraphic interpretation, using foraminifera and plankton population and diversity, reveals five maximum flooding surfaces (MFS) in the fields. Five sequence boundaries (SB) were also identified using the well log analysis. Four 3rd order genetic sequences bounded by maximum flooding surfaces (MFS-1 to MFS-6) were identified in the areas; four complete sequences and one incomplete sequence were identified in both Alo-1 and Igbariam-1 wells while Ajire-1 has an no complete sequence. The identified system tracts delineated comprises Lowstand Systems Tracts (progradational to aggradational to retrogradational packages), Transgressive Systems Tracts (retrogradational packages) and Highstand Systems Tracts (aggradational to progradational packages) in each well. The sand continuity across the fields reveal sands S1 to S5 where S1 is present in Ajire-1 well and Igbariam-1 well but not in Alo-1 well. The sands S4 to S5 run across the three fields at different depths. The formations penetrated by the wells starting from the base are; Nkporo Formation (Campanian), Mamu Formation (Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian), Ajali Sandstone (Maastrichtian), Nsukka Formation (Late Maastrichtian to Early Palaeocene), Imo Formation (Palaeocene) and Nanka Sand (Eocene). The environments of deposition revealed are from coastal to bathyal. The sands of lowstand system

Thermogenic methane release as a cause for the long duration of the PETM

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frieling, Joost; Svensen, Henrik H.; Planke, Sverre; Cramwinckel, Margot J.; Selnes, Haavard; Sluijs, Appy

2016-01-01

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) (∼56 Ma) was a ∼170,000-y (∼170-kyr) period of global warming associated with rapid and massive injections of 13C-depleted carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system, reflected in sedimentary components as a negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE). Carbon

Estimation of fracture conditions of ceramics by thermal shock with laser beams based on the maximum compressive stress criterion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akiyama, Shigeru; Amada, Shigeyasu.

1992-01-01

Structural ceramics are attracting attention in the development of space planes, aircraft and nuclear fusion reactors because they have excellent wear-resistant and heat-resistant characteristics. However, in some applications it is anticipated that they will be exposed to very-high-temperature environments of the order of thousands of degrees. Therefore, it is very important to investigate their thermal shock characteristics. In this report, the distributions of temperatures and thermal stresses of cylindrically shaped ceramics under irradiation by laser beams are discussed using the finite-element computer code (MARC) with arbitrary quadrilateral axisymmetric ring elements. The relationships between spot diameters of laser beams and maximum values of compressive thermal stresses are derived for various power densities. From these relationships, a critical fracture curve is obtained, and it is compared with the experimental results. (author)

Magnetostratigraphy of the Willwood Formation, Bighorn Basin, Wyoming: new constraints on the location of Paleocene/Eocene boundary

Science.gov (United States)

Tauxe, L.; Gee, J.; Gallet, Y.; Pick, T.; Bown, T.

1994-01-01

The lower Eocene Willwood Formation in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming preserves a rich and diverse mammalian and floral record. The paleomagnetic behavior of the sequence of floodplain paleosols of varying degrees of maturation ranges from excellent to poor. We present a magnetostratigraphic section for a composite section near Worland, Wyoming, by using a set of strict criteria for interpreting the step-wise alternating field and thermal demagnetization data of 266 samples from 90 sites throughout the composite section. Correlation to the geomagnetic reversal time scale was achieved by combining magnetostratigraphic and biostratigraphic data from this section, from a section in the Clark's Fork Basin in northern Wyoming, and from DSDP Site 550, with the isotopic data determined on a tuff near the top of our section. Our correlation suggests that the Bighorn Basin composite section in the Worland area spans from within Chron C24r to near the top of Chron C24n, or from approximately 55 to 52 Ma. This correlation places the Paleocene/Eocene boundary within the vicinity of the base of the section. Cryptochron C24r.6 of Cande and Kent is tentatively identified some 100 m above the base of the section. The temporal framework provided here enables correlation of the mammalian biostratigraphy of the Bighorn Basin to other continental sequences as well as to marine records. It also provides independent chronological information for the calculation of sediment accumulation rates to constrain soil maturation rates. We exclude an age as young as 53 Ma for the Paleocene/Eocene boundary and support older ages, as recommended in recent time scales. The location of a tuff dated at 52.8 ?? 0.3 Ma at the older boundary C24n.1 is consistent with the age of 52.5 Ma estimated by Cande and Kent and inconsistent with that of 53.7 Ma, from Harland et al. ?? 1994.

Eocene Loranthaceae pollen pushes back divergence ages for major splits in the family.

Science.gov (United States)

Grímsson, Friðgeir; Kapli, Paschalia; Hofmann, Christa-Charlotte; Zetter, Reinhard; Grimm, Guido W

2017-01-01

We revisit the palaeopalynological record of Loranthaceae, using pollen ornamentation to discriminate lineages and to test molecular dating estimates for the diversification of major lineages. Fossil Loranthaceae pollen from the Eocene and Oligocene are analysed and documented using scanning-electron microscopy. These fossils were associated with molecular-defined clades and used as minimum age constraints for Bayesian node dating using different topological scenarios. The fossil Loranthaceae pollen document the presence of at least one extant root-parasitic lineage (Nuytsieae) and two currently aerial parasitic lineages (Psittacanthinae and Loranthinae) by the end of the Eocene in the Northern Hemisphere. Phases of increased lineage diversification (late Eocene, middle Miocene) coincide with global warm phases. With the generation of molecular data becoming easier and less expensive every day, neontological research should re-focus on conserved morphologies that can be traced through the fossil record. The pollen, representing the male gametophytic generation of plants and often a taxonomic indicator, can be such a tracer. Analogously, palaeontological research should put more effort into diagnosing Cenozoic fossils with the aim of including them into modern systematic frameworks.

Tarsal morphology of the pleuraspidotheriid mammal Hilalia from the middle Eocene of Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregoire Metais

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Pleuraspidotheriids are a group of primitive ungulate mammals that, until recently, were thought to be restricted to the late Paleocene of Western Europe. It has been hypothesized that this family actually survived in Central Anatolia until at least the middle Eocene. However, these anachronistically young Anatolian “survivors”, including the genus Hilalia, were previously documented mainly by dental remains. Here, we describe the previously unknown astragalus of Hilalia saribeya, which confirms the pleuraspidotheriid affinities of the genus, and supports phylogenetic reconstructions that place Hilalia as the sister group of Pleuraspidotherium. The morphology of the astragalus suggests sub-cursorial plantigrade locomotion for H. saribeya, although its tarsal morphology remains generalized enough that scansorial capabilities cannot be ruled out. The evolution of Hilalia is addressed in the context of the apparent geographic isolation of Central Anatolia during the Eocene. The endemic character of the mammalian fauna of Central Anatolia during the middle Eocene emphasizes how the complex paleogeography of the northern margin of Neotethys impacted local biotas in a region situated at the crossroads of very distinctive biogeographic zones.

A new sawshark, Pristiophorus laevis, from the Eocene of Antarctica with comments on Pristiophorus lanceolatus.

Science.gov (United States)

Engelbrecht, Andrea; Mörs, Thomas; Reguero, Marcelo A; Kriwet, Jürgen

2017-01-01

The highly fossiliferous Eocene deposits of the Antarctic Peninsula are among the most productive sites for fossil remains in the Southern Hemisphere and offer rare insights into high-latitude faunas during the Palaeogene. Chondrichthyans, which are represented by abundant isolated remains, seemingly dominate the marine assemblages. Eocene Antarctic sawsharks have only been known from few isolated rostral spines up to now, that were assigned to Pristiophorus lanceolatus . Here, we present the first oral teeth of a sawshark from the Eocene of Seymour Island and a re-evaluation of previously described Pristiophorus remains from Gondwana consisting exclusively of rostral spines. The holotype of Pristiophorus lanceolatus represents a single, abraded and insufficiently illustrated spine from the Oligocene of New Zealand. All other Cenozoic rostral spines assigned to this species are morphologically very indistinct and closely resemble those of living taxa. Consequently, we regard this species as dubious and introduce a new species, Pristiophorus laevis , based on oral teeth. The combination of dental characteristics of the new species makes it unique compared to all other described species based on oral teeth. Rostral spines from the Eocene of Seymour Island are assigned to this new species whereas those from other Cenozoic Gondwana localities remain ambiguous.

Depositional environment, sand provenance, and diagenesis of the Basal Salina Formation (lower Eocene), northwestern Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Marsaglia, K. M.; Carozzi, A. V.

The Basal Salina Formation is a lower Eocene transgressive sequence consisting of interbedded shales, siltstones, and conglomeratic sandstones. This formation occurs in the Talara basin of northwestern Peru and is one of a series of complexly faulted hydrocarbon-producing formations within this extensional forearc basin. These sediments were probably deposited in a fan-delta complex that developed along the ancestral Amotape Mountains during the early Eocene. Most of the sediment was derived from the low-grade metamorphic and plutonic rocks that comprise the Amotape Mountains, and their sedimentary cover. Detrital modes of these sandstones reflect the complex tectonic history of the area, rather than the overall forearc setting. Unlike most forearc sediments, these are highly quartzose, with only minor percentages of volcanic detritus. This sand is variably indurated and cemented by chlorite, quartz, calcite, and kaolinite. Clay-mineral matrix assemblages show gradational changes with depth, from primarily detrital kaolinite to diagenetic chlorite and mixed-layered illite/smectite. Basal Salina sandstones exhibit a paragenetic sequence that may be tied to early meteoric influx or late-stage influx of thermally driven brines associated with hydrocarbon migration. Much of the porosity is secondary, resulting from a first-stage dissolution of silicic constituents (volcanic lithic fragments, feldspar, and fibrous quartz) and a later dissolution of surrounding carbonate cement. Types of pores include skeletal grains, grain molds, elongate pores, and fracture porosity. Measured porosity values range up to 24% and coarser samples tend to be more porous. Permeability is enhanced by fractures and deterred by clay-mineral cements and alteration residues.

Petrography and Diagenesis of Palaeocene -Eocene Sandstones in the Siri Canyon, Danish North Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kazerouni, Afsoon Moatari

cemented in two major phases - an early opal/microquartz phase and a late stage massive cementation by macroquartz.  This study explores the potential sources of SiO2 in the shale, and the timing of their active phases.   The main diagenetic phases recorded are smectite, heulandite, opal...... components results in successive stages of silica-release.  In shallow samples the alteration of volcanic ash has already been completed.  Released silica was partly consumed for the precipitation of smectite and heulandite.   In addition, a major part of the biogenic silica has been transformed into opal......-CT and partly to microcrystalline quartz.  The microcrystalline quartz is an internal sink for dissolved silica, but the shale may have been an active silica exporter during this transition.   With deeper depth of burial, opal-CT is fully transformed to microcrystalline quartz.  During this phase, silica has...

Profundal sideritic mudstone from an Eocene lake in Alaska

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickinson, K.A.

1987-01-01

Sideritic lacustrine mudstone was found in drill core from a uranium deposit in the Death Valley area in the eastern part of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. The precursor sediments for this rock were deposited in an unusual iron-meromictic Eocene lake, herein named Lake Tubutulik, which occupied part of the Boulder Creek basin, a graben that is probably a southern extension of the larger Death Valley basin. The Boulder Creek basin is bounded on the west by granite of the Upper Cretaceous Darby pluton and on the east by Precambrian to Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks. The lake basin was formed by basaltic flows that dammed the valley of the ancestral Tubutulik River in early Eocene time. The lake sediments included a nearshore facies of fine-grained organic mud and an offshore facies of laminated sideritic mud. The offshore (profundal) laminated mudstone consists of alternating layers of authigenic siderite and detrital grains, mostly quartz and clay minerals. Both lacustrine facies contain turbidites. The lacustrine rocks graded laterally into an onshore facies of colluvial and fluvial sandstone, paludal mudstone, and coal. The ancient lake occupied a small, deep basin in a tectonically active area of high relief. Meromixis was apparently stabilized by reduced iron and bicarbonate dissolved in the monimolimnion. The intensity of meromixis decreased as the lake became shallower from sediment filling. The source of the dissolved iron in the monoimolimnion was probably the Eocene basalt. Carbon isotope analysis of the siderite suggests that the dissolved bicarbonate in the profundal facies was largely inorganic. Sideritic carbon in one sample from the onshore paludal facies has an isotopic signature (δ 13 C = +16.9) consistent with residual carbonate formed during methanogenic fermentation

An alternative model for CaCO3 over-shooting during the PETM : Biological carbonate compensation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Luo, Yiming; Boudreau, Bernard P.; Dickens, Gerald R.; Sluijs, Appy; Middelburg, Jack J.

2016-01-01

Decreased CaCO3 content of deep-sea sediments argues for rapid and massive acidification of the oceans during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ∼56 Ma BP). In the course of the subsequent recovery from this acidification, sediment CaCO3 content came to exceed pre-PETM levels, known as

Eocene greenhouse climate revealed by coupled clumped isotope-Mg/Ca thermometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, David; Sagoo, Navjit; Renema, Willem; Cotton, Laura J; Müller, Wolfgang; Todd, Jonathan A; Saraswati, Pratul Kumar; Stassen, Peter; Ziegler, Martin; Pearson, Paul N; Valdes, Paul J; Affek, Hagit P

2018-02-06

Past greenhouse periods with elevated atmospheric CO 2 were characterized by globally warmer sea-surface temperatures (SST). However, the extent to which the high latitudes warmed to a greater degree than the tropics (polar amplification) remains poorly constrained, in particular because there are only a few temperature reconstructions from the tropics. Consequently, the relationship between increased CO 2 , the degree of tropical warming, and the resulting latitudinal SST gradient is not well known. Here, we present coupled clumped isotope (Δ 47 )-Mg/Ca measurements of foraminifera from a set of globally distributed sites in the tropics and midlatitudes. Δ 47 is insensitive to seawater chemistry and therefore provides a robust constraint on tropical SST. Crucially, coupling these data with Mg/Ca measurements allows the precise reconstruction of Mg/Ca sw throughout the Eocene, enabling the reinterpretation of all planktonic foraminifera Mg/Ca data. The combined dataset constrains the range in Eocene tropical SST to 30-36 °C (from sites in all basins). We compare these accurate tropical SST to deep-ocean temperatures, serving as a minimum constraint on high-latitude SST. This results in a robust conservative reconstruction of the early Eocene latitudinal gradient, which was reduced by at least 32 ± 10% compared with present day, demonstrating greater polar amplification than captured by most climate models.

Optimal initial fuel distribution in a thermal reactor for maximum energy production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moran-Lopez, J.M.

1983-01-01

Using the fuel burnup as objective function, it is desired to determine the initial distribution of the fuel in a reactor in order to obtain the maximum energy possible, for which, without changing a fixed initial fuel mass, the results for different initial fuel and control poison configurations are analyzed and the corresponding running times compared. One-dimensional, two energy-group theory is applied to a reflected cylindrical reactor using U-235 as fuel and light water as moderator and reflector. Fissions in both fast and thermal groups are considered. The reactor is divided into several annular regions, and the constant flux approximation in each depletion step is then used to solve the fuel and fission-product poisons differential equations in each region. The computer code OPTIME was developed to determine the time variation of core properties during the fuel cycle. At each depletion step, OPTIME calls ODMUG, [12] a criticality search program, from which the spatially-averaged neutron fluxes and control poison cross sections are obtained

Tracing the Eocene-Oligocene transition: A case study from North Bohemia

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kvaček, Z.; Teodoridis, V.; Mach, K.; Přikryl, Tomáš; Dvořák, Z.

2014-01-01

Roč. 89, č. 1 (2014), s. 21-66 ISSN 1214-1119 Keywords : boundary * climate * Early Oligocene * fauna * flora * Late Eocene * vegetation Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 1.515, year: 2014

Integrated stratigraphy and astronomical tuning of Smirra cores, lower Eocene, Umbria-Marche basin, Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauretano, Vittoria; Turtù, Antonio; Hilgen, Frits; Galeotti, Simone; Catanzariti, Rita; Reichart, Gert Jan; Lourens, Lucas J.

2016-04-01

The early Eocene represents an ideal case study to analyse the impact of increase global warming on the ocean-atmosphere system. During this time interval, the Earth's surface experienced a long-term warming trend that culminated in a period of sustained high temperatures called the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). These perturbations of the ocean-atmosphere system involved the global carbon cycle and global temperatures and have been linked to orbital forcing. Unravelling this complex climatic system strictly depends on the availability of high-quality suitable geological records and accurate age models. However, discrepancies between the astrochronological and radioisotopic dating techniques complicate the development of a robust time scale for the early Eocene (49-54 Ma). Here we present the first magneto-, bio-, chemo- and cyclostratigraphic results of the drilling of the land-based Smirra section, in the Umbria Marche Basin. The sediments recovered at Smirra provide a remarkably well-preserved and undisturbed succession of the early Palaeogene pelagic stratigraphy. Bulk stable carbon isotope and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) scanning records are employed in the construction of an astronomically tuned age model for the time interval between ~49 and ~54 Ma based on the tuning to long-eccentricity. These results are then compared to the astronomical tuning of the benthic carbon isotope record of ODP Site 1263 to evaluate the different age model options and improve the time scale of the early Eocene by assessing the precise number of eccentricity-related cycles comprised in this critical interval.

A diverse snake fauna from the early Eocene of Vastan Lignite Mine, Gujarat, India

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rage, J.C.; Folie, A.; Rana, R.S.; Singh, H.; Rose, K.D.; Smith, T. [Museum National Historical Nature, Paris (France)

2008-09-15

The early Eocene (Ypresian) Cambay Formation of Vastan Lignite Mine in Gujarat, western India, has produced a diverse assemblage of snakes including at least ten species that belong to the Madtsoiidae, Palaeophiidae (Palaeophis and Pterosphenus), Boidae, and several Caenophidia. Within the latter taxon, the Colubroidea are represented by Russellophis crassus sp. nov. (Russellophiidae) and by Procerophis sahnii gen. et sp. nov. Thaumastophis missiaeni gen. et sp. nov. is a caenophidian of uncertain family assignment. At least two other forms probably represent new genera and species, but they are not named; both appear to be related to the Caenophidia. The number of taxa that represent the Colubroidea or at least the Caenophidia, i.e., advanced snakes, is astonishing for the Eocene. This is consistent with the view that Asia played an important part in the early history of these taxa. The fossils come from marine and continental levels; however, no significant difference is evident between faunas from these levels. The fauna from Vastan Mine includes highly aquatic, amphibious, and terrestrial snakes. All are found in the continental levels, including the aquatic palaeophiids, whereas the marine beds yielded only two taxa. Vastan Mine is only the second locality in which the palaeophiids Palaeophis and Pterosphenus co-occur. The composition of the fauna from Vastan is on the whole similar to that of the early Eocene of Europe; however, comparisons with early Eocene faunas of other continents are not possible because they are poorly known or unknown.

Early Eocene rodents (Mammalia) from the Subathu Formation of ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

1997a, b). Most of the rodents from this stratigraphic level have been referred to a rather diverse family Cha- pattimyidae ... Herein we describe a new early Eocene rodent assemblage .... thick zone of brownish red shales that occur as a ..... 1997b;. Plate 3, figure 31). ...... northwestern Pakistan and remarks on the collision.

Characterization of middle Eocene tide-influenced delta: a study ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

42

Running Title: Eocene tide-influenced delta in South Cambay Basin. Manuscript. Click here to view linked References. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 .... systematic documentation of the facies types to establish the depositional environment of the .... Hazad Member consists of a number of sandstone units separated by intervening ...

Determination of hot spot factors for calculation of the maximum fuel temperatures in the core thermal and hydraulic design of HTTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maruyama, Soh; Yamashita, Kiyonobu; Fujimoto, Nozomu; Murata, Isao; Shindo, Ryuichi; Sudo, Yukio

1988-12-01

The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) has been designing the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR), which is 30 MW in thermal power, 950deg C in reactor outlet coolant temperature and 40 kg/cm 2 G in primary coolant pressure. This report summarizes the hot spot factors and their estimated values used in the evaluation of the maximum fuel temperature which is one of the major items in the core thermal and hydraulic design of the HTTR. The hot spot factors consist of systematic factors and random factors. They were identified and their values adopted in the thermal and hydraulic design were determined considering the features of the HTTR. (author)

Crown Group Lejeuneaceae and Pleurocarpous Mosses in Early Eocene (Ypresian Indian Amber.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jochen Heinrichs

Full Text Available Cambay amber originates from the warmest period of the Eocene, which is also well known for the appearance of early angiosperm-dominated megathermal forests. The humid climate of these forests may have triggered the evolution of epiphytic lineages of bryophytes; however, early Eocene fossils of bryophytes are rare. Here, we present evidence for lejeuneoid liverworts and pleurocarpous mosses in Cambay amber. The preserved morphology of the moss fossil is inconclusive for a detailed taxonomic treatment. The liverwort fossil is, however, distinctive; its zig-zagged stems, suberect complicate-bilobed leaves, large leaf lobules, and small, deeply bifid underleaves suggest a member of Lejeuneaceae subtribe Lejeuneinae (Harpalejeunea, Lejeunea, Microlejeunea. We tested alternative classification possibilities by conducting divergence time estimates based on DNA sequence variation of Lejeuneinae using the age of the fossil for corresponding age constraints. Consideration of the fossil as a stem group member of Microlejeunea or Lejeunea resulted in an Eocene to Late Cretaceous age of the Lejeuneinae crown group. This reconstruction is in good accordance with published divergence time estimates generated without the newly presented fossil evidence. Balancing available evidence, we describe the liverwort fossil as the extinct species Microlejeunea nyiahae, representing the oldest crown group fossil of Lejeuneaceae.

Crown Group Lejeuneaceae and Pleurocarpous Mosses in Early Eocene (Ypresian) Indian Amber.

Science.gov (United States)

Heinrichs, Jochen; Scheben, Armin; Bechteler, Julia; Lee, Gaik Ee; Schäfer-Verwimp, Alfons; Hedenäs, Lars; Singh, Hukam; Pócs, Tamás; Nascimbene, Paul C; Peralta, Denilson F; Renner, Matt; Schmidt, Alexander R

2016-01-01

Cambay amber originates from the warmest period of the Eocene, which is also well known for the appearance of early angiosperm-dominated megathermal forests. The humid climate of these forests may have triggered the evolution of epiphytic lineages of bryophytes; however, early Eocene fossils of bryophytes are rare. Here, we present evidence for lejeuneoid liverworts and pleurocarpous mosses in Cambay amber. The preserved morphology of the moss fossil is inconclusive for a detailed taxonomic treatment. The liverwort fossil is, however, distinctive; its zig-zagged stems, suberect complicate-bilobed leaves, large leaf lobules, and small, deeply bifid underleaves suggest a member of Lejeuneaceae subtribe Lejeuneinae (Harpalejeunea, Lejeunea, Microlejeunea). We tested alternative classification possibilities by conducting divergence time estimates based on DNA sequence variation of Lejeuneinae using the age of the fossil for corresponding age constraints. Consideration of the fossil as a stem group member of Microlejeunea or Lejeunea resulted in an Eocene to Late Cretaceous age of the Lejeuneinae crown group. This reconstruction is in good accordance with published divergence time estimates generated without the newly presented fossil evidence. Balancing available evidence, we describe the liverwort fossil as the extinct species Microlejeunea nyiahae, representing the oldest crown group fossil of Lejeuneaceae.

The terrestrial hydro-climate of the Early Eocene: insights from the oxygen and clumped isotope composition of pedogenic siderite

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van Dijk, J.; Fernandez, A.; Müller, I.; White, T. S.; Bernasconi, S. M.

2016-12-01

The Early Eocene (56 Ma) is the youngest period of Earth's history when CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere (600-1500 ppm) reached levels close to those predicted for future emission scenarios. Proxy-based climate reconstructions from this interval can therefore be used to gain insights on effects that anthropogenic emissions might have on the climate system. So far, Early Eocene climatic data is limited to the oceans, where proxies for temperature are abundant and relatively well understood. However, in order to get a complete picture of the Early Eocene climate, temperature and rainfall reconstructions on the continental paleo-surface are needed. Here, we present clumped and stable oxygen isotope measurements of siderite samples collected along a North-South transect in the North American Continent. These siderites formed in kaolinitic soils that developed globally under the extremely wet and warm conditions of the Early Eocene. They provide a record of both soil temperature and the δ18O composition of meteoric water, which can be used to unravel the regional paleo-precipitation rate. Both parameters were estimated using an elaborate in-house calibration constructed with synthetic siderite precipitated in the presence or absence of iron reducing bacteria. Measurements of δD on plant-derived N-alkanes present within the same soils align well with our δ18Owater data, confirming an Early Eocene meteoric water line similar to the present day. We provide an estimate of the meridional temperature gradient during the Early Eocene and offer constraints on the boundary conditions of the Earth's hydrologic cycle under high pCO2.

Eocene volcanism and the origin of horizon A

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Gibson, T.G.; Towe, K.M.

1971-01-01

A series of closely time-equivalent deposits that correlate with seismic reflector horizon A exists along the coast of eastern North America. These sediments of Late-Early to Early-Middle Eocene age contain an authigenic mineral suite indicative of the alteration of volcanic glass. A volcanic origin for these siliceous deposits onshore is consistent with a volcanic origin for the cherts of horizon A offshore.

Eocene Loranthaceae pollen pushes back divergence ages for major splits in the family

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Friðgeir Grímsson

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background We revisit the palaeopalynological record of Loranthaceae, using pollen ornamentation to discriminate lineages and to test molecular dating estimates for the diversification of major lineages. Methods Fossil Loranthaceae pollen from the Eocene and Oligocene are analysed and documented using scanning-electron microscopy. These fossils were associated with molecular-defined clades and used as minimum age constraints for Bayesian node dating using different topological scenarios. Results The fossil Loranthaceae pollen document the presence of at least one extant root-parasitic lineage (Nuytsieae and two currently aerial parasitic lineages (Psittacanthinae and Loranthinae by the end of the Eocene in the Northern Hemisphere. Phases of increased lineage diversification (late Eocene, middle Miocene coincide with global warm phases. Discussion With the generation of molecular data becoming easier and less expensive every day, neontological research should re-focus on conserved morphologies that can be traced through the fossil record. The pollen, representing the male gametophytic generation of plants and often a taxonomic indicator, can be such a tracer. Analogously, palaeontological research should put more effort into diagnosing Cenozoic fossils with the aim of including them into modern systematic frameworks.

The Rise of Flowering Plants and Land Surface Physics: The Cretaceous and Eocene Were Different

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Upchurch, G. R.; Feild, T.

2010-12-01

The Cretaceous and Eocene have served as the poster children of past greenhouse climates. One difference between the two time periods is that angiosperms (flowering plants) underwent a major diversification and rise to dominance during the mid-Cretaceous to Paleocene. Flowering plants differ from all other living and fossil plants in having significantly higher rates of transpiration and photosynthesis, which in modern leaves correlate with the density of venation (Dv), a feature that can be measured directly from fossils. This increase in Dv, coupled with an increase in the abundance of angiosperms, is thought to have had major impact on the climate system. This is, in part, because transpiration plays an important role in determining the ratio of sensible to latent heat flux from the land surface and in determining precipitation rate in regions such as the equatorial rainforest. Analysis of Dv in fossil leaves indicates two phases of increase in transpiration rate for angiosperms during the Cretaceous-Paleocene. The oldest known angiosperms (Aptian-early Albian) have a low Dv characteristic of extant and fossil ferns and gymnosperms. At this time angiosperms are low-stature plants of minor importance in terms of relative abundance and diversity (ferns, and maximum Dv reaches levels characteristic of many trees from the temperate zone. This first phase coincides with the first local dominance of angiosperms, the first occurrence of moderate to large angiosperm trees (up to 1 m in diameter) , and the first common occurrence of angiosperms in the Arctic. The second phase of Dv increase occurs during the Maastrichtian to Paleocene, where average Dv reaches levels characteristic of modern tropical forests and maximum Dv reaches the level found in highly productive modern vegetation. This second phase coincides with the rise to dominance of angiosperms in regional vegetation, a corresponding decline of conifers and ferns, and the modernization of hydraulic architecture

Species dominance and equitability: patterns in Cenozoic foraminifera of eastern North America

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Gibson, T.G.; Hill, E.E.

1992-01-01

Species dominance in benthonic foraminifera, represented by percent of the assemblage composed of the single most abundant species, shows little change in observed range of values from shallow into deep-marine waters in 1005 samples from the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic, and Arctic margins of North America. This finding contrasts with the model that species dominance is highest in shallow-marine environments and decreases offshore into deeper marine waters. Equitability, the relation of all species abundances within an assemblage, also shows little change between the values found in shallow-marine assemblages and those found in assemblages from deeper water environments. Equitability and dominance values found in 421 assemblages from Palaeocene, Eocene, Miocene, and Pleistocene strata of the Atlantic and E Gulf of Mexico coastal plains are similar to the modern values. -from Authors

Lepidological review on the fish fauna of the Kučlín locality (Upper Eocene, Czech Republic)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Přikryl, Tomáš

2011-01-01

Roč. 67, 3/4 (2011), s. 149-156 ISSN 0036-5343 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Keywords : fossil fish fauna * Osteichthyes * scales * morphology * Paleogene * Upper Eocene * Upper Eocene (Czech Republic) Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy http://www.nm.cz/publikace/archiv-en.php?id=4&rok=67&kcislu=3-4&f_=Show

Monophyly and extensive extinction of advanced eusocial bees: insights from an unexpected Eocene diversity.

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Engel, M S

2001-02-13

Advanced eusociality sometimes is given credit for the ecological success of termites, ants, some wasps, and some bees. Comprehensive study of bees fossilized in Baltic amber has revealed an unsuspected middle Eocene (ca. 45 million years ago) diversity of eusocial bee lineages. Advanced eusociality arose once in the bees with significant post-Eocene losses in diversity, leaving today only two advanced eusocial tribes comprising less than 2% of the total bee diversity, a trend analogous to that of hominid evolution. This pattern of changing diversity contradicts notions concerning the role of eusociality for evolutionary success in insects.

The sponge genus Ephydatia from the high-latitude middle Eocene: environmental and evolutionary significance.

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Pisera, Andrzej; Manconi, Renata; Siver, Peter A; Wolfe, Alexander P

2016-01-01

The freshwater sponge species Ephydatia cf. facunda Weltner, 1895 (Spongillida, Spongillidae) is reported for the first time as a fossil from middle Eocene lake sediments of the Giraffe kimberlite maar in northern Canada. The sponge is represented by birotule gemmuloscleres as well as oxea megascleres. Today, E. facunda inhabits warm-water bodies, so its presence in the Giraffe locality provides evidence of a warm climate at high latitudes during the middle Eocene. The morphological similarity of the birotules to modern conspecific forms suggests protracted morphological stasis, comparable to that reported for other siliceous microfossils from the same locality.

Evidence for middle Eocene Arctic sea ice from diatoms and ice-rafted debris.

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Stickley, Catherine E; St John, Kristen; Koç, Nalân; Jordan, Richard W; Passchier, Sandra; Pearce, Richard B; Kearns, Lance E

2009-07-16

Oceanic sediments from long cores drilled on the Lomonosov ridge, in the central Arctic, contain ice-rafted debris (IRD) back to the middle Eocene epoch, prompting recent suggestions that ice appeared in the Arctic about 46 million years (Myr) ago. However, because IRD can be transported by icebergs (derived from land-based ice) and also by sea ice, IRD records are restricted to providing a history of general ice-rafting only. It is critical to differentiate sea ice from glacial (land-based) ice as climate feedback mechanisms vary and global impacts differ between these systems: sea ice directly affects ocean-atmosphere exchanges, whereas land-based ice affects sea level and consequently ocean acidity. An earlier report assumed that sea ice was prevalent in the middle Eocene Arctic on the basis of IRD, and although somewhat preliminary supportive evidence exists, these data are neither comprehensive nor quantified. Here we show the presence of middle Eocene Arctic sea ice from an extraordinary abundance of a group of sea-ice-dependent fossil diatoms (Synedropsis spp.). Analysis of quartz grain textural characteristics further supports sea ice as the dominant transporter of IRD at this time. Together with new information on cosmopolitan diatoms and existing IRD records, our data strongly suggest a two-phase establishment of sea ice: initial episodic formation in marginal shelf areas approximately 47.5 Myr ago, followed approximately 0.5 Myr later by the onset of seasonally paced sea-ice formation in offshore areas of the central Arctic. Our data establish a 2-Myr record of sea ice, documenting the transition from a warm, ice-free environment to one dominated by winter sea ice at the start of the middle Eocene climatic cooling phase.

The onset of modern-like Atlantic meridional overturning circulation at the Eocene-Oligocene transition: Evidence, causes, and possible implications for global cooling

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Abelson, Meir; Erez, Jonathan

2017-06-01

A compilation of benthic δ18O from the whole Atlantic and the Southern Ocean (Atlantic sector) shows two major jumps in the interbasinal gradient of δ18O (Δδ18O) during the Eocene and the Oligocene: one at ˜40 Ma and the second concomitant with the isotopic event of the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT), ˜33.7 Ma ago. From previously published circulation models and proxies, we show that the first Δδ18O jump reflects the thermal isolation of Antarctica associated with the proto-Antarctic circumpolar current (ACC). The second marks the onset of interhemispheric northern-sourced circulation cell, similar to the modern Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The onset of AMOC-like circulation slightly preceded (100-300 kyr) the EOT, as we show by the high-resolution profiles of δ18O and δ13C previously published from DSDP/ODP sites in the Southern Ocean and South Atlantic. These events coincide with the onset of antiestuarine circulation between the Nordic seas and the North Atlantic which started around the EOT and may be connected to the deepening of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. We suggest that while the shallow proto-ACC supplied the energy for deep ocean convection in the Southern Hemisphere, the onset of the interhemispheric northern circulation cell was due to the significant EOT intensification of deepwater formation in the North Atlantic driven by the Nordic antiestuarine circulation. This onset of the interhemispheric northern-sourced circulation cell could have prompted the EOT global cooling.Plain Language SummaryThe Eocene-Oligocene transition is the major abrupt climatic event during the Cenozoic, which marks the major step to the icehouse world. We show that this transition is a shift to a world with Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and slightly preceded this transition. Thus, possibly was a major factor in this climatic shift.

Climatic conditions governing extensive Azolla bloom during the Middle Eocene

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Dekker, Rolande; Speelman, Eveline N.; Barke, Judith; Konijnendijk, Tiuri; Sinninge Damste, Jaap S.; Reichart, Gert-Jan

2010-05-01

Enormous amounts of intact mega- and microspores from the free floating aquatic fern Azolla were found in sediments recovered during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program expedition 302, indicating that Azolla grew and reproduced in situ in the Eocene Arctic Ocean. In general, the Early/Middle Eocene is characterized by enhanced greenhouse conditions with elevated sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Arctic (~10°C), while tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were only a little warmer than today (with a mean annual temperature (MAT) of 32-34 °C) (Pearson et al., 2007). The consequently reduced temperature gradient between the equator and the poles and the presence of freshwater at the North Pole as indicated by the presence of the freshwater fern Azolla (Brinkhuis et al., 2006) provide important boundary conditions for understanding the hydrological cycle and latent heat transport during this interval. Here we reconstruct variations in SST and mean annual air temperature using the TEX86 and MBT temperature proxies for the Azolla interval. Sediments from around the Arctic Basin have been analyzed, including samples from Alaska, the Mackenzie Basin, Greenland (IODP core 913b), and Denmark. Furthermore, a high resolution sea surface temperature record for the Azolla interval has been constructed from sediment samples from the Lomonosov Ridge, showing a cyclic signal. Model experiments have shown that the here confirmed low equator-to-pole temperature gradient modulated the hydrological cycle. Since the growth of Azolla is restricted to low salinity conditions, changes in the hydrological cycle are proposed to coincide with the cyclic occurrence of Azolla throughout the interval. To confirm the overlapping presence of high quantities of Azolla and increased precipitation, changes in the hydrogen cycle are reconstructed by creating a high resolution hydrogen isotope record throughout the interval. By performing compound specific analyses (δD) on terrestrial derived

Variability of the planktonic foraminifera community across the Eocene/Oligocene boundary, Fuente Caldera Section, Baetic Ranges (Spain)

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Legarda-Lisarri, A.

2013-12-01

During the Eocene/Oligocene transition, in a massive extinction event that took place about 33.7 million years ago, the current high resolution study analyzes qualitatively and quantitatively the community structure of the planktonic foraminifera that were preserved in the hemipelagic sediments of the Tethys Sea. The sampled section of the Fuente Caldera column, located in the Baetic mountain ranges, spans a register of 396,551.7 years. Based in the identification of 27 species, that belong to 13 genera and 2 families of foraminifera, there have been found three biozones of Gonzalvo Zonation (Gonzalvo, 2002) in the studied stratigraphic interval: Turborotalia cocoaensis and Cribrohantkenina lazzarii Biozones (Rupelian), and Paragloborotalia increbescens (Priabonian). The planktonic foraminifera associations variability patterns are defined by paleoecologic indexes (diversity index, high and low latitude species index and planktonic and benthic foraminifera index), by geochemical proxies: δ18O and δ13C and by 'Q' Mode Factor Analysis. They prove that the deposition environment is outer platform and also, they suggest that the studied area in the Tethys Sea underwent many thermal pulses, during which some species extinct or appear. In the first extinction event the species Turborotalia cocoaensis and Turborotalia cunialensis became extinct. In the second one, Hantkenina alabamensis, Hantkenina brevispina, Cribrohantkenina lazzarii and Pseudohastigerina micra became extinct while a succession occured; Globigerina officinalis, Globoturborotalita anguliofficinalis and Tenuitellinata angustiumbilicata appeared. The cooling event that finished in the Lower Oligocene was the biggest of these pulses, which was extremely abrupt and corresponds to the Oi-1 event that was described by Miller (Miller, 1991). All this evidences that the planktonic foraminifera extinction in the Upper Eocene was a gradual and fast event, what is supported by the Factor Analysis application. Key

Palaeoecological and palaeoclimatological implications of the Eocene Northern Hemisphere Azolla phenomenon

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Barke, J.

2010-01-01

The high abundances and cyclic distribution of remains of the freshwater fern Azolla in early middle Eocene sediments from the Arctic Ocean have previously been related to episodic surface water freshening, which was speculated to be orbitally modulated. Our integrated palynological and

Anthracobunids from the Middle Eocene of India and Pakistan Are Stem Perissodactyls

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Cooper, Lisa Noelle; Seiffert, Erik R.; Clementz, Mark; Madar, Sandra I.; Bajpai, Sunil; Hussain, S. Taseer; Thewissen, J. G. M.

2014-01-01

Anthracobunidae is an Eocene family of large mammals from south Asia that is commonly considered to be part of the radiation that gave rise to elephants (proboscideans) and sea cows (sirenians). We describe a new collection of anthracobunid fossils from Middle Eocene rocks of Indo-Pakistan that more than doubles the number of known anthracobunid fossils and challenges their putative relationships, instead implying that they are stem perissodactyls. Cranial, dental, and postcranial elements allow a revision of species and the recognition of a new anthracobunid genus. Analyses of stable isotopes and long bone geometry together suggest that most anthracobunids fed on land, but spent a considerable amount of time near water. This new evidence expands our understanding of stem perissodactyl diversity and sheds new light on perissodactyl origins. PMID:25295875

A roller-like bird (Coracii) from the Early Eocene of Denmark.

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Bourdon, Estelle; Kristoffersen, Anette V; Bonde, Niels

2016-09-27

The fossil record of crown group birds (Neornithes) prior to the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary is scarce and fragmentary. Early Cenozoic bird fossils are more abundant, but are typically disarticulated and/or flattened. Here we report the oldest roller (Coracii), Septencoracias morsensis gen. et sp. nov. (Primobucconidae), based on a new specimen from the Early Eocene (about 54 million years ago) Fur Formation of Denmark. The new fossil is a nearly complete, three-dimensionally preserved and articulated skeleton. It lies at the lower end of the size range for extant rollers. Salient diagnostic features of Septencoracias relative to other Coracii include the proportionally larger skull and the small, ovoid and dorsally positioned narial openings. Our discovery adds to the evidence that the Coracii had a widespread northern hemisphere distribution in the Eocene. Septencoracias is the oldest substantial record of the Picocoraciae and provides a reliable calibration point for molecular phylogenetic studies.

Integrated stratigraphy of a shallow marine Paleocene-Eocene boundary section, MCBR cores, Maryland (USA)

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Self-Trail, J. M.; Robinson, M. M.; Edwards, L. E.; Powars, D. S.; Wandless, G. A.; Willard, D. A.

2013-12-01

An exceptional Paleocene-Eocene boundary section occurs in a cluster of six short (color from gray to alternating gray and pink also occurs within the CIE transition. These alternating changes in color coincide with cyclic peaks in the carbon isotope and percent calcium carbonate curves, where gray color corresponds to a positive shift in carbon isotope values and to a corresponding increase in percent benthic and planktic foraminifera. The upper third of the Marlboro Clay is barren of all calcareous microfossil material, although the presence of foraminiferal molds and linings proves that deposition occurred in a marine environment. Co-occurrence of the dinoflagellates Apectodinium augustum and Phthanoperidinium crenulatum at the top of the Marlboro Clay suggests that the Marlboro Clay at Mattawoman Creek is truncated. This is corroborated by the absence in the Marlboro of specimens of the calcareous nannofossil Rhomboaster-Discoaster assemblage, which is restricted to early Eocene Zone NP9b. Based on planktic/benthic foraminifera ratios, deposition of sediments at Mattawoman Creek occurred predominantly in an inner neritic environment, at water depths between 25-50 m. Occasional deepening to approximately 75m (middle neritic environment) occurred in the early Eocene, as represented by the basal Marlboro Clay. The planktic/benthic ratio, however, could also be affected by surface productivity and/or river runoff. The gradual shift up-section in core color from gray to alternating gray and red, to dark red, coupled with dissolution of calcareous microfossil assemblages, is possibly secondary and may represent lysocline shoaling in a nearshore environment. This would suggest that lysocline shoaling continued after the CIE and well into the early Eocene.

Evidence for ephemeral middle Eocene to early Oligocene Greenland glacial ice and pan-Arctic sea ice.

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Tripati, Aradhna; Darby, Dennis

2018-03-12

Earth's modern climate is defined by the presence of ice at both poles, but that ice is now disappearing. Therefore understanding the origin and causes of polar ice stability is more critical than ever. Here we provide novel geochemical data that constrain past dynamics of glacial ice on Greenland and Arctic sea ice. Based on accurate source determinations of individual ice-rafted Fe-oxide grains, we find evidence for episodic glaciation of distinct source regions on Greenland as far-ranging as ~68°N and ~80°N synchronous with ice-rafting from circum-Arctic sources, beginning in the middle Eocene. Glacial intervals broadly coincide with reduced CO 2 , with a potential threshold for glacial ice stability near ~500 p.p.m.v. The middle Eocene represents the Cenozoic onset of a dynamic cryosphere, with ice in both hemispheres during transient glacials and substantial regional climate heterogeneity. A more stable cryosphere developed at the Eocene-Oligocene transition, and is now threatened by anthropogenic emissions.

Isotopic evidence of a rapid cooling and continuous sedimentation across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary of Wagapadhar and Waior, Kutch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarangi, S.; Sarkar, A.; Bhattacharya, S.K.; Ray, A.K.

1998-01-01

High resolution oxygen isotope analysis of samples from two different Eocene Oligocene Boundary (EOB) sections of Wagapadhar and Waior of Kutch area and their correlation with DSDP sites indicate continuity of sedimentation at these sites. A rapid cooling of ∼ 6 degC across the EOB, synchronous with extinction of Eocene larger benthic foraminifera is also observed. (author)

Triggers and consequences of glacial expansion across the Eocene - Oligocene Transition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Houben, A.J.P.

2012-01-01

The results described in this thesis provide a rather complex picture of climatic, environmental and biotic changes preceding and arising from the onset of Antarctic glaciation. This period is commonly known as the greenhouse to icehouse transition across the Eocene-Oligocene Transition (EOT, 34-33

Thermal and exhumation history of Sakhalin Island (Russia) constrained by apatite U-Pb and fission track thermochronology

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Glorie, Stijn; Alexandrov, Igor; Nixon, Angus; Jepson, Gilby; Gillespie, Jack; Jahn, Bor-Ming

2017-08-01

Sakhalin Island represents a key locality to study the tectonic evolution of the western Pacific. The island is located at the Amur-Okhotsk plate margin and records a complex thermotectonic history. Apatite double dating (U-Pb and fission track) and thermal history modelling were applied to three late Eocene granitoid massifs within central and southern Sakhalin: the Aniva, Okhotsk and Langeri complexes. Apatite U-Pb results yield consistent late Eocene (∼40-37 Ma) ages, suggesting rapid post-magmatic cooling. Apatite fission track results reveal bimodal age distributions with late Eocene - early Oligocene (∼38-33 Ma) and early Miocene (∼20-17 Ma) age populations that can be correlated with variations in Uranium and Chlorine concentrations. Thermal history modelling translates the AFT age bimodality into two-phase cooling histories. The timing of the early cooling phase (∼38-33 Ma) corresponds with the apatite U-Pb ages, indicating rapid cooling to at least ∼100 °C during the late Oligocene. The second cooling phase at ∼20-17 Ma cooled the samples to near-surface temperatures. Both cooling phases correspond with regional unconformities and subsequent accelerations in sedimentation rate, suggesting that cooling was a response to rapid exhumation. In addition, our data suggests that the studied terranes record differential exhumation with respect to the structural architecture. The Miocene exhumation pulse is coeval with the timing of transpressional fault displacement and the subsequent opening of the Kuril Basin.

New data on Amynodontidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from Eastern Europe: Phylogenetic and palaeobiogeographic implications around the Eocene-Oligocene transition.

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Tissier, Jérémy; Becker, Damien; Codrea, Vlad; Costeur, Loïc; Fărcaş, Cristina; Solomon, Alexandru; Venczel, Marton; Maridet, Olivier

2018-01-01

Amynodontidae is a family of Rhinocerotoidea (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) known from the late Early Eocene to the latest Oligocene, in North America and Eurasia. European Amynodontidae are very rare, and all remains belong almost exclusively to a single post-Grande Coupure genus from the Oligocene, Cadurcotherium. The "Grande Coupure" defines an extinctions and dispersal-generated originations event in Europe that is nearly contemporaneous with the Eocene-Oligocene transition. Perissodactyls are one of the major groups affected by this event: Palaeotheriidae went almost extinct during this crisis, whereas Rhinocerotidae appeared for the first time in Europe. Study of fossiliferous Eastern-European localities from this age is crucial for the understanding of this crisis. We report here three new localities of Amynodontidae in Eastern Europe. Two of them are dated from the Eocene (Morlaca, Romania; Dorog, Hungary), whereas the other is either Late Eocene or Early Oligocene (Dobârca, Romania). The skull from this latter locality belongs unexpectedly to the same individual as a previously described mandible attributed to "Cadurcodon" zimborensis. As a result, this specimen can be allocated to its proper locality, Dobârca, and is assigned to a new genus, Sellamynodon gen. nov. It is characterised by an extraordinary growth of the nuchal crest, a unique character among amynodontids. Along with this remarkable material from Dobârca, two specimens from another Romanian locality, Morlaca, have been recently discovered and are dated from the Late Eocene. They belong, as well as new material from Dorog (Middle Eocene, Hungary), to the genus Amynodontopsis, also found in North America. The new Hungarian material represents the earliest occurrence of Amynodontidae in Europe. New phylogenetic hypotheses of Rhinocerotoidea are proposed, including the new material presented here, and show that Amynodontidae may be closer to the polyphyletic family 'Hyracodontidae' than to

Metasequoia glyptostroboides and its Utility in Paleoecological Reconstruction of Eocene High Latitude Forests

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Williams, C. J.; LePage, B. A.; Vann, D. R.; Johnson, A. H.

2001-05-01

Abundant fossil plant remains are preserved in the Eocene-aged deposits of the Buchanan Lake formation on Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada. Intact leaf litter, logs, and stumps preserved in situ as mummified remains present an opportunity to determine forest composition, structure, and productivity of a Taxodiaceae-dominated forest that once grew north of the Arctic Circle (paleolatitude 75-80° N). We excavated 37 tree stems for dimensional analysis from mudstone and channel-sand deposits. Stem length ranged from 1.0 m to 14.8 m (average = 3.2 m). Stem diameter ranged from less than 10 cm to greater than 75 cm (average = 32.2 cm). All stem wood was tentatively identified to genus as Metasequoia sp. The diameters and parabolic shape of the preserved tree trunks indicate that the Metasequoia were about 39 m tall across a wide range of diameters. The allometric relationships we derived for modern Metasequoia (n=70) allowed independent predictions of Metasequoia height given the stand density and stump diameters of the fossil forest. The two height estimates of 40 and 40.5 m match the results obtained from measurements of the Eocene trees. We used stump diameter data (n =107, diameter > 20 cm) and an uniform canopy height of 39 m to calculate parabolic stem volume and stem biomass for a 0.22 ha area of fossil forest. Stem volume equaled 2065 m3 ha-1 and stem biomass equaled 560 Mg ha-1 . In the Eocene forest, as determined from length of stems that were free of protruding branches and from 7 exhumed tree tops, the uppermost 9 m of the trees carried live branches with foliage. In living conifers, branch weights and the amount of foliage carried by branches are well correlated with branch diameters measured where the branch joins the main stem. To determine the biomass in branches and foliage in the Eocene forest, we used relationships derived from large modern Metasequoia. Based on the regression of branch weight v. branch diameter (r2 = 0.97) and foliar biomass v

Revised East-West Antarctic plate motions since the Middle Eocene

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Granot, R.; Cande, S. C.; Stock, J.; Damaske, D.

2010-12-01

The middle Cenozoic (43-26 Ma) rifting between East and West Antarctica is defined by an episode of ultraslow seafloor spreading in the Adare Basin, located off northwestern Ross Sea. The absence of fracture zones and the lack of sufficient well-located magnetic anomaly picks have resulted in a poorly constrained kinematic model (Cande et al., 2000). Here we utilize the results from a dense aeromagnetic survey (Damaske et al., 2007) collected as part of GANOVEX IX 2005/06 campaign to re-evaluate the kinematics of the West Antarctic rift system since the Middle Eocene. We identify marine magnetic anomalies (anomalies 12o, 13o, 16y, and 18o) along a total of 25,000 km of the GPS navigated magnetic profiles. The continuation of these anomalies into the Northern Basin has allowed us to use the entire N-S length of this dataset in our calculations. A distinct curvature in the orientation of the spreading axis provides a strong constraint on our calculated kinematic models. The results from two- (East-West Antarctica) and three- (Australia-East Antarctica-West Antarctica) plate solutions agree well and create a cluster of rotation axes located south of the rift system, near the South Pole. These solutions reveal that spreading rate and direction, and therefore motion between East and West Antarctica, were steady between the Middle Eocene and Early Oligocene. Our kinematic solutions confirm the results of Davey and De Santis (2005) that the Victoria Land Basin has accommodated ~95 km of extension since the Middle Eocene. This magnetic pattern also provides valuable constraints on the post-spreading deformation of the Adare Basin (Granot et al., 2010). The Adare Basin has accommodated very little extension since the Late Oligocene (<7 km), but motion has probably increased southward. The details of this younger phase of motion are still crudely constrained.

Taxonomic description of in situ bee pollen from the middle Eocene of Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Grímsson, FriĐgeir; Zetter, Reinhard; Labandeira, Conrad C; Engel, Michael S; Wappler, Torsten

2017-01-02

The middle Eocene Messel and Eckfeld localities are renowned for their excellently preserved faunas and diverse floras. Here we describe for the first time pollen from insect-pollinated plants found in situ on well-preserved ancient bees using light and scanning electron microscopy. There have been 140 pollen types reported from Messel and 162 pollen types from Eckfeld. Here we document 23 pollen types, six from Messel and 18 from Eckfeld (one is shared). The taxa reported here are all pollinated by insects and mostly not recovered in the previously studied dispersed fossil pollen records. Typically, a single or two pollen types are found on each fossil bee specimen, the maximum number of distinct pollen types on a single individual is five. Only five of the 23 pollen types obtained are angiosperms of unknown affinity, the remainder cover a broad taxonomic range of angiosperm trees and include members of several major clades: monocots (1 pollen type), fabids (7), malvids (4), asterids (5) and other core eudicots (1). Seven types each can be assigned to individual genera or infrafamilial clades. Since bees visit only flowers in the relative vicinity of their habitat, the recovered pollen provides a unique insight into the autochthonous palaeo-flora. The coexistence of taxa such as Decodon, Elaeocarpus, Mortoniodendron and other Tilioideae, Mastixoideae, Olax, Pouteria and Nyssa confirms current views that diverse, thermophilic forests thrived at the Messel and Eckfeld localities, probably under a warm subtropical, fully humid climate. Our study calls for increased attention to pollen found in situ on pollen-harvesting insects such as bees, which can provide new insights on insect-pollinated plants and complement even detailed palaeo-palynological knowledge obtained mostly from pollen of wind-pollinated plants in the dispersed pollen record of sediments. In the case of Elaeocarpus, Mortoniodendron, Olax and Pouteria the pollen collected by the middle Eocene bees

Primate tarsal bones from Egerkingen, Switzerland, attributable to the middle Eocene adapiform Caenopithecus lemuroides.

Science.gov (United States)

Seiffert, Erik R; Costeur, Loïc; Boyer, Doug M

2015-01-01

The middle Eocene species Caenopithecus lemuroides, known solely from the Egerkingen fissure fillings in Switzerland, was the first Paleogene fossil primate to be correctly identified as such (by Ludwig Rütimeyer in 1862), but has long been represented only by fragmentary mandibular and maxillary remains. More recent discoveries of adapiform fossils in other parts of the world have revealed Caenopithecus to be a biogeographic enigma, as it is potentially more closely related to Eocene adapiforms from Africa, Asia, and North America than it is to any known European forms. More anatomical evidence is needed, however, to provide robust tests of such phylogenetic hypotheses. Here we describe and analyze the first postcranial remains that can be attributed to C. lemuroides-an astragalus and three calcanei held in the collections of the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel that were likely recovered from Egerkingen over a century ago. Qualitative and multivariate morphometric analyses of these elements suggest that C. lemuroides was even more loris-like than European adapines such as Adapis and Leptadapis, and was not simply an adapine with an aberrant dentition. The astragalus of Caenopithecus is similar to that of younger Afradapis from the late Eocene of Egypt, and parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses that include the new tarsal data strongly support the placement of Afradapis and Caenopithecus as sister taxa to the exclusion of all other known adapiforms, thus implying that dispersal between Europe and Africa occurred during the middle Eocene. The new tarsal evidence, combined with previously known craniodental fossils, allows us to reconstruct C. lemuroides as having been an arboreal and highly folivorous 1.5-2.5 kg primate that likely moved slowly and deliberately with little or no capacity for acrobatic leaping, presumably maintaining consistent powerful grasps on branches in both above-branch and inverted postures.

Molecular and Morphological Evidence Challenges the Records of the Extant Liverwort Ptilidium pulcherrimum in Eocene Baltic Amber.

Science.gov (United States)

Heinrichs, Jochen; Scheben, Armin; Lee, Gaik Ee; Váňa, Jiří; Schäfer-Verwimp, Alfons; Krings, Michael; Schmidt, Alexander R

2015-01-01

Preservation of liverworts in amber, a fossilized tree resin, is often exquisite. Twenty-three fossil species of liverworts have been described to date from Eocene (35-50 Ma) Baltic amber. In addition, two inclusions have been assigned to the extant species Ptilidium pulcherrimum (Ptilidiales or Porellales). However, the presence of the boreal P. pulcherrimum in the subtropical or warm-temperate Baltic amber forest challenges the phytogeographical interpretation of the Eocene flora. A re-investigation of one of the fossils believed to be P. pulcherrimum reveals that this specimen in fact represents the first fossil evidence of the genus Tetralophozia, and thus is re-described here as Tetralophozia groehnii sp. nov. A second fossil initially assigned to P. pulcherrimum is apparently lost, and can be reassessed only based on the original description and illustrations. This fossil is morphologically similar to the extant North Pacific endemic Ptilidium californicum, rather than P. pulcherrimum. Divergence time estimates based on chloroplast DNA sequences provide evidence of a Miocene origin of P. pulcherrimum, and thus also argue against the presence of this taxon in the Eocene. Ptilidium californicum originated 25-43 Ma ago. As a result, we cannot rule out that the Eocene fossil belongs to P. californicum. Alternatively, the fossil might represent a stem lineage element of Ptilidium or an early crown group species with morphological similarities to P. californicum.

A new Late Eocene primate from the Krabi Basin (Thailand) and the diversity of Palaeogene anthropoids in southeast Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaimanee, Yaowalak; Chavasseau, Olivier; Lazzari, Vincent; Euriat, Adélaïde; Jaeger, Jean-Jacques

2013-11-22

According to the most recent discoveries from the Middle Eocene of Myanmar and China, anthropoid primates originated in Asia rather than in Africa, as was previously considered. But the Asian Palaeogene anthropoid community remains poorly known and inadequately sampled, being represented only from China, Myanmar, Pakistan and Thailand. Asian Eocene anthropoids can be divided into two distinct groups, the stem group eosimiiforms and the possible crown group amphipithecids, but the phylogenetic relationships between these two groups are not well understood. Therefore, it is critical to understand their evolutionary history and relationships by finding additional fossil taxa. Here, we describe a new small-sized fossil anthropoid primate from the Late Eocene Krabi locality in Thailand, Krabia minuta, which shares several derived characters with the amphipithecids. It displays several unique dental characters, such as extreme bunodonty and reduced trigon surface area, that have never been observed in other Eocene Asian anthropoids. These features indicate that morphological adaptations were more diversified among amphipithecids than was previously expected, and raises the problem of the phylogenetic relations between the crown anthropoids and their stem group eosimiiforms, on one side, and the modern anthropoids, on the other side.

Astronomically forced paleoclimate change from middle Eocene to early Oligocene: continental conditions in central China compared with the global marine isotope record

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, C.; Hinnov, L. A.

2010-12-01

The early Eocene climatic optimum ended with a long interval of global cooling that began in the early Middle Eocene and ended at the Eocene-Oligocene transition. During this long-term cooling, a series of short-term warming reversals occurred in the marine realm. Here, we investigate corresponding continental climate conditions as revealed in the Qianjiang Formation of the Jianghan Basin in central China, which consists of more than 4000 m of saline lake sediments. The Qianjiang Formation includes, in its deepest sections, a halite-rich rhythmic sediment succession with dark mudstone, brownish-white siltstone and sandstone, and greyish-white halite. Alternating fresh water (humid/cool)—saline water (dry/hot) deposits reflect climate cycles driven by orbital forcing. High-resolution gamma ray (GR) logging from the basin center captures these pronounced lithological rhythms throughout the formation. Several halite-rich intervals are interpreted as short-term warming events within the middle Eocene to early Oligocene, and could be expressions of coeval warming events in the global marine oxygen isotope record, for example, the middle Eocene climate optimum (MECO) event around 41 Ma. The Eocene-Oligocene boundary is distinguished by a radical change from halite-rich to clastic sediments, indicating a dramatic climate change from warm to cool conditions. Power spectral analysis of the GR series indicates strong short (~100 kyr) eccentricity cycling during the warm/hot episodes. Amplitude modulation of the short eccentricity in the GR series occurs with a strong 405 kyr periodicity. This cycling is calibrated to the La2004 orbital eccentricity model. A climate reversal occurs at 36.5 Ma within the long-term marine cooling trend following MECO, which is reflected also in the Qianjiang GR series, with the latter indicating several brief warm/dry reversals within the trend. A ~2.6 Myr halite-rich warm interval occurs in the latest Eocene in the continental record; both

Coupling diffusion and maximum entropy models to estimate thermal inertia

Science.gov (United States)

Thermal inertia is a physical property of soil at the land surface related to water content. We have developed a method for estimating soil thermal inertia using two daily measurements of surface temperature, to capture the diurnal range, and diurnal time series of net radiation and specific humidi...

Rainforest conifers of Eocene Patagonia: attached cones and foliage of the extant Southeast Asian and Australasian genus Dacrycarpus (Podocarpaceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Wilf, Peter

2012-03-01

Eocene caldera-lake beds at Laguna del Hunco (LH, ca. 52.2 Ma) and Río Pichileufú (RP, ca. 47.7 Ma) in Argentine Patagonia provide copious information about the biological history of Gondwana. Several plant genera from these sites are known as fossils from southern Australia and New Zealand and survive only in Australasian rainforests. The potential presence of Dacrycarpus (Podocarpaceae) holds considerable interest due to its extensive foliage-fossil record in Gondwana, its remarkably broad modern distribution in Southeast Asian and Australasian rainforests, its high physiological moisture requirements, and its bird-dispersed seeds. However, the unique seed cones that firmly diagnose Dacrycarpus were not previously known from the fossil record. I describe and interpret fertile (LH) and vegetative (LH and RP) material of Dacrycarpus and present a nomenclatural revision for fossil Dacrycarpus from South America. Dacrycarpus puertae sp. nov. is the first fossil occurrence of the unusual seed cones that typify living Dacrycarpus, attached to characteristic foliage, and of attached Dacrycarpus pollen cones and foliage. Dacrycarpus puertae is indistinguishable from living D. imbricatus (montane, Burma to Fiji). Dacrycarpus chilensis (Engelhardt) comb. nov. is proposed for Eocene vegetative material from Chile. Modern-aspect Dacrycarpus was present in Eocene Patagonia, demonstrating an astonishingly wide-ranging paleogeographic history and implying a long evolutionary association with bird dispersers. Dacrycarpus puertae provides the first significant Asian link for Eocene Patagonian floras, strengthens the biogeographic connections from Patagonia to Australasia across Antarctica during the warm Eocene, and indicates high-rainfall paleoenvironments.

Single-crystal 40Ar/39Ar dating of the Eocene-Oligocene transition in North America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swisher, C.C. III; Prothero, D.R.

1990-01-01

Explanations for the causes of climatic changes and associated faunal and floral extinctions at the close of the Eocene Epoch have long been controversial because of, in part, uncertainties in correlation and dating of global events. New single-crystal laser fusion (SCLF) 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates on tephra from key magnetostratigraphic and fossil-bearing sections necessitate significant revision in North American late Paleogene chronology. The Chadronian-Orellan North American Land Mammal Age boundary, as a result, is shifted from 32.4 to 34.0 Ma (million years ago), the Orellan-Whitneyan boundary is shifted from 30.8 to 32.0 Ma, and the Whitneyan-Arikareean boundary is now approximately 29.0 Ma. The new dates shift the correlation of Chron C12R from the Chadronian to within the Orellan-Whitneyan interval, the Chadronian becomes late Eocene in age, and the North American Oligocene is restricted to the Orellan, Whitneyan, and early Arikareean. The Eocene-Oligocene boundary, and its associated climate change and extinction events, as a result, correlates with the Chadronian-Orellan boundary, not the Duchesnean-Chadronian boundary. 30 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab

Orbitally forced Azolla blooms and Middle Eocene Arctic hydrology: Clues from palynology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Barke, J.; Abels, H.A.; Sangiorgi, F.; Greenwood, D.R.; Sweet, A.R.; Donders, T.; Reichart, G.-J.; Lotter, A.F.; Brinkhuis, H.

2011-01-01

The high abundances and cyclic distribution of remains of the freshwater fern Azolla in early-Middle Eocene sediments from the Arctic Ocean have previously been related to episodic surface-water freshening, which was speculated to be orbitally modulated. Our integrated palynological and

Orbitally forced Azolla blooms And Middle Eocene Arctic hydrology: Clues from palynology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Barke, J.; Abels, H.A.; Sangiorgi, F.; Greenwood, D.R.; Sweet, A.R.; Donders, T.; Reichart, G.-J.; Lotter, A.F.; Brinkhuis, H.

2011-01-01

The high abundances and cyclic distribution of remains of the freshwater fern Azolla in early-Middle Eocene sediments from the Arctic Ocean have previously been related to episodic surface-water freshening, which was speculated to be orbitally modulated. Our integrated palynological and

Eocene rotation of Sardinia, and the paleogeography of the western Mediterranean region

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Advokaat, Eldert; van Hinsbergen, D.J.J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/269263624; Maffione, M.; Langereis, C.G.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/073584223; Vissers, R.L.M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/068789203; Cherchi, A.; Schroeder, R.; Madani, H.; Columbu, S.

2014-01-01

Key to understanding the complex Mediterranean subduction history is the kinematic reconstruction of its paleogeography after Jurassic extension between Iberia, Eurasia, and Africa. While post-Eocene Liguro-Provençal back-arc extension, and associated Miocene ~50° counterclockwise (ccw) rotation of

Early Eocene climatic optimum: Environmental impact on the North Iberian continental margin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Payros, A.; Ortiz, S.; Millán, I.; Arostegi, J.; Orue-Etxebarria, X.; Apellaniz, E.

2015-01-01

The early Eocene climatic optimum, which constituted the peak of the long-term early Cenozoic global warming, had a significant impact on the environmental evolution of terrestrial and oceanic areas. Surprisingly, however, its influence on continental margins is poorly known. New insights are

Geological characteristic of the main oil and gas producing formations of the upper Austrian molasse basin. Pt. 1. The Eocene sandstones

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wagner, L [Rohoel-Aufsuchungs-Gesellschaft m.b.H., Vienna (Austria)

1980-09-01

The sandstones of the Upper Eocene are the main oil carriers within RAG's Upper Austrian concession area. The attempt is being made to reconstruct the paleogeography of the Eocene-in which time the sea transgressed the Molasse basin towards N and E - from core and log evidence. From deep Lower Tertiary onwards the mesozoic and older sediments were exposed to intensive erosion, which resulted in a slightly undulating peneplane sloping in a S to SW direction. This erosion plane was - still in Lower Tertiary times - in some areas dissected into horst and graben structures which greatly influenced the deposition of the early Eocene sediments. During the Upper Eocene the Molasse basin began to subside and subsided more strongly in the SW than in the N and NE, so that neritic deposits could form in the first area, whereas lagoonal and brackish sedimentation still prevailed in the latter. The Eocene sandstones are being classified according to their environment of deposition, and their reservoir, characteristics are being studied. Sandstones are absent in the neritic environment of the Discocyclina-marls only. Sand deposits have been encountered as: 1) transgressive horizons directly overlying the pretertiary substrate, 2) infills of channels cut into limnic-brackish sediments, 3) littoral deposits, partly interfingering with Lithothamnium limestone, 4) fine grained sandy marls and nummulitic sandstones within sublittoral to neritic sediments.

Refining the Early and Middle Eocene Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale: new results from ODP Leg 208 (Walvis Ridge)

Science.gov (United States)

Westerhold, T.; Roehl, U.; Frederichs, T.; Bohaty, S. M.; Florindo, F.; Zachos, J. C.; Raffi, I.; Agnini, C.

2015-12-01

Astronomical calibration of the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale (GPTS) for the Eocene (34-56 Ma) has advanced tremendously in recent years. Combining a cyclostratigraphic approach based on the recognition of the stable 405-kyr eccentricity cycle of Earth's orbit with high-resolution bio- and magnetostratigraphy from deep-sea sedimentary records (ODP Legs 171B, 189 and 207; IODP Exp. 320/321) resulted in a new calibration of the middle-to-late Eocene GPTS spanning Chrons C12r to C19n (30.9-41.3 Ma). A fully astronomically calibrated GPTS for the Eocene was established recently by integrating cyclo-bio-magnetostratigraphy from ODP Sites 702 and 1263 records spanning the middle Eocene with Site 1258 records covering the early Eocene. Comparison of this deep sea-derived GPTS with GTS2012 and GPTS calibration points from terrestrial successions show overall consistent results, but there are still major offsets for the duration of Chrons C20r, C22r and C23n.2n. Because of the relatively large uncertainty of the calibration point, a radioisotopic dated ash layer in DSDP 516F, at C21n.75 (46.24±0.5 Ma) the duration of C20r in GPTS2012 (2.292 myr) is uncertain. Offsets in durations of C22r and C23n.2n between GPTS2012 and the new astronomical GPTS (~400-kyr longer C22r; ~400-kyr shorter C23n.2n) could be due to uncertainties in the interpretation of Site 1258 magnetostratigraphic data. Here we present new results toward establishing a more accurate and complete bio-, magneto- and chemostratigraphy for South Atlantic Leg 208 sites encompassing magnetochrons C13 to C24 (33 to 56 Ma). Our study aims to integrate paleomagnetic records from multiple drilled sites with physical property data, stable isotope data and XRF core scanning data to construct an astronomically calibrated framework for refining GPTS age estimates. This effort will complete the Early-to-Middle Eocene GPTS and allow evaluation of the relative position of calcareous nannofossil events to magnetostratigraphy.

Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum linked to continental arc flare-up in Iran?

Science.gov (United States)

van der Boon, A.; Kuiper, K.; van der Ploeg, R.; Cramwinckel, M.; Honarmand, M.; Sluijs, A.; Krijgsman, W.; Langereis, C. G.

2017-12-01

A 500 kyr episode of 3-5 °C gradual global climate warming, some 40 Myr ago, has been termed the Middle Eocene climatic optimum (MECO). It has been associated with a rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, but the source of this carbon remains enigmatic. We show, based on new Ar-Ar ages of volcanic rocks in Iran and Azerbaijan, that the time interval spanning the MECO was associated with a massive increase in continental arc volcanism. We also collected almost 300 Ar-Ar and U-Pb ages from literature. Typically, U-Pb ages from the Eocene are slightly younger, by 3 Myr, than Ar-Ar ages. We observed that U-Pb ages are obtained mostly from intrusive rocks and therefore must reflect an intrusive stage that post-dated extrusive volcanism. Combining all ages for extrusive rocks, we show that they cluster around 40.2 Ma, exactly within the time span of the MECO (40.5-40.0 Ma). We estimate volumes of volcanism based on a shapefile of outcrops and average thickness of the sequences. We calculate CO2 estimates using a relation volcanism-CO2 that was earlier used for the Deccan traps (Tobin et al., 2017). Our calculations indicate that the volume of the Iranian middle Eocene volcanic rocks (estimated at 37000 km3) is sufficient to explain the CO2 rise during the MECO. We conclude that continental arc flare-up in the Neotethys subduction zone is a plausible candidate for causing the MECO.

Atmospheric and oceanic impacts of Antarctic glaciation across the Eocene-Oligocene transition.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, A T; Farnsworth, A; Lunt, D J; Lear, C H; Markwick, P J

2015-11-13

The glaciation of Antarctica at the Eocene-Oligocene transition (approx. 34 million years ago) was a major shift in the Earth's climate system, but the mechanisms that caused the glaciation, and its effects, remain highly debated. A number of recent studies have used coupled atmosphere-ocean climate models to assess the climatic effects of Antarctic glacial inception, with often contrasting results. Here, using the HadCM3L model, we show that the global atmosphere and ocean response to growth of the Antarctic ice sheet is sensitive to subtle variations in palaeogeography, using two reconstructions representing Eocene and Oligocene geological stages. The earlier stage (Eocene; Priabonian), which has a relatively constricted Tasman Seaway, shows a major increase in sea surface temperature over the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean in response to the ice sheet. This response does not occur for the later stage (Oligocene; Rupelian), which has a more open Tasman Seaway. This difference in temperature response is attributed to reorganization of ocean currents between the stages. Following ice sheet expansion in the earlier stage, the large Ross Sea gyre circulation decreases in size. Stronger zonal flow through the Tasman Seaway allows salinities to increase in the Ross Sea, deep-water formation initiates and multiple feedbacks then occur amplifying the temperature response. This is potentially a model-dependent result, but it highlights the sensitive nature of model simulations to subtle variations in palaeogeography, and highlights the need for coupled ice sheet-climate simulations to properly represent and investigate feedback processes acting on these time scales. © 2015 The Author(s).

Comprehensive performance analyses and optimization of the irreversible thermodynamic cycle engines (TCE) under maximum power (MP) and maximum power density (MPD) conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonca, Guven; Sahin, Bahri; Ust, Yasin; Parlak, Adnan

2015-01-01

This paper presents comprehensive performance analyses and comparisons for air-standard irreversible thermodynamic cycle engines (TCE) based on the power output, power density, thermal efficiency, maximum dimensionless power output (MP), maximum dimensionless power density (MPD) and maximum thermal efficiency (MEF) criteria. Internal irreversibility of the cycles occurred during the irreversible-adiabatic processes is considered by using isentropic efficiencies of compression and expansion processes. The performances of the cycles are obtained by using engine design parameters such as isentropic temperature ratio of the compression process, pressure ratio, stroke ratio, cut-off ratio, Miller cycle ratio, exhaust temperature ratio, cycle temperature ratio and cycle pressure ratio. The effects of engine design parameters on the maximum and optimal performances are investigated. - Highlights: • Performance analyses are conducted for irreversible thermodynamic cycle engines. • Comprehensive computations are performed. • Maximum and optimum performances of the engines are shown. • The effects of design parameters on performance and power density are examined. • The results obtained may be guidelines to the engine designers

A new avian fauna from the early-middle Eocene Lillebælt Clay Formation of Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindow, Bent Erik Kramer

A number of hitherto undescribed fossil bird remains have been recovered from the Lillebælt Clay Formation of central Denmark, which is early-middle Eocene in age (~50 to 43 mya). The core of the material consists of fossils acquired through the Danish ‘Danekræ' fossil treasure trove legislation......, a member of the extinct 'pseudo-toothed birds' and the first representative of this group known from Denmark. Other taxa present include remains of Lithornithidae and a new taxon possessing a massive, psittacid-like beak. The Lillebælt Clay Formation birds are temporally placed just after the Early Eocene...

Modeling the influence of a reduced equator-to-pole sea surface temperature gradient on the distribution of water isotopes in the Eocene

Science.gov (United States)

Speelman, E. N.; Sewall, J. O.; Noone, D. C.; Huber, M.; Sinninghe Damsté, J. S.; Reichart, G.

2009-12-01

Proxy-based climate reconstructions suggest the existence of a strongly reduced equator-to-pole temperature gradient during most of the Early Eocene. With the realization that the Eocene Arctic Ocean was covered with enormous quantities of the free floating freshwater fern Azolla, new questions related to Eocene (global) hydrological cycling facilitating these blooms arose. Changes in hydrological cycling, as a consequence of a reduced temperature gradient, are expected to be most clearly reflected in the isotopic composition (D, 18O) of precipitation. The interpretation of water isotopic records to quantitatively estimate past precipitation patterns is, however, hampered by the lack of detailed information on changes in their spatial and temporal distribution. Using the isotope-enabled global circulation model, Community Atmosphere Model v.3 (isoCAM3), relationships between water isotopes and past climates can be simulated. Here we examine the influence of a reduced meridional sea surface temperature gradient on the spatial distribution of precipitation and its isotopic composition in an Eocene setting. Overall, our combination of Eocene climate forcings, with superimposed TEX86-derived SST estimates and elevated pCO2 concentrations, produces a climate that agrees well with proxy data in locations around the globe. It shows the presence of an intensified hydrological cycle with precipitation exceeding evaporation in the Arctic region. The Eocene model runs with a significantly reduced equator-to-pole temperature gradient in a warmer more humid world predict occurrence of less depleted precipitation, with δD values ranging only between 0 and -140‰ (as opposed to the present-day range of 0 to -300‰). Combining new results obtained from compound specific isotope analyses on terrestrially derived n-alkanes extracted from Eocene sediments, and model calculations, shows that the model not only captures the main features, but reproduces isotopic values

Mechanistic modelling of Middle Eocene atmospheric carbon dioxide using fossil plant material

Science.gov (United States)

Grein, Michaela; Roth-Nebelsick, Anita; Wilde, Volker; Konrad, Wilfried; Utescher, Torsten

2010-05-01

Various proxies (such as pedogenic carbonates, boron isotopes or phytoplankton) and geochemical models were applied in order to reconstruct palaeoatmospheric carbon dioxide, partially providing conflicting results. Another promising proxy is the frequency of stomata (pores on the leaf surface used for gaseous exchange). In this project, fossil plant material from the Messel Pit (Hesse, Germany) is used to reconstruct atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration in the Middle Eocene by analyzing stomatal density. We applied the novel mechanistic-theoretical approach of Konrad et al. (2008) which provides a quantitative derivation of the stomatal density response (number of stomata per leaf area) to varying atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. The model couples 1) C3-photosynthesis, 2) the process of diffusion and 3) an optimisation principle providing maximum photosynthesis (via carbon dioxide uptake) and minimum water loss (via stomatal transpiration). These three sub-models also include data of the palaeoenvironment (temperature, water availability, wind velocity, atmospheric humidity, precipitation) and anatomy of leaf and stoma (depth, length and width of stomatal porus, thickness of assimilation tissue, leaf length). In order to calculate curves of stomatal density as a function of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, various biochemical parameters have to be borrowed from extant representatives. The necessary palaeoclimate data are reconstructed from the whole Messel flora using Leaf Margin Analysis (LMA) and the Coexistence Approach (CA). In order to obtain a significant result, we selected three species from which a large number of well-preserved leaves is available (at least 20 leaves per species). Palaeoclimate calculations for the Middle Eocene Messel Pit indicate a warm and humid climate with mean annual temperature of approximately 22°C, up to 2540 mm mean annual precipitation and the absence of extended periods of drought. Mean relative air

A Phororhacoid bird from the Eocene of Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile; Tabuce, Rodolphe; Mahboubi, M'hammed; Adaci, Mohammed; Bensalah, Mustapha

2011-10-01

The bird fossil record is globally scarce in Africa. The early Tertiary evolution of terrestrial birds is virtually unknown in that continent. Here, we report on a femur of a large terrestrial new genus discovered from the early or early middle Eocene (between ˜52 and 46 Ma) of south-western Algeria. This femur shows all the morphological features of the Phororhacoidea, the so-called Terror Birds. Most of the phororhacoids were indeed large, or even gigantic, flightless predators or scavengers with no close modern analogs. It is likely that this extinct group originated in South America, where they are known from the late Paleocene to the late Pleistocene (˜59 to 0.01 Ma). The presence of a phororhacoid bird in Africa cannot be explained by a vicariant mechanism because these birds first appeared in South America well after the onset of the mid-Cretaceous Gondwana break up (˜100 million years old). Here, we propose two hypotheses to account for this occurrence, either an early dispersal of small members of this group, which were still able of a limited flight, or a transoceanic migration of flightless birds from South America to Africa during the Paleocene or earliest Eocene. Paleogeographic reconstructions of the South Atlantic Ocean suggest the existence of several islands of considerable size between South America and Africa during the early Tertiary, which could have helped a transatlantic dispersal of phororhacoids.

The Eocene Arctic Azolla bloom: environmental conditions, productivity and carbon drawdown.

Science.gov (United States)

Speelman, E N; Van Kempen, M M L; Barke, J; Brinkhuis, H; Reichart, G J; Smolders, A J P; Roelofs, J G M; Sangiorgi, F; de Leeuw, J W; Lotter, A F; Sinninghe Damsté, J S

2009-03-01

Enormous quantities of the free-floating freshwater fern Azolla grew and reproduced in situ in the Arctic Ocean during the middle Eocene, as was demonstrated by microscopic analysis of microlaminated sediments recovered from the Lomonosov Ridge during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 302. The timing of the Azolla phase (approximately 48.5 Ma) coincides with the earliest signs of onset of the transition from a greenhouse towards the modern icehouse Earth. The sustained growth of Azolla, currently ranking among the fastest growing plants on Earth, in a major anoxic oceanic basin may have contributed to decreasing atmospheric pCO2 levels via burial of Azolla-derived organic matter. The consequences of these enormous Azolla blooms for regional and global nutrient and carbon cycles are still largely unknown. Cultivation experiments have been set up to investigate the influence of elevated pCO2 on Azolla growth, showing a marked increase in Azolla productivity under elevated (760 and 1910 ppm) pCO2 conditions. The combined results of organic carbon, sulphur, nitrogen content and 15N and 13C measurements of sediments from the Azolla interval illustrate the potential contribution of nitrogen fixation in a euxinic stratified Eocene Arctic. Flux calculations were used to quantitatively reconstruct the potential storage of carbon (0.9-3.5 10(18) gC) in the Arctic during the Azolla interval. It is estimated that storing 0.9 10(18) to 3.5 10(18) g carbon would result in a 55 to 470 ppm drawdown of pCO2 under Eocene conditions, indicating that the Arctic Azolla blooms may have had a significant effect on global atmospheric pCO2 levels through enhanced burial of organic matter.

A new primate assemblage from La Verrerie de Roches (Middle Eocene, Switzerland).

Science.gov (United States)

Minwer-Barakat, Raef; Marigó, Judit; Becker, Damien; Costeur, Loïc

2017-12-01

Primates reached a great abundance and diversity during the Eocene, favored by warm temperatures and by the development of dense forests throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Here we describe new primate material from La Verrerie de Roches, a Middle Eocene karstic infill situated in the Jura Region (Switzerland), consisting of more than 80 dental remains. The primate assemblage from La Verrerie de Roches includes five different taxa. The best represented primate is Necrolemur aff. anadoni, similar in size and overall morphology to Necrolemur anadoni but resembling in some features the younger species Necrolemur antiquus. Microchoerines are also represented by two species of Pseudoloris, P. pyrenaicus and Pseudoloris parvulus, constituting the unique joint record of these two species known up to now. Remains of Adapiformes are limited to one isolated tooth of a large anchomomyin and another tooth belonging to the small adapine Microadapis cf. sciureus. The studied primate association allows assigning La Verrerie de Roches to the Robiacian Land Mammal Age. More specifically, this site can be confidently situated between the MP15 and MP16 reference levels, although the primate assemblage probably indicates some degree of temporal mixing. This is the first record of P. pyrenaicus and a form closely related to N. anadoni out of the Iberian Peninsula. The identification of these microchoerines in Switzerland gives further support to the connection of NE Spain and Central Europe during the Middle Eocene. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Review of the enigmatic Eocene shark genus Xiphodolamia (Chondrichthyes, Lamniformes) and description of a new species recovered from Angola, Iran and Jordan

Science.gov (United States)

Adnet, S.; Hosseinzadeh, R.; Antunes, M. T.; Balbino, A. C.; Kozlov, V. A.; Cappetta, H.

2009-10-01

Little is known about the extinct Xiphodolamia, a peculiar lamnid shark which inhabited the Eocene seas. The reexamination of a large set of fossilized teeth specimens from the Ypresian of Kazakhstan has enabled the reconstitution of the tooth series of this enigmatic taxa of lamnid shark. Five distinct tooth morphologies seem to occur in X. ensis Leidy [Leidy, J., 1877. Description of vertebrate remains, chiefly from the phosphate beds of South Carolina. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 8, 209-261] species revealing a weak ontogenetic variation. Such specific variation in tooth shape means that the other described species may be their junior synonyms. Dental morphology perfectly conforms with a Lamniforme but does not prove the current attribution to the Lamnidae family due to some inconsistent dental features observed, such as the presence of symphysial teeth. This genus could be regarded as an old lineage branched from the stem group of Lamnidae, close to the Isuroids sharks. Several Xiphodolamia teeth, originating both from old collections and new acquisitions, are reported and illustrated in order to provide information about a new species described here: Xiphodolamia serrata nov. sp. This species, currently limited to deposits in Angola, Jordan and Iran and dated at the Late Eocene, is easily distinguishable from the Early-Middle Eocene material belonging to the genus by the presence of serrated cutting edges. Adding to the type species considered here as the only valid taxa during the Early-Middle Eocene period, the temporal range of this genus extends to the Late Eocene, thus setting its upper stratigraphic limit prior to its disappearance as enigmatic as its appearance in the Early Eocene was.

The Middle and Upper Eocene sections of the Omsk trough, West Siberian Platform: Palynological, stratigraphic, hydrologic, and climatic aspects

Science.gov (United States)

Zaporozhets, N. I.; Akhmetiev, M. A.

2013-01-01

The thorough analysis and correlation of Middle-Upper Eocene sections in the Omsk trough (southern West Siberian Platform) recovered by Borehole 9 in its axial part near the Chistoozernoe Settlement (Novosibirsk region) and Borehole 8 on the southern limb near the Russkaya Polyana Settlement (southern Omsk region) revealed hiatuses at the base and top of the Russkaya Polyana Beds, a lithostratigraphic unit defined in the Lyulinvor Formation based on its substantially fine-grained composition and poor siliceous microplankton fossil remains. The overlying Tavda Formation (Middle-Upper Eocene) is traditionally accepted to consist of two subformations. The last formation was deposited in the West Siberian inner sea isolated from the Arctic basin. Particular attention is paid to eustatic sea level fluctuation especially during the period marked by accumulation of Azolla Beds under considerable desalination of surface waters in the basin. The curve of variations in the open sea factor based on the quantitative ratio between organic-walled phytoplankton fossils and higher plant palynomorphs is correlated with the modified version of the wellknown Vail curve. It is established that the West Siberian sea level experienced a brief rise in the terminal late Eocene prior to its complete desiccation at the Eocene-Oligocene transition because of global regression in response to glaciation in Antarctica.

Fish production and diversity in the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum—Increased production but no novel faunas during a "Future Earth" analog

Science.gov (United States)

Tomczik, D. W.; Norris, R. D.; Gaskell, D. E.

2014-12-01

A partial analog for future global change is the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum—a transient episode of warming, acidification, and biogeographic change at ~55.5 Ma. The PETM is known to have triggered extinction in some deep sea biotas, extensive biogeographic range shifts, and the common occurrence of 'excursion biotas'—non-analog occurrences of species that are typically rare in the open ocean before or after the PETM. Here we report on the impact of the PETM on fish production and biodiversity. Our data include the mass accumulation rate of fish teeth and denticles as well as an analysis of tooth morphotypes for three PETM sites: ODP 1220 and 1209 in the Pacific, and ODP 1260 in the equatorial Atlantic. Tooth morphotypes hardly change through the PETM and consist of abundant midwater species (angler fish and flashlight fish) in addition to sharks and epipelagic fish. There is no evidence for a non-analog 'excursion biota' during the PETM, suggesting that fish experienced fewer geographic range shifts than the calcareous and organic-walled plankton where excursion biotas are commonplace. Fish mass accumulation rates are also relatively stable before and after the PETM although all sites show a transient rise in fish production at the onset of the PETM or within the later part of the "PETM Core". These results broadly match published estimates of PETM export production from biogenic barium fluxes. Our findings run counter to "Future Earth" models that use climate forecasts for the next century to predict the impact of global change on fish stocks. These models suggest that future warming and ocean stratification will decrease most tropical and subtropical ocean fish production, accentuate fish production in the boundary currents and generally shift production toward higher latitudes. A resolution of "Future Earth" models and PETM data may reflect the different timescales of observation and stages of ecological response to severe global change.

Webspinners in Early Eocene amber from western India (Insecta, Embiodea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Engel

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The family Scelembiidae (Neoembiodea: Embiomorpha: Archembioidea is recorded from Asia for the first time, based on two individuals preserved in Early Eocene amber from the Cambay Basin, western India. Kumarembia hurleyi Engel & Grimaldi, gen. n. et sp. n., is described, figured, and distinguished from other archembioid genera. The genus shares male genitalic features with scelembiids, otherwise known from South America and Africa.

Organic Geochemistry and Rock-Eval Pyrolysis of Eocene fine Sediments, East Ketungau Basin, West Kalimantan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.H. Hermiyanto Zajuli

2014-06-01

Full Text Available DOI: 10.17014/ijog.v6i2.119Indonesia contains many Paleogene and Neogene basins which some of them have been proven to be a very prolific producer of oil and gas. A study on the result of Rock-Eval pyrolysis and biomarker undertaken on the Eocene Mandai Group was able to assess hydrocarbon potential of the Paleogene fine sediments in the frontier basin, especially West Kalimantan area. East Ketungau Basin is located in the western Kalimantan, bounded with Melawi Basin by the Semitau High in the south and West Ketungau Basin in the west. The Mandai Group was deposited in the East Ketungau Basin during Eocene, consisting of sandstone and mudstone facies. Mudstone facies comprises shale, claystone, and coal. Seven samples of Eocene fine sediments collected from East Ketungau Basin were analyzed by Rock-Eval pyrolisis and three samples for biomarker to evaluate their hydrocarbon potential. The Rock-Eval pyrolisis result of Mandai Group shows that TOC value of this facies ranges from 0.34 % to 5.16 %, Potential Yield (PY between 0.06 and 4.78 mg HC/g rock, and Hydrogen Index (HI from 12 to 89. Based on that result, the fine sediments of Mandai Group are included into a gas prone source rock potential with poor to fair categories. Moreover Tmax values vary from 426o C to 451o C. The Eocene fine sediments of Mandai Group fall under kerogen type III. Based on Tmax and biomarker analyses, the maturity of the sediments is situated within immature to mature level. The fine sediments of Mandai Group were deposited in a terrestrial to marine environment under anoxic to sub-oxic condition.

A new miniaturized lizard from the late Eocene of France and Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolet, Arnau; Augé, Marc

2014-03-01

We report here a new lizard genus and species shared by two late Eocene localities situated at both versants of the present Pyrenees (South-Western Europe), one located in France (Escamps, MP19), and the other in Catalonia, Spain (Sossís, MP17a). The recovered specimens are remarkable because of their small size and peculiar morphology. Features of the dentary are interpreted as adaptations to a fossorial or semi-fossorial lifestyle, although such modifications obscure the exact phylogenetic relationships of the new taxon. We suggest that it might represent a further example of scincoid lizard that independently achieved adaptations for burrowing or surface-dwelling. This taxon reinforces the hypotheses that link the Southern Pyrenean assemblages to those from France rather than to those of the rest of the Iberian Peninsula, which are supposed to be somehow isolated and endemic to a certain degree during the middle and late Eocene, forming part of the so-called Western Iberian Bioprovince. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Winged fruits and associated leaves of Shorea (Dipterocarpaceae) from the Late Eocene of South China and their phytogeographic and paleoclimatic implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Xinxin; Tang, Biao; Kodrul, Tatiana M; Jin, Jianhua

2013-03-01

Dipterocarps are the representative component of tropical rain forests in Southeast Asia and hold important economic and ecological significance, but their origin and migration are controversial. Information on dipterocarpaceous fossils, particularly the more convincing reproductive structures, not only can improve the phylogenetic and phytogeographic studies of this family, but also provide important information for reconstructing paleoclimate. • Morphologically preserved winged fruits and associated leaves were collected from the Late Eocene Huangniuling Formation, Maoming Basin, South China. We determined their taxonomic positions based on comparative morphology with similar extant and fossil specimens and discuss their phytogeographic and paleoclimatic implications by consulting the distribution and habitat of fossil and modern populations. • The Late Eocene winged fruits are attributed to Shorea Roxburgh ex Gaertner (Dipterocarpaceae) as Shorea maomingensis sp. nov. The associated leaves are recognized as Shorea sp. based on leaf architecture, and they are likely to be conspecific with the winged fruits. • The discovery of dipterocarps indicates that they had arrived in tropical and humid South China by the Late Eocene. Dipterocarps including Shorea exhibit a wide range of physiological tolerance to climate; palynological analysis suggests an increase in aridity and seasonality in the Maoming Basin from the Late Eocene. Dipterocarps became adapted to this seasonal climate from the Late Eocene to Early Miocene, expanded northward in the climatic optimum of the Middle Miocene, and declined and gradually disappeared from the southeastern part of the continent from the Late Miocene.

Using a Dynamic Global Vegetation Model to Simulate the Response of Vegetation to Warming at the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary

Science.gov (United States)

Shellito, C. J.; Sloan, L. C.

2004-12-01

A major turnover in benthic marine and terrestrial fauna marks the Initial Eocene Thermal Maximum (IETM) (~55Ma), a period of ~150 ky in which there was a rapid rise in deep sea and high latitude sea surface temperatures by 5-8C. Curiously, no major responses to this warming in the terrestrial floral record have been detected to date. Here, we present results from experiments examining the response of the global distribution of vegetation to changes in climate at the IETM using the NCAR Land Surface Model (LSM1.2) integrated with a dynamic global vegetation model (DGVM). DGVMs allow vegetation to respond to and interact with climate, and thus, provide a unique new method for addressing questions regarding feedbacks between the ecosystem and climate in Earth's past. However, there are a number of drawbacks to using these models that can affect interpretation of results. More specifically, these drawbacks involve uncertainties in the application of modern plant functional types to paleo-flora simulations, inaccuracies in the model climatology used to drive the DGVM, and lack of available detail regarding paleo-geography and paleo-soil type for use in model boundary conditions. For a better understanding of these drawbacks, we present results from a series of tests in the NCAR LSM-DGVM which examine (1) the effect of removing C4 grasses from the available plant functional types in the model; (2) model sensitivity to a change in soil texture; and (3), model sensitivity to a change in the value of pCO2 used in the photosynthetic rate equations. We consider our DGVM results for the IETM in light of output from these sensitivity experiments.

Maximum stellar iron core mass

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

60, No. 3. — journal of. March 2003 physics pp. 415–422. Maximum stellar iron core mass. F W GIACOBBE. Chicago Research Center/American Air Liquide ... iron core compression due to the weight of non-ferrous matter overlying the iron cores within large .... thermal equilibrium velocities will tend to be non-relativistic.

Astrochronology of extreme global warming events during the early Eocene greenhouse climate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lauretano, V.

2016-01-01

The early Eocene represents an ideal case study to analyse the impact of enhanced global warming on the ocean-atmosphere system and the relationship between carbon cycling and climate. During this time interval, the Earth’s surface experienced a long-term warming trend that culminated in a period of

Experience in well logging study of Eocene deposits at the territory of Central and West Azerbaijan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shilov, G.Ya.; Makhmudova, V.M.; Agabekova, L.A.

1989-01-01

Experience of investigation of Eocene deposits in Azerbaijan by well-logging methods (WLM), including gamma-logging (GL), neutron gamma-logging (NGL), gamma-gamma logging (GGL), is generalized. Clay rocks are characterized by the maximal NGL and GL values, tuff sandstones - by the average NGL values. NGL and GGL data are used to determine porosity of strata. Complex interpretation of WLM data enables to obtain reliable evaluations of lithology, porosity and oil saturation of Eocene rocks. Algorithm of quantitative interpretation of WLM materials is suggested. Efficiency of WLM interpretation was equal to 95 %. Since the suggested algorithm is formalized completely, it can be realized in systems of complex WLM interpretation by computer

A portable storage maximum thermometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fayart, Gerard.

1976-01-01

A clinical thermometer storing the voltage corresponding to the maximum temperature in an analog memory is described. End of the measurement is shown by a lamp switch out. The measurement time is shortened by means of a low thermal inertia platinum probe. This portable thermometer is fitted with cell test and calibration system [fr

Late Eocene Inversion and Exhumation of the Sivas Basin (Central Anatolia) Based On Low-Temperature Thermochronometry: Implications for Diachronous Initiation of Arabia-Eurasia Collision

Science.gov (United States)

Darin, M. H.; Umhoefer, P. J.; Thomson, S. N.; Schleiffarth, W. K.

2017-12-01

The timing of initial Arabia-Eurasia collision along the Bitlis-Zagros suture is controversial, with widely varying estimates from middle Eocene to late Miocene ( 45-10 Ma). The Cenozoic Sivas Basin (central Anatolia) preserves a detailed record of the initial stages of Arabia collision directly north of the suture in the Eurasian foreland. New apatite fission track and (U-Th)/He thermochronology data from Late Cretaceous to Paleogene units indicate rapid basin inversion and initiation of the north-vergent Southern Sivas Fold and Thrust Belt (SSFTB) during the late Eocene to early Oligocene ( 40-30 Ma), consistent with the age of a basin-wide unconformity and switch from marine to nonmarine sedimentation. We interpret late Eocene exhumation and the predominantly north-vergent kinematics of the SSFTB to reflect northward propagation of contraction into the Sivas retro-foreland basin due to initial collision of the Arabian passive margin with the Anatolide-Tauride block along the southern Eurasian margin during the late middle Eocene. We test this hypothesis by comparing our new results with regional-scale compilations of both published thermochronology and geochronology data from the entire Arabia-Eurasia collision zone. Low-temperature thermochronology data from eastern Anatolia, the Caucasus, Zagros, and Alborz demonstrate that rapid cooling and intraplate deformation occurred across much of the Eurasian foreland during the middle Eocene to early Oligocene ( 45-30 Ma). Our regional compilation of published geochronology data from central and eastern Anatolia reveals a distinct magmatic lull during the latest Eocene, Oligocene, and earliest Miocene (ca. 38-20 Ma), slightly earlier than a diachronous magmatic lull initiating at 25-5 Ma from northwest to southeast in Iran (Chiu et al., 2013). These results support a tectonic model for diachronous collision in which initial collision of the Arabia promontory occurred in central-eastern Anatolia during the middle

The Eocene-Oligocene transition in the North Alpine Foreland Basin and subsequent closure of a Paratethys gateway

Science.gov (United States)

van der Boon, A.; Beniest, A.; Ciurej, A.; Gaździcka, E.; Grothe, A.; Sachsenhofer, R. F.; Langereis, C. G.; Krijgsman, W.

2018-03-01

During the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT), a major palaeoenvironmental change took place in the Paratethys Sea of central Eurasia. Restricted connectivity and increased stratification resulted in wide-spread deposition of organic-rich sediments which nowadays make up important hydrocarbon source rocks. The North Alpine Foreland Basin (NAFB) was a major gateway of the Paratethys Sea to the open ocean during the Eocene, but the age of closure of this gateway is still uncertain. The Ammer section in southern Germany documents the shallowing of this connection and subsequent disappearance of marine environments in the NAFB, as reflected in its sedimentary succession of turbidites to marls (Deutenhausen to Tonmergel beds), via coastal sediments (Baustein beds) to continental conglomerates (Weißach beds). Here, we apply organic geochemistry and date the lithological transitions in the Ammer section using integrated stratigraphy, including magnetostratigraphy and biostratigraphy. Nannoplankton and dinocyst results can be reconciled when dinoflagellate species Wetzeliella symmetrica is of late Eocene age. Our magnetostratigraphy then records C13r-C13n-C12r and allows calculation of sediment accumulation rates and estimation of ages of lithological transitions. We show that the shallowing from turbiditic slope deposits (Deutenhausen beds) to shelf sediments (Tonmergel beds) coincides with the Eocene-Oligocene boundary at 33.9 Ma. The transition to continental sediments is dated at ca. 33.15 Ma, significantly older than suggested by previous studies. We conclude that the transition from marine to continental sediments drastically reduced the marine connection through the western part of the NAFB and influenced the oxygen conditions of the Paratethys Sea.

Thermal Properties for the Thermal-Hydraulics Analyses of the BR2 Maximum Nominal Heat Flux

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dionne, B. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Bergeron, A. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Licht, J. R. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Kim, Y. S. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Hofman, G. L. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division

2015-02-01

This memo describes the assumptions and references used in determining the thermal properties for the various materials used in the BR2 HEU (93% enriched in ²³⁵U) to LEU (19.75% enriched in ²³⁵U) conversion feasibility analysis. More specifically, this memo focuses on the materials contained within the pressure vessel (PV), i.e., the materials that are most relevant to the study of impact of the change of fuel from HEU to LEU. Section 2 provides a summary of the thermal properties in the form of tables while the following sections and appendices present the justification of these values. Section 3 presents a brief background on the approach used to evaluate the thermal properties of the dispersion fuel meat and specific heat capacity. Sections 4 to 7 discuss the material properties for the following materials: i) aluminum, ii) dispersion fuel meat (UAlx-Al and U-7Mo-Al), iii) beryllium, and iv) stainless steel. Section 8 discusses the impact of irradiation on material properties. Section 9 summarizes the material properties for typical operating temperatures. Appendix A elaborates on how to calculate dispersed phase’s volume fraction. Appendix B provides a revised methodology for determining the thermal conductivity as a function of burnup for HEU and LEU.

Some new Eocene elasmobranch reports from the outer Western Carpathians (Moravia, Czech Republic)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Přikryl, Tomáš; Skupien, P.

2013-01-01

Roč. 268, č. 1 (2013), s. 113-123 ISSN 0077-7749 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : Elasmobranchii * Leidybatis jugossus * Centrophorus * Eocene * Western Carpathian Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.541, year: 2013

Two new parrots (Psittaciformes) from the Lower Eocene Fur Formation of Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Waterhouse, David; Lindow, Bent Erik Kramer; Zelenkov, Nikita

2008-01-01

Two new fossil psittaciform birds from the Lower Eocene ‘Mo Clay' (Fur Formation) of Denmark (c. 54 Ma) are described. An unnamed specimen is assigned to the extinct avian family of stem-group parrots, Pseudasturidae (genus and species incertae sedis), while a second (Mopsitta tanta gen. et sp. nov...

Eocene sea temperatures for the mid-latitude southwest Pacific from Mg/Ca ratios in planktonic and benthic foraminifera

Science.gov (United States)

Creech, John B.; Baker, Joel A.; Hollis, Christopher J.; Morgans, Hugh E. G.; Smith, Euan G. C.

2010-11-01

We have used laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to measure elemental (Mg/Ca, Al/Ca, Mn/Ca, Zn/Ca, Sr/Ca, and Ba/Ca) ratios of 13 species of variably preserved early to middle Eocene planktonic and benthic foraminifera from New Zealand. The foraminifera were obtained from Ashley Mudstone, mid-Waipara River, South Island, which was deposited at bathyal depth ( ca. 1000 m) on the northern margin of the east-facing Canterbury Basin at a paleo-latitude of ca. 55°S. LA-ICP-MS data yield trace element depth profiles through foraminifera test walls that can be used to identify and exclude zones of surficial contamination and infilling material resulting from diagenetic coatings, mineralisation and detrital sediment. Screened Mg/Ca ratios from 5 species of foraminifera are used to calculate sea temperatures from late Early to early Middle Eocene ( ca. 51 to 46.5 Ma), a time interval that spans the termination of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). During this time, sea surface temperatures (SST) varied from 30 to 24 °C, and bottom water temperatures (BWT) from 21 to 14 °C. Comparison of Mg/Ca sea temperatures with published δ 18O and TEX 86 temperature data from the same samples (Hollis et al., 2009) shows close correspondence, indicating that LA-ICP-MS can provide reliable Mg/Ca sea temperatures even where foraminiferal test preservation is variable. Agreement between the three proxies also implies that Mg/Ca-temperature calibrations for modern planktonic and benthic foraminifera can generally be applied to Eocene species, although some species (e.g., V. marshalli) show significant calibration differences. The Mg/Ca ratio of the Eocene ocean is constrained by our data to be 35-50% lower than the modern ocean depending on which TEX 86 - temperature calibration (Kim et al., 2008; Liu et al., 2009) - is used to compare with the Mg/Ca sea temperatures. Sea temperatures derived from δ 18O analysis of foraminifera from Waipara show

Modeling the influence of a reduced equator-to-pole sea surface temperature gradient on the distribution of water isotopes in the Early/Middle Eocene

Science.gov (United States)

Speelman, Eveline N.; Sewall, Jacob O.; Noone, David; Huber, Matthew; von der Heydt, Anna; Damsté, Jaap Sinninghe; Reichart, Gert-Jan

2010-09-01

Proxy-based climate reconstructions suggest the existence of a strongly reduced equator-to-pole temperature gradient during the Azolla interval in the Early/Middle Eocene, compared to modern. Changes in the hydrological cycle, as a consequence of a reduced temperature gradient, are expected to be reflected in the isotopic composition of precipitation (δD, δ 18O). The interpretation of water isotopic records to quantitatively reconstruct past precipitation patterns is, however, hampered by a lack of detailed information on changes in their spatial and temporal distribution. Using the isotope-enabled version of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) atmospheric general circulation model, Community Atmosphere Model v.3 (isoCAM3), relationships between water isotopes and past climates can be simulated. Here we examine the influence of an imposed reduced meridional sea surface temperature gradient on the spatial distribution of precipitation and its isotopic composition in an Early/Middle Eocene setting. As a result of the applied forcings, the Eocene simulation predicts the occurrence of less depleted high latitude precipitation, with δD values ranging only between 0 and -140‰ (compared to Present-day 0 to -300‰). Comparison with Early/Middle Eocene-age isotopic proxy data shows that the simulation accurately captures the main features of the spatial distribution of the isotopic composition of Early/Middle Eocene precipitation over land in conjunction with the aspects of the modeled Early/Middle Eocene climate. Hence, the included stable isotope module quantitatively supports the existence of a reduced meridional temperature gradient during this interval.

High resolution cyclostratigraphy of the early Eocene – new insights into the origin of the Cenozoic cooling trend

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Westerhold

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Here we present a high-resolution cyclostratigraphy based on X-ray fluorescence (XRF core scanning data from a new record retrieved from the tropical western Atlantic (Demerara Rise, ODP Leg 207, Site 1258. The Eocene sediments from ODP Site 1258 cover magnetochrons C20 to C24 and show well developed cycles. This record includes the missing interval for reevaluating the early Eocene part of the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale (GPTS, also providing key aspects for reconstructing high-resolution climate variability during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO. Detailed spectral analysis demonstrates that early Eocene sedimentary cycles are characterized by precession frequencies modulated by short (100 kyr and long (405 kyr eccentricity with a generally minor obliquity component. Counting of both the precession and eccentricity cycles results in revised estimates for the duration of magnetochrons C21r through C24n. Our cyclostratigraphic framework also corroborates that the geochronology of the Eocene Green River Formation (Wyoming, USA is still questionable mainly due to the uncertain correlation of the "Sixth tuff" to the GPTS.

Right at the onset of the long-term Cenozoic cooling trend the dominant eccentricity-modulated precession cycles of ODP Site 1258 are interrupted by strong obliquity cycles for a period of ~800 kyr in the middle of magnetochron C22r. These distinct obliquity cycles at this low latitude site point to (1 a high-latitude driving mechanism on global climate variability from 50.1 to 49.4 Ma, and (2 seem to coincide with a significant drop in atmospheric CO₂ concentration below a critical threshold between 2- and 3-times the pre-industrial level (PAL. The here newly identified orbital configuration of low eccentricity in combination with high obliquity amplitudes during this ~800-kyr period and the crossing of a critical pCO₂ threshold may have led to the formation of the first ephemeral

Astronomically paced middle Eocene deepwater circulation in the western North Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Vahlenkamp, Maximilian; Niezgodzki, Igor; De Vleeschouwer, David; Bickert, Torsten; Harper, Dustin; Lohmann, Gerrit; Pälike, Heiko; Zachos, James C.

2017-04-01

The role of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) as a key player for abrupt climatic changes (e.g. Heinrich Stadials) during the Pleistocene is relatively well constrained. However, the timing of the onset of a „modern" North Atlantic Deepwater (NADW) formation are still debated: Recent estimates range from the middle Miocene to the Early Eocene [Davies et al., 2001, Stoker et al., 2005, Hohbein et al., 2012] and are mainly based on the seismic interpretation contourite drifts. Another understudied aspect of the AMOC is its behavior during climatic variations on orbital time scales and under different climatic boundary conditions (icehouse vs hothouse). IODP Expedition 342 drilled carbonate-rich sequences from sediment drifts offshore Newfoundland that cover the middle Eocene with high sedimentation rates ( 3 cm/ kyr). We present a 2 Myr long stable carbon and oxygen isotope record of benthic foraminifera nuttalides truempyi spanning magnetochron C20r in unprecedented resolution (Petroleum Geology, v. 22, no. 9, p. 977-1005. Hohbein, M. W., Sexton, P. F., and Cartwright, J. A., 2012, Onset of North Atlantic Deep Water production coincident with inception of the Cenozoic global cooling trend: Geology, v. 40, no. 3, p. 255-258.

The evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet at the Eocene-Oligocene Transition.

Science.gov (United States)

Ladant, Jean-Baptiste; Donnadieu, Yannick; Dumas, Christophe

2017-04-01

An increasing number of studies suggest that the Middle to Late Eocene has witnessed the waxing and waning of relatively small ephemeral ice sheets. These alternating episodes culminated in the Eocene-Oligocene transition (34 - 33.5 Ma) during which a sudden and massive glaciation occurred over Antarctica. Data studies have demonstrated that this glacial event is constituted of two 50 kyr-long steps, the first of modest (10 - 30 m of equivalent sea level) and the second of major (50 - 90 m esl) glacial amplitude, and separated by 200 kyrs. Since a decade, modeling studies have put forward the primary role of CO2 in the initiation of this glaciation, in doing so marginalizing the original "gateway hypothesis". Here, we investigate the impacts of CO2 and orbital parameters on the evolution of the ice sheet during the 500 kyrs of the EO transition using a tri-dimensional interpolation method. The latter allows precise orbital variations, CO2 evolution and ice sheet feedbacks (including the albedo) to be accounted for. Our results show that orbital variations are instrumental in initiating the first step of the EO glaciation but that the primary driver of the major second step is the atmospheric pCO2 crossing a modelled glacial threshold of 900 ppm. Although model-dependant, this higher glacial threshold makes a stronger case for ephemeral Middle-Late Eocene ice sheets. In addition, sensitivity tests demonstrate that the small first step only exists if the absolute pCO2 value remains within 100 ppm higher than the glacial threshold during the first 250 kyrs of the transition. Thereby, the pCO2 sufficiently counterbalances the strong insolation minima occurring at 33.9 and 33.8 Ma but is low enough to allow the ice sheet to nucleate. Nevertheless, questions remain as to what may cause this pCO2 drop.

An antarctic stratigraphic record of stepwise ice growth through the eocene-oligocene transition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Passchier, Sandra; Ciarletta, Daniel J.; Miriagos, Triantafilo E.; Bijl, Peter K.; Bohaty, Steven M.

2017-01-01

Earth's current icehouse phase began ~34 m.y. ago with the onset of major Antarctic glaciation at the Eocene-Oligocene transition. Changes in ocean circulation and a decline in atmospheric greenhouse gas levels were associated with stepwise cooling and ice growth at southern high latitudes. The

New stalked and sessile cirripedes from the Eocene Mo Clay, northwest Jutland (Denmark)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carriol, René-Pierre; Bonde, Niels Christensøn; Jakobsen, Sten Lennart

2016-01-01

New taxa of thoracican cirripedes are recorded from the Eocene Mo Clay of northwest Jutland, Denmark, namely Stipilepas molerensis Carriol n. gen., n. sp., a scalpelliform gooseneck barnacle, and Plesiobrachylepas jutlandica Carriol n. gen., n. sp., a brachylepadomorph sessile form. This material...

Astronomically paced changes in deep-water circulation in the western North Atlantic during the middle Eocene

Science.gov (United States)

Vahlenkamp, Maximilian; Niezgodzki, Igor; De Vleeschouwer, David; Bickert, Torsten; Harper, Dustin; Kirtland Turner, Sandra; Lohmann, Gerrit; Sexton, Philip; Zachos, James; Pälike, Heiko

2018-02-01

North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) currently redistributes heat and salt between Earth's ocean basins, and plays a vital role in the ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange. Despite its crucial role in today's climate system, vigorous debate remains as to when deep-water formation in the North Atlantic started. Here, we present datasets from carbonate-rich middle Eocene sediments from the Newfoundland Ridge, revealing a unique archive of paleoceanographic change from the progressively cooling climate of the middle Eocene. Well-defined lithologic alternations between calcareous ooze and clay-rich intervals occur at the ∼41-kyr beat of axial obliquity. Hence, we identify obliquity as the driver of middle Eocene (43.5-46 Ma) Northern Component Water (NCW, the predecessor of modern NADW) variability. High-resolution benthic foraminiferal δ18O and δ13C suggest that obliquity minima correspond to cold, nutrient-depleted, western North Atlantic deep waters. We thus link stronger NCW formation with obliquity minima. In contrast, during obliquity maxima, Deep Western Boundary Currents were weaker and warmer, while abyssal nutrients were more abundant. These aspects reflect a more sluggish NCW formation. This obliquity-paced paleoceanographic regime is in excellent agreement with results from an Earth system model, in which obliquity minima configurations enhance NCW formation.

Virtual endocranial cast of earliest Eocene Diacodexis (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) and morphological diversity of early artiodactyl brains

Science.gov (United States)

Orliac, M. J.; Gilissen, E.

2012-01-01

The study of brain evolution, particularly that of the neocortex, is of primary interest because it directly relates to how behavioural variations arose both between and within mammalian groups. Artiodactyla is one of the most diverse mammalian clades. However, the first 10 Myr of their brain evolution has remained undocumented so far. Here, we used high-resolution X-ray computed tomography to investigate the endocranial cast of Diacodexis ilicis of earliest Eocene age. Its virtual reconstruction provides unprecedented access to both metric parameters and fine anatomy of the most complete endocast of the earliest artiodactyl. This picture is assessed in a broad comparative context by reconstructing endocasts of 14 other Early and Middle Eocene representatives of basal artiodactyls, allowing the tracking of the neocortical structure of artiodactyls back to its simplest pattern. We show that the earliest artiodactyls share a simple neocortical pattern, so far never observed in other ungulates, with an almond-shaped gyrus instead of parallel sulci as previously hypothesized. Our results demonstrate that artiodactyls experienced a tardy pulse of encephalization during the Late Neogene, well after the onset of cortical complexity increase. Comparisons with Eocene perissodactyls show that the latter reached a high level of cortical complexity earlier than the artiodactyls. PMID:22764165

Revised magnetic polarity time scale for the Paleocene and early Eocene and implications for Pacific plate motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, R.F.; Coney, P.J.

1981-01-01

Magnetostratiographic studies of a continental sedimentary sequence in the Clark's Fork Basin, Wyoming and a marine sedimentary sequence at Gubbio, Italy indicate that the Paleocene--Eocene boundary occurs just stratigraphically above normal polarity zones correlative with magnetic anomaly 25 chron. These data indicate that the older boundary of anomaly 24 chron is 52.5 Ma. This age is younger than the late Paleocene age assigned by LaBrecque et al. [1977] and also younger than the basal Eocene age assigned by Ness et al. [1980]. A revised magnetic polarity time scale for the Paleocene and early Eocene is presented in this paper. Several changes in the relative motion system between the Pacific plate and neighboring plates occurred in the interval between anomaly 24 and anomaly 21. A major change in absolute motion of the Pacific plate is indicated by the bend in the Hawaiian--Emperor Seamount chain at approx.43 Ma. The revised magnetic polarity time scale indicates that the absolute motion change lags the relative motion changes by only approx.3--5 m.y. rather than by >10 m.y. as indicated by previous polarity time scales

New Cricetid Rodents from Strata near the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary in Erden Obo Section (Nei Mongol, China).

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qian; Meng, Jin; Wang, Yuanqing

2016-01-01

New cricetids (Eucricetodon wangae sp. nov., Eucricetodon sp. and Pappocricetodon siziwangqiensis sp. nov.) are reported from the lower and middle parts of the "Upper Red" beds of the Erden Obo section in Nei Mongol, China. Eucricetodon wangae is more primitive than other known species of the genus from lower Oligocene of Asia and Europe in having a single anterocone on M1, a single connection between the protocone and the paracone, the anterior metalophule connection in M1-2 and weaker anteroconid and ectomesolophid in lower molars. Pappocricetodon siziwangqiensis is more advanced than other species of the genus in permanently missing P4 and having posterior protolophule connection. These fossils suggest that the age of the "Upper Red" of the Erden Obo section is younger than the age of the Upper Eocene Houldjin and Caijiachong formations, but older than those containing the Shandgolian faunas; the "Upper Red" is most closely correlative to the Ergilian beds in age, and probably close to the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. Given the age estimate, Eucricetodon wangae provides the new evidence to support that cricetid dispersal from Asia to Europe occurred prior to the Eocene-Oligocene boundary.

Taphonomy and abundance of birds from the Lower Eocene Fur Formation of Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dyke, Gareth; Lindow, Bent Erik Kramer

2009-01-01

to quantify the shape of this radiation, but have largely been lacking. Here we report on a large collection of fossil birds from the Lower Eocene of Denmark (ca. 54 Ma) that includes three-dimensionally preserved, articulated specimens from carbonate concretions as well as skeletal imprints and feathers...

A synoptic review of the Eocene (Ypresian) cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes: Holocephali, Elasmobranchii) of the Bolca Konservat-Lagerstätte, Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Marramà, Giuseppe; Carnevale, Giorgio; Engelbrecht, Andrea; Claeson, Kerin M.; Zorzin, Roberto; Fornasiero, Mariagabriella; Kriwet, Jürgen

2018-01-01

Here, we review and discuss the records and taxonomy of the Ypresian (Eocene) chondrichthyans from the famous Bolca Konservat-Lagerstätte in northeastern Italy. Despite the outstanding diversity and the numerous studies focusing on the actinopterygian faunas from Pesciara and Monte Postale, the current knowledge about the systematics, taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of the cartilaginous fishes from these Eocene sites remains elusive and largely inadequate. The celebrated Eocene Bolca Lagerstätte has yielded several exquisitely preserved articulated remains of chondrichthyan fishes in which delicate structures and soft tissues are preserved, as well as isolated teeth. The cartilaginous fish assemblage of Bolca comprises at least 17 species-level taxa belonging to 10 families in 6 orders, including selachians (Carcharhiniformes, Lamniformes), batoids (Torpediniformes, Myliobatiformes, Rajiformes) and holocephalans (Chimaeriformes). The occurrence of holocephalans represented by an isolated fin-spine of the chimeroid Ischyodus in the Bolca assemblage is reported here for the first time and represents the first record of chimeroids in the Eocene of Italy and also southern Europe. The Bolca chondrichthyan assemblage is remarkably different from those of other contemporaneous Boreal or Tethyan deposits, suggesting that its taxonomic composition is largely influenced by the palaeoenvironmental context. However, this synoptic review also highlights the importance of detailed revisions of all chondrichthyan remains from the Bolca Konservat-Lagerstätten.

A New Eocene Casquehead Lizard (Reptilia, Corytophanidae from North America.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jack L Conrad

Full Text Available A new fossil showing affinities with extant Laemanctus offers the first clear evidence for a casquehead lizard (Corytophanidae from the Eocene of North America. Along with Geiseltaliellus from roughly coeval rocks in central Europe, the new find further documents the tropical fauna present during greenhouse conditions in the northern mid-latitudes approximately 50 million years ago (Ma. Modern Corytophanidae is a neotropical clade of iguanian lizards ranging from southern Mexico to northern South America.

Natural product terpenoids in Eocene and Miocene conifer fossils.

Science.gov (United States)

Otto, Angelika; White, James D; Simoneit, Bernd R T

2002-08-30

Numerous saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons, but not polar compounds, originating from plants and microorganisms (biomarkers) have been reported in sediments, coals, and petroleum. Here we describe natural product terpenoids found in two fossil conifers, Taxodium balticum (Eocene) and Glyptostrobus oregonensis (Miocene). A similar terpenoid pattern is also observed in extant Taxodium distichum. The preservation of characteristic terpenoids (unaltered natural products) in the fossil conifers supports their systematic assignment to the Cypress family (Cupressaceae sensu lato). The results also show that fossil conifers can contain polar terpenoids, which are valuable markers for (paleo)chemosystematics and phylogeny.

Stratigraphic and climatic implications of clay mineral changes around the Paleocene/Eocene boundary of the northeastern US margin

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, T.G.; Bybell, L.M.; Mason, D.B.

2000-01-01

Kaolinite usually is present in relatively small amounts in most upper Paleocene and lower Eocene neritic deposits of the northern US Atlantic Coastal Plain. However, there is a short period (less than 200,000 k.y.) in the latest Paleocene (upper part of calcareous nannoplankton Zone NP 9) when kaolinite-dominated clay mineral suites replaced the usual illite/smectite-dominated suites. During this time of global biotic and lithologic changes, kaolinite increased from less than 5% of the clay mineral suite to peak proportions of 50-60% of the suite and then returned to less than 5% in uppermost Paleocene/lowermost Eocene strata. This kaolinite pulse is present at numerous localities from southern Virginia to New Jersey. These sites represent both inner and middle neritic depositional environments and reflect input from several river drainage systems. Thus, it is inferred that kaolinite-rich source areas were widespread in the northeastern US during the latest Paleocene. Erosion of these source areas contributed the kaolinite that was transported and widely dispersed into shelf environments of the Salisbury embayment. The kaolinite increase, which occurred during a time of relatively high sea level, probably is the result of intensified weathering due to increased temperature and precipitation. The southern extent of the kaolinite pulse is uncertain in that uppermost Paleocene beds have not been identified in the southern Atlantic Coastal Plain. The late Paleocene kaolinite pulse that consists of an increase to peak kaolinite levels followed by a decrease can be used for detailed correlation between more upbasin and more downbasin sections in the Salisbury embayment. Correlations show that more upbasin Paleocene/Eocene boundary sections are erosionally truncated. They have varying portions of the kaolinite increase and, if present at all, discontinuous portions of the subsequent kaolinite decrease. As these truncated sections are disconformably overlain by lower

Paleoecological evaluation of Late Eocene biostratigraphic zonations of the Pacific Coast of North America

Science.gov (United States)

McDougall, Kristin

1980-01-01

The late Eocene zonal criteria of the west coast of North America are to a large extent controlled by paleoecology and, therefore, the correlation of coeval but environmentally different benthic foraminiferal faunas cannot be achieved before paleoecological control of the biostratigraphy is understood. The faunal trends, morphology, characteristic occurrences and estimated upper depth limits of the benthic foraminifers and associated microfossils in the Oregon and Washington study sections lead to the recognition of paleoecologic facies. The interpretation of these late Eocene facies as bathymetric and low-oxygen facies is based on analogous late Eocene and Holocene assemblages. The paleoecologic facies criteria are often identical to the stage and zonal criteria. In the California zonal schemes, the Narizian zones are identified by lower and middle bathyal faunas whereas the Refugian zones are identified by outer neritic and upper bathyal faunas. The Washington late Eocene zones are identified by middle bathyal and transported neritic faunas. Modifications of the existing zonal schemes such that time and not paleoecology is the controlling factor results in a zonation that synthesizes the existing zonal schemes, recognizes regional stratigraphic ranges of diagnostic species, and removes paleoecologically controlled species occurrences. The late Narizian encompasses a bathyal and a neritic facies. The bathyal facies is correlative with a modified Bulimina corrugata Zone of California and the Uvigerina cf. U. yazooensis Zone of Washington. The neritic late Narizian facies corresponds to a modified Bulimina schencki-Plectofrondicularia cf. P. jenkinsi Zone of Washington and a modified Amphimorphina jenkinsi Zone of California. The Refugian can also be divided into a neritic and a bathyal facies. Although the early and late subdivisions of this stage are tentative, the early Refugian is equivalent to the modified versions of the Cibicides haydoni and the Uvigerina

Eoalosa janvieri gen. et sp. nov., a new clupeid fish (Teleostei, Clupeiformes) from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Marramà, Giuseppe; Carnevale, Giorgio

2018-01-01

Fishes of the family Clupeidae are extremely abundant in the Eocene fossiliferous limestone of Monte Bolca representing the most common group from this celebrated locality. A new clupeid from the Pesciara site, Eoalosa janvieri gen. et sp. nov., is described. The new taxon exhibits a unique combination of characters supporting its recognition as a new genus and species of clupeid fish that is tentatively placed in the subfamily Alosinae. The description of this new taxon improves our knowledge of the diversity of clupeoid fishes in the Eocene of Monte Bolca.

Eocene tectonic compression in Northern Zealandia: Magneto-biostratigraphic constraints from the sedimentary records of New Caledonia (Southwest Pacific Ocean)

Science.gov (United States)

Dallanave, E.; Agnini, C.; Pascher, K. M.; Maurizot, P.; Bachtadse, V.; Hollis, C. J.; Dickens, G. R.; Collot, J.; Sevin, B.; Strogen, D.; Monesi, E.

2017-12-01

Published seismic profiles acquired from the Tasman Sea and northern Zealandia area (southwest Pacific) point to a widespread Eocene convergent deformation of oceanic and continental crust, with reverse faults and uplift (Tectonic Event of the Cenozoic in the Tasman Area; TECTA). The TECTA is interpreted as the precursor of the Tonga-Kermadec subduction initiation. Grande Terre is the main island of the New Caledonia archipelago and the largest emergent portion of northern Norfolk Ridge (part of northern Zealandia). Eocene sedimentary records exposed in Grande Terre contain a transition from pelagic micrite to terrigenous-rich calciturbidites, marking a shift from passive margin to convergent tectonic regime. This could represent the local expression of the convergence inception observed on a regional scale. We conducted an integrated magneto-biostratigraphic study, based on calcareous nannofossil and radiolaria, of two early-middle Eocene records cropping out near Noumea (southwest Grande Terre) and Koumac (northwest Grande Terre). The natural remanent magnetization of the sediments is complicated by multiple vector components, likely related to the late Eocene obduction, but a characteristic remanent magnetization has been successfully isolated. Overall the record spans from magnetic polarity Chron C23n to C18n, i.e. from 51 to 39 Ma. In this robust magnetic polarity-based chronological frame, the pelagic micrite to terrigenous-rich calciturbidites occurred near the top of Chron C21n and is dated 46 Ma. Furthermore, the magnetic mineral assemblage within part of the calciturbidites consists of hematite associated with maghemite. This association indicates emergent land as source of the terrigenous, suggesting a considerable uplift. Because 94% of the Zealandia continent is submerged, ocean drilling is needed to gauge the full extent and timing of Eocene compressive deformation revealed by the seismic profiles acquired in the Tasman area. This is a primary aim of

A new raninid crab, Pseudorogueus Rangiferus (Decapoda, Crustacea, from the Eocene of Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fraaye, R. H.B.

1995-04-01

Full Text Available new genus and species of raninid crab, Pseudorogueus rangiferus, is described from the Lower Eocene of Catalunya, Spanish Pyrenees.Se describe un nuevo género y especie de cangrejo Raninidae, Pseudorogueus rangiferus, proveniente del Eoceno inferior de los Pirineos Catalanes (Cataluña, España.

Low palaeoelevation of the northern Lhasa terrane during late Eocene: Fossil foraminifera and stable isotope evidence from the Gerze Basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Yi; Zhang, Kexin; Garzione, Carmala N; Xu, Yadong; Song, Bowen; Ji, Junliang

2016-06-08

The Lhasa terrane is a key region for understanding the paleoelevation of the southern Tibetan Plateau after India-Asia collision. The Gerze Basin, located in the northern part of the Lhasa terrane, is a shortening-related basin. We discovered Lagena laevis (Bandy) fossils in upper Eocene strata of the Gerze Basin. This type of foraminifera is associated with lagoon and estuarine environments, indicating that the northern part of the Lhasa terrane was near sea level during the late Eocene. We speculate that these foraminifera were transported inland by storm surges to low elevation freshwater lakes during times of marine transgressions. This inference is consistent with the relatively positive δ(18)O values in carbonate from the same deposits that indicate low palaeoelevations close to sea level. Considering the palaeoelevation results from the nearby Oligocene basins at a similar latitude and the volcanic history of the Lhasa terrane, we infer that large-magnitude surface uplift of the northern Lhasa terrane occurred between late Eocene and late Oligocene time.

Wet tropical climate in SE Tibet during the Late Eocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorrel, Philippe; Eymard, Ines; Leloup, Philippe-Herve; Maheo, Gweltaz; Olivier, Nicolas; Sterb, Mary; Gourbet, Loraine; Wang, Guocan; Jing, Wu; Lu, Haijian; Li, Haibing; Yadong, Xu; Zhang, Kexin; Cao, Kai; Chevalier, Marie-Luce; Replumaz, Anne

2017-08-10

Cenozoic climate cooling at the advent of the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT), ~33.7 Ma ago, was stamped in the ocean by a series of climatic events albeit the impact of this global climatic transition on terrestrial environments is still fragmentary. Yet archival constraints on Late Eocene atmospheric circulation are scarce in (tropical) monsoonal Asia, and the paucity of terrestrial records hampers a meaningful comparison of the long-term climatic trends between oceanic and continental realms. Here we report new sedimentological data from the Jianchuan basin (SE Tibet) arguing for wetter climatic conditions in monsoonal Asia at ~35.5 Ma almost coevally to the aridification recognized northwards in the Xining basin. We show that the occurrence of flash-flood events in semi-arid to sub-humid palustrine-sublacustrine settings preceded the development of coal-bearing deposits in swampy-like environments, thus paving the way to a more humid climate in SE Tibet ahead from the EOT. We suggest that this moisture redistribution possibly reflects more northern and intensified ITCZ-induced tropical rainfall in monsoonal Asia around 35.5 Ma, in accordance with recent sea-surface temperature reconstructions from equatorial oceanic records. Our findings thus highlight an important period of climatic upheaval in terrestrial Asian environments ~2-4 millions years prior to the EOT.

Eocene to Oligocene benthic foraminiferal isotopic record in the Bay of Biscay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, K.G.; Curry, W.B.

1982-01-01

Oxygen and carbon isotopic records of Eocene to Oligocene benthic foraminifera from two Bay of Biscay Deep Sea Drilling Project sites are presented. The delta 18 O figures for benthic foraminifera are significantly higher than those previously reported from deeper North Atlantic sites, the differences arising it is believed from diagenetic alteration of the sediments in the deeper-buried sites. (U.K.)

A large mimotonid from the middle Eocene of China sheds light on the evolution of lagomorphs and their kin.

Science.gov (United States)

Fostowicz-Frelik, Łucja; Li, Chuankui; Mao, Fangyuan; Meng, Jin; Wang, Yuanqing

2015-03-30

Mimotonids share their closest affinity with lagomorphs and were a rare and endemic faunal element of Paleogene mammal assemblages of central Asia. Here we describe a new species, Mimolagus aurorae from the Middle Eocene of Nei Mongol (China). This species belongs to one of the most enigmatic genera of fossil Glires, previously known only from the type and only specimen from the early Oligocene of Gansu (China). Our finding extends the earliest occurrence of the genus by at least 10 million years in the Paleogene of Asia, which closes the gap between Mimolagus and other mimotonids that are known thus far from middle Eocene or older deposits. The new species is one of the largest known pre-Oligocene Glires. As regards duplicidentates, Mimolagus is comparable with the largest Neogene continental leporids, namely hares of the genus Lepus. Our results suggest that ecomorphology of this species was convergent on that of small perissodactyls that dominated faunas of the Mongolian Plateau in the Eocene, and probably a result of competitive pressure from other Glires, including a co-occurring mimotonid, Gomphos.

Maximum neutron flux at thermal nuclear reactors; Maksimum neutronskog fluksa kod termalnih reaktora

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strugar, P [Institute of Nuclear Sciences Vinca, Beograd (Serbia and Montenegro)

1968-10-15

Since actual research reactors are technically complicated and expensive facilities it is important to achieve savings by appropriate reactor lattice configurations. There is a number of papers, and practical examples of reactors with central reflector, dealing with spatial distribution of fuel elements which would result in higher neutron flux. Common disadvantage of all the solutions is that the choice of best solution is done starting from the anticipated spatial distributions of fuel elements. The weakness of these approaches is lack of defined optimization criteria. Direct approach is defined as follows: determine the spatial distribution of fuel concentration starting from the condition of maximum neutron flux by fulfilling the thermal constraints. Thus the problem of determining the maximum neutron flux is solving a variational problem which is beyond the possibilities of classical variational calculation. This variational problem has been successfully solved by applying the maximum principle of Pontrjagin. Optimum distribution of fuel concentration was obtained in explicit analytical form. Thus, spatial distribution of the neutron flux and critical dimensions of quite complex reactor system are calculated in a relatively simple way. In addition to the fact that the results are innovative this approach is interesting because of the optimization procedure itself. [Serbo-Croat] Savremeni reaktori za fizicka i tehnoloska istrazivanja predstavljaju tehnicki komplikovanu i skupu masinu. Iz tog razloga su opravdana nastojanja da se podesnim rasporedom goriva u jezgru reaktora dodje do sto ekonomicnijeg rjesenja. U literaturi postoji vise radova, cak i konkretnih realizacija u vidu reaktora sa reflektorom u centru, koji se bave odredjivanjem takve prostorne zavisnosti koncentracije goriva koja pod odredjenim uslovima daje najveci neutronski fluks. Zajednicki nedostatak svih pomenutih rjesenja je u tome sto se polazi od pretpostavljenih prostornih distribucija

Deep time evidence for climate sensitivity increase with warming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shaffer, Gary; Huber, Matthew; Rondanelli, Roberto

2016-01-01

warming analogue. We obtain constrained estimates of CO2 and climate sensitivity before and during the PETM and of the PETM carbon input amount and nature. Sensitivity increased from 3.3-5.6 to 3.7-6.5K (Kelvin) into the PETM. When taken together with Last Glacial Maximum and modern estimates, this result...... world, but past warming events may provide insight. Here we employ paleoreconstructions and new climate-carbon model simulations in a novel framework to explore a wide scenario range for the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) carbon release and global warming event 55.8Ma ago, a possible future...

A late Eocene palynological record of climate change and Tibetan Plateau uplift (Xining Basin, China)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoorn, C.; Straathof, J.; Abels, H.A.; Xu, Y.; Utescher, T.; Dupont-Nivet, G.

2012-01-01

Climate models suggest that Asian paleoenvironments, monsoons and continental aridification were primarily governed by tectonic uplift and sea retreat since the Eocene with potential contribution of global climate changes. However, the cause and timing of these paleoenvironmental changes remain

Earth Pressure at rest of Søvind Marl – a highly overconsolidated Eocene clay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grønbech, Gitte Lyng; Ibsen, Lars Bo; Nielsen, Benjaminn Nordahl

2016-01-01

The present study evaluated earth pressure at rest, K0, in highly overconsolidated Eocene clay called Søvind Marl, which exhibits extremely high plasticity indices of up to 300%, a highly fissured structure, and preconsolidation stresses up to 6,800 kPa. Continuous Loading Oedometer (CLO) tests...

Description of a Well Preserved Fetus of the European Eocene Equoid Eurohippus messelensis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jens Lorenz Franzen

Full Text Available The early Middle Eocene locality of Grube Messel, near Darmstadt (Germany, is famous for its complete vertebrate skeletons. The degree of preservation of soft tissues, such as body silhouettes, internal organs and gut contents, is frequently remarkable. The present specimen was analyzed for remnants of the reproductive system. Classic anatomy and osteology and high-resolution micro-x-ray were applied to describe the fetus of the European Eocene equoid Eurohippus messelensis. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM was used for determination of soft tissue remnants. The fetus is the earliest and best-preserved fossil specimen of its kind. The postcranial fetal skeleton is almost complete and largely articulated, allowing the conclusion that the pregnant mare was in late gestation. The apparent intrauterine position of the fetus is normal for the phase of pregnancy. Death of mare and fetus were probably not related to problems associated with parturition. Soft tissue interpreted as the uteroplacenta and a broad uterine ligament are preserved due to bacterial activity and allow considerations on the evolutionary development of the structures.

Description of a Well Preserved Fetus of the European Eocene Equoid Eurohippus messelensis.

Science.gov (United States)

Franzen, Jens Lorenz; Aurich, Christine; Habersetzer, Jörg

2015-01-01

The early Middle Eocene locality of Grube Messel, near Darmstadt (Germany), is famous for its complete vertebrate skeletons. The degree of preservation of soft tissues, such as body silhouettes, internal organs and gut contents, is frequently remarkable. The present specimen was analyzed for remnants of the reproductive system. Classic anatomy and osteology and high-resolution micro-x-ray were applied to describe the fetus of the European Eocene equoid Eurohippus messelensis. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) was used for determination of soft tissue remnants. The fetus is the earliest and best-preserved fossil specimen of its kind. The postcranial fetal skeleton is almost complete and largely articulated, allowing the conclusion that the pregnant mare was in late gestation. The apparent intrauterine position of the fetus is normal for the phase of pregnancy. Death of mare and fetus were probably not related to problems associated with parturition. Soft tissue interpreted as the uteroplacenta and a broad uterine ligament are preserved due to bacterial activity and allow considerations on the evolutionary development of the structures.

The tectonic setting of the Caribbean region and the K/T turnover of the South American land-mammal fauna

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortiz-Jaureguizar, E.; Pascual, R.

2011-07-01

According to the fossil record, a biotic interchange of land vertebrates (e.g. booid snakes, dinosaurs and mammals) occurred between the Americas during the Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeocene. The arrival of North American immigrants (particularly marsupials and placental) during the latest Cretaceous-earliest Palaeocene had a profound influence on the composition of the South American mammal communities. During the Late Cretaceous these communities were dominated by native groups of Pangeic lineages, which represented more than 95% of the known genera, but during the Early Palaeocene 70% of South American mammals were derived from North American immigrants that had arrived during the Late Cretaceous-earliest Palaeocene, and by the Late Palaeocene all the South American mammals (with the possible exception of the xenarthrans) were descendants of these North American immigrants. In spite of the fact that no geological evidence is currently available to support the existence of a continuous land connection between the Americas during the Late Cretaceousearly Palaeocene, the fossil record is substantial enough to point to a temporary inter-American connection that permitted the beginning of a land-mammal exchange by the end of the Cretaceous. This interpretation is supported by recent geographic reconstructions of the Caribbean region. (Author)

A newly isolated Haloalkaliphilic bacterium from middle-late Eocene halite formed in salt lakes in China

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Meng, F. W.; Wang, X.-Q.; Ni, P.; Kletetschka, Günther; Li, Y-P.; Yang, Ch.-H.

2015-01-01

Roč. 30, č. 3 (2015), s. 321-330 ISSN 0891-2556 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : ancient microorganism * primary fluid inclusion * halite * Eocene Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.440, year: 2015

Normal polarity magnetosubchrons in 24r and the age of the Paleocene-Eocene boundary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lerbekmo, J.F.; Heaman, L.M.; Baadsgaard, H.; Muehlenbachs, K.; Evans, M.E.; Sweet, A.R. [University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (Canada)

2008-07-15

A late Paleocene to early Eocene sequence of flat-lying continental strata occurs in an area known as Obed Mountain, west-central Alberta. The upper 110 m consist of interbedded fluvial channel sandstones and overbank mudrocks containing five back swamp coal seams. Two coreholes, 3.5 km apart, that extend through the entire coal zone were sampled for magnetostratigraphy and {sup 13}C isotope analysis. Bentonites in the No. 1 (lowest) and No. 5 coal seams and a tuff in the No. 3 coal seam were sampled for U-Pb and (or) Rb-Sr dating of zircon and biotite, respectively. Magnetostratigraphic analysis of 520 samples identified the younger part of chron 25r, the whole of chron 25n and the older half of chron 24r. We find six normal polarity subzones in this part of chron 24r, which we correlate to tiny wiggles 6 to 11 in marine magnetic profiles. Carbon isotope analysis of 14 samples from two cores revealed a negative shift of about 2 parts per thousand peaking near the base of 24r.8r. We interpret this as the carbon isotope excursion (CIE), the base of which is now accepted as defining the Paleocene-Eocene boundary. The thickness of the CIE in the Obed Mountain section implies that it lasted between 210 000 and 254 000 years. Radiometric dates of 58.4 {+-} 0.2, 57.7 {+-} 0.3, and 56.9 {+-} 0.8 Ma are obtained for the No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5 coals, respectively. Combining these with magnetostratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy yields an age of 57.1 {+-} 0.1 Ma for the Paleocene-Eocene boundary.

Fuenferrada 3, the first Eocene mammal locality in the depression of Montalbán (Teruel, Spain), with some remarks on the fauna of Olalla 4A

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Freudenthal, M.

1997-01-01

The rodent fauna of Fuenferrada contains two species of Theridomyidae and three species of Gliridae. It is compared with the Early Oligocene fauna of Olalla 4A, and with the Late Eocene fauna of Aguatón 2D. The absence of Cricetidae serves to determine its age as latest Eocene.

A review of the platanaceous woods from the Eocene paratropical rainforest of south-east England

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poole, I.J.; Davies, Kevin L.; Wilkinson, Hazel P.

2002-01-01

Small diameter pyritized axes, commonly referred to as ‘twigs’, of fossil platanaceous wood are described from the Lower Eocene London Clay Formation of south-east England. These twigs are characterized by solitary vessels with scalariform perforation plates, opposite intervessel pits, and tall,

Diversity of Scydmaeninae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in Upper Eocene Rovno amber.

Science.gov (United States)

Jałoszyński, Paweł; Perkovsky, Evgeny

2016-08-25

Among nearly 1270 inclusions of Coleoptera found in Upper Eocene Rovno amber, 69 were identified as ant-like stone beetles (Scydmaeninae); 34 were possible to unambiguously determine to the tribal level and were studied in detail. Rovnoleptochromus ableptonoides gen. & sp. n. (Mastigitae: Clidicini), Vertheia quadrisetosa gen. & sp. n. (Cephenniitae: Eutheiini), Cephennomicrus giganteus sp. n. (Cephenniitae: Cephenniini), Glaesoconnus unicus gen. & sp. n. (Scydmaenitae: Glandulariini), Rovnoscydmus frontalis gen. & sp. n. (Scydmaenitae: Glandulariini; type species of Rovnoscydmus), Rovnoscydmus microscopicus sp. n., Euconnus (incertae sedis, near Cladoconnus) palaeogenus sp. n. (Scydmaenitae: Glandulariini), and Stenichnus (s. str.) proavus sp. n. (Scydmaenitae: Glandulariini) are described. Additionally, specimens representing one undescribed species of Vertheia, one of Cephennodes, five of Cephennomicrus, one of Euconnus, one of Microscydmus are recorded, and nine specimens representing an unknown number of species of Rovnoscydmus (and two putative Rovnoscydmus), one Euconnus (and one putative Euconnus), two putative Microscydmus and one putative Scydmoraphes were found in the studied material. The composition of Scydmaeninae fauna in Rovno amber is discussed in the context of ecological preferences and distribution of extant taxa. It is concluded that subtropical and tropical taxa were present in the region where Rovno amber has formed, most notably the second genus and species of the extant tribe Clidicini known from the Eocene of Europe, and six species of the extant genus Cephennomicrus, for the first time found in the fossil record. An annotated catalog of nominal species of Scydmaeninae known in the fossil record is given.

How many upper Eocene microspherule layers: More than we thought

Science.gov (United States)

Hazel, Joseph E.

1988-01-01

The scientific controversy over the origin of upper Eocene tektites, microtektites and other microspherules cannot be logically resolved until it is determined just how many events are involved. The microspherule-bearing beds in marine sediments have been dated using standard biozonal techniques. Although a powerful stratigraphic tool, zonal biostratigraph has its limitations. One is that if an event, such as a microspherule occurrence, is observed to occur in a zone at one locality and then a similar event observed in the same zone at another locality, it still may be unwarranted to conclude that these events exactly correlate. To be in a zone a sample only need be between the fossil events that define the zone boundaries. It is often very difficult to accurately determine where within a zone one might be. Further, the zone defining events do not everywhere occur at the same points in time. That is, the ranges of the defining taxa are not always filled. Thus, the length of time represented by a zone (but not, of course, its chronozone) can vary from place to place. These problems can be offset by use of chronostratigraphic modelling techniques such as Graphic Correlation. This technique was used to build a Cretaceous and Cenozoic model containing fossil, magnetopolarity, and other events. The scale of the model can be demonstrated to be linear with time. This model was used to determine the chronostratigraphic position of upper Eocene microspherule layers.

Eocene Podocarpium (Leguminosae) from South China and its biogeographic implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Qingqing; Qiu, Jue; Zhou, Zhekun; Jin, Jianhua

2015-01-01

Podocarpium A. Braun ex Stizenberger is one of the most common legumes in the Neogene of Eurasia, including fossil fruits, seeds, leaves, and possible flower and pollen grains. This genus is not completely consistent with any extant genera according to gross morphological characters and poorly preserved cuticular structures reported in previous studies. The fossil pods collected from the coal-bearing series of the Changchang Basin of Hainan Island and Maoming Basin of Guangdong, South China, are examined by morphologically comparative work, with special reference to venation patterns and placental position. These distinctive features, as well as the ovule development of pods from different developmental stages and the epidermal structure of the pods, as distinguished from previous records lead to the conclusion that these fossils can be recognized as a new species of Podocarpium, P. eocenicum sp. nov. This new discovery indicates that Podocarpium had arrived in South China by the Eocene. Investigation on the fossil records of this extinct genus shows that P. eocenicum is the earliest and lowest latitude fossil data. The possible occurrence pattern of this genus is revealed as follows: Podocarpium had distributed in the South China at least in the middle Eocene, and then migrated to Europe during the Oligocene; in the Miocene this genus reached its peak in Eurasia, spreading extensively across subtropical areas to warm temperate areas; finally, Podocarpium shrank rapidly and became extinct in Eurasia during the Pliocene.

Terrestrial and lacustrine gastropods from the Priabonian (upper Eocene) of the Sultanate of Oman.

Science.gov (United States)

Harzhauser, Mathias; Neubauer, Thomas A; Kadolsky, Dietrich; Pickford, Martin; Nordsieck, Hartmut

2016-01-01

Terrestrial and aquatic gastropods from the upper Eocene (Priabonian) Zalumah Formation in the Salalah region of the Sultanate of Oman are described. The assemblages reflect the composition of the continental mollusc fauna of the Palaeogene of Arabia, which, at that time, formed parts of the southeastern Tethys coast. Several similarities with European faunas are observed at the family level, but are rarer at the genus level. These similarities point to an Eocene (Priabonian) rather than to a Rupelian age, although the latter correlation cannot be entirely excluded. At the species level, the Omani assemblages lack any relations to coeval faunas. This suggests the possible presence of a distinct biogeographic province during the Palaeogene or may simply reflect the extremely sparse non-marine fossil record of the Eocene in the Tethys region. The occurrence of the genera Lanistes, Pila, and Gulella along with some pomatiids, probably related to extant genera, suggests that the modern African-Arabian continental faunas can be partly traced back to Eocene times and reflect very old autochthonous developments. In contrast, the diverse Vidaliellidae went extinct, and the morphologically comparable Neogene Achatinidae may have occupied the equivalent niches in extant environments. Carnevalea Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. gen., Arabiella Kadolsky, Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. gen., Pyrgulella Harzhauser, Kadolsky and Neubauer nov. gen., Salalahia Kadolsky, Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. gen., Omanitopsis Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. gen., Arabicolaria Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. gen., Pacaudiella Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. gen., Goniodomulus Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. gen., Eoquickia Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. gen., Omanillya H. Nordsieck nov. gen. and Omanifera H. Nordsieck nov. gen. are introduced as new genera. Pila neuberti Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. sp., Arabiella arabica Kadolsky, Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. sp., Pyrgulella parva Harzhauser, Kadolsky and

Eocene fluvial drainage patterns and their implications for uranium and hydrocarbon exploration in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seeland, D.A.

1978-01-01

Paleocurrent maps of the fluvial lower Eocene Wind River Formation in the Wind River Basin of central Wyoming define promising uranium- and hydrocarbon-exploration target areas. The Wind River Formation is thought to have the greatest potential for uranium mineralization in areas where it includes arkosic channel sandstones derived from the granitic core of the Granite Mountains, as in the channel-sandstone bodies deposited in Eocene time by a 40-kilometer segment of the eastward-flowing paleo-Wind River that exended westward from near the town of Powder River on the east edge of the basin. Channel-sandstone bodies with a Granite Mountains source occur south of this segment of the paleo-Wind River and north of the Granite Mountains. The southwestern part of this area includes the Gas Hills uranium district, but the channel-sandstone bodies between the Gas Hills district and the 40-kilometer segment of the paleo-Wind River may also be mineralized. This area includes the southeasternmost part of the Wind River Basin southeast of Powder River and contains northeasterly trending channel-sandstone bodies derived from the Granite Mountains. Limited paleocurrent information from the margins of the Wind River Basin suggests that the paleo-Wind River in Paleocene time flowed eastward and had approximately the same location as the eastward-flowing paleo-Wind River of Eocene time. The channel-sandstone bodies of the paleo-Wind Rivers are potential hydrocarbon reservoirs, particularly where they are underlain or overlain by the organic-rich shale and siltstone of the Waltman Shale Member of the Fort Union Formation. If leaks of sulfur-containing gas have created a reducing environment in the Eocene paleo-Wind River channel-sandstone bodies, then I speculate that the areas of overlap of the channel-sandstone bodies and natural-gas fields in the underlying rocks may be particularly favorable areas in which to search for uranium deposits

Palaeocology of coal-bearing Eocene sediments in central Anatolia (Turkey) based on quantitative palynological data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akkiraz, M.S.; Kayseri, M.S.; Akgun, F. [Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir (Turkey). Dept. of Geological Engineering

2008-04-15

In this study, the lignite-bearing Yoncali formation between Yozgat and Sorgun, in central Anatolia has been palynologically examined. Based on 37 outcrop samples, quantitative palynological studies recognized 64 genera and 136 palynoflora species in the palynological assemblage, which indicated a Middle-Late Eocene age. This paper also presents a quantitative palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate reconstruction for the Middle-Upper Eocene coal occurrences of Central Anatolia on the basis of palynomorph assemblages. The diversified floral and ecological characteristics of the pollen taxa indicates that the Middle-Upper Eocene formations in central Anatolia were characterized by the presence of a complex mangrove swamp with contributions by Nypa, Pelliciera, Avicennia, Diporites tszkaszentgydrgyi and dinoflagellate cysts which reflect warm climatic conditions. Lowland-riparian and montane elements are characterized by the dominance of Myricaceae, Symplocaceae, Icacinaceae, Quercus, Pinus and Castanea. Swamp-freshwater elements are represented by Sparganjaceae, Nymphaceae, Taxodjaceae, Cupressaceae and Nyssa as well as fern spores such as Osmundaceae and Gleicheniaceae. The calculations were performed with the help of the 'Coexistence Approach' method to climatically evaluate palynoflora from the Yozgat-Sorgun area. The obtained results have been compared to data derived from the application of the Coexistence Approach to other, already published Central Anatolian palynofloras of the same age. The results of the climatic inferences suggest that the palaeoclimatic conditions were in the megathermal zone, megatherm/mesotherm intermediate zone whereas mesothermic conditions prevailed in the montane region. Likewise, the results of mean annual range of temperatures indicate the influence of the Indian ocean, which enabled the development of the mangroves.

An exceptionally preserved Eocene shark and the rise of modern predator-prey interactions in the coral reef food web.

Science.gov (United States)

Fanti, Federico; Minelli, Daniela; Conte, Gabriele Larocca; Miyashita, Tetsuto

2016-01-01

Following extreme climatic warming events, Eocene Lagerstätten document aquatic and terrestrial vertebrate faunas surprisingly similar to modern counterparts. This transition in marine systems is best documented in the earliest teleost-dominated coral reef assemblage of Pesciara di Bolca, northern Italy, from near the end of the Eocene Climatic Optimum. Its rich fauna shows similarities with that of the modern Great Barrier Reef in niche exploitation by and morphological disparity among teleost primary consumers. However, such paleoecological understanding has not transcended trophic levels above primary consumers, particularly in carcharhiniform sharks. We report an exceptionally preserved fossil school shark (Galeorhinus cuvieri) from Pesciara di Bolca. In addition to the spectacular preservation of soft tissues, including brain, muscles, and claspers, this male juvenile shark has stomach contents clearly identifiable as a sphyraenid acanthomorph (barracuda). This association provides evidence that a predator-prey relationship between Galeorhinus and Sphyraena in the modern coral reefs has roots in the Eocene. A growth curve of the living species of Galeorhinus fitted to G. cuvieri suggests that all specimens of G. cuvieri from the lagoonal deposits of Bolca represent sexually and somatically immature juveniles. The modern trophic association between higher-degree consumers (Galeorhinus and Sphyraena) has a counterpart in the Eocene Bolca, just as Bolca and the Great Barrier Reef show parallels among teleost primary consumers. Given the age of Bolca, trophic networks among consumers observed in modern coral reefs arose by the exit from the Climatic Optimum. The biased representation of juveniles suggests that the Bolca Lagerstätte served as a nursery habitat for G. cuvieri. Ultraviolet photography may be useful in probing for exceptional soft tissue preservation before common acid preparation methods.

Identification of the Paleocene-Eocene boundary in coastal strata in the Otway Basin, Victoria, Australia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frieling, J.; Huurdeman, Emiel; Rem, Charlotte; Donders, T.H.; Pross, Jorg; Bohaty, Steven M.; Holdgate, Guy; Gallagher, Stephen; McGowran, Brian; Bijl, P.K.

2018-01-01

Detailed, stratigraphically well-constrained environmental reconstructions are available for Paleocene and Eocene strata at a range of sites in the southwest Pacific Ocean (New Zealand and East Tasman Plateau; ETP) and Integrated Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Site U1356 in the south of the

Oxygen and Hydrogen Stable Isotope Composition of Eocene ( ~45 million year old) Fossil Tree Cellulose

Science.gov (United States)

Jahren, H.

2001-05-01

growing in the most extremely cold environments found on earth today, in contrast to the fact that the middle Eocene has been conceived by some as the maximum of Mesozoic-early Cenozoic global tropicality, partially based upon the presence of abundant vegetation at high latitudes.

Solar coronal non-thermal processes (Solar Maximum Mission). Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hudson, H.S.

1983-02-01

The Solar Maximum Mission was used to study solar coronal phenomena in hard X-radiation, since its instrument complement included the first solar hard X-ray telescope. Phenomena related to those discovered from OSO-5 and OSO-7 observations were emphasized

Coeval Eocene blooms of the freshwater fern Azolla in and around Arctic and Nordic seas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Barke, J.; Burgh, A.H.P. van der; Konijnenburg-van Cittert, J.H.A. van; Collinson, M.E.; Pearce, M.A.; Bujak, J.; Heilman-Clausen, C.; Lotter, A.F.; Speelman, E.N.; Kempen, M.M.L. van; Reichart, G.-J.; Brinkhuis, H.

2012-01-01

For a short time interval (c. 1.2 Myr) during the early middle Eocene (~ 49 Myr), the central Arctic Ocean was episodically densely covered by the freshwater fern Azolla, implying sustained freshening of surface waters. Coeval Azolla fossils in neighboring Nordic seas were thought to have been

Goulds Belt, Interstellar Clouds, and the Eocene-Oligocene Helium-3 Spike

Science.gov (United States)

Rubincam, David Parry

2015-01-01

Drag from hydrogen in the interstellar cloud which formed Gould's Belt may have sent small meteoroids with embedded helium to the Earth, perhaps explaining part or all of the (sup 3) He spike seen in the sedimentary record at the Eocene-Oligocene transition. Assuming the Solar System passed through part of the cloud, meteoroids in the asteroid belt up to centimeter size may have been dragged to the resonances, where their orbital eccentricities were pumped up into Earth-crossing orbits.

Biostratigraphic implications of the first Eocene land-mammal fauna from the North American coastal plain

Science.gov (United States)

Westgate, James W.

1988-11-01

A newly discovered vertebrate fossil assemblage, the Casa Blanca local fauna, comes from the Laredo Formation, Claiborne Group, of Webb County, Texas, and is the first reported Eocene land-mammal fauna from the coastal plain of North America. The mammalian fauna is correlated with the Serendipity and Candelaria local faunas of west Texas, the Uinta C faunas of the Rocky Mountains, the Santiago Formation local fauna of southern California, and the Swift Current Creek local fauna of Saskatchewan. The vertebrate-bearing deposit lies about 32 m above a horizon containing the marine gastropod Turritella cortezi, which ranges from east Texas to northeast Mexico in the lower half of the Cook Mountain and Laredo Formations and is a guide fossil to the Hurricane Lentil in the Cook Mountain Formation. Nannoplankton found in these middle Eocene formations belong to the upper half of Nannoplankton Zone I6 and allow correlation with European beds of late Lutetian to early Bartonian age.

Justitia Holthuis, 1946 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Palinuridea) from the Middle Eocene of Verona and Vicenza (northern Italy)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Garassino, Alessandro; Angeli, De Antonio

2003-01-01

Recently, Beschin et al. (2001) have described two specimens of palinurids, discovered at Chiampo (“Albanello” quarry, Vicenza, northern Italy). Preserved three dimensionally, these were collected from limestones of Lutetian (middle Eocene) age. The peculiar ornament of the dorsal carapace surface,

Complete primate skeleton from the Middle Eocene of Messel in Germany: morphology and paleobiology.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jens L Franzen

2009-05-01

Full Text Available The best European locality for complete Eocene mammal skeletons is Grube Messel, near Darmstadt, Germany. Although the site was surrounded by a para-tropical rain forest in the Eocene, primates are remarkably rare there, and only eight fragmentary specimens were known until now. Messel has now yielded a full primate skeleton. The specimen has an unusual history: it was privately collected and sold in two parts, with only the lesser part previously known. The second part, which has just come to light, shows the skeleton to be the most complete primate known in the fossil record.We describe the morphology and investigate the paleobiology of the skeleton. The specimen is described as Darwinius masillae n.gen. n.sp. belonging to the Cercamoniinae. Because the skeleton is lightly crushed and bones cannot be handled individually, imaging studies are of particular importance. Skull radiography shows a host of teeth developing within the juvenile face. Investigation of growth and proportion suggest that the individual was a weaned and independent-feeding female that died in her first year of life, and might have attained a body weight of 650-900 g had she lived to adulthood. She was an agile, nail-bearing, generalized arboreal quadruped living above the floor of the Messel rain forest.Darwinius masillae represents the most complete fossil primate ever found, including both skeleton, soft body outline and contents of the digestive tract. Study of all these features allows a fairly complete reconstruction of life history, locomotion, and diet. Any future study of Eocene-Oligocene primates should benefit from information preserved in the Darwinius holotype. Of particular importance to phylogenetic studies, the absence of a toilet claw and a toothcomb demonstrates that Darwinius masillae is not simply a fossil lemur, but part of a larger group of primates, Adapoidea, representative of the early haplorhine diversification.

Complete primate skeleton from the Middle Eocene of Messel in Germany: morphology and paleobiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Franzen, Jens L; Gingerich, Philip D; Habersetzer, Jörg; Hurum, Jørn H; von Koenigswald, Wighart; Smith, B Holly

2009-05-19

The best European locality for complete Eocene mammal skeletons is Grube Messel, near Darmstadt, Germany. Although the site was surrounded by a para-tropical rain forest in the Eocene, primates are remarkably rare there, and only eight fragmentary specimens were known until now. Messel has now yielded a full primate skeleton. The specimen has an unusual history: it was privately collected and sold in two parts, with only the lesser part previously known. The second part, which has just come to light, shows the skeleton to be the most complete primate known in the fossil record. We describe the morphology and investigate the paleobiology of the skeleton. The specimen is described as Darwinius masillae n.gen. n.sp. belonging to the Cercamoniinae. Because the skeleton is lightly crushed and bones cannot be handled individually, imaging studies are of particular importance. Skull radiography shows a host of teeth developing within the juvenile face. Investigation of growth and proportion suggest that the individual was a weaned and independent-feeding female that died in her first year of life, and might have attained a body weight of 650-900 g had she lived to adulthood. She was an agile, nail-bearing, generalized arboreal quadruped living above the floor of the Messel rain forest. Darwinius masillae represents the most complete fossil primate ever found, including both skeleton, soft body outline and contents of the digestive tract. Study of all these features allows a fairly complete reconstruction of life history, locomotion, and diet. Any future study of Eocene-Oligocene primates should benefit from information preserved in the Darwinius holotype. Of particular importance to phylogenetic studies, the absence of a toilet claw and a toothcomb demonstrates that Darwinius masillae is not simply a fossil lemur, but part of a larger group of primates, Adapoidea, representative of the early haplorhine diversification.

Oxygen isotopes of marine mollusc shells record Eocene elevation change in the Pyrenees

Science.gov (United States)

Huyghe, Damien; Mouthereau, Frédéric; Emmanuel, Laurent

2012-09-01

Constraining paleoaltimetry of collisional orogens is critical to understand the dynamics of topographic evolution and climate/tectonics retroactions. Here, we use oxygen stable-isotope record on oyster shells, preserved in marine foreland deposits, to examine the past elevation of the Pyrenees during the Eocene. Our approach is based on the comparison with the Paris basin, an intracratonic basin not influenced by orogenic growth. The finding of a shift of 1.5‰ between 49 and 41 Ma, indicating more negative δ18Oc in the south Pyrenean foreland, is interpreted to reflect the inflow of river water sourced from higher elevation in the Pyrenees. To test this and provide paleoelevation estimate, we adopt a morphologic-hydrological model accounting for the hypsometry of drainage basin. Our best fitting model shows that the Pyrenees rose up to 2000 m. This indicates that the Pyrenees reached high elevation in the Eocene, thus providing new critical constraints on their long-term orogenic development. δ18O of marine mollusc shells are proved potentially attractive for paleoelevation studies, especially for mountain belts where elevated continental surfaces have not been preserved.

Geological and radioactive study served for uranium exploration in the Palaeogene-Neogene sediments, Syrian Steppe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radwan, Y.; Kattaa, B.; Najjar, H.

1988-01-01

Paleo-Neogene terranes were geologically and radioactively surveyed over an area extends from T2-pump station to the east of As-Sukhneh, using 1/200000 satellite images and 1/25000 aerial photos. Five geological sheets and six major geological cross sections were performed. Rock facies were microscopically identified and the paleogeographical evolution of the immersed platform was extrapolated, which and due to the Palmyrdean Orogengy was undulated forming short and narrow depressions, some of them developed into isolated or semi-isolated basins by the Oligocene onset. Through out the Oligocene, two sedimentation regimes were dominant. The first, is marine-shallow platform one to the east becoming much shallower towards north-west with short swell in Wadi Slubi; the second, is subtidal-shoreline-deltaic westwards which turned lacustrine one in Rijm Al Qun by the end of Miocene persisting during the Palaeocene and Quaternary time. This facies differentiation is resulted by weak effect of Al-Rutbah - Al-Hamad uplift, which was once much stronger in the Senonian and Eocene, controlling phosphorite precipitation. Two very weak radioactive anomalies were registered. The first, was twice the intensity of normal field at the Upper Eocene chalky limestone. The second, was as much as four times the intensity of normal field. Some minor disperssed U-mineralizations were reported. The most favourable facies for hosting leached-U from the Eocene phosphorite in the south, which mobiled through lineaments-controlled drainage set, are the deltaic and shore line ones taking place in the isolated basins in north-west. The study of lateral and vertical facies changes, and the biophysiochemical conditions are very important to find out possible U-traps. The contribution of aerial and satellite images in surveying was too limited due to quality, scale and date of exposing. 6 refs., 5 figs. (author)

Reinterpretation of Azolla primaeva (Azollaceae, Eocene, Canada) using electron microscopy and X-ray tomographic microscopy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Collinson, Margaret E.; van Konijnenburg-van Cittert, Johanna H.A.; Marone, Federica; Brain, Anthony P.R.

Azolla primaeva (Penhallow) Arnold fertile whole plants from the lower Eocene of Driftwood Creek, Canada have been examined using LM, SEM, TEM and SRXTM methods on hand specimens and sieved residues. The new data have resulted in an emended diagnosis. The megaspore is partly covered by filosum and

Geochemical and Petrologic Constraints on the Source of Eocene Volcanism at Mole Hill, Rockingham County, VA

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, E. A.; Beard, J. S.

2010-12-01

Mole Hill is an Eocene (48 Ma) basaltic volcanic neck located west of Harrisonburg, VA, and provides a unique opportunity to probe the mantle beneath the Shenandoah Valley. It lies on the northeastern edge of a swarm of alkaline-series volcanic plugs, dikes, and diatremes extending through Rockingham and Highland Counties, VA, and Pendleton County, WV. The Eocene volcanics are thought to have exploited extensive basement fracture systems originally formed during the Alleghenian Orogeny and subsequent rifting. The Eocene volcanism may have been triggered by reactivation of faults due to global shifts in relative plate motions (Southworth 1993, USGS Bull, B1839-I) but the source material and magmatic processes for the Eocene volcanism are largely unknown. Compositional and texture analyses of xenocrystic and groundmass clinopyroxene, olivine, and spinel were completed either at Virginia Tech on the Cameca SX-50 electron microprobe in the Dept of Geological Sciences, or in the Dept of Mineral Sciences, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C using the JEOL JXA-8900R WD/EDS microanalyzer or the FEI NOVA nanoSEM600 FEG Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscope. Xenocrysts up to 2cm in diameter are distributed throughout the volcanic neck, with clinopyroxene >>spinel>olivine. The clinopyroxene and olivine xenocrysts show undulatory extinction in cross-polarized light and are found as individual crystals or as aggregates. Clinopyroxene xenocryst cores are high-Al, low-Cr augite ( ˜Wo44En46Fs10) with Mg# 78.5-85.9. The clinopyroxene xenocrysts have compositionally zoned rims 100-250 μm-wide containing abundant plagioclase inclusions and sparse melt inclusions in a sieve texture. The outer edges of xenocrysts approach the compositions of groundmass and microphenocryst clinopyroxenes ( ˜Wo47En38Fs15; Mg# 67.9-74.5). Olivine xenocrysts contain sulfide inclusions and Cr-rich spinel and have Mg-rich ( ˜Fo86-90) cores with more Fe- and Ca-rich rims (Fo70

Thermal stresses in long prisms by relaxation methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cummins, J.D.

1959-07-01

A general method is presented for calculating the elastic thermal stresses in long prisms which are producing heat and are not solvable by simple analytical methods. The problem of an inverted lattice i.e. an hexagonal coolant passage surrounded by hexagonal fuel elements is considered and the temperature and principal thermal stress distributions evaluated for the particular case of 20% coolant. The maximum thermal stress for this type of fuel element is about the same as the maximum thermal stress in a cylindrical fuel element surrounded by a sea of coolant assuming the existence of the same maximum temperature drop and material properties. (author)

Thermal stresses in long prisms by relaxation methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cummins, J D [Atomic Energy Establishment, Winfrith, Dorchester, Dorset (United Kingdom)

1959-07-15

A general method is presented for calculating the elastic thermal stresses in long prisms which are producing heat and are not solvable by simple analytical methods. The problem of an inverted lattice i.e. an hexagonal coolant passage surrounded by hexagonal fuel elements is considered and the temperature and principal thermal stress distributions evaluated for the particular case of 20% coolant. The maximum thermal stress for this type of fuel element is about the same as the maximum thermal stress in a cylindrical fuel element surrounded by a sea of coolant assuming the existence of the same maximum temperature drop and material properties. (author)

The geological position, sedimentary record and composition of the Tylicz Conglomerate (Late Eocene-Oligocene): stratigraphical and paleogeographical implications (Magura Nappe, Polish Outer Carpathians)

Science.gov (United States)

Olszewska, Barbara; Oszczypko, Nestor

2010-02-01

During the Late Cretaceous to Paleogene the Magura Basin was supplied with clastic material from, non-existing today, source areas situated on the northern and southern margins of the basin. The northern source area is traditionally connected with Silesian Ridge, whereas the position of the southern one is still under discussion. The Upper Eocene-Oligocene pebbly mudstones of the Tylicz/Krynica facies zone contain exotic material derived from the south-Magura source area. The studied pebbles and clasts contain fragments of crystalline rocks, derived from a continental type of crust, and frequent clasts of Mesozoic to Paleogene deep and shallow-water limestones. Volcanites, rarely granitoides as well as schists, gneisses, quartzites and cataclasites were found in the group of crystalline exotic pebbles. The isotopic ages of "exotic" pebbles from the Tylicz section document a Variscan age of plutonic and metamorphic rocks. The composition of the Tylicz exotic conglomerates occupied the transitional position between the Jarmuta/Proč (Maastrichtian-Lower Eocene) and Strihovce (Eocene) exotic pebbles. The provenance of these rocks could be connected with Eocene exhumation of the SE sector of the Magura Basin basement. Another possibility can be explain by supply of siliciclastic material from a SE source area (Dacia and Tisza Mega-Units) and carbonate material from a S source area (ALCAPA Mega-Unit: Central Carpathian Block and Pieniny Klippen Belt).

Ironstone deposits hosted in Eocene carbonates from Bahariya (Egypt)-New perspective on cherty ironstone occurrences

Science.gov (United States)

Afify, A. M.; Sanz-Montero, M. E.; Calvo, J. P.

2015-11-01

This paper gives new insight into the genesis of cherty ironstone deposits. The research was centered on well-exposed, unique cherty ironstone mineralization associated with Eocene carbonates from the northern part of the Bahariya Depression (Egypt). The economically important ironstones occur in the Naqb Formation (Early Eocene), which is mainly formed of shallow marine carbonate deposits. Periods of lowstand sea-level caused extensive early dissolution (karstification) of the depositional carbonates and dolomitization associated with mixing zones of fresh and marine pore-water. In faulted areas, the Eocene carbonate deposits were transformed into cherty ironstone with preservation of the precursor carbonate sedimentary features, i.e. skeletal and non-skeletal grain types, thickness, bedding, lateral and vertical sequential arrangement, and karst profiles. The ore deposits are composed of iron oxyhydroxides, mainly hematite and goethite, chert in the form of micro- to macro-quartz and chalcedony, various manganese minerals, barite, and a number of subordinate sulfate and clay minerals. Detailed petrographic analysis shows that quartz and iron oxides were coetaneous and selectively replaced carbonates, the coarse dolomite crystals having been preferentially transformed into quartz whereas the micro-crystalline carbonates were replaced by the iron oxyhydroxides. A number of petrographic, sedimentological and structural features including the presence of hydrothermal-mediated minerals (e.g., jacobsite), the geochemistry of the ore minerals as well as the structure-controlled location of the mineralization suggest a hydrothermal source for the ore-bearing fluids circulating through major faults and reflect their proximity to centers of magmatism. The proposed formation model can contribute to better understanding of the genetic mechanisms of formation of banded iron formations (BIFs) that were abundant during the Precambrian.

Apatite fission-track evidence for regional exhumation in the subtropical Eocene, block faulting, and localized fluid flow in east-central Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Dusel-Bacon, Cynthia; Bacon, Charles R.; O'Sullivan, Paul B.; Day, Warren C.

2016-01-01

The origin and antiquity of the subdued topography of the Yukon–Tanana Upland (YTU), the physiographic province between the Denali and Tintina faults, are unresolved questions in the geologic history of interior Alaska and adjacent Yukon. We present apatite fission-track (AFT) results for 33 samples from the 2300 km2 western Fortymile district in the YTU in Alaska and propose an exhumation model that is consistent with preservation of volcanic rocks in valleys that requires base level stability of several drainages since latest Cretaceous–Paleocene time. AFT thermochronology indicates widespread cooling below ∼110 °C at ∼56–47 Ma (early Eocene) and ∼44–36 Ma (middle Eocene). Samples with ∼33–27, ∼19, and ∼10 Ma AFT ages, obtained near a major northeast-trending fault zone, apparently reflect hydrothermal fluid flow. Uplift and erosion following ∼107 Ma magmatism exposed plutonic rocks to different extents in various crustal blocks by latest Cretaceous time. We interpret the Eocene AFT ages to suggest that higher elevations were eroded during the Paleogene subtropical climate of the subarctic, while base level remained essentially stable. Tertiary basins outboard of the YTU contain sediment that may account for the required >2 km of removed overburden that was not carried to the sea by the ancestral Yukon River system. We consider a climate driven explanation for the Eocene AFT ages to be most consistent with geologic constraints in concert with block faulting related to translation on the Denali and Tintina faults resulting from oblique subduction along the southern margin of Alaska.

Multi-proxy Paleoclimate and CO2 Reconstruction from the Latest Middle Eocene Sedimentary Fill of a Subarctic Kimberlitic Maar Crater

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, A. V.; Wolfe, A. P.; Royer, D. L.; Greenwood, D. R.; Tierney, J. E.; Doria, G.; Gagen, M. H.; Siver, P.; Westgate, J.

2016-12-01

Eocene paleoclimate reconstructions are rarely accompanied by parallel estimates of CO2, complicating assessment of the equilibrium climate responses to CO2. We reconstruct temperature, precipitation, and CO2 from latest middle Eocene ( 38 Myrs ago) peats in subarctic Canada, preserved in sediments that record infilling of a kimberlite pipe maar crater. Mutual climatic range analyses of pollen, together with oxygen isotope analyses of a-cellulose from unpermineralized wood and inferenecs from branched glycerol diakyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), reveal a high-latitude humid-temperate forest ecosystem with mean annual temperatures (MATs) >17 °C warmer than present, mean coldest month temperatures above 0 °C, and mean annual precipitation 4x present. Metasequoia stomatal indices and gas-exchange modeling produce median CO2 concentrations of 634 and 432 ppm, respectively, with a consensus median estimate of 494 ppm. Reconstructed MATs are >6 °C warmer than those produced by Eocene climate models forced at 560 ppm CO2, underscoring the capacity for exceptional polar amplification of warming and hydrological intensification under relatively modest CO2 concentrations, once both fast and slow feedbacks become expressed.

Frequency modulation reveals the phasing of orbital eccentricity during Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event II and the Eocene hyperthermals

Science.gov (United States)

Laurin, Jiří; Meyers, Stephen R.; Galeotti, Simone; Lanci, Luca

2016-05-01

Major advances in our understanding of paleoclimate change derive from a precise reconstruction of the periods, amplitudes and phases of the 'Milankovitch cycles' of precession, obliquity and eccentricity. While numerous quantitative approaches exist for the identification of these astronomical cycles in stratigraphic data, limitations in radioisotopic dating, and instability of the theoretical astronomical solutions beyond ∼50 Myr ago, can challenge identification of the phase relationships needed to constrain climate response and anchor floating astrochronologies. Here we demonstrate that interference patterns accompanying frequency modulation (FM) of short eccentricity provide a robust basis for identifying the phase of long eccentricity forcing in stratigraphic data. One- and two-dimensional models of sedimentary distortion of the astronomical signal are used to evaluate the veracity of the FM method, and indicate that pristine eccentricity FM can be readily distinguished in paleo-records. Apart from paleoclimatic implications, the FM approach provides a quantitative technique for testing and calibrating theoretical astronomical solutions, and for refining chronologies for the deep past. We present two case studies that use the FM approach to evaluate major carbon-cycle perturbations of the Eocene and Late Cretaceous. Interference patterns in the short-eccentricity band reveal that Eocene hyperthermals ETM2 ('Elmo'), H2, I1 and ETM3 (X; ∼52-54 Myr ago) were associated with maxima in the 405-kyr cycle of orbital eccentricity. The same eccentricity configuration favored regional anoxic episodes in the Mediterranean during the Middle and Late Cenomanian (∼94.5-97 Myr ago). The initial phase of the global Oceanic Anoxic Event II (OAE II; ∼93.9-94.5 Myr ago) coincides with maximum and falling 405-kyr eccentricity, and the recovery phase occurs during minimum and rising 405-kyr eccentricity. On a Myr scale, the event overlaps with a node in eccentricity

Maximum Work of Free-Piston Stirling Engine Generators

Science.gov (United States)

Kojima, Shinji

2017-04-01

Using the method of adjoint equations described in Ref. [1], we have calculated the maximum thermal efficiencies that are theoretically attainable by free-piston Stirling and Carnot engine generators by considering the work loss due to friction and Joule heat. The net work done by the Carnot cycle is negative even when the duration of heat addition is optimized to give the maximum amount of heat addition, which is the same situation for the Brayton cycle described in our previous paper. For the Stirling cycle, the net work done is positive, and the thermal efficiency is greater than that of the Otto cycle described in our previous paper by a factor of about 2.7-1.4 for compression ratios of 5-30. The Stirling cycle is much better than the Otto, Brayton, and Carnot cycles. We have found that the optimized piston trajectories of the isothermal, isobaric, and adiabatic processes are the same when the compression ratio and the maximum volume of the same working fluid of the three processes are the same, which has facilitated the present analysis because the optimized piston trajectories of the Carnot and Stirling cycles are the same as those of the Brayton and Otto cycles, respectively.

Eocene to mid-Pliocene landscape evolution in Scandinavia inferred from offshore sediment volumes and pre-glacial topography using inverse modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Pedersen, Vivi K.; Braun, Jean; Huismans, Ritske S.

2018-02-01

The origin of high topography in Scandinavia is highly debated, both in terms of its age and the underlying mechanism for its formation. Traditionally, the current high topography is assumed to have formed by several Cenozoic (mainly Neogene) phases of surface uplift and dissection of an old peneplain surface. These same surface uplift events are suggested to explain the increased deposition observed in adjacent offshore basins on the Norwegian shelf and in the North Sea. However, more recently it has been suggested that erosion and isostatic rock uplift of existing topography may also explain the recent evolution of topography in Scandinavia. For this latter view, the increased sedimentation towards the present is assumed to be a consequence of a climate related increase in erosion. In this study we explore whether inverse modelling of landscape evolution can give new insight into Eocene to mid-Pliocene (54-4 Ma) landscape evolution in the Scandinavian region. We do this by combining a highly efficient forward-in-time landscape evolution model (FastScape) with an optimization scheme suitable for non-linear inverse problems (the neighbourhood algorithm - NA). To limit our approach to the fluvial regime, we exclude the most recent mid-Pliocene-Quaternary time period where glacial erosion processes are expected to dominate landscape evolution. The "goodness" of our landscape evolution models is evaluated using i) sediment fluxes based on decompacted offshore sediment volumes and ii) maximum pre-glacial topography from a mid-Pliocene landscape, reconstructed using geophysical relief and offshore sediment volumes from the mid-Pliocene-Quaternary. We find several tested scenarios consistent with the offshore sediment record and the maximum elevation for our reconstructed pre-glacial (mid-Pliocene) landscape reconstruction, including: I) substantial initial topography ( 2 km) at 54 Ma and no induced tectonic rock uplift, II) the combination of some initial topography ( 1

Earliest Mysticete from the Late Eocene of Peru Sheds New Light on the Origin of Baleen Whales.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambert, Olivier; Martínez-Cáceres, Manuel; Bianucci, Giovanni; Di Celma, Claudio; Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo; Steurbaut, Etienne; Urbina, Mario; de Muizon, Christian

2017-05-22

Although combined molecular and morphological analyses point to a late middle Eocene (38-39 million years ago) origin for the clade Neoceti (Odontoceti, echolocating toothed whales plus Mysticeti, baleen whales, and relatives), the oldest known mysticete fossil dates from the latest Eocene (about 34 million years ago) of Antarctica [1, 2]. Considering that the latter is not the most stemward mysticete in recent phylogenies and that Oligocene toothed mysticetes display a broad morphological disparity most likely corresponding to contrasted ecological niches, the origin of mysticetes from a basilosaurid ancestor and its drivers are currently poorly understood [1, 3-8]. Based on an articulated cetacean skeleton from the early late Eocene (Priabonian, around 36.4 million years ago) of the Pisco Basin, Peru, we describe a new archaic tooth-bearing mysticete, Mystacodon selenensis gen. et sp. nov. Being the geologically oldest neocete (crown group cetacean) and the earliest mysticete to branch off described so far, the new taxon is interpreted as morphologically intermediate between basilosaurids and later toothed mysticetes, providing thus crucial information about the anatomy of the skull, forelimb, and innominate at these critical initial stages of mysticete evolution. Major changes in the morphology of the oral apparatus (including tooth wear) and flipper compared to basilosaurids suggest that suction and possibly benthic feeding represented key, early ecological traits accompanying the emergence of modern filter-feeding baleen whales' ancestors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Paleocene-Eocene and Plio-Pleistocene sea-level changes as "species pumps" in Southeast Asia: Evidence from Althepus spiders.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Fengyuan; Li, Shuqiang

2018-05-17

Sea-level change has been viewed as a primary driver in the formation of biodiversity. Early studies confirmed that Plio-Pleistocene sea-level changes led to the isolation and subsequent genetic differentiation of Southeast (SE) Asian organisms over short geological timescales. However, long-time consequences of sea-level fluctuations remain unclear. Herein, we analyze the evolutionary history of Althepus (spiders) whose distribution encompasses Indo-Burma and the Sunda shelf islands to understand how sea-level changes over shallow and deep timescales effected their history. Our integrative analyses, including phylogeny, divergence times, ancestral area reconstruction and diversification dynamics, reveal an intricate pattern of diversification, probably triggered by sea-level fluctuations during the Paleocene-Eocene and Plio-Pleistocene. The timing of one early divergence between the Indo-Burmese and Sundaic species coincides with late Paleocene and early Eocene high global sea levels, which induced the formation of inland seaways in the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Subsequent lowered sea levels could have provided a land bridge for its dispersal colonization across the Isthmus of Kra. Analyses suggest that Plio-Pleistocene sea-level rises contributed to recent divergence of many species. Thus, our findings cannot reject the hypothesis that sea-level changes during the Paleocene-Eocene and Plio-Pleistocene played a major role in generating biodiversity in SE Asia; sea-level changes can act as "species pumps". Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Diachronous seawater retreat from the southwestern margin of the Tarim Basin in the late Eocene

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sun, Jimin; Windley, Brian F.; Zhang, Zhiliang; Fu, Bihong; Li, Shihu|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/411296248

In contrast to the present hyper-arid inland basin surrounded by the high mountains of Central Asia, the western Tarim Basin was once connected with the Tajik Basin at least in the late Eocene, when an epicontinental sea extended from the western Tarim Basin to Europe. Western Tarim is a key site

The Eocene-Oligocene transition in the North Alpine Foreland Basin and subsequent closure of a Paratethys gateway

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Boon, A.; Beniest, A.; Ciurej, A.; Gaździcka, E.; Grothe, A.; Sachsenhofer, R. F.; Langereis, C. G.; Krijgsman, W.

During the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT), a major palaeoenvironmental change took place in the Paratethys Sea of central Eurasia. Restricted connectivity and increased stratification resulted in wide-spread deposition of organic-rich sediments which nowadays make up important hydrocarbon source

The onset of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum at Branch Stream, Clarence River valley, New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slotnick, B.S.; Dickens, G.R.; Hollis, C.J.; Crampton, J.S.; Strong, C.P.; Phillips, A.

2015-01-01

We present new lithologic, biostratigraphic and carbon isotope records for a calcareous-rich ∼84m thick, early Eocene, upper continental slope section now exposed along Branch Stream, Marlborough. Decimetre-scale limestone-marl couplets comprise the section. Several marl-rich intervals correspond to carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) representing increased 13 C -depleted carbon fluxes to the ocean. These records are similar to those at nearby Mead Stream, except marl-rich intervals at Branch Stream are thicker with a wider δ 13 C range. Comparison to other sites indicates the section spans ∼53.4-51.6 Ma, the onset of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). The most prominent CIE is correlated with the K/X event (52.9 Ma). Prominent marl-rich intervals resulted from increased fluxes of terrigenous material and associated carbonate dilution. We find multiple warming events marked lowermost EECO, each probably signaling enhanced seasonal precipitation. Branch Stream bulk isotopic records suggest 'differential diagenesis' impacted the sequence during sediment burial. (author).

Detrital U-Pb zircon analysis of an Eocene McMurdo Erratic sandstone, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paulsen, T.; Encarnacion, J.; Valencia, V.A.; Roti Roti, J.M.; Rasoazanamparany, C.

2011-01-01

Some of the most important Cenozoic sedimentary rocks in Antarctica are glacial erratics of fossiliferous Palaeogene to Neogene siliclastic rocks known as the McMurdo Erratics. Detrital zircon U-Pb isotopic data reported herein provide new information on the provenance of these siliciclastic rocks. The U-Pb age data from a sandstone glacial erratic that is likely of Eocene age show a dominant age cluster that ranges from 488 to 635 Ma, accompanied by subsidiary Neoproterozoic-Archaean peaks. The dominant Neoproterozoic-Ordovician age cluster, in conjunction with the arkosic lithologies of some erratics and the local presence of granitic and metasedimentary clasts, indicates that the Neoproterozoic-Ordovician basement complex of the Transantarctic Mountains likely served as a major source for the Eocene siliciclastic sediments. This is consistent with derivation of the McMurdo Erratics from locations proximal to the Transantarctic Mountains such as the Discovery Deep and/or major mountain outlet glacier areas. (author). 19 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

Bizarre tubercles on the vertebrae of Eocene fossil birds indicate an avian disease without modern counterpart

Science.gov (United States)

Mayr, Gerald

2007-08-01

Remains of fossil birds with numerous bony tubercles on the cervical vertebrae are reported from the Middle Eocene of Messel in Germany and the Late Eocene of the Quercy fissure fillings in France. These structures, which are unknown from extant birds and other vertebrates, were previously described for an avian skeleton from Messel but considered a singular feature of this specimen. The new fossils are from a different species of uncertain phylogenetic affinities and show that tuberculated vertebrae have a wider taxonomic, temporal, and geographic distribution. In contrast to previous assumptions, they are no ontogenetic feature and arise from the vertebral surface. It is concluded that they are most likely of pathologic origin and the first record of a Paleogene avian disease. Their regular and symmetrical arrangement over most of the external vertebral surface indicates a systemic disorder caused by factors that do not affect extant birds, such as especially high-dosed phytohormones or extinct pathogens.

Effect of organic-matter type and thermal maturity on methane adsorption in shale-gas systems

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Tongwei; Ellis, Geoffrey S.; Ruppel, Stephen C.; Milliken, Kitty; Yang, Rongsheng

2012-01-01

A series of methane (CH4) adsorption experiments on bulk organic rich shales and their isolated kerogens were conducted at 35 °C, 50 °C and 65 °C and CH4 pressure of up to 15 MPa under dry conditions. Samples from the Eocene Green River Formation, Devonian–Mississippian Woodford Shale and Upper Cretaceous Cameo coal were studied to examine how differences in organic matter type affect natural gas adsorption. Vitrinite reflectance values of these samples ranged from 0.56–0.58 %Ro. In addition, thermal maturity effects were determined on three Mississippian Barnett Shale samples with measured vitrinite reflectance values of 0.58, 0.81 and 2.01 %Ro. For all bulk and isolated kerogen samples, the total amount of methane adsorbed was directly proportional to the total organic carbon (TOC) content of the sample and the average maximum amount of gas sorption was 1.36 mmol of methane per gram of TOC. These results indicate that sorption on organic matter plays a critical role in shale-gas storage. Under the experimental conditions, differences in thermal maturity showed no significant effect on the total amount of gas sorbed. Experimental sorption isotherms could be fitted with good accuracy by the Langmuir function by adjusting the Langmuir pressure (PL) and maximum sorption capacity (Γmax). The lowest maturity sample (%Ro = 0.56) displayed a Langmuir pressure (PL) of 5.15 MPa, significantly larger than the 2.33 MPa observed for the highest maturity (%Ro > 2.01) sample at 50 °C. The value of the Langmuir pressure (PL) changes with kerogen type in the following sequence: type I > type II > type III. The thermodynamic parameters of CH4 adsorption on organic rich shales were determined based on the experimental CH4 isotherms. For the adsorption of CH4 on organic rich shales and their isolated kerogen, the heat of adsorption (q) and the standard entropy (Δs0) range from 7.3–28.0 kJ/mol and from −36.2 to −92.2 J/mol/K, respectively.

Thermal preference, thermal tolerance and the thermal de-pendence of digestive performance in two Phrynocephalus lizards (Agamidae), with a review of species studied

OpenAIRE

Yanfu QU, Hong LI, Jianfang GAO, Xuefeng XU, Xiang JI

2011-01-01

We reported data on thermal preference, thermal tolerance and the thermal dependence of digestive performance for two Phrynocephalus lizards (P. frontalis and P. versicolor), and compared data among lizards so far studied worldwide. Mean values for selected body temperature (Tsel) and critical thermal maximum (CTMax) were greater in P. versicolor, whereas mean values for critical thermal minimum (CTMin) did not differ between the two species. The two lizards differed in food intake, but not i...

Analysis of systematic fracturing in Eocene flsch of the Slovenian coastal region

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Marko Vrabec

2017-12-01

Full Text Available We analyse systematic fractures occurring in sandstone beds in Eocene flsch of the Slovenian coastal area. Two nearly perpendicular fracture sets were identifid: fractures F1 are generally NW-SE oriented, wellexpressed and predominately planar, whereas fractures F2 are NE-SW-striking, shorter, more irregular in shape, and terminate against the F1 set. The average orientation of both sets does not change signifiantly in a coastal transect crossing all principal structural domains of the area. We analysed fracture spacing with respect to layer thickness and determined fracture spacing index for both fracture sets. We interpret both fracture sets as tensional (Mode I joints originating in two distinct extensional episodes. Set F1 is older and formed in NE-SW directed tension which we correlate with the well-documented regional post-Dinaric orogen-perpendicular extension of presumably mid-Miocene age. Set F2 formed in NW-SE oriented tension, which is compatible with previously documented NE-SW-striking normal faults occurring in the area, but was so far not documented elsewhere. We interpret that F1 fractures predate folding and thrusting in the coastal belt. Earlier, Eocene-Oligocene Dinaric thrusting therefore did not signifiantly affect the coastal area, whereas post-F1 shortening, associated with northward indentation and underthrusting of the Adria microplate, did not commence before late Miocene.

Determination of thermal stability of specific biomarker lipids of the freshwater fern Azolla through hydrous pyrolysis

Science.gov (United States)

Sap, Merel; Speelman, Eveline N.; Lewan, Michael D.; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.; Reichart, Gert-Jan

2010-05-01

Enormous blooms of the free-floating freshwater fern Azolla occurred within the Arctic Basin during an extended period of ~1.2 Ma during the middle Eocene (Brinkhuis et al. 2006; Speelman et al., GB, 2009). The sustained growth of Azolla, currently ranking among the fastest growing plants on Earth, in a major anoxic basin may have substantially contributed to decreasing atmospheric CO2 levels by burial of Azolla-derived organic matter. Speelman et al. (OG, 2009) reported biomarkers for Azolla (1,w20 C32 - C36 diols, structurally related C29 ω20,ω21 diols, C29 1,20,21 triols, C29 dihydroxy fatty acids as well as a series of wax esters containing these mono- and dihydroxy lipids), which can be used to reconstruct palaeo-environmental conditions. Here we assess the thermal stability of these compounds, to extend their biomarker potential. We specifically focused on the thermal stability of the Azolla biomarkers using hydrous pyrolysis in order to determine which burial conditions allow reconstruction of past occurrences of Azolla. In addition, hydrous pyrolysis was also performed on samples from the Eocene Arctic Ocean (ACEX core), to test if and how the biomarkers change under higher temperatures and pressures in situ. During hydrous pyrolysis, the biomass was heated under high pressure at temperatures ranging between 220 and 365°C for 72 hours. Four experiments were also run using different durations to explore the kinetics of biomarker degradation at specific temperatures. First results indicate that the Azolla specific diols are still present at 220°C, while the corresponding wax esters are already absent. At 300°C all Azolla specific biomarkers are destroyed. More specific determination of the different biomarkers' stability and kinetics would potentially allow the reconstruction of the temperature and pressure history of Azolla deposits. Literature: • Brinkhuis, H., Schouten, S., Collinson, M. E., Sluijs, A., Sinninghe Damste, J. S., Dickens, G. R., Huber

Linking Late Cretaceous to Eocene Tectonostratigraphy of the San Jacinto Fold Belt of NW Colombia With Caribbean Plateau Collision and Flat Subduction

Science.gov (United States)

Mora, J. Alejandro; Oncken, Onno; Le Breton, Eline; Ibánez-Mejia, Mauricio; Faccenna, Claudio; Veloza, Gabriel; Vélez, Vickye; de Freitas, Mario; Mesa, Andrés.

2017-11-01

Collision with and subduction of an oceanic plateau is a rare and transient process that usually leaves an indirect imprint only. Through a tectonostratigraphic analysis of pre-Oligocene sequences in the San Jacinto fold belt of northern Colombia, we show the Late Cretaceous to Eocene tectonic evolution of northwestern South America upon collision and ongoing subduction with the Caribbean Plate. We linked the deposition of four fore-arc basin sequences to specific collision/subduction stages and related their bounding unconformities to major tectonic episodes. The Upper Cretaceous Cansona sequence was deposited in a marine fore-arc setting in which the Caribbean Plate was being subducted beneath northwestern South America, producing contemporaneous magmatism in the present-day Lower Magdalena Valley basin. Coeval strike-slip faulting by the Romeral wrench fault system accommodated right-lateral displacement due to oblique convergence. In latest Cretaceous times, the Caribbean Plateau collided with South America marking a change to more terrestrially influenced marine environments characteristic of the upper Paleocene to lower Eocene San Cayetano sequence, also deposited in a fore-arc setting with an active volcanic arc. A lower to middle Eocene angular unconformity at the top of the San Cayetano sequence, the termination of the activity of the Romeral Fault System, and the cessation of arc magmatism are interpreted to indicate the onset of low-angle subduction of the thick and buoyant Caribbean Plateau beneath South America, which occurred between 56 and 43 Ma. Flat subduction of the plateau has continued to the present and would be the main cause of amagmatic post-Eocene deposition.

Micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme Azolla event in the Eocene Arctic Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

van Kempen, Monique M L; Smolders, Alfons J P; Lamers, Leon P M; Roelofs, Jan G M

2012-01-01

In order to understand the physicochemical mechanisms that could explain the massive growth of Azolla arctica in the Eocene Arctic Ocean, we carried out a laboratory experiment in which we studied the interacting effects of rain and wind on the development of salinity stratification, both in the presence and in the absence of a dense Azolla cover. Additionally, we carried out a mesocosm experiment to get a better understanding of the nutrient cycling within and beneath a dense Azolla cover in both freshwater and brackish water environments. Here we show that Azolla is able to create a windproof, small-scale salinity gradient in brackish waters, which allows for efficient recycling of nutrients. We suggest that this mechanism ensures the maintenance of a large standing biomass in which additional input of nutrients ultimately result in a further expansion of an Azolla cover. As such, it may not only explain the extent of the Azolla event during the Eocene, but also the absence of intact vegetative Azolla remains and the relatively low burial efficiency of organic carbon during this interval.

Micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme Azolla event in the Eocene Arctic Ocean.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monique M L van Kempen

Full Text Available In order to understand the physicochemical mechanisms that could explain the massive growth of Azolla arctica in the Eocene Arctic Ocean, we carried out a laboratory experiment in which we studied the interacting effects of rain and wind on the development of salinity stratification, both in the presence and in the absence of a dense Azolla cover. Additionally, we carried out a mesocosm experiment to get a better understanding of the nutrient cycling within and beneath a dense Azolla cover in both freshwater and brackish water environments. Here we show that Azolla is able to create a windproof, small-scale salinity gradient in brackish waters, which allows for efficient recycling of nutrients. We suggest that this mechanism ensures the maintenance of a large standing biomass in which additional input of nutrients ultimately result in a further expansion of an Azolla cover. As such, it may not only explain the extent of the Azolla event during the Eocene, but also the absence of intact vegetative Azolla remains and the relatively low burial efficiency of organic carbon during this interval.

Eocene primates of South America and the African origins of New World monkeys

Science.gov (United States)

Bond, Mariano; Tejedor, Marcelo F.; Campbell, Kenneth E.; Chornogubsky, Laura; Novo, Nelson; Goin, Francisco

2015-04-01

The platyrrhine primates, or New World monkeys, are immigrant mammals whose fossil record comes from Tertiary and Quaternary sediments of South America and the Caribbean Greater Antilles. The time and place of platyrrhine origins are some of the most controversial issues in primate palaeontology, although an African Palaeogene ancestry has been presumed by most primatologists. Until now, the oldest fossil records of New World monkeys have come from Salla, Bolivia, and date to approximately 26 million years ago, or the Late Oligocene epoch. Here we report the discovery of new primates from the ?Late Eocene epoch of Amazonian Peru, which extends the fossil record of primates in South America back approximately 10 million years. The new specimens are important for understanding the origin and early evolution of modern platyrrhine primates because they bear little resemblance to any extinct or living South American primate, but they do bear striking resemblances to Eocene African anthropoids, and our phylogenetic analysis suggests a relationship with African taxa. The discovery of these new primates brings the first appearance datum of caviomorph rodents and primates in South America back into close correspondence, but raises new questions about the timing and means of arrival of these two mammalian groups.

Trace fossils from the eocene Lillebælt clay formation, Røsnæs Peninsula, Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jan Kresten; Milàn, Jesper; Mesfun, Daniel

2015-01-01

A cliff exposure of the Eocene Lillebælt Clay Formation, on the Røsnæs peninsula of Zealand, Denmark, has yielded a diverse trace-fossil assemblage. The trace fossils are described formally for the first time and assigned to Phymatoderma melvillensis, unnamed clusters of small burrows, Ophiomorpha...

Determination Of Maximum Power Of The RSG-Gas At Power Operation Mode Using One Line Cooling System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hastuti, Endiah Puji; Kuntoro, Iman; Darwis Isnaini, M.

2000-01-01

In the frame of minimizing the operation-cost, operation mode using one line cooling system is being evaluated. Maximum reactor power shall be determined to assure that the existing safety criteria are not violated. The analysis was done by means of a core thermal hydraulic code, COOLOD-N. The code solves core thermal hydraulic equation at steady state conditions. By varying the reactor power as the input, thermal hydraulic parameters such as fuel cladding and fuel meat temperatures as well as safety margin against flow instability were calculated. Imposing the safety criteria to the results, maximum permissible power for this operation was obtained as much as 17.1 MW. Nevertheless, for operation the maximum power is limited to 15MW

FUNCTIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF A SINGULAR PENGUIN SCAPULA (AVES, SPHENISCIFORMES FROM THE EOCENE OF ANTARCTICA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CAROLINA ACOSTA HOSPITALECHE

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Penguins have peculiar modifications in their skeletal anatomy as a consequence of their extremely specialized diving habit. Morphological specialization is particularly evident in the forelimb. However, the kinematics of the pectoral girdle appears to be key to the locomotion of penguins. Penguin scapulae have an unusual morphology among birds. Modern penguins have a very large (especially broad scapula, whereas this bone is long but narrower in basal fossil species. The recent finding of an incomplete scapula with a singular acromion in the Upper Eocene Submeseta Allomember of the La Meseta Formation in the Antarctic Peninsula reveals a scapula proportionally narrower than those of modern penguins but similar to that of Waimanu and possibly other Eocene species. Osteological comparisons and muscular dissections of modern penguins show that the most striking feature is the curvature of the acromion, and the consequent enlargement of the facies articularis clavicularis. The configuration of the acromion and the corpus scapula reflects a lack of functional optimization in terms of the resistance to forces transverse to the body axis. The scapula´s general morphology suggests it belonged to a medium to large-sized penguin species with no so specialized diving skills. 

A thermal study of an encapsulated electrical transformer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia, A. [Unidad Geotermia, Temixco (Mexico). Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas; Espinosa-Paredes, G. [Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Vicentina (Mexico). Dpto. de Ingenieria de Procesos e Hidraulica; Hernandez, I. [Centro de Sistemas de Manufactura, Nuevo Leon (Mexico). Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey

2002-11-01

A thermal study of a 45 KVA-prototype encapsulated transformer is described. Casting resin systems were used as insulating systems for encapsulated electric transformers. Normal transformer operation is at full load and, thus the conductor and insulating system becomes hot owing to current circulation through the winding. To determine the various temperature distributions throughout the transformer, the thermal properties of the insulating system and boundary conditions must be known, so that hot spots are located via numerical modelling and maximum permissible temperatures are not attained. Results presented herein include thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat capacity. Thermal conductivity was obtained experimentally by means of the line-source technique at various temperatures, between room temperature and 155{sup o}C which is the thermal limit of class F insulators. The thermal diffusivity was obtained by parameter estimation by fitting an approximate analytical model to the temperature-time data of the thermal conductivity experiment. Specific heat capacity was obtained from the definition of thermal diffusivity and the insulating-system density. In order to improve the electrical performance of the transformer criteria, a numerical simulation of the different dielectric structures was made using computer program. The boundary conditions for the thermal simulation stage were also determined experimentally from temperature test runs. Finally, in order to obtain data for thermal design, a numerical simulation of the high tension winding was carried out. The thermal simulation stage was performed at different current densities in the conductor with and without electrostatic shields to determine the temperature field and maximum attainable temperatures. Maximum transformer temperature were found to be 15-20{sup o}C below its thermal limit and a correlation of maximum temperature as function of circulating current was developed for design

Discovery of Eocene adakites in Primor'e

Science.gov (United States)

Chashchin, A. A.; Nechaev, V. P.; Nechaeva, E. V.; Blokhin, M. G.

2011-06-01

This paper presents the first results of petrochemical and geochemical studies (by the ICP-MS technique) of adakites comprising a small extrusive body in the Ilistaya River basin (West Primor'e). Based on the data of radioisotopic dating (K-Ar method), the age of adakites corresponds to the Middle Eocene (45.52 ± 1.1 Ma). In terms of the content of most microelements and the value of the Sr/Y ratio, the discussed rocks are close to Paleogene adakites from northwest China, the Kitakami massif in Japan, and the northwestern margin of North America; these rocks are attributed to gaps in the subducted plate (slab windows). Additionally, the adakites found in Primor'e significantly differ from adakite-like rocks found in Tibet formed during melting of bottoms of the superthickened continental crust. Thus, this discovery proves the hypothesis about formation of slab windows at the Paleogene stage of the region's evolution.

Thermal fatigue. Fluid-structure interaction at thermal mixing events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuler, X.; Herter, K.H.; Moogk, S.; Laurien, E.; Kloeren, D.; Kulenovic, R.; Kuschewski, M.

2012-01-01

In the framework of the network research project ''Thermal Fatigue - Basics of the system-, outflow- and material-characteristics of piping under thermal fatigue'' funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) fundamental numerical and experimental investigations on the material behaviour under transient thermal-mechanical stress conditions (high cycle fatigue - HCF) are carried out. The project's background and its network of scientific working groups with their individual working tasks are briefly introduced. The main focus is especially on the joint research tasks within the sub-projects of MPA and IKE which are dealing with thermal mixing of flows in a T-junction configuration and the fluidstructure- interactions (FSI). Therefore, experiments were performed with the newly established FSI test facility at MPA which enables single-phase flow experiments of water in typical power plant piping diameters (DN40 and DN80) at high pressure (maximum 75 bar) and temperatures (maximum 280 C). The experimental results serve as validation data base for numerical modelling of thermal flow mixing by means of thermo-fluid dynamics simulations applying CFD techniques and carried out by IKE as well as for modelling of thermal and mechanical loads of the piping structure by structural mechanics simulations with FEM methods which are executed by MPA. The FSI test facility will be described inclusively the applied measurement techniques, e. g. in particular the novel near-wall LED-induced Fluorescence method for non-intrusive flow temperature measurements. First experimental data and numerical results from CFD and FEM simulations of the thermal mixing of flows in the T-junction are presented.

A new burmagomphid dragonfly from the Eocene of Patagonia, Argentina

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Julián F. Petrulevičius

2017-11-01

Full Text Available A new burmagomphid anisopteran, Satelitala soberana gen. et sp. nov. is described from the lower Eocene of Laguna del Hunco, Patagonia, Argentina. The new genus is characterised by hindwing characters such as the subdiscoidal triangle not elongated; anal loop divided longitudinally; paranal cell divided longitudinally; five terminal cells between RP and MA; five terminal cells between MP and CuA; and obtuse angle between PsA and CuP+AA. Burmagomphid dragonflies were represented so far only by one specimen from the middle Cretaceous of Southeast Asia. This new record extends the distribution to Patagonia, to the Cenozoic, and also to paleolake deposits.

The Upper Eocene crustose coralline algal pavement in the Colli Berici, north-eastern Italy

OpenAIRE

Davide Bassi

2005-01-01

A crustose coralline algal pavement, identified in Upper Eocene (Priabonian) shallow water, middleramp carbonates in north-eastern Italy (Colli Berici, Southern Alps), represents a rare example of this facies.The crustose pavement consists of a coralline crust bindstone with a wackestone-packstone matrix, and is characterised by the dominance of crustose coralline thalli composed primarily of melobesioids (Lithothamnion and Mesophyllum) and mastophoroids (Spongites, Lithoporella, Neogoniolith...

Reducing Disparity in Radio-Isotopic and Astrochronology-Based Time Scales of the Late Eocene and Oligocene

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sahy, Diana; Condon, Daniel J.; Hilgen, Frederik J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/102639876; Kuiper, Klaudia F.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/258125772

2017-01-01

A significant discrepancy of up to 0.6 Myr exists between radio-isotopically calibrated and astronomically tuned time scales of the late Eocene-Oligocene. We explore the possible causes of this discrepancy through the acquisition of “high-precision” 206Pb/238U dating of zircons from 11 volcanic ash

Performance analysis and comparison of an Atkinson cycle coupled to variable temperature heat reservoirs under maximum power and maximum power density conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, P.-Y.; Hou, S.-S.

2005-01-01

In this paper, performance analysis and comparison based on the maximum power and maximum power density conditions have been conducted for an Atkinson cycle coupled to variable temperature heat reservoirs. The Atkinson cycle is internally reversible but externally irreversible, since there is external irreversibility of heat transfer during the processes of constant volume heat addition and constant pressure heat rejection. This study is based purely on classical thermodynamic analysis methodology. It should be especially emphasized that all the results and conclusions are based on classical thermodynamics. The power density, defined as the ratio of power output to maximum specific volume in the cycle, is taken as the optimization objective because it considers the effects of engine size as related to investment cost. The results show that an engine design based on maximum power density with constant effectiveness of the hot and cold side heat exchangers or constant inlet temperature ratio of the heat reservoirs will have smaller size but higher efficiency, compression ratio, expansion ratio and maximum temperature than one based on maximum power. From the view points of engine size and thermal efficiency, an engine design based on maximum power density is better than one based on maximum power conditions. However, due to the higher compression ratio and maximum temperature in the cycle, an engine design based on maximum power density conditions requires tougher materials for engine construction than one based on maximum power conditions

Spatial coincidence and similar geochemistry of Late Triassic and Eocene-Oligocene magmatism in the Andes of northern Chile: evidence from the MMH porphyry type Cu-Mo deposit, Chuquicamata District

Science.gov (United States)

Zentilli, Marcos; Maksaev, Victor; Boric, Ricardo; Wilson, Jessica

2018-04-01

The MMH porphyry type copper-molybdenum deposit in northern Chile is the newest mine in the Chuquicamata District, one of largest copper concentrations on Earth. Mineralized Eocene-Oligocene porphyry intrusions are hosted by essentially barren Triassic granodiorites. Despite a century of exploitation, geologists still have problems in the mine distinguishing the Triassic granodiorite from the most important ore-carrying Eocene porphyries in the district. To resolve the problem, internally consistent high-quality geochemical analyses of the Triassic and Tertiary intrusives were carried out: explaining the confusion, they show that the rock units in question are nearly identical in composition and thus respond equally to hydrothermal alteration. In detail, the only difference in terms of chemical composition is that the main Eocene-Oligocene porphyries carry relatively less Fe and Ni. Unexpectedly, the mineralized Eocene-Oligocene porphyries have consistently less U and Th than other Tertiary intrusions in the district, a characteristic that may be valuable in exploration. The supergiant copper-molybdenum deposits in the Central Andes were formed within a narrow interval between 45 and 31 Ma, close to 7% of the 200 My duration of "Andean" magmatism, which resulted from subduction of oceanic lithosphere under South America since the Jurassic. Although recent work has shown that subduction was active on the margin since Paleozoic times, pre-Andean (pre-Jurassic) "Gondwanan" magmatism is often described as being very different, having involved crustal melting and the generation of massive peraluminous rhyolites and granites. This study shows that the indistinguishable Late Triassic and Eocene-Oligocene intrusions occupy the same narrow NS geographic belt in northern Chile. If it is accepted that magma character may determine the potential to generate economic Cu-Mo deposits, then Late Triassic volcano-plutonic centres in the same location in the South American margin

Extreme Maximum Land Surface Temperatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Garratt, J. R.

1992-09-01

There are numerous reports in the literature of observations of land surface temperatures. Some of these, almost all made in situ, reveal maximum values in the 50°-70°C range, with a few, made in desert regions, near 80°C. Consideration of a simplified form of the surface energy balance equation, utilizing likely upper values of absorbed shortwave flux (1000 W m2) and screen air temperature (55°C), that surface temperatures in the vicinity of 90°-100°C may occur for dry, darkish soils of low thermal conductivity (0.1-0.2 W m1 K1). Numerical simulations confirm this and suggest that temperature gradients in the first few centimeters of soil may reach 0.5°-1°C mm1 under these extreme conditions. The study bears upon the intrinsic interest of identifying extreme maximum temperatures and yields interesting information regarding the comfort zone of animals (including man).

Comparative analysis of marine paleogene sections and biota from West Siberia and the Arctic Region

Science.gov (United States)

Akhmet'ev, M. A.; Zaporozhets, N. I.; Iakovleva, A. I.; Aleksandrova, G. N.; Beniamovsky, V. N.; Oreshkina, T. V.; Gnibidenko, Z. N.; Dolya, Zh. A.

2010-12-01

The analysis of the main biospheric events that took place in West Siberia and the Arctic region during the Early Paleogene revealed the paleogeographic and paleobiogeographic unity of marine sedimentation basins and close biogeographic relations between their separate parts. Most biotic and abiotic events of the first half of the Paleogene in the Arctic region and West Siberia were synchronous, unidirectional, and interrelated. Shelf settings, sedimentation breaks, and microfaunal assemblages characteristic of these basins during the Paleogene are compared. The comparative analysis primarily concerned events of the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) and beds with Azolla (aquatic fern). The formation of the Eocene Azolla Beds in the Arctic region and West Siberia was asynchronous, although it proceeded in line with a common scenario related to the development of a system of estuarine-type currents in a sea basin partly isolated from the World Ocean.

Multiproxy record of abrupt sea-surface cooling across the Eocene-Oligocene transition in the Gulf of Mexico

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wade, B.S.; Houben, A.J.P.; Quaijtaal, W.; Schouten, S.; Rosenthal, Y.; Miller, K.G.; Katz, M.E.; Wright, J.D.; Brinkhuis, H.

2012-01-01

The Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT; ca. 33–34 Ma) was a time of pronounced climatic change, marked by the establishment of continental-scale Antarctic ice sheets. The timing and extent of temperature change associated with the EOT is controversial. Here we present multiproxy EOT climate records

Paralic parasequences associated with Eocene sea-level oscillations in an active margin setting: Trihueco Formation of the Arauco Basin, Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Le Roux, J. P.; Elgueta, Sara

1997-06-01

The Eocene Trihueco Formation is one of the best exposed successions of the Arauco Basin in Chile. It represents a period of marine regression and transgression of second-order duration, during which barrier island complexes developed on a muddy shelf. The strata are arranged in classical shoaling-upward parasequences of shoreface and beach facies capped by coal-bearing, back-barrier lagoon deposits. These fourth-order cycles are superimposed upon third-order cycles which caused landward and seaward shifts of the coastal facies belts. The final, punctuated rise in sea level is represented by shelf mudrocks with transgressive incised shoreface sandstones. Relative sea-level oscillations as revealed in the stratigraphy of the Trihueco Formation show a reasonable correlation with published Eocene eustatic curves.

The Eocene Arctic Azolla phenomenon: species composition, temporal range and geographic extent.

Science.gov (United States)

Collinson, Margaret; Barke, Judith; van der Burgh, Johan; van Konijnenburg-van Cittert, Johanna; Pearce, Martin; Bujak, Jonathan; Brinkhuis, Henk

2010-05-01

Azolla is a free-floating freshwater fern that is renowned for its rapid vegetative spread and invasive biology, being one of the world's fastest growing aquatic macrophytes. Two species of this plant have been shown to have bloomed and reproduced in enormous numbers in the latest Early to earliest Middle Eocene of the Arctic Ocean and North Sea based on samples from IODP cores from the Lomonosov Ridge (Arctic) and from outcrops in Denmark (Collinson et al 2009 a,b Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 155,1-14; and doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2009.12.001). To determine the geographic and temporal extent of this Azolla phenomenon, and the spatial distribution of the different species, we have examined samples from 15 additional sites using material from ODP cores and commercial exploration wells. The sites range from the Sub-Arctic (Northern Alaska and Canadian Beaufort Mackenzie Basin) to the Nordic Seas (Norwegian-Greenland Sea and North Sea Basin). Our data show that the Azolla phenomenon involved at least three species. These are distinguished by characters of the megaspore apparatus (e.g. megaspore wall, floats, filosum) and the microspore massulae (e.g. glochidia fluke tips). The Lomonosov Ridge (Arctic) and Danish occurrences are monotypic but in other sites more than one species co-existed. The attachment to one another and the co-occurrence of megaspore apparatus and microspore massulae, combined with evidence that these spores were shed at the fully mature stage of their life cycle, shows that the Azolla remains were not transported over long distances, a fact which could not be assumed from isolated massula fragments alone. Our evidence, therefore, shows that Azolla plants grew on the ocean surfaces for approximately 1.2 million years (from 49.3 to 48.1 Ma) and that the Azolla phenomenon covered the area from Denmark northwards across the North Sea Basin and the whole of the Arctic and Nordic seas. Apparently, early Middle Eocene Northern Hemisphere middle

Influence of Large Lakes on Methane Greenhouse Forcing in the Early Eocene

Science.gov (United States)

Whiteside, J. H.; Granberg, D. L.; Kasprak, A. H.; Taylor, K. W.; Pancost, R. D.

2011-12-01

Long-duration elevated global temperatures and increased atmospheric pCO2 levels (~1000-2000 ppm) characterized the earliest portion of the Eocene (Ypressian; ~55 to 49 Ma). This extended period of global warmth was also punctuated by a series of short (sub-precessional) hyperthermal events in which atmospheric CO2 (>2000 ppm) and global temperatures rose with unprecedented and (as of yet) unexplained rapidity. This interval is perhaps the best temporal analog for assessing contemporary response of the biosphere and global carbon cycle to increased CO2 emissions. Although these hyperthermals appear paced by 100 Ka and 1 Ma scale orbital (eccentricity) cycles in the marine realm, high frequency forcing processes have not yet been examined, and long continental records have yet to be explored for their expression. To identify sub-eccentricity (Messel Shale, (Darmstadt, Germany.) We demonstrate that in addition to the expected 100 Ka eccentricity cycle, the 40 Ka cycle of obliquity is also an important component of climate variability as reflected in the lacustrine carbon cycle and hence a potential driver of global carbon cycling. We further investigated carbon cycle dynamics by examining biomarker evidence for changes in the terrestrial methane cycle during this time interval. Due to their increased volumes (>60,000 km2), highly stratified and cyclically anoxic lakes of the Eocene could have provided enough methane to alter global radiative forcing. This is consistent with our data, which demonstrate that the GRF and Messel Shale both exhibit strongly reducing conditions as well as abundant methanogen and methanotroph biomarkers. Further, the GRF lacustrine environment was highly stratified with, at times, euxinic waters extending into the photic zone, as inferred from the presence of isorenieratene derivatives. Thus, the GRF was likely an area of elevated methanogenic activity during this time. Increasing input of terrestrial matter into the GRF correlates with

Eocene Yegua Formation (Claiborne group) and Jackson group lignite deposits of Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Hook, Robert W.; Warwick, Peter D.; Swanson, Sharon M.; Hackley, Paul C.; Warwick, Peter D.; Karlsen, Alexander K.; Merrill, Matthew D.; Valentine, Brett J.

2011-01-01

The lignite deposits within the upper Eocene Yegua Formation (Claiborne Group) and the overlying Jackson Group are among the coal resources that were not quantitatively assessed as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Coal Resource Assessment (NCRA) program in the Gulf Coastal Plain coal province. In the past, these lignite-bearing stratigraphic units often have been evaluated together because of their geographic and stratigraphic proximity (Fisher, 1963; Kaiser, 1974; Kaiser et al., 1980; Jackson and Garner, 1982; Kaiser, 1996) (Figures 1, 2). The term “Yegua-Jackson trend“ is used informally herein for the lignite-bearing outcrops of these Late Eocene deposits in Texas. Lignite beds in the Yegua-Jackson trend generally are higher both in ash yield and sulfur content than those of the underlying Wilcox Group (Figure 2). Recent studies (Senkayi et al., 1987; Ruppert et al., 1994; Warwick et al., 1996, 1997) have shown that some lignite beds within the Yegua-Jackson trend contain partings of volcanic ash and host elevated levels of trace elements that have been identified as potentially hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in the United States Clean Air Amendments of 1990. Lignite beds within the Yegua Formation are thin (less than or equal to 6 ft) and laterally discontinuous in comparison with most Wilcox Group deposits (Ayers, 1989a); in contrast, the Jackson Group lignite beds range up to 12 ft in total thickness and are relatively continuous laterally, extending nearly 32 mi along strike.

Cretaceous and Eocene Adakites in the Sikhote-Alin area (Russian Far East) and their correlation with adakitic rocks in the East Asia continental margin

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, T. J.; Jahn, B. M.

2017-12-01

Adakitic rocks of the Sikhote-Alin area were emplaced during two main periods: the Cretaceous (132-98 Ma) and Eocene (46-39 Ma). These rocks primarily occur in the Khanka Block and, less commonly, in the Sikhote-Alin Orogenic Belt. The adakitic rocks record the following chemical compositions: SiO2 = 57-74%, Al2O3 = 15-18%, Na2O = 3.5-6.1%, K2O = 0.7-3.2%, Na2O/K2O = 1.1-3.9, Sr/Y = 33-145, and (La/Yb)N = 11-53. The HREE and HFSE in these rocks are remarkably depleted. The Early Cretaceous adakites record ɛNd(T) = -1.0 to +3.2 and ISr = 0.7040-0.7090, and the Eocene adakitic rocks record Nd(T) = -2.0 to +2.2 and ISr = 0.7042-0.7058. Adakitic features suggest different modes of magma generation; a comparison of the Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios and geochemical data on Harker diagrams between the two periods of adakitic rocks reveals differences in their petrogenesis. The Cretaceous adakites may have been generated by the partial melting of meta-basic rocks in a subduction zone, accompanied by the emplacement of volcanic arc granitoids. Therefore, the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate beneath the Sikhote-Alin was probably initiated during this time. The Eocene rocks, which record increasing adakitic features with increasing silica content, are most likely the product of andesite that underwent fractionation of mineral assemblage including clinopyoxene, orthopyroxene, garnet and amphibole. These rocks and associated basalts and rhyolite were formed after Cretaceous arc magmatism in the Sikhote-Alin area and were most likely generated by rollback of the subducting Pacific Plate after the Eocene. Abundant adakitic granitoids of Early Cretaceous and Eocene age occur in the Kitakami and Abukuma Mountains of NE Japan. Consequently, it is highly probable that a geological correlation existed between Sikhote-Alin and North Japan, particularly before the opening of the Japan Sea.

Parametric characteristics of a solar thermophotovoltaic system at the maximum efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao, Tianjun; Chen, Xiaohang; Yang, Zhimin; Lin, Bihong; Chen, Jincan

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: A model of the far-field TPVC driven by solar energy, which consists of an optical concentrator, an absorber, an emitter, and a PV cell and is simply referred as to the far-field STPVS. - Highlights: • A model of the far-field solar thermophotovoltaic system (STPVS) is established. • External and internal irreversible losses are considered. • The maximum efficiency of the STPVS is calculated. • Optimal values of key parameters at the maximum efficiency are determined. • Effects of the concentrator factor on the performance of the system are discussed. - Abstract: A model of the solar thermophotovoltaic system (STPVS) consisting of an optical concentrator, a thermal absorber, an emitter, and a photovoltaic (PV) cell is proposed, where the far-field thermal emission between the emitter and the PV cell, the radiation losses from the absorber and emitter to the environment, the reflected loss from the absorber, and the finite-rate heat exchange between the PV cell and the environment are taken into account. Analytical expressions for the power output of and overall efficiency of the STPVS are derived. By solving thermal equilibrium equations, the operating temperatures of the emitter and PV cell are determined and the maximum efficiency of the system is calculated numerically for given values of the output voltage of the PV cell and the ratio of the front surface area of the absorber to that of the emitter. For different bandgaps, the maximum efficiencies of the system are calculated and the corresponding optimum values of several operating parameters are obtained. The effects of the concentrator factor on the optimum performance of the system are also discussed.

Agerinia marandati sp. nov., a new early Eocene primate from the Iberian Peninsula, sheds new light on the evolution of the genus Agerinia.

Science.gov (United States)

Femenias-Gual, Joan; Minwer-Barakat, Raef; Marigó, Judit; Poyatos-Moré, Miquel; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2017-01-01

The Eocene was the warmest epoch of the Cenozoic and recorded the appearance of several orders of modern mammals, including the first occurrence of Euprimates. During the Eocene, Euprimates were mainly represented by two groups, adapiforms and omomyiforms, which reached great abundance and diversity in the Northern Hemisphere. Despite this relative abundance, the record of early Eocene primates from the European continent is still scarce and poorly known, preventing the observation of clear morphological trends in the evolution of the group and the establishment of phylogenetic relationships among different lineages. However, knowledge about the early Eocene primates from the Iberian Peninsula has been recently increased through the description of new material of the genus Agerinia from several fossil sites from Northeastern Spain. Here we present the first detailed study of the euprimate material from the locality of Masia de l'Hereuet (early Eocene, NE Spain). The described remains consist of one fragment of mandible and 15 isolated teeth. This work provides detailed descriptions, accurate measurements, high-resolution figures and thorough comparisons with other species of Agerinia as well with other Eurasian notharctids. Furthermore, the position of the different species of Agerinia has been tested with two phylogenetic analyses. The new material from Masia de l'Hereuet shows several traits that were previously unknown for the genus Agerinia, such as the morphology of the upper and lower fourth deciduous premolars and the P 2 , and the unfused mandible. Moreover, this material clearly differs from the other described species of Agerinia , A. roselli and A. smithorum , thus allowing the erection of the new species Agerinia marandati . The phylogenetic analyses place the three species of Agerinia in a single clade, in which A. smithorum is the most primitive species of this genus. The morphology of the upper molars reinforces the distinction of Agerinia from

Fatigue crack growth behavior under cyclic thermal transient stress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueda, Masahiro; Kano, Takashi; Yoshitoshi, Atsushi.

1986-01-01

Thermal fatigue tests were performed using straight pipe specimens subjected to cyclic thermal shocks of liquid sodium, and crack growth behaviors were estimated using striation patterns observed clearly on any crack surface. Crack growth rate under cyclic thermal strain reaches the maximum at one depth, and after that it decreases gradually with crack depth. The peak location of crack growth rate becomes deeper by superposition of constant primary stress. Parallel cracks co-existing in the neighborhood move the peak to shallower location and decrease the maximum crack growth rate. The equivalent stress intensity factor range calculated by Walker's formula is successfully applied to the case of negative stress ratio. Fatigue crack growth rate under cyclic thermal strain agreed well with that under the constant temperature equal to the maximum value in the thermal cycle. Simplified methods for calculating the stress intensity factor and the crack interference factor have been developed. Crack growth behavior under thermal fatigue could be well predicted using numerical analysis results. (author)

Fatigue crack growth behavior under cyclic transient thermal stress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueda, Masahiro; Kano, Takashi; Yoshitoshi, Atsushi.

1987-01-01

Thermal fatigue tests were performed using straight pipe specimens subjected to cyclic thermal shocks of liquid sodium, and crack growth behaviors were estimated using striation patterns observed clearly on any crack surface. Crack growth rate under cyclic thermal strain reaches the maximum at one depth, and after that it decreases gradually with crack depth. The peak location of crack growth rate becomes deeper by superposition of constant primary stress. Parallel cracks co-existing in the neighborhood move the peak to shallower location and decrease the maximum crack growth rate. The equivalent stress intensity factor range calculated by Walker's formula is successfully applied to the case of negative stress ratio. Fatigue crack growth rate under cyclic thermal strain agreed well with that under the constant temperature equal to the maximum value in the thermal cycle. Simplified methods for calculating the stress intensity factor and the crack interference factor have been developed. Crack growth behavior under thermal fatigue could be well predicted using numerical analysis results. (author)

Thermal fatigue. Fluid-structure interaction at thermal mixing events

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schuler, X.; Herter, K.H.; Moogk, S. [Stuttgart Univ. (Germany). MPA; Laurien, E.; Kloeren, D.; Kulenovic, R.; Kuschewski, M. [Stuttgart Univ. (Germany). Inst. of Nuclear Technology and Energy Systems

2012-07-01

In the framework of the network research project ''Thermal Fatigue - Basics of the system-, outflow- and material-characteristics of piping under thermal fatigue'' funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) fundamental numerical and experimental investigations on the material behaviour under transient thermal-mechanical stress conditions (high cycle fatigue - HCF) are carried out. The project's background and its network of scientific working groups with their individual working tasks are briefly introduced. The main focus is especially on the joint research tasks within the sub-projects of MPA and IKE which are dealing with thermal mixing of flows in a T-junction configuration and the fluidstructure- interactions (FSI). Therefore, experiments were performed with the newly established FSI test facility at MPA which enables single-phase flow experiments of water in typical power plant piping diameters (DN40 and DN80) at high pressure (maximum 75 bar) and temperatures (maximum 280 C). The experimental results serve as validation data base for numerical modelling of thermal flow mixing by means of thermo-fluid dynamics simulations applying CFD techniques and carried out by IKE as well as for modelling of thermal and mechanical loads of the piping structure by structural mechanics simulations with FEM methods which are executed by MPA. The FSI test facility will be described inclusively the applied measurement techniques, e. g. in particular the novel near-wall LED-induced Fluorescence method for non-intrusive flow temperature measurements. First experimental data and numerical results from CFD and FEM simulations of the thermal mixing of flows in the T-junction are presented.

Distributions of Benthic Foraminifera in the Salisbury Embayment before and after the PETM Onset

Science.gov (United States)

Range, M. M.; Robinson, M. M.

2017-12-01

Abrupt climatic perturbations associated with the onset of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) caused major disruptions to the shallow shelf ecology along the U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain. Several studies examine the changes in benthic foraminiferal assemblages across the PETM in neritic sediments in New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia and describe a hydrological and sedimentological paradigm shift that marks the Paleocene-Eocene boundary. In the Salisbury Embayment, a flexural low between the South Jersey High and the Norfolk Arch, this shift is seen in the transition between the upper Paleocene Aquia Formation and the lower Eocene Marlboro Clay. Here we map the abundance of seven benthic foraminifera species from five sites within the Salisbury Embayment from both the uppermost Aquia Formation and the lowermost Marlboro Clay. In addition to the benthic foraminiferal turnover at the PETM onset, we show a geographic distribution of species that highlights a past latitudinal biogeographic zonation not unlike what is found on the modern shelf in this region. Sites document a change in the abundance of species between the late Paleocene and early Eocene, showing a decrease in biodiversity of benthic species along the U.S. Atlantic Coast. Spatial extent of the different species also changed across the Paleocene-Eocene boundary. On the modern Atlantic shelf, a biogeographic zonation is due to the path of the Gulf Stream marking a boundary between relatively cold sea-surface temperatures to the north and warmer temperatures to the south, guided by the geomorphic expression of the mid-Atlantic coastline. During the Paleocene-Eocene transition, we suspect a similar boundary likely existed between the New Jersey sites and the Maryland and Virginia sites. We speculate that with the addition of more assemblage data, we will be able to partially reconstruct the geomorphic expression of the PETM coastline and/or the path of major coastal ocean currents.

Molecular isotopic characterisation of hydrocarbon biomarkers in Palaeocene-Eocene evaporitic, lacustrine source rocks from the Jianghan Basin, China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.; Grice, Kliti; Schouten, S.; Peters, Kenneth E.

1998-01-01

Immature organic matter in lacustrine source rocks from the Jianghan Basin, eastern China, was studied for distributions and stable carbon isotopic compositions (13C) of hydrocarbon biomarkers. All of the bitumens contain isorenieratane (13C ca. −17 ) indicating the presence of Chlorobiaceae, and

Paleomagnetism and the Alpine tectonics of Eurasia IV : Jurassic, Cretaceous and Eocene pole positions from northeastern Turkey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Voo, R. van der

In April 1965 and May 1966 several groups of samples were collected by the author in northern and eastern Turkey in view of a study of their magnetic properties. The characteristic magnetizations of four groups of Eocene and Cretaceous volcanic rocks and sediments had the following directions of

Scale insect larvae preserved in vertebrate coprolites (Le Quesnoy, France, Lower Eocene): paleoecological insights.

Science.gov (United States)

Robin, Ninon; Foldi, Imre; Godinot, Marc; Petit, Gilles

2016-10-01

Coprolites of terrestrial vertebrates from the Sparnacian Le Quesnoy locality (Ypresian, Eocene, MP7, 53 Ma; Oise, France) were examined for possible parasitic helminth eggs. The extraction of the coprolite components was performed by a weak acetolyse and a slide mounting in glycerin. This long examination did not reveal paleoparasite remains, which may be explained through several arguments. However, some pollen grains, some enigmatic components, and two well-preserved first-instar cochineal nymphs (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea) were evidenced in coprolites. Identified as Coccidae, these larvae are the earliest stage of the scale insect development ever reported as fossil, revealing the specific environment of preservation that fossilized scats may provide. These observations, combined to the coprolites morphotype, enable to ascribe the fossil scats producer to a small herbivorous mammal present in the deposit (early perissodactyls or Plesiadapidae). Regarding the ecology of extant representatives of Coccidae, this mammal was a likely foliage consumer, and the abundant Juglandaceae and/or Tiliaceae from Le Quesnoy might have lived parasitized by scale insects. These Early Eocene parasites had an already well-established dissemination strategy, with prevalent minute first-instar larvae. The herein performed extraction technique appears well-suited for the study of carbonate coprolites and could certainly be useful for evidencing other kind of microorganisms (including internal parasites).

Early evidence of xeromorphy in angiosperms: stomatal encryption in a new eocene species of Banksia (Proteaceae) from Western Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, Raymond J; McLoughlin, Stephen; Hill, Robert S; McNamara, Kenneth J; Jordan, Gregory John

2014-09-01

• Globally, the origins of xeromorphic traits in modern angiosperm lineages are obscure but are thought to be linked to the early Neogene onset of seasonally arid climates. Stomatal encryption is a xeromorphic trait that is prominent in Banksia, an archetypal genus centered in one of the world's most diverse ecosystems, the ancient infertile landscape of Mediterranean-climate southwestern Australia.• We describe Banksia paleocrypta, a sclerophyllous species with encrypted stomata from silcretes of the Walebing and Kojonup regions of southwestern Australia dated as Late Eocene.• Banksia paleocrypta shows evidence of foliar xeromorphy ∼20 Ma before the widely accepted timing for the onset of aridity in Australia. Species of Banksia subgenus Banksia with very similar leaves are extant in southwestern Australia. The conditions required for silcrete formation infer fluctuating water tables and climatic seasonality in southwestern Australia in the Eocene, and seasonality is supported by the paucity of angiosperm closed-forest elements among the fossil taxa preserved with B. paleocrypta. However, climates in the region during the Eocene are unlikely to have experienced seasons as hot and dry as present-day summers.• The presence of B. paleocrypta within the center of diversity of subgenus Banksia in edaphically ancient southwestern Australia is consistent with the continuous presence of this lineage in the region for ≥40 Ma, a testament to the success of increasingly xeromorphic traits in Banksia over an interval in which numerous other lineages became extinct. © 2014 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Evaluation of properties and thermal stress field for thermal barrier coatings

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

王良; 齐红宇; 杨晓光; 李旭

2008-01-01

In order to get thermal stress field of the hot section with thermal barrier coating (TBCs), the thermal conductivity and elastic modulus of top-coat are the physical key properties. The porosity of top-coat was tested and evaluated under different high temperatures. The relationship between the microstructure (porosity of top-coat) and properties of TBCs were analyzed to predict the thermal properties of ceramic top-coat, such as thermal conductivity and elastic modulus. The temperature and stress field of the vane with TBCs were simulated using two sets of thermal conductivity data and elastic modulus, which are from literatures and this work, respectively. The results show that the temperature and stress distributions change with thermal conductivity and elastic modulus. The differences of maximum temperatures and stress are 6.5% and 8.0%, respectively.

A new mechanism for the two-step d18O signal at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tigchelaar, M.; von der Heydt, A.S.; Dijkstra, H.A.

2011-01-01

The most marked step in the global climate transition from “Greenhouse” to “Icehouse” Earth occurred at the Eocene-Oligocene (E-O) boundary, 33.7 Ma. Evidence for climatic changes comes from many sources, including the marine benthic 18O record, showing an increase by 1.2– 1.5‰ at this time. This

Arctic Ocean circulation during the anoxic Eocene Azolla event

Science.gov (United States)

Speelman, Eveline; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap; März, Christian; Brumsack, Hans; Reichart, Gert-Jan

2010-05-01

The Azolla interval, as encountered in Eocene sediments from the Arctic Ocean, is characterized by organic rich sediments ( 4wt% Corg). In general, high levels of organic matter may be caused by increased productivity, i.e. extensive growth of Azolla, and/or enhanced preservation of organic matter, or a combination of both. Anoxic (bottom) water conditions, expanded oxygen minimum zones, or increased sedimentation rates all potentially increase organic matter preservation. According to plate tectonic, bathymetric, and paleogeographic reconstructions, the Arctic Ocean was a virtually isolated shallow basin, with one possible deeper connection to the Nordic Seas represented by a still shallow Fram Strait (Jakobsson et al., 2007), hampering ventilation of the Arctic Basin. During the Azolla interval surface waters freshened, while at the same time bottom waters appear to have remained saline, indicating that the Arctic was highly stratified. The restricted ventilation and stratification in concert with ongoing export of organic matter most likely resulted in the development of anoxic conditions in the lower part of the water column. Whereas the excess precipitation over evaporation maintained the freshwater lid, sustained input of Nordic Sea water is needed to keep the deeper waters saline. To which degree the Arctic Ocean exchanged with the Nordic Seas is, however, still largely unknown. Here we present a high-resolution trace metal record (ICP-MS and ICP-OES) for the expanded Early/Middle Eocene section capturing the Azolla interval from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 302 (ACEX) drilled on the Lomonosov Ridge, central Arctic Ocean. Euxinic conditions throughout the interval resulted in the efficient removal of redox sensitive trace metals from the water column. Using the sedimentary trace metal record we also constrained circulation in the Arctic Ocean by assessing the relative importance of trace metal input sources (i.e. fluvial, eolian, and

Design and optimization of automotive thermoelectric generators for maximum fuel efficiency improvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kempf, Nicholas; Zhang, Yanliang

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A three-dimensional automotive thermoelectric generator (TEG) model is developed. • Heat exchanger design and TEG configuration are optimized for maximum fuel efficiency increase. • Heat exchanger conductivity has a strong influence on maximum fuel efficiency increase. • TEG aspect ratio and fin height increase with heat exchanger thermal conductivity. • A 2.5% fuel efficiency increase is attainable with nanostructured half-Heusler modules. - Abstract: Automotive fuel efficiency can be increased by thermoelectric power generation using exhaust waste heat. A high-temperature thermoelectric generator (TEG) that converts engine exhaust waste heat into electricity is simulated based on a light-duty passenger vehicle with a 4-cylinder gasoline engine. Strategies to optimize TEG configuration and heat exchanger design for maximum fuel efficiency improvement are provided. Through comparison of stainless steel and silicon carbide heat exchangers, it is found that both the optimal TEG design and the maximum fuel efficiency increase are highly dependent on the thermal conductivity of the heat exchanger material. Significantly higher fuel efficiency increase can be obtained using silicon carbide heat exchangers at taller fins and a longer TEG along the exhaust flow direction when compared to stainless steel heat exchangers. Accounting for major parasitic losses, a maximum fuel efficiency increase of 2.5% is achievable using newly developed nanostructured bulk half-Heusler thermoelectric modules.

Meteoric diagenesis of Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene-Eocene shallow-water carbonates in the Kruja Platform (Albania): geochemical evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Heba, Grigor; Prichonnet, Gilbert; El Albani, Abderrazak

2009-04-01

In the central part of the Kruja Platform (Albania) located in the Apulian passive margin, geochemical analyses (calcimetry, Sr, REE and isotopic, δ13C and δ18O) coupled with sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic study were carried out on Upper Cretaceous (CsB4, CsB5, CsB6 Biozones) and Paleocene to Middle Eocene shallow-water carbonates that crop out in the Kruje-Dajt massif (L'Escalier section) and Makareshi massif (La Route section). The lower values in Sr contents, the homogeneous δ18O values in both sections and the covariance between δ13C and δ18O values (La Route section) are attributed to diagenesis influence by a meteoric water-buffer system, supported by petrographic observations. Moreover, a new exposure surface during the Late Cretaceous time (between CsB5 and CsB6 Biozones) may be proposed according to the low or negative excursions of Sr values, the negative excursions of isotopic values in both sections and a positive peak of normalized REE values (La Route section). These variations correlate with the geochemical signal reported by the decreasing strontium isotope values of rudist shells in the Island of Brač carbonate platform (Apulia domain) during the late Middle Campanian (77.3 Ma). Also, this continental exposure is consistent with the global sea-level fall reported from the Boreal Realm, North Atlantic, and the southern Tethyan margin. This geochemical evidence is a complementary tool for the sedimentological analysis and suggests a maximum regression (a sea-level fall) at the transition between the CsB5 and CsB6 Biozones. The high values of Sr content in Middle Eocene carbonates (L'Escalier section) reflect changes in depositional environment from restricted to open marine conditions. REE values increase through transgressive systems tract, characterized by small increase of detrital input. However, anomalies of certain values in both sections suggest disturbances linked either to the changes in clay input and to diagenetic

Xenoliths in Eocene lavas from Central Tibet record carbonated metasomatism of the lithosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Goussin, Fanny; Cordier, Carole; Boulvais, Philippe; Guillot, Stéphane; Roperch, Pierrick; Replumaz, Anne

2017-04-01

Cenozoic post-collisional volcanism of the Tibetan Plateau, emplaced on an accreted continental margin under compression, could bring important information regarding the edification of the Plateau. In this study, we combined petrography, whole rock geochemistry, stable isotopes and in situ mineral analysis to decipher the genesis of Eocene-Oligocene magmatic rocks from the Nangqian basin (35-38 Ma, [Spurlin et al., 2005; Xu et al., 2016]), located at the hinge between Central Tibet and the Eastern Indo-Asia Collision Zone. Our dataset includes potassic trachyandesites; amphibole-bearing potassic trachytes; and rare ultrapotassic (K2O/Na2O ≥ 4) mafic syenites. All samples have high REE abundances (La = 100 - 500 x primitive mantle). Fractionation of heavy REE (Gd/YbN > 3) indicates melting in the garnet stability field, and relative depletion in high-field strength elements (Nb, Ta) indicates a selective enrichment of the source by metasomatic fluids. This metasomatism event is also evidenced by the occurrence of re-equilibrated mantle xenocrysts of phlogopite (Mg# = 88 - 90 and Cr2O3 content = 0.9 - 1.82 wt%) in mafic syenites. Potassic trachyandesites have specific composition, with negative Zr-Hf anomaly and low Hf/Sm (0.2 - 0.4). Indeed, they include xenocrystic aggregates, composed of magmatic clinopyroxene, apatite and subordinate biotite and feldspar, with interstitial calcite and dolomite. δ18OV -SMOW (9.2 - 11.0 ) and δ13CV -PDB (-6.1 - -4.0 ) of these rocks indicate the presence of primary, mantle-derived carbonates. In situ analysis of the major and trace element compositions of the carbonates, clinopyroxenes and apatites further suggest that these aggregates represent cumulates of a carbonate-bearing magma. These xenoliths thus show that the lithospheric mantle was also metasomatized by CO2-rich fluids. Cenozoic carbonatites in China have been identified in Maoniuping in Western Sichuan (31.7 Ma), Lixian in the Western Qinlin (22-23 Ma), and

Application of uniaxial confining-core clamp with hydrous pyrolysis in petrophysical and geochemical studies of source rocks at various thermal maturities

Science.gov (United States)

Lewan, Michael D.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Baez, Luis; Beeney, Ken; Sonnenberg, Steve

2013-01-01

Understanding changes in petrophysical and geochemical parameters during source rock thermal maturation is a critical component in evaluating source-rock petroleum accumulations. Natural core data are preferred, but obtaining cores that represent the same facies of a source rock at different thermal maturities is seldom possible. An alternative approach is to induce thermal maturity changes by laboratory pyrolysis on aliquots of a source-rock sample of a given facies of interest. Hydrous pyrolysis is an effective way to induce thermal maturity on source-rock cores and provide expelled oils that are similar in composition to natural crude oils. However, net-volume increases during bitumen and oil generation result in expanded cores due to opening of bedding-plane partings. Although meaningful geochemical measurements on expanded, recovered cores are possible, the utility of the core for measuring petrophysical properties relevant to natural subsurface cores is not suitable. This problem created during hydrous pyrolysis is alleviated by using a stainless steel uniaxial confinement clamp on rock cores cut perpendicular to bedding fabric. The clamp prevents expansion just as overburden does during natural petroleum formation in the subsurface. As a result, intact cores can be recovered at various thermal maturities for the measurement of petrophysical properties as well as for geochemical analyses. This approach has been applied to 1.7-inch diameter cores taken perpendicular to the bedding fabric of a 2.3- to 2.4-inch thick slab of Mahogany oil shale from the Eocene Green River Formation. Cores were subjected to hydrous pyrolysis at 360 °C for 72 h, which represents near maximum oil generation. One core was heated unconfined and the other was heated in the uniaxial confinement clamp. The unconfined core developed open tensile fractures parallel to the bedding fabric that result in a 38 % vertical expansion of the core. These open fractures did not occur in the

Goulds Belt, Interstellar Clouds, and the Eocene Oligocene Helium-3 Enhancement

Science.gov (United States)

Rubincam, David Parry

2015-01-01

Drag from hydrogen in the interstellar cloud which formed Gould's Belt may have sent interplanetary dust particle (IDPs) and small meteoroids with embedded helium to the Earth, perhaps explaining part the helium-3 flux increase seen in the sedimentary record near the Eocene-Oligocene transition. Assuming the Solar System passed through part of the cloud, IDPs in the inner Solar System may have been dragged to Earth, while dust and small meteoroids in the asteroid belt up to centimeter size may have been dragged to the resonances, where their orbital eccentricities were pumped up into Earth-crossing orbits; however, this hypotheses does not explain the Popigai and Chesapeake Bay impacts.

Metre-scale cyclicity in Middle Eocene platform carbonates in northern Egypt: Implications for facies development and sequence stratigraphy

Science.gov (United States)

Tawfik, Mohamed; El-Sorogy, Abdelbaset; Moussa, Mahmoud

2016-07-01

The shallow-water carbonates of the Middle Eocene in northern Egypt represent a Tethyan reef-rimmed carbonate platform with bedded inner-platform facies. Based on extensive micro- and biofacies documentation, five lithofacies associations were defined and their respective depositional environments were interpreted. Investigated sections were subdivided into three third-order sequences, named S1, S2 and S3. Sequence S1 is interpreted to correspond to the Lutetian, S2 corresponds to the Late Lutetian and Early Bartonian, and S3 represents the Late Bartonian. Each of the three sequences was further subdivided into fourth-order cycle sets and fifth-order cycles. The complete hierarchy of cycles can be correlated along 190 km across the study area, and highlighting a general "layer-cake" stratigraphic architecture. The documentation of the studied outcrops may contribute to the better regional understanding of the Middle Eocene formations in northern Egypt and to Tethyan pericratonic carbonate models in general.

Heavy mineral delineation of the Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Eocene stratigraphic sections at the Savannah River Site, Upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cathcart, E.M.; Sargent, K.A.

1994-01-01

The Upper Atlantic Coastal Plain of South Carolina consists of a fluvial-deltaic and shallow marine complex of unconsolidated sediments overlying the crystalline basement rocks of the North American continent. Because of the lateral and vertical variability of these sediments, stratigraphic boundaries have been difficult to distinguish. Portions of the Cretaceous, Paleocene, and eocene stratigraphic sections from cores recovered during the construction of two monitoring wells at the Savannah River Site were studied to determine if heavy mineral suites could be utilized to distinguish boundaries. The stratigraphic sections include: the Late Cretaceous Middendorf, Black Creek, and Steel Creek Formations, the Paleocene Snapp Formation, the late Paleocene-Early Eocene Fourmile Branch Formation, and the Early Eocene Congaree formation. In previous studies composite samples were taken over 2.5 ft. intervals along the cores and processed using a heavy liquid for heavy mineral recovery. During this study, heavy mineral distributions were determined by binocular microscope and the mineral identifications confirmed by x-ray diffraction analysis of hand-picked samples. The heavy mineral concentration data and grain size data were then compared to the stratigraphic boundary positions determined by other workers using more classical methods. These comparisons were used to establish the utility of this method for delineating the stratigraphic boundaries in the area of study

Thermal conductivity of high purity vanadium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, W.D.

1975-01-01

The thermal conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and electrical resistivity of four high-purity vanadium samples were measured over the temperature range 5 to 300 0 K. The highest purity sample had a resistance ratio (rho 273 /rho 4 . 2 ) of 1524. The highest purity sample had a thermal conductivity maximum of 920 W/mK at 9 0 K and had a thermal conductivity of 35 W/mK at room temperature. At low temperatures, the thermal resistivity was limited by the scattering of electrons by impurities and phonons. The thermal resistivity of vanadium departed from Matthiessen's rule at low temperatures. The electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient of high purity vanadium showed no anomalous behavior above 130 0 K. The intrinsic electrical resistivity at low temperatures was due primarily to interband scattering of electrons. The Seebeck coefficient was positive from 10 to 240 0 K and had a maximum which was dependent upon sample purity

Polyphased rifting to post-breakup evolution of the Coral Sea region, Papua New Guinea

Science.gov (United States)

Bulois, Cédric; Pubellier, Manuel; Chamot-Rooke, Nicolas; Delescluse, Matthias

2016-04-01

The Coral Sea Basin, offshore Papua New Guinea, is generally described as a rift propagator that opened through the Australian craton during the Late Cretaceous. Rifting was later followed by spreading activity during Palaeocene to lowermost Eocene times and basin inversion during the Cenozoic. Herein, we specifically describe the extensional structures and show that the area has actually a much longer history that dates back from the Late Palaeozoic. A special focus is made on the northern margin of the Coral Sea Basin along which subsurface and HD topographic data were recently acquired. Extension took place discontinuously from the Late Palaeozoic to the Lower Cenozoic through several rift megacycles that include extensional pulses and relaxation episodes. The first rift megacycle (R1), poorly documented, occurred during the Triassic along an old Permo-Triassic, NS-trending structural fabric. Evidence of Permo-Triassic features is principally observed in the western part of the Coral Sea near the Tasman Line, a major lithospheric discontinuity that marks the eastern limit of the underlying Australian craton in Papua New Guinea. This early Triassic framework was reactivated during a Jurassic rifting stage (R2), resulting in small (~10/20km) tilted basins bounded by major NS, NE-SW and EW normal faults. Extension formed a large basin, floored by oceanic crust that might have connected with the Tethys Ocean. The Owen Stanley Oceanic Basin containing deep-marine sediments now obducted in the Ocean Stanley Thrust Belt are likely to represent this oceanic terrane. Both R1 and R2 megacycles shaped the geometry of the Jurassic Australian margin. A third Cretaceous extensional megacycle (R3) only reactivated the largest faults, cutting through the midst of this early stretched continental margin. It formed wider, poorly tilted basins and terminated with the onset of the Coral Sea seafloor spreading from Danian to Ypresian times (61.8 to 53.4 Myr). Then, the overall

Whence the beardogs? Reappraisal of the Middle to Late Eocene 'Miacis' from Texas, USA, and the origin of Amphicyonidae (Mammalia, Carnivora).

Science.gov (United States)

Tomiya, Susumu; Tseng, Zhijie Jack

2016-10-01

The Middle to Late Eocene sediments of Texas have yielded a wealth of fossil material that offers a rare window on a diverse and highly endemic mammalian fauna from that time in the southern part of North America. These faunal data are particularly significant because the narrative of mammalian evolution in the Paleogene of North America has traditionally been dominated by taxa that are known from higher latitudes, primarily in the Rocky Mountain and northern Great Plains regions. Here we report on the affinities of two peculiar carnivoraforms from the Chambers Tuff of Trans-Pecos, Texas, that were first described 30 years ago as Miacis cognitus and M. australis . Re-examination of previously described specimens and their inclusion in a cladistic analysis revealed the two taxa to be diminutive basal amphicyonids; as such, they are assigned to new genera Gustafsonia and Angelarctocyon , respectively. These two taxa fill in some of the morphological gaps between the earliest-known amphicyonid genus, Daphoenus , and other Middle-Eocene carnivoraforms, and lend additional support for a basal caniform position of the beardogs outside the Canoidea. The amphicyonid lineage had evidently given rise to at least five rather distinct forms by the end of the Middle Eocene. Their precise geographical origin remains uncertain, but it is plausible that southern North America served as an important stage for a very early phase of amphicyonid radiation.

The freshwater fern Azolla (Azollaceae) from Eocene Arctic and Nordic Sea sediments: New species and their stratigraphic distribution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Burgh, J.; Collinson, M.E.; van Konijnenburg-van Cittert, J.H.A.; Barke, J.; Brinkhuis, H.

2013-01-01

Three new species of the freshwater fern Azolla are described from Eocene marine deposits of the Arctic and Nordic seas, bringing the total number of species now documented from these areas to five. Azolla arctica Collinson et al., Azolla jutlandica Collinson et al., Azolla nova sp. nov. and Azolla

SILLi 1.0: a 1-D numerical tool quantifying the thermal effects of sill intrusions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Iyer

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Igneous intrusions in sedimentary basins may have a profound effect on the thermal structure and physical properties of the hosting sedimentary rocks. These include mechanical effects such as deformation and uplift of sedimentary layers, generation of overpressure, mineral reactions and porosity evolution, and fracturing and vent formation following devolatilization reactions and the generation of CO2 and CH4. The gas generation and subsequent migration and venting may have contributed to several of the past climatic changes such as the end-Permian event and the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum. Additionally, the generation and expulsion of hydrocarbons and cracking of pre-existing oil reservoirs around a hot magmatic intrusion are of significant interest to the energy industry. In this paper, we present a user-friendly 1-D finite element method (FEM-based tool, SILLi, which calculates the thermal effects of sill intrusions on the enclosing sedimentary stratigraphy. The model is accompanied by three case studies of sills emplaced in two different sedimentary basins, the Karoo Basin in South Africa and the Vøring Basin off the shore of Norway. An additional example includes emplacement of a dyke in a cooling pluton which forgoes sedimentation within a basin. Input data for the model are the present-day well log or sedimentary column with an Excel input file and include rock parameters such as thermal conductivity, total organic carbon (TOC content, porosity and latent heats. The model accounts for sedimentation and burial based on a rate calculated by the sedimentary layer thickness and age. Erosion of the sedimentary column is also included to account for realistic basin evolution. Multiple sills can be emplaced within the system with varying ages. The emplacement of a sill occurs instantaneously. The model can be applied to volcanic sedimentary basins occurring globally. The model output includes the thermal evolution of the sedimentary

SILLi 1.0: a 1-D numerical tool quantifying the thermal effects of sill intrusions

Science.gov (United States)

Iyer, Karthik; Svensen, Henrik; Schmid, Daniel W.

2018-01-01

Igneous intrusions in sedimentary basins may have a profound effect on the thermal structure and physical properties of the hosting sedimentary rocks. These include mechanical effects such as deformation and uplift of sedimentary layers, generation of overpressure, mineral reactions and porosity evolution, and fracturing and vent formation following devolatilization reactions and the generation of CO2 and CH4. The gas generation and subsequent migration and venting may have contributed to several of the past climatic changes such as the end-Permian event and the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Additionally, the generation and expulsion of hydrocarbons and cracking of pre-existing oil reservoirs around a hot magmatic intrusion are of significant interest to the energy industry. In this paper, we present a user-friendly 1-D finite element method (FEM)-based tool, SILLi, which calculates the thermal effects of sill intrusions on the enclosing sedimentary stratigraphy. The model is accompanied by three case studies of sills emplaced in two different sedimentary basins, the Karoo Basin in South Africa and the Vøring Basin off the shore of Norway. An additional example includes emplacement of a dyke in a cooling pluton which forgoes sedimentation within a basin. Input data for the model are the present-day well log or sedimentary column with an Excel input file and include rock parameters such as thermal conductivity, total organic carbon (TOC) content, porosity and latent heats. The model accounts for sedimentation and burial based on a rate calculated by the sedimentary layer thickness and age. Erosion of the sedimentary column is also included to account for realistic basin evolution. Multiple sills can be emplaced within the system with varying ages. The emplacement of a sill occurs instantaneously. The model can be applied to volcanic sedimentary basins occurring globally. The model output includes the thermal evolution of the sedimentary column through time and

Eocene antiquity of the European nyctitheriid euarchontan mammal Darbonetus

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Jerry J. Hooker

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Until now Darbonetus was represented by only one valid species, the type species D. aubrelongensis from the early Oligocene of the Quercy region, France. A late appearance of this genus and of its closest relative Amphidozotherium have been thought to result from dispersal from outside western Europe, rather than a local ancestry earlier in the late Eocene. Here, a new species, Darbonetus sigei sp. nov., is described from the middle Priabonian site of La Débruge, France. Although clearly closely related to D. aubrelongensis, D. sigei shows less reduction of its p2, p3, and m3 than in the more derived type species. The early age of D. sigei suggests that its origins were within the still isolated central European island and that it is unnecessary to invoke dispersal from another continent.

Oldest new genus of Myrmeleontidae (Neuroptera) from the Eocene Green River Formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Makarkin, Vladimir N

2017-10-20

Epignopholeon sophiae gen. et sp. nov. (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) is described from the early Eocene of the Green River Formation (Colorado, U.S.A.). It represents the oldest confident record of the family. The new genus is remarkable in that tergite 7 of the female is much shorter than its long sternite 7. The preserved wing venation shows that the genus belongs to the subfamily Myrmeleontinae, and most probably to the tribe Gnopholeontini. The discovery of this species is consistent with estimations of relatively dry and warm conditions during deposition of the upper Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation.

Pushing desalination recovery to the maximum limit: Membrane and thermal processes integration

KAUST Repository

Shahzad, Muhammad Wakil; Burhan, Muhammad; Ng, Kim Choon

2017-01-01

The economics of seawater desalination processes has been continuously improving as a result of desalination market expansion. Presently, reverse osmosis (RO) processes are leading in global desalination with 53% share followed by thermally driven

Algal and aquatic plant carbon concentrating mechanisms in relation to environmental change.

Science.gov (United States)

Raven, John A; Giordano, Mario; Beardall, John; Maberly, Stephen C

2011-09-01

Carbon dioxide concentrating mechanisms (also known as inorganic carbon concentrating mechanisms; both abbreviated as CCMs) presumably evolved under conditions of low CO(2) availability. However, the timing of their origin is unclear since there are no sound estimates from molecular clocks, and even if there were, there are no proxies for the functioning of CCMs. Accordingly, we cannot use previous episodes of high CO(2) (e.g. the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum) to indicate how organisms with CCMs responded. Present and predicted environmental change in terms of increased CO(2) and temperature are leading to increased CO(2) and HCO(3)(-) and decreased CO(3)(2-) and pH in surface seawater, as well as decreasing the depth of the upper mixed layer and increasing the degree of isolation of this layer with respect to nutrient flux from deeper waters. The outcome of these forcing factors is to increase the availability of inorganic carbon, photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) and ultraviolet B radiation (UVB) to aquatic photolithotrophs and to decrease the supply of the nutrients (combined) nitrogen and phosphorus and of any non-aeolian iron. The influence of these variations on CCM expression has been examined to varying degrees as acclimation by extant organisms. Increased PAR increases CCM expression in terms of CO(2) affinity, whilst increased UVB has a range of effects in the organisms examined; little relevant information is available on increased temperature. Decreased combined nitrogen supply generally increases CO(2) affinity, decreased iron availability increases CO(2) affinity, and decreased phosphorus supply has varying effects on the organisms examined. There are few data sets showing interactions amongst the observed changes, and even less information on genetic (adaptation) changes in response to the forcing factors. In freshwaters, changes in phytoplankton species composition may alter with environmental change with consequences for frequency of

Geochemical and geological control on filling history of Eocene reservoirs, Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alberdi, M.; Maguregui, J.; Toro, C.; Marquina, M. [Intevep S.A., Caracas (Venezuela)

1996-08-01

Crude oils of Eocene fluvio-deltaic reservoirs in {open_quotes}Bloque V{close_quotes} and {open_quotes}Centro Lago{close_quotes} fields in the center of the Maracaibo Lake show many differences in composition, which are due to stratigraphically and structurally controlled reservoir geometry and a low rate of in-reservoir mixing of at least two successive petroleum charges. Oils produced from the top of structural highs contain 18(H) oleanane, higher Pr/Ph and C{sub 23-3}/C{sub 24-4} ratios, a lower proportion of DBT/P compounds, and clearly different fingerprint patterns in the C{sub 6}-C{sub 15} range, than those observed in oils produced from the lower parts of the structures. These compositional differences suggest that two source rocks, or two distinctive organic facies within the same Cretaceous La Luna Formation, generated and filled vertically poorly connected Eocene reservoirs. On the other hand, saturate-biomarkers ratios, triaromatics (C{sub 21}/C{sub 21}+C{sub 28}), n-paraffins (n-C{sub 20}/n-C{sub 29}) and n-heptane index suggest that oils in upper reservoirs are slightly less mature than oils in lower reservoirs and, consequently filled the structure first. Additional evidence from formation water analysis and tectonic basin evolution allow us to interpret at least two petroleum pulses from Cretaceous source rocks during Upper Miocene to present day kitchens located in the Andes foredeep at the southeast of the study area.

Electrochemical-thermal Modeling to Evaluate Active Thermal Management of a Lithium-ion Battery Module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bahiraei, Farid; Fartaj, Amir; Nazri, Gholam-Abbas

2017-01-01

Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used in hybrid electric and full electric vehicles (HEV and EV). In HEV, thermal management is a strict requirement to control the batteries temperature within an optimal range in order to enhance performance, safety, reduce cost, and prolong the batteries lifetime. The optimum design of a thermal management system depends on the thermo-electrochemical behavior of the batteries, operating conditions, and weight and volume constraints. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of various operating and design parameters on the thermal performance of a battery module consisted of six building block cells. An electrochemical-thermal model coupled to conjugate heat transfer and fluid dynamics simulations is used to assess the effectiveness of two indirect liquid thermal management approaches under the FUDC driving cycle. In this study, a novel pseudo 3D electrochemical-thermal model of the battery is used. It is found that the cooling plate thickness has a significant effect on the maximum and gradient of temperature in the module. Increasing the Reynolds number decreases the average temperature but at the expense of temperature uniformity. The results show that double channel cooling system has a lower maximum temperature and more uniform temperature distribution compared to a single channel cooling system.

A performance analysis for MHD power cycles operating at maximum power density

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahin, Bahri; Kodal, Ali; Yavuz, Hasbi

1996-01-01

An analysis of the thermal efficiency of a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power cycle at maximum power density for a constant velocity type MHD generator has been carried out. The irreversibilities at the compressor and the MHD generator are taken into account. The results obtained from power density analysis were compared with those of maximum power analysis. It is shown that by using the power density criteria the MHD cycle efficiency can be increased effectively. (author)

Inducement of heterochronic variation in a species of planktic foraminifera by a Late Eocene impact event

Science.gov (United States)

Macleod, N.; Kitchell, J. A.

1988-01-01

While it is well known that the cosmic impact event at or near the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary coincides with an interval of mass extinction, a similar impact (or series of impacts) near the Eocene-Oligocene boundary presents a more complex picture, in terms of associated fluctuations in marine biotic diversity. Tektites, microtektites, and mineral grains exhibiting features of shock metamorphism found in Eocene sediments of the western N. Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico (comprising the North American microtektite strewn field) offer compelling evidence for a catastrophic impact event. Despite the magnitude of this event, however, few extinctions in the planktic marine fauna are known to have occurred coincident with this event. Instead, changes in relative abundance, morphology, and development occurred. Cosmic impacts generally have been interpreted as influencing the course of evolution through the wholesale elimination of significant portions of standing biotic diversity. Indeed, extinction traditionally has been viewed as the negative side of evolution. In some instances, it is suggested such impact events can serve instead to increase, rather than decrease, morphological and ecological diversity, by altering the developmental programs within species at the level of the local population.

Heterogeneity in global vegetation and terrestrial climate change during the late Eocene to early Oligocene transition.

Science.gov (United States)

Pound, Matthew J; Salzmann, Ulrich

2017-02-24

Rapid global cooling at the Eocene - Oligocene Transition (EOT), ~33.9-33.5 Ma, is widely considered to mark the onset of the modern icehouse world. A large and rapid drop in atmospheric pCO 2 has been proposed as the driving force behind extinctions in the marine realm and glaciation on Antarctica. However, the global terrestrial response to this cooling is uncertain. Here we present the first global vegetation and terrestrial temperature reconstructions for the EOT. Using an extensive palynological dataset, that has been statistically grouped into palaeo-biomes, we show a more transitional nature of terrestrial climate change by indicating a spatial and temporal heterogeneity of vegetation change at the EOT in both hemispheres. The reconstructed terrestrial temperatures show for many regions a cooling that started well before the EOT and continued into the Early Oligocene. We conclude that the heterogeneous pattern of global vegetation change has been controlled by a combination of multiple forcings, such as tectonics, sea-level fall and long-term decline in greenhouse gas concentrations during the late Eocene to early Oligocene, and does not represent a single response to a rapid decline in atmospheric pCO 2 at the EOT.

An unusual new species of Hallodapomimus Herczek, 2000 from the Eocene Baltic amber (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae, Phylinae

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Aleksander Herczek

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Hallodapomimus antennatus sp. n. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera, Miridae, Phylinae, Hallodapini is described from a macropterous female found in Eocene Baltic amber. The new species can be recognized readily from the other species of the genus, mainly due to its unusual second antennal segment. A key for the identification of all known fossil Hallodapini is presented.

Global warming and ocean acidification through halted weathering feedback during the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum

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van der Ploeg, R.; Selby, D. S.; Cramwinckel, M.; Bohaty, S. M.; Sluijs, A.; Middelburg, J. J.

2016-12-01

The Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) represents a 500 kyr period of global warming 40 million years ago associated with a rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, but its cause remains enigmatic. Moreover, on the timescale of the MECO, an increase in silicate weathering rates on the continents is expected to balance carbon input and restore the alkalinity of the oceans, but this is in sharp disagreement with observations of extensive carbonate dissolution. Here we show, based on osmium isotope ratios of marine sediments from three different sites, that CO2 rise and warming did not lead to enhanced continental weathering during the MECO, in contrast to expectations from carbon cycle theory. Remarkably, a minor shift to lower, more unradiogenic osmium isotope ratios rather indicates an episode of increased volcanism or reduced continental weathering. This disproves silicate weathering as a geologically constant feedback to CO2 variations. Rather, we suggest that global Early and Middle Eocene warmth diminished the weatherability of continental rocks, ultimately leading to CO2 accumulation during the MECO, and show the plausibility of this scenario using carbon cycle modeling simulations. We surmise a dynamic weathering feedback might explain multiple enigmatic phases of coupled climate and carbon cycle change in the Cretaceous and Cenozoic.

Eonandeva gen. nov., a new distinctive genus from Eocene Baltic amber (Diptera: Chironomidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Zakrzewska, Marta; Giłka, Wojciech

2015-11-20

A new fossil genus, Eonandeva gen. nov., with two new species: E. helva sp. nov. (type for the genus) and E. latistyla sp. nov., is described from Eocene Baltic amber (~45-40 Ma). Adult males of both new species show the wing venation pattern, shape and chaetotaxy typical for the tribe Tanytarsini. The characters defined as prior apomorphies for the new genus--the gonostylus with a subapical flattened lobe and the stout, strongly elongated superior volsella--separate Eonandeva from the closely related extant genus Nandeva Wiedenbrug, Reiss et Fittkau, 1998.

Taphonomy of the fossil insects of the middle Eocene Kishenehn Formation

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Dale E. Greenwalt

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The lacustrine oil shales of the Coal Creek Member of the Kishenehn Formation in northwestern Montana comprise a relatively unstudied middle Eocene fossil insect locality. Herein, we detail the stratigraphic position of the fossiliferous unit, describe the insect fauna of the Coal Creek locality and document its bias towards very small but remarkably pre-served insects. In addition, the depositional environment is examined and the mineral constituents of the laminations that comprise the varves of the Kishenehn oil shale are defined. Fifteen orders of insects have been recorded with the majority of all insects identified as aquatic with the families Chironomidae (Diptera and Corixidae (Hemiptera dominant. The presence of small aquatic insects, many of which are immature, the intact nature of >90% of the fossil insects and the presence of Daphnia ephippia, all indicate that the depositional environment was the shallow margin of a large freshwater lake. The fossil insects occur within fossilized microbial mat layers that comprise the bedding planes of the oil shale. Unlike the fossiliferous shales of the Florissant and Okanagan Highlands, the mats are not a product of diatomaceous algae nor are diatom frustules a component of the sediments or the varve structure. Instead, the varves are composed of very fine eolian siliciclastic silt grains overlaid with non-diatomaceous, possibly cyanobacteria-derived microbial mats which contain distinct traces of polyaromatic hydrocarbons. A distinct third layer composed of essentially pure calcite is present in the shale of some exposures and is presumably derived from the seasonal warming-induced precipitation of carbonate from the lake’s waters. The Coal Creek locality presents a unique opportunity to study both very small middle Eocene insects not often preserved as compression fossils in most Konservat-Lagerstätte and the processes that led to their preservation.

Reconstruction of the Arctic Ocean environment during the Eocene Azolla interval using geochemical proxies and climate modeling. Geologica Ultraiectina (331)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Speelman, E.N.

2010-01-01

With the realization that the Arctic Ocean was covered with enormous quantities of the aquatic floating fern Azolla 49 Myrs ago, new questions regarding the Eocene conditions facilitating these blooms arose. This dissertation describes the reconstruction of paleo-environmental conditions

Controls on fluvial metamorphosis during global warming at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary (56 Ma) in Spain: extreme droughts, extreme floods or both?

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Castelltort, Sebastien; Chen, Chen; Guerit, Laure; Foreman, Brady; Paola, Chris; Adatte, Thierry

2017-04-01

How does global warming change the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events? The response to this question is partly preserved in the geological record. 56 Ma ago, global temperatures increased during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), leading to a major biotic turnover, but how this event affected the nature of extreme events remains unknown. On several continents, fluvial systems with sinuous channels within fine-grained floodplains suddenly transformed at the P-E boundary into apparently coarser-grained braid plains with frequent lateral migrations, washing their muddy floodplains to the seas. This landscape transformation has been related to aridification and intensification of precipitation allowing transport of coarser material as a result of P-E global warming, with important implications for predicting the consequences of current global change. Here we test this hypothesis by quantifying the magnitude of grain size change and flow depth at a representative P-E locality in Northern Spain. We find that the size of pebbles in transport and flow depth remained similar to, or even smaller than, pre-PETM conditions. This suggests that, if more seasonal and extreme precipitation occurred, they are not necessarily borne out in the predicted deeper flow depths and coarser grain sizes, but rather trigger a shift to multiple active channels. However, an alternative or complementary explanation may rest in pollen data found in coeval marine records and which document a dramatic vegetation shift from permanent conifer forests prior to the crisis into periodic vegetation in brief periods of rain during the hyperthermal episode. Such change induced by long periods of intense droughts, could have enhanced erodibility of channel banks by decreasing root-controlled cohesion of fine-grained floodplains and interfluves, promoting their lateral mobility and the observed fluvial metamorphosis. Thus, although water is regarded as the main agent sculpting

Evolution of and Factors Controlling Eocene Sedimentation in the Darende-Balaban Basin, Malatya (Eastern Turkey)

OpenAIRE

GÜL, KEMAL GÜRBÜZ & MURAT

2005-01-01

Collision of the Arabian and Anatolian plates affected evolution of basins located along the southern flank of the Anatolian Plate. The Darende-Balaban foreland basin is one such basin – a basin filled with Upper Cretaceous and Eocene sediments, accumulated unconformably and transgressively above ophiolitic and carbonate basement rocks. This basin is locally surrounded, to the north and south, by Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous structural highs created by tectonic elements during the collision...

Evolution of and Factors Controlling Eocene Sedimentation in the Darende-Balaban Basin, Malatya (Eastern Turkey)

OpenAIRE

GÜL, KEMAL GÜRBÜZ & GÜL, MURAT

2014-01-01

Collision of the Arabian and Anatolian plates affected evolution of basins located along the southern flank of the Anatolian Plate. The Darende-Balaban foreland basin is one such basin – a basin filled with Upper Cretaceous and Eocene sediments, accumulated unconformably and transgressively above ophiolitic and carbonate basement rocks. This basin is locally surrounded, to the north and south, by Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous structural highs created by tectonic elements during the collision...

Miocene Soil Database: Global paleosol and climate maps of the Middle Miocene Thermal Maximum

Science.gov (United States)

Metzger, C. A.

2013-12-01

Paleosols, which record past climatic, biologic, and atmospheric conditions, can be used as a proxy to understand ancient terrestrial landscapes, paleoclimate, and paleoenvironment. In addition, the middle Miocene thermal maximum (~16 Ma) provides an ancient analog for understanding the effects of current and future climate change on soil and ecosystem regimes, as it contains records of shifts similar in magnitude to expected global climate change. The Miocene Soil Database (MSDB) combines new paleosol data from Australia and Argentina with existing and previously uncollated paleosol data from the literature and the Paleobiology Database. These data (n = 507) were then used to derive a paleogeographic map of climatically significant soil types zones during the Middle Miocene. The location of each diagnostic paleosol type (Aridisol, Alfisol, Mollisol, Histosol, Oxisol, and Ultisol) was plotted and compared with the extent of these soil types in the modern environment. The middle Miocene soil map highlights the extension of tropical soils (Oxisols, Ultisols), accompanied by thermophilic flora and fauna, into northern and southern mid-latitudes. Peats, lignites, and Histosols of wetlands were also more abundant at higher latitudes, especially in the northern hemisphere, during the middle Miocene. The paleosol changes reflect that the Middle Miocene was a peak of global soil productivity and carbon sequestration, with replacement of unproductive Aridisols and Gelisols with more productive Oxisols, Alfisols, Mollisols and Histosols. With expansion to include additional data such as soil texture, moisture, or vegetation type, the MSDB has the potential to provide an important dataset for computer models of Miocene climate shifts as well as future land use considerations of soils in times of global change.

Clay mineralogical constraints on weathering in response to early Eocene hyperthermal events in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming (Western Interior, USA)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, Chaowen; Adriaens, Rieko; Hong, Hanlie; Elsen, Jan; Vandenberghe, Noël; Lourens, Lucas J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/125023103; Gingerich, Philip D.; Abels, Hemmo A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304848018

2017-01-01

Series of transient greenhouse warming intervals in the early Eocene provide an opportunity to study the response of rock weathering and erosion to changes in temperature and precipitation. During greenhouse warming, chemical weathering is thought to increase the uptake of carbon from the

Eocene lizard from Germany reveals amphisbaenian origins.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Johannes; Hipsley, Christy A; Head, Jason J; Kardjilov, Nikolay; Hilger, André; Wuttke, Michael; Reisz, Robert R

2011-05-19

Amphisbaenia is a speciose clade of fossorial lizards characterized by a snake-like body and a strongly reinforced skull adapted for head-first burrowing. The evolutionary origins of amphisbaenians are controversial, with molecular data uniting them with lacertids, a clade of Old World terrestrial lizards, whereas morphology supports a grouping with snakes and other limbless squamates. Reports of fossil stem amphisbaenians have been falsified, and no fossils have previously tested these competing phylogenetic hypotheses or shed light on ancestral amphisbaenian ecology. Here we report the discovery of a new lacertid-like lizard from the Eocene Messel locality of Germany that provides the first morphological evidence for lacertid-amphisbaenian monophyly on the basis of a reinforced, akinetic skull roof and braincase, supporting the view that body elongation and limblessness in amphisbaenians and snakes evolved independently. Morphometric analysis of body shape and ecology in squamates indicates that the postcranial anatomy of the new taxon is most consistent with opportunistically burrowing habits, which in combination with cranial reinforcement indicates that head-first burrowing evolved before body elongation and may have been a crucial first step in the evolution of amphisbaenian fossoriality.

Geologic History of Eocene Stonerose Fossil Beds, Republic, Washington, USA

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George E. Mustoe

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Eocene lakebed sediments at Stonerose Interpretive Center in Republic, Washington, USA are one of the most important Cenozoic fossil sites in North America, having gained international attention because of the abundance and diversity of plant, insect, and fish fossils. This report describes the first detailed geologic investigation of this unusual lagerstätten. Strata are gradationally divided into three units: Siliceous shale that originated as diatomite, overlain by laminated mudstone, which is in turn overlain by massive beds of lithic sandstone. The sedimentary sequence records topographic and hydrologic changes that caused a deep lake to become progressively filled with volcaniclastic detritus from earlier volcanic episodes. The location of the ancient lake within an active graben suggests that displacements along the boundary faults were the most likely trigger for changes in depositional processes.

Thermal Properties of Carbon Nanotube–Copper Composites for Thermal Management Applications

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Jia Chengchang

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Carbon nanotube–copper (CNT/Cu composites have been successfully synthesized by means of a novel particles-compositing process followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS technique. The thermal conductivity of the composites was measured by a laser flash technique and theoretical analyzed using an effective medium approach. The experimental results showed that the thermal conductivity unusually decreased after the incorporation of CNTs. Theoretical analyses revealed that the interfacial thermal resistance between the CNTs and the Cu matrix plays a crucial role in determining the thermal conductivity of bulk composites, and only small interfacial thermal resistance can induce a significant degradation in thermal conductivity for CNT/Cu composites. The influence of sintering condition on the thermal conductivity depended on the combined effects of multiple factors, i.e. porosity, CNTs distribution and CNT kinks or twists. The composites sintered at 600°C for 5 min under 50 MPa showed the maximum thermal conductivity. CNT/Cu composites are considered to be a promising material for thermal management applications.

Atmospheric circulation and hydroclimate impacts of alternative warming scenarios for the Eocene

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, Henrik; Caballero, Rodrigo

2017-08-01

Recent work in modelling the warm climates of the early Eocene shows that it is possible to obtain a reasonable global match between model surface temperature and proxy reconstructions, but only by using extremely high atmospheric CO2 concentrations or more modest CO2 levels complemented by a reduction in global cloud albedo. Understanding the mix of radiative forcing that gave rise to Eocene warmth has important implications for constraining Earth's climate sensitivity, but progress in this direction is hampered by the lack of direct proxy constraints on cloud properties. Here, we explore the potential for distinguishing among different radiative forcing scenarios via their impact on regional climate changes. We do this by comparing climate model simulations of two end-member scenarios: one in which the climate is warmed entirely by CO2 (which we refer to as the greenhouse gas (GHG) scenario) and another in which it is warmed entirely by reduced cloud albedo (which we refer to as the low CO2-thin clouds or LCTC scenario) . The two simulations have an almost identical global-mean surface temperature and equator-to-pole temperature difference, but the LCTC scenario has ˜ 11 % greater global-mean precipitation than the GHG scenario. The LCTC scenario also has cooler midlatitude continents and warmer oceans than the GHG scenario and a tropical climate which is significantly more El Niño-like. Extremely high warm-season temperatures in the subtropics are mitigated in the LCTC scenario, while cool-season temperatures are lower at all latitudes. These changes appear large enough to motivate further, more detailed study using other climate models and a more realistic set of modelling assumptions.

The nummulithoclast event within the Lower Eocene in the Southern Tethyan margin: Mechanisms involved, analogy with the filament event and climate implication (Kairouan, Central Tunisia)

Science.gov (United States)

Mardassi, Besma

2017-10-01

Early Eocene deposits in Tunisia are marked by clear variations in terms of facies and thickness. Each facies corresponds to an appropriate depositional environment. Shallow water deposits pass gradually offshore into deeper carbonates along a homoclinal ramp. In Central Tunisia, detailed investigation of carbonate facies under transmitted light shows a particular richness of the middle part of Early Eocene deposits in nummulithoclasts. These facies are often frequent within corrugated banks. They are overlaying Globigerina rich well-bedded limestones and overlain by nummulites and Discocyclina rich massively-bedded carbonates. Nummulithoclasts occurrence is recorded on field by an abrupt vertical change from autochthonous thinly-bedded limestones to massively-bedded fossiliferous carbonates. Change concerns structures, textures and limestones' composition. Nummulithoclasts are associated either to planktonic micro-organisms or to benthic fauna and phosphates grains. The middle and the upper parts of the Early Eocene deposits, particularly, fossilize hummocky cross-stratifications and megaripples. Their presence advocates the role of energetic currents in sweeping nummulites from lower circatidal to upper bathyal environments. The absence of a slope break helped the settling of reworked nummulites within deeper environments. The abrupt change, nummulithoclast associations and current structures arouse reflection and make them not reliable to characterize depositional environments. However, their preferential occurrence within the middle part of Early Eocene deposits and the tight linkage with storm activity lead them to be considered as event. The large scale hummocks recorded on field suggests that nummulite fragmentation was triggered by tropical cyclones rather than humble storms. The frequent occurrence of cyclones which correspond to low pressure atmospheric systems seems in relation with a global warming enhancing the sea surface temperature.

Middle Eocene (Bartonian) Nummulites perforatus bank from the Transylvanian Basin, Romania: an example from a classical occurrence

Science.gov (United States)

Szabolcs Attila, Kövecsi; Lóránd, Silye; György, Less; Sorin, Filipescu

2016-04-01

Giant uni-cellulars, Nummulites lived in stable oligotrophic environments throughout the Eocene of the Tethys forming large accumulations called "banks" (Arni, 1965), which were identified on the top of the Cǎpusu Formation, Transylvanian Basin (Popescu, 1978). The studied outcrop is located near Cǎpusu village, Cluj County where we studied two sections (CA1, CA2). They consist of medium to coarse grained sands with abundant Nummulites perforatus (A and B forms). Sporadically specimens of Nummulites beaumonti are also present. According to the larger foraminiferal zonation of Serra-Kiel et al. (1998) the studied nummlitic bank is referred to the SBZ 17 Zone (early Bartonian). Specimens were recovered from 6 samples, about 2 kg each, prepared by standard methods. In section CA1 the A/B ratio ranges between 42/1 and 117/1 while in section CA2 the A/B ratio varies between 27/1 and 52/1. The higher A/B ratio suggests that the original Nummulites assemblages was winnowed in situ. By contrast, the lower A/B ratio indicates that the original assemblage was supposedly selectively winnowed (Ainger, 1985), but they are in situ (Seddighi et al., 2015). This interpretation is supported by the fact, that in all samples the Nummulites specimens (both A and B form) are bioeroded and abraded, which indicates a shallow water environment with high hydrodynamic activity (Racey, 2001; Papazzoni, 2008). Based on our observations the studied nummulitic accumulations consist mostly of monospecific assemblages, and they form a bank. The identified biofabrics, the A/B ratio of the assemblages and the presence of both A and B forms support this interpretation. The presence of the abraded Nummulites tests further suggest that the studied deposits were sedimented in a shallow water environment with high hydrodynamic activity, probably in a wave dominant setting. References: Aigner, T. 1982. Event-stratification in nummulite accumulations and in shell beds from the Eocene of Egypt. In

Estimation of Maximum Allowable PV Connection to LV Residential Power Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Demirok, Erhan; Sera, Dezso; Teodorescu, Remus

2011-01-01

Maximum photovoltaic (PV) hosting capacity of low voltage (LV) power networks is mainly restricted by either thermal limits of network components or grid voltage quality resulted from high penetration of distributed PV systems. This maximum hosting capacity may be lower than the available solar...... potential of geographic area due to power network limitations even though all rooftops are fully occupied with PV modules. Therefore, it becomes more of an issue to know what exactly limits higher PV penetration level and which solutions should be engaged efficiently such as over sizing distribution...

Organic geochemistry and petrology of subsurface Paleocene-Eocene Wilcox and Claiborne Group coal beds, Zavala County, Maverick Basin, Texas, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Hackley, Paul C.; Warwick, Peter D.; Hook, Robert W.; Alimi, Hossein; Mastalerz, Maria; Swanson, Sharon M.

2012-01-01

Coal samples from a coalbed methane exploration well in northern Zavala County, Maverick Basin, Texas, were characterized through an integrated analytical program. The well was drilled in February, 2006 and shut in after coal core desorption indicated negligible gas content. Cuttings samples from two levels in the Eocene Claiborne Group were evaluated by way of petrographic techniques and Rock–Eval pyrolysis. Core samples from the Paleocene–Eocene Indio Formation (Wilcox Group) were characterized via proximate–ultimate analysis in addition to petrography and pyrolysis. Two Indio Formation coal samples were selected for detailed evaluation via gas chromatography, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and 13C CPMAS NMR spectroscopy. Samples are subbituminous rank as determined from multiple thermal maturity parameters. Elevated rank (relative to similar age coal beds elsewhere in the Gulf Coast Basin) in the study area is interpreted to be a result of stratigraphic and/or structural thickening related to Laramide compression and construction of the Sierra Madre Oriental to the southwest. Vitrinite reflectance data, along with extant data, suggest the presence of an erosional unconformity or change in regional heat flow between the Cretaceous and Tertiary sections and erosion of up to >5 km over the Cretaceous. The presence of liptinite-rich coals in the Claiborne at the well site may indicate moderately persistent or recurring coal-forming paleoenvironments, interpreted as perennially submerged peat in shallow ephemeral lakes with herbaceous and/or flotant vegetation. However, significant continuity of individual Eocene coal beds in the subsurface is not suggested. Indio Formation coal samples contain abundant telovitrinite interpreted to be preserved from arborescent, above-ground woody vegetation that developed during the middle portion of mire development in forested swamps. Other petrographic criteria suggest enhanced biological, chemical and physical

The Rajang Unconformity: Major provenance change between the Eocene and Miocene sequences in NW Borneo

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Breitfeld, H. T.; Hennig, J.; BouDagher-Fadel, M.; Hall, R.

2017-12-01

The offshore Sarawak Basin NW of North Sarawak is a major hydrocarbon province in SE Asia. A very thick sedimentary sequence of Oligocene to ?Early Miocene age, named Cycle 1, is an important hydrocarbon source and reservoir. Despite numerous wells the stratigraphy and tectonic history is not very well understood. The Nyalau Formation of onshore North Sarawak is the supposed equivalent of the offshore Cycle 1 sequence. The Nyalau Formation is a thick sedimentary sequence of mainly tidal to deltaic deposits. The formation is dominated by well-bedded sandstone-mudstone alternations and thicker sandstones with abundant bioturbation. The sandstones are predominantly arenaceous. Various lithic fragments and feldspar indicate multiple sources and fresh input from igneous and metamorphic rocks. Interbedded thin limestone beds and marls yielded Early Miocene foraminifera for the upper part of the succession. Zircons separated from the sandstones yielded mainly Cretaceous and Triassic ages. The Triassic is the dominant age population. The Nyalau Formation conformably overlies the Buan Shale and the Tatau Formation, and in places unconformably overlies the Belaga Formation. The Belaga Formation is part of the Rajang Group that represents remnants of a large submarine fan deposited in the Late Cretaceous to Eocene in Central Sarawak. In contrast to the Nyalau Formation, the majority of zircons from the Rajang Group have Cretaceous ages. This marks an important change in provenance at the major unconformity separating the Belaga and Nyalau Formations. This unconformity was previously interpreted as the result of an orogeny in the Late Eocene. However, there is no evidence for a subduction or collision event at this time in Sarawak. We interpret it to mark plate reorganisation in the Middle Eocene and name it the Rajang Unconformity. Borneo is the principal source of Cretaceous zircons which were derived from the Schwaner Mountains and West Sarawak. The dominant Triassic zircon

Theoretical Evaluation of the Maximum Work of Free-Piston Engine Generators

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Kojima, Shinji

2017-01-01

Utilizing the adjoint equations that originate from the calculus of variations, we have calculated the maximum thermal efficiency that is theoretically attainable by free-piston engine generators considering the work loss due to friction and Joule heat. Based on the adjoint equations with seven dimensionless parameters, the trajectory of the piston, the histories of the electric current, the work done, and the two kinds of losses have been derived in analytic forms. Using these we have conducted parametric studies for the optimized Otto and Brayton cycles. The smallness of the pressure ratio of the Brayton cycle makes the net work done negative even when the duration of heat addition is optimized to give the maximum amount of heat addition. For the Otto cycle, the net work done is positive, and both types of losses relative to the gross work done become smaller with the larger compression ratio. Another remarkable feature of the optimized Brayton cycle is that the piston trajectory of the heat addition/disposal process is expressed by the same equation as that of an adiabatic process. The maximum thermal efficiency of any combination of isochoric and isobaric heat addition/disposal processes, such as the Sabathe cycle, may be deduced by applying the methods described here.

Agerinia smithorum sp. nov., a new early Eocene primate from the Iberian Peninsula.

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Femenias-Gual, Joan; Minwer-Barakat, Raef; Marigó, Judit; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2016-09-01

The new species Agerinia smithorum (Adapiformes, Primates) from the early Eocene of the Iberian Peninsula is erected in this work. An emended diagnosis of the genus is provided, together with a broad description of the new species and comparisons with other samples assigned to Agerinia and other similar medium-sized cercamoniines. The new species is based on the most complete specimen of this genus published to date, a mandible preserving the alveoli of the canine and P1 , the roots of the P2 and all teeth from P3 to M3 . It was found in Casa Retjo-1, a new early Eocene locality from Northeastern Spain. The studied specimen is clearly distinguishable from other cercamoniines such as Periconodon, Darwinius, and Donrussellia, but very similar to Agerinia roselli, especially in the similar height of P3 and P4 and the general morphology of the molars, therefore allowing the allocation to the same genus. However, it is undoubtedly distinct from A. roselli, having a less molarized P4 and showing a larger paraconid in the M1 and a tiny one in the M2 , among other differences. The body mass of A. smithorum has also been estimated, ranging from 652 to 724 g, similar to that of A. roselli. The primitive traits shown by A. smithorum (moderately molarized P4 , large paraconid in the M1 and small but distinct in the M2 ) suggest that it could be the ancestor of A. roselli. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A new genus and species of Heroini (Perciformes: Cichlidae from the early Eocene of southern South America

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Patricia Alano Perez

Full Text Available The Lumbrera Formation is the uppermost unit of the Salta Group, which crops out in northwestern Argentina. The paleoenvironment of the Lumbrera Formation is interpreted as a perennial lake deposited under temperate climatic conditions during the early to middle Eocene. Its fossil content is made up of palynomorphs, insects, crocodiles, turtles, lizards, and mammals, besides an ichthyofauna formed by cichlids, poeciliids and dipnoans. †Plesioheros chauliodus is described based on a single individual from this formation, which was fossilized as a lateral view impression (missing anal and caudal fins. It can be distinguished from other cichlids by a moderately deep body, enlarged anterior dentary teeth bearing subapical cusp, a low abdominal vertebral count (10, five canal openings in the dentary, and XI + 12 dorsal-fin rays. A phylogenetic analysis, using the matrix by Kullander (1998, recovered †Plesioheros within Heroini. This species was recovered most closely related to Australoheros and to the deep-bodied South American heroins. The occurrence of an Eocene Heroini, as well as of other cichlid lineages in the same stratigraphical level, is evidence of an ancient diversification in this family. This ancient age supports the hypothesis that the Cichlidae originated on Gondwana.

When Indian crabs were not yet Asian - biogeographic evidence for Eocene proximity of India and Southeast Asia

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Klaus Sebastian

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The faunal and floral relationship of northward-drifting India with its neighboring continents is of general biogeographic interest as an important driver of regional biodiversity. However, direct biogeographic connectivity of India and Southeast Asia during the Cenozoic remains largely unexplored. We investigate timing, direction and mechanisms of faunal exchange between India and Southeast Asia, based on a molecular phylogeny, molecular clock-derived time estimates and biogeographic reconstructions of the Asian freshwater crab family Gecarcinucidae. Results Although the Gecarcinucidae are not an element of an ancient Gondwana fauna, their subfamily Gecarcinucinae, and probably also the Liotelphusinae, evolved on the Indian Subcontinent and subsequently dispersed to Southeast Asia. Estimated by a model testing approach, this dispersal event took place during the Middle Eocene, and thus before the final collision of India and the Tibet-part of Eurasia. Conclusions We postulate that the India and Southeast Asia were close enough for exchange of freshwater organisms during the Middle Eocene, before the final Indian-Eurasian collision. Our data support geological models that assume the Indian plate having tracked along Southeast Asia during its move northwards.

Coralgal facies of the Upper Eocene-Lower Oligocene limestones in Letca-Rastoci area

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Ioana Prica

2001-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper are described the coralgal facies identified in the Upper Eocene-Lower Oligocene limestone succession (Cozla Formation outcropping in two quarries at Letca and Rastoci (Sălaj district, Romania. In the studied profiles the coral and algae limestones are interlayered with bioclastic limestones with foraminifera. On the top of relatively deep water deposits, coral and algae crusts and dendritic corals coated by algae were deposited. The environment registered a gradual deepening, the deposits being completely immersed, while bioclastic limestones with foraminifera were recurrently formed. This cycle is repeated, the whole succession being caracterized by several such “parasequences”.

A remarkable new genus of Protosmylinae (Neuroptera: Osmylidae) from late Eocene Florissant, Colorado.

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Makarkin, Vladimir N

2017-05-18

Pseudosmylidia relicta gen. et sp. nov. (Neuroptera: Osmylidae) is described from the late Eocene of Florissant (U.S.A., Colorado). It is assigned to the subfamily Protosmylinae based on the presence of two venational features characteristic of the subfamily: most crossveins in the radial to intramedial spaces of the forewing are arranged in four gradate series, and CuP is short and simple or forked only once in the hind wing. This genus is remarkable by CuP in the forewing bearing few pectinate branches. This is the only genus of extant and Cenozoic fossil Osmylidae in which this plesiomorphic condition is retained.

Thermal history of rocks in southern San Joaquin Valley, California: evidence from fission-track analysis

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Naeser, N.D.; Naeser, C.W.; McCulloh, T.H.

1990-01-01

Fission-track analysis has been used to study the thermal and depositional history of the subsurface Tertiary sedimentary rocks on both sides of the active White Wolf reverse fault in the southern San Joaquin Valley. The distinctly different thermal histories of the rocks in the two structural blocks are clearly reflected in the apatite fission-track data, which suggest that rocks in the rapidly subsiding basin northwest of the fault have been near their present temperature for only about 1 m.y. compared with about 10 m.y. for rocks southeast of the fault. These estimates of heating time agree with previous estimates for these rocks. Zircon fission-track data indicate that the Tertiary sediments were derived from parent rocks of more than one age. However, from at least the Eocene to late Miocene or Pliocene, the major sediment source was rocks related to the youngest Sierra Nevada Mesozoic intrusive complexes, which are presently exposed east and south of the southern San Joaquin Valley. -from Authors

New early Eocene vertebrate assemblage from western India reveals a mixed fauna of European and Gondwana affinities

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Thierry Smith

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The Ypresian Cambay Shale Formation at Vastan and Mangrol lignite mines in Gujarat, western India, has yielded a rich vertebrate fauna with numerous taxa of European affinities. Here we report a new, approximately contemporary vertebrate assemblage from two fossiliferous layers in the nearby mine of Tadkeshwar. These layers have yielded a similar mammal fauna with the co-occurrence of the perissodactyl-like cambaytheriid Cambaytherium thewissi, the adapoid primates Marcgodinotius indicus and cf. Asiadapis cambayensis, and the hyaenodontid Indohyaenodon raoi. The presence of these species in both Vastan and Tadkeshwar mines and at different levels suggests that the deposits between the two major lignite seams represent a single land mammal age. Apart from the aforementioned species there is a new, smaller species of Cambaytherium, and a new genus and species of esthonychid tillodont. This fauna also contains the first large early Eocene vertebrates from India, including an unidentified Coryphodon-like pantodont, a dyrosaurid crocodyliform and a new giant madtsoiid snake. Among the Tadkeshwar vertebrates several taxa are of Gondwana affinities, such as Pelomedusoides turtles, dyrosaurids, and large madtsoiids, attesting that the early Eocene was a crucial period in India during which Laurasian taxa of European affinities co-existed with relict taxa from Gondwana before the India-Asia collision. Our results suggest that terrestrial faunas could have dispersed to or from Europe during episodes of contact between the Indian subcontinent and different island blocks along the northern margin of the Neotethys, such as the Kohistan–Ladakh island-arc system. Gondwana taxa might represent remnants of ghost lineages shared with Madagascar, which reached the Indian subcontinent during the late Cretaceous; alternatively they might have come from North Africa and passed along the southern margin of the Neotethys to reach the Indian subcontinent. These

Micron-scale intra-ring analyses of δ13C in early Eocene Arctic wood from Ellesmere Island

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Schubert, B.; Jahren, H.; Eberle, J.; Sternberg, L.

2009-12-01

Early Eocene (ca. 53 Ma) fossil assemblages on Ellesmere Island (75 oN paleolatitude), provide rich information about the plant and animal life of the lush polar ecosystems of the time. Fossil wood recovered from Ellesmere Island is abundant and not permineralized; however, morphological features such as growth rings and resin canals have been obliterated by compression. We report on exceptionally high-resolution intra-ring analyses of δ13C within fossil wood, sampled at ~30 micron intervals across several centimeters of wood sample. Clear patterns in systematic seasonal increases and decreases in wood δ13C allowed us to identify at least 5 annual cycles in the wood. The patterns of increase and decrease in δ13C were consistent with patterns observed for evergreen wood, and distinct from the deciduous patterns we have observed for Metasequoia fossil wood from the middle Eocene (ca. 45 Ma) Arctic site on Axel Heiberg Island. We believe that the high point in the δ13C value of wood seen in each cycle corresponds to the highest environmental temperatures during the annual cycle, as has been seen for modern evergreens (e.g., Barbour et al., 2002). Modern studies have also noted that high temperature periods are correlated with the highest vapor-pressure and soil-water deficits of the annual cycle; these environmental factors would cause the plant to change its discrimination during photosynthesis. We will discuss the relatively low amplitude of δ13C fluctuations (0.5-1.0 ‰) clearly defined by Ellesmere fossil wood, in comparison to observations on modern common evergreens (2.0-4.0 ‰), and speculate that this difference implies greatly dampened seasonal temperature fluctuations in Eocene polar environments, relative to today. Barbour M.M., Walcroft A.S., Farquhar G.D., 2002, Seasonal variation in δ13C and δ18O of cellulose from growth rings of Pinus radiata. Plant, Cell and Environment: v. 25, p. 1483-1499.

Eocene fossil is earliest evidence of flower-visiting by birds.

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Mayr, Gerald; Wilde, Volker

2014-05-01

Birds are important pollinators, but the evolutionary history of ornithophily (bird pollination) is poorly known. Here, we report a skeleton of the avian taxon Pumiliornis from the middle Eocene of Messel in Germany with preserved stomach contents containing numerous pollen grains of an eudicotyledonous angiosperm. The skeletal morphology of Pumiliornis is in agreement with this bird having been a, presumably nectarivorous, flower-visitor. It represents the earliest and first direct fossil evidence of flower-visiting by birds and indicates a minimum age of 47 million years for the origin of bird-flower interactions. As Pumiliornis does not belong to any of the modern groups of flower-visiting birds, the origin of ornithophily in some angiosperm lineages may have predated that of their extant avian pollinators. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Late cretaceous to early eocene foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Rakhi Nala area, Sulaiman Range, Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afzal, J.

1996-01-01

Shaly intervals from late cretaceous to early eocene sediments of the Rakhi Nala Section (Sulaiman Range) were analysed for the foraminiferal micro fauna (Planktons, smaller and larger benthics). The faunal record is interpreted for the precise age and paleo environments. These fresh results, in the light of modern bio stratigraphic knowledge, are compared with the previous bio stratigraphic information available about this area. Several discrepancies regarding the litho and biostratigraphy from the previous literature were addressed and tried to remove. (author)

Ocean Thermal Extractable Energy Visualization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ascari, Matthew [Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, MD (United States)

2012-10-28

The Ocean Thermal Extractable Energy Visualization (OTEEV) project focuses on assessing the Maximum Practicably Extractable Energy (MPEE) from the world’s ocean thermal resources. MPEE is defined as being sustainable and technically feasible, given today’s state-of-the-art ocean energy technology. Under this project the OTEEV team developed a comprehensive Geospatial Information System (GIS) dataset and software tool, and used the tool to provide a meaningful assessment of MPEE from the global and domestic U.S. ocean thermal resources.

Atmospheric circulation and hydroclimate impacts of alternative warming scenarios for the Eocene

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H. Carlson

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Recent work in modelling the warm climates of the early Eocene shows that it is possible to obtain a reasonable global match between model surface temperature and proxy reconstructions, but only by using extremely high atmospheric CO2 concentrations or more modest CO2 levels complemented by a reduction in global cloud albedo. Understanding the mix of radiative forcing that gave rise to Eocene warmth has important implications for constraining Earth's climate sensitivity, but progress in this direction is hampered by the lack of direct proxy constraints on cloud properties. Here, we explore the potential for distinguishing among different radiative forcing scenarios via their impact on regional climate changes. We do this by comparing climate model simulations of two end-member scenarios: one in which the climate is warmed entirely by CO2 (which we refer to as the greenhouse gas (GHG scenario and another in which it is warmed entirely by reduced cloud albedo (which we refer to as the low CO2–thin clouds or LCTC scenario . The two simulations have an almost identical global-mean surface temperature and equator-to-pole temperature difference, but the LCTC scenario has  ∼  11 % greater global-mean precipitation than the GHG scenario. The LCTC scenario also has cooler midlatitude continents and warmer oceans than the GHG scenario and a tropical climate which is significantly more El Niño-like. Extremely high warm-season temperatures in the subtropics are mitigated in the LCTC scenario, while cool-season temperatures are lower at all latitudes. These changes appear large enough to motivate further, more detailed study using other climate models and a more realistic set of modelling assumptions.

Comprehensive thermal-hydraulic and thermal-mechanical analysis of core and fuel rods for the safety validation of real refueling at the Kozloduy WWER-440

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stefanova, S; Panajotov, D; Ilieva, B; Vitkova, M; Simeonova, V; Passage, G; Manolova, M [Bylgarska Akademiya na Naukite, Sofia (Bulgaria). Inst. za Yadrena Izsledvaniya i Yadrena Energetika

1996-12-31

Safety analysis aimed at determination of thermal-hydraulic and thermal-mechanical margins of core and fuel rods has been carried out using computer codes COBSOFM and PIN-micro. Thermal-hydraulic calculations for the part of the core with maximum heat flux during steady-state regime show that the coolant, cladding and fuel temperatures are within the design limits. A severe accident with reactor blackout has been simulated. It is found that at 95% probability level there is no boiling crisis anywhere in the core. The thermal-mechanical parameters of working assembly fuel rod with maximum load have been calculated. The assembly linear power reached a maximum of 25 kW/m during the second fuel cycle, the fuel temperature remaining well below 1000{sup o} C. As the fuel assembly with typical power history has enough safety margins, it was proposed to use it for one more cycle. 4 refs., 12 figs.

Eocene and Miocene extension, meteoric fluid infiltration, and core complex formation in the Great Basin (Raft River Mountains, Utah)

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Methner, Katharina; Mulch, Andreas; Teyssier, Christian; Wells, Michael L.; Cosca, Michael A.; Gottardi, Raphael; Gebelin, Aude; Chamberlain, C. Page

2015-01-01

Metamorphic core complexes (MCCs) in the North American Cordillera reflect the effects of lithospheric extension and contribute to crustal adjustments both during and after a protracted subduction history along the Pacific plate margin. While the Miocene-to-recent history of most MCCs in the Great Basin, including the Raft River-Albion-Grouse Creek MCC, is well documented, early Cenozoic tectonic fabrics are commonly severely overprinted. We present stable isotope, geochronological (40Ar/39Ar), and microstructural data from the Raft River detachment shear zone. Hydrogen isotope ratios of syntectonic white mica (δ2Hms) from mylonitic quartzite within the shear zone are very low (−90‰ to −154‰, Vienna SMOW) and result from multiphase synkinematic interaction with surface-derived fluids. 40Ar/39Ar geochronology reveals Eocene (re)crystallization of white mica with δ2Hms ≥ −154‰ in quartzite mylonite of the western segment of the detachment system. These δ2Hms values are distinctively lower than in localities farther east (δ2Hms ≥ −125‰), where 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data indicate Miocene (18–15 Ma) extensional shearing and mylonitic fabric formation. These data indicate that very low δ2H surface-derived fluids penetrated the brittle-ductile transition as early as the mid-Eocene during a first phase of exhumation along a detachment rooted to the east. In the eastern part of the core complex, prominent top-to-the-east ductile shearing, mid-Miocene 40Ar/39Ar ages, and higher δ2H values of recrystallized white mica, indicate Miocene structural and isotopic overprinting of Eocene fabrics.

Hinterland drainage closure and lake formation in response to middle Eocene Farallon slab removal, Nevada, U.S.A.

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Smith, M. Elliot; Cassel, Elizabeth J.; Jicha, Brian R.; Singer, Brad S.; Canada, Andrew S.

2017-12-01

Hinterland basins can accumulate high resolution archives of orogenic processes and continental climate, but are challenging to reconstruct due to tectonic overprinting and the inherent complexity of their lithofacies assemblages. The Cordilleran hinterland of northeast Nevada has been interpreted to have overlain a flattened Farallon slab from the Late Cretaceous to Eocene. Slab removal and advection of asthenospheric mantle beneath Nevada have been invoked to explain a southwestward migrating wave of Eocene to Oligocene volcanism and proposed as a driver for topographic uplift. However, the timing of slab removal and possible subsequent delamination of North American lithospheric mantle can only ambiguously be related to the surface record. Subsequent Neogene extension and basin filling has complicated the correlation and interpretation of strata that record these events. Here we apply single crystal sanidine 40Ar/39Ar geochronology to 26 ash beds in northeast Nevada to reconstruct Paleogene geographic and hydrologic evolution. We use these ages and legacy geochronology to compare lithofacies and isotope proxy records of meteoric waters to regional tectonics and global climate, and assess competing tectonic interpretations for lake basin formation. Lakes formed locally prior to ca. 48.7 Ma in northeast Nevada, coeval with foreland lakes of the Green River Formation. The most expansive phase of lacustrine deposition resulted in onlap onto locally derived fluvial deposits and folded Paleozoic bedrock, and occurred between ca. 43.4 and ca. 40.8 Ma. Elko Formation strata exhibit a basin-wide transition from fluvial-lacustrine to fluctuating profundal lithofacies at ca. 42.7 Ma, suggesting a shift towards regional hydrologic closure. The stromatolitic upper Elko Formation is intercalated with ash fall tuffs and several partially welded to unwelded ignimbrites from increasingly proximal volcanism. Elko Formation deposition ended by ca. 40.4 Ma. 40Ar/39Ar ages for seven

Paleokarst processes in the Eocene limestones of the Pyramids Plateau, Giza, Egypt

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El Aref, M. M.; Refai, E.

The Eocene limestones of the Pyramids plateau are characterized by landforms of stepped terraced escarpment and karst ridges with isolated hills. The carbonate country rocks are also dominated by minor surface, surface to subsurface and subsurface solution features associated with karst products. The systematic field observations eludicate the denudation trend of the minor solution features and suggest the origin of the regional landscapes. The lithologic and structural characters of the limestone country rocks comprise the main factors controlling the surface and subsurface karst evolution. The development of the karst features and the associated sediments in the study area provides information on the paleohydrolic, chemical and climatic environments involved in the origin of the karstification.

Spicules of Litistidic sponges from the upper Eocene Verhivtsevska depression (Miiddle Dniprean

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Ivanova T.A.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available For the first time a taxonomic composition of lithistid sponges which are lived in the Late Eocene basin of Verchovtzev depression Ukrainian Shield is supposed by the spicules morphological analysis. There are sponges of ten geneses and seven families presented in paleocoenosis, but families Theonellidae (geneses Lerouxia, Rhagadinia andPlinthosellidae (genusPlinthosella are dominated. Threenewmorphospeciesof spicules aredescribed: Phyllotriaenapartita T.A.Ivanova morphosp.n., Ph. araneola T.A.Ivanova, morphosp.n., Tetracrepides semiornatus T.A.Ivanova, morphosp.n. Their stratigraphical meaning is determined. These spicules are characteristic for the Obuchovian Suite and would be used as the paleontological criterion of the Obuchovian Suite determination in geological sections of the Middle Dnieper region.

Bichordites from the early Eocene of Cuba: significance in the evolutionary history of the spatangoids

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Villegas-Martín, Jorge; Netto, Renata Guimarães

2017-12-01

The trace fossil Bichordites monastiriensis is found in early Eocene turbiditic sandstones of the upper-slope deposits from the Capdevila Formation in Los Palacios Basin, Pinar del Río region, western Cuba. The potential tracemakers of B. monastiriensis include fossil spatangoids from the family Eupatagidae. The record of Bichordites in the deposits from Cuba allows to suppose that Eupatagidae echinoids were the oldest potential tracemakers of Bichordites isp. and reinforce the hypothesis that the ichnological record are relevant in envisaging the evolutionary history of the spatangoids.

Large temperature variability in the southern African tropics since the Last Glacial Maximum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Powers, L.A.; Johnson, T.C.; Werne, J.P.; Castañeda, I.S.; Hopmans, E.; Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.; Schouten, S.

2005-01-01

The role of the tropics in global climate change is actively debated, particularly in regard to the timing and magnitude of thermal and hydrological response. Continuous, high-resolution temperature records through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) from tropical oceans have provided much insight

High Arctic Forests During the Middle Eocene Supported by ~400 ppm Atmospheric CO2

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Maxbauer, D. P.; Royer, D. L.; LePage, B. A.

2013-12-01

Fossils from Paleogene High Arctic deposits provide some of the clearest evidence for greenhouse climates and offer the potential to improve our understanding of Earth system dynamics in a largely ice-free world. One of the most well-known and exquisitely-preserved middle Eocene (47.9-37.8 Myrs ago) polar forest sites, Napartulik, crops out on eastern Axel Heiberg Island (80 °N), Nunavut, Canada. An abundance of data from Napartulik suggest mean annual temperatures of up to 30 °C warmer than today and atmospheric water loads 2× above current levels. Despite this wealth of paleontological and paleoclimatological data, there are currently no direct constraints on atmospheric CO2 levels for Napartulik or any other polar forest site. Here we apply a new plant gas-exchange model to Metasequoia (dawn redwood) leaves to reconstruct atmospheric CO2 from six fossil forests at Napartulik. Individual reconstructions vary between 405-489 ppm with a site mean of 437 ppm (337-564 ppm at 95% confidence). These estimates represent the first direct constraints on CO2 for polar fossil forests and suggest that the temperate conditions present at Napartulik during the middle Eocene were maintained under CO2 concentrations ~1.6× above pre-industrial levels. Our results strongly support the case that long-term climate sensitivity to CO2 in the past was sometimes high, even during largely ice-free periods, highlighting the need to better understand the climate forcing and feedback mechanisms responsible for this amplification.

A new commelinid monocot seed fossil from the early Eocene previously identified as Solanaceae.

Science.gov (United States)

Särkinen, Tiina; Kottner, Sören; Stuppy, Wolfgang; Ahmed, Farah; Knapp, Sandra

2018-01-01

Fossils provide minimum age estimates for extant lineages. Here we critically evaluate Cantisolanum daturoides Reid & Chandler and two other early putative seed fossils of Solanaceae, an economically important plant family in the Asteridae. Three earliest seed fossil taxa of Solanaceae from the London Clay Formation (Cantisolanum daturoides) and the Poole and Branksome Sand Formations (Solanum arnense Chandler and Solanispermum reniforme Chandler) were studied using x-ray microcomputed tomography (MCT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The MCT scans of Cantisolanum daturoides revealed a high level of pyrite preservation at the cellular level. Cantisolanum daturoides can be clearly excluded from Solanaceae and has more affinities to the commelinid monocots based on a straight longitudinal axis, a prominent single layer of relatively thin-walled cells in the testa, and a clearly differentiated micropyle surrounded by radially elongated and inwardly curved testal cells. While the MCT scans show no internal preservation in Solanum arnense and Solanispermum reniforme, SEM images show the presence of several characteristics that allow the placement of these taxa at the stem node of Solanaceae. Cantisolanum daturoides is likely a member of commelinid monocots and not Solanaceae as previously suggested. The earliest fossil record of Solanaceae is revised to consist of fruit fossil with inflated calyces from the early Eocene of Patagonia (52 Ma) and fossilized seeds from the early to mid-Eocene of Europe (48-46 Ma). The new identity for Cantisolanum daturoides does not alter a late Cretaceous minimum age for commelinids. © 2018 Botanical Society of America.

The oldest fossil record of the megamouth shark from the late Eocene of Denmark and comments on the enigmatic megachasmid origin

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Kenshu Shimada

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The megamouth shark (Lamniformes: Megachasmidae has sporadic occurrences both in the present-day oceans and in the fossil record. In this paper, we describe a new megachasmid, Megachasma alisonae sp. nov., on the basis of a morphologically distinct tooth collected from the Pyt Member of the late Eocene Søvind Marl Formation at Moesgård Strand in Denmark, that represents the geologically oldest known Megachasma. The tooth likely came from an individual that measured somewhere between 1.3 and 3.5 m long, and its morphology and chipped cusp tips suggest that it possibly fed on macro-zooplankton and small fishes that had hard skeletal components. Its occurrence in the mid-Priabonian Pyt Member at least suggests that the shark inhabited a relatively deep, open marine environment about 36 Ma ago. This Eocene specimen is significant because it illustrates the dental condition of early megachasmids, which is distinctively odontaspidid-like morphologically.

Intercontinental dispersal by a microendemic burrowing reptile (Dibamidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Townsend, Ted M; Leavitt, Dean H; Reeder, Tod W

2011-09-07

Intercontinental dispersal via land bridge connections has been important in the biogeographic history of many Holarctic plant and animal groups. Likewise, some groups appear to have accomplished trans-oceanic dispersal via rafting. Dibamid lizards are a clade of poorly known fossorial, essentially limbless species traditionally split into two geographically disjunct genera: Dibamus comprises approximately 20 Southeast Asian species, many of which have very limited geographical distributions, and the monotypic genus Anelytropsis occupies a small area of northeastern Mexico. Although no formal phylogeny of the group exists, a sister-taxon relationship between the two genera has been assumed based on biogeographic considerations. We used DNA sequence data from one mitochondrial and six nuclear protein-coding genes to construct a phylogeny of Dibamidae and to estimate divergence times within the group. Surprisingly, sampled Dibamus species form two deeply divergent, morphologically conserved and geographically concordant clades, one of which is the sister taxon of Anelytropsis papillosus. Our analyses indicate Palaearctic to Nearctic Beringian dispersal in the Late Palaeocene to Eocene. Alternatively, a trans-Pacific rafting scenario would extend the upper limit on dispersal to the Late Cretaceous. Either scenario constitutes a remarkable long-distance dispersal in what would seem an unlikely candidate.

A new quantitative approach to identify reworking in Eocene to Miocene pollen records from offshore Antarctica using red fluorescence and digital imaging

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Strother, Stephanie L.; Salzmann, Ulrich; Sangiorgi, Francesca|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304836982; Bijl, Peter K.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/314028110; Pross, Jorg; Escutia, Carlota; Salabarnada, Ariadna; Pound, Matthew J.; Voss, Jochen; Woodward, John

2017-01-01

Antarctic palaeoclimate evolution and vegetation history after the formation of a continent-scale cryosphere at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, 33.9 million years ago, has remained a matter of controversy. In particular, the reconstruction of terrestrial climate and vegetation has been strongly

Virtual endocasts of Eocene Paramys (Paramyinae): oldest endocranial record for Rodentia and early brain evolution in Euarchontoglires.

Science.gov (United States)

Bertrand, Ornella C; Amador-Mughal, Farrah; Silcox, Mary T

2016-01-27

Understanding the pattern of brain evolution in early rodents is central to reconstructing the ancestral condition for Glires, and for other members of Euarchontoglires including Primates. We describe the oldest virtual endocasts known for fossil rodents, which pertain to Paramys copei (Early Eocene) and Paramys delicatus (Middle Eocene). Both specimens of Paramys have larger olfactory bulbs and smaller paraflocculi relative to total endocranial volume than later occurring rodents, which may be primitive traits for Rodentia. The encephalization quotients (EQs) of Pa. copei and Pa. delicatus are higher than that of later occurring (Oligocene) Ischyromys typus, which contradicts the hypothesis that EQ increases through time in all mammalian orders. However, both species of Paramys have a lower relative neocortical surface area than later rodents, suggesting neocorticalization occurred through time in this Order, although to a lesser degree than in Primates. Paramys has a higher EQ but a lower neocortical ratio than any stem primate. This result contrasts with the idea that primates were always exceptional in their degree of overall encephalization and shows that relative brain size and neocortical surface area do not necessarily covary through time. As such, these data contradict assumptions made about the pattern of brain evolution in Euarchontoglires. © 2016 The Author(s).

Maximum Temperature Detection System for Integrated Circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Frankiewicz, Maciej; Kos, Andrzej

2015-03-01

The paper describes structure and measurement results of the system detecting present maximum temperature on the surface of an integrated circuit. The system consists of the set of proportional to absolute temperature sensors, temperature processing path and a digital part designed in VHDL. Analogue parts of the circuit where designed with full-custom technique. The system is a part of temperature-controlled oscillator circuit - a power management system based on dynamic frequency scaling method. The oscillator cooperates with microprocessor dedicated for thermal experiments. The whole system is implemented in UMC CMOS 0.18 μm (1.8 V) technology.

Thermal cracking of Enteromorpha prolifera with solvents to bio-oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Linhua; Hu, Mingming; Liu, Dong; Zhang, Daoxiang; Jiang, Cuiyu

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Thermal cracking of EP gave rise to a maximum bio-oil yield of 27.4 wt.% at 340 °C and 40 min. • The maximum liquid yield of EP/ethonal is 36.7 wt.% at 300 °C and 30 min. • The maximum liquid yield of EP/VGO is 90.5 wt.% at 300 °C and 30 min. • The HHV of bio-oil from thermal cracking of EP/VGO is 44.51 MJ/kg. • This process has the potential for industrial production of bio-oil from EP. - Abstract: Enteromorpha prolifera (EP) is a renewable energy source that was evaluated as a feedstock to produce bio-oil by thermal cracking. Harvesting EP for bio-oil production will also reduce the damage of green tide on ocean ecology. Effects of reaction temperature between 220 and 380 °C and reaction time between 20 and 80 min on the bio-oil yield and gas and solid thermal cracking products were investigated. Effects of solvents (i.e., ethanol and vacuum gas oil (VGO)) on the yields of bio-oil, gas and solid were also studied. EP, VGO and products from thermal cracking were analyzed by elemental analysis, gas chromatography–mass spectra and gas chromatography. Results indicate that thermal cracking of EP with VGO (EP/VGO) gave rise to the maximum bio-oil yield of 90.5% at 300 °C with a reaction time of 30 min. Higher heating values and elemental analysis demonstrate that this process has the potential for industrial production of bio-oil from EP

Anatomy of a mountain: The Thebes Limestone Formation (Lower Eocene) at Gebel Gurnah, Luxor, Nile Valley, Upper Egypt

Science.gov (United States)

King, Christopher; Dupuis, Christian; Aubry, Marie-Pierre; Berggren, William A.; Knox, Robert O.'B.; Galal, Wael Fathi; Baele, Jean-Marc

2017-12-01

We present a detailed geologic study of the Thebes Formation at Gebel Gurnah in its locus typicus on the West Bank (opposite Luxor) of the Nile River in the Upper Nile Valley, Egypt. This is the first detailed measurement and lithologic description of the ∼340 m thick (predominantly) carbonate section. The Thebes Formation is divided into thirteen major lithic units (A to M). We interpret data on the lithologic succession and variations, whole rock/clay mineralogy, and macro/micropaleontology in terms of deposition on a shallow carbonate platform episodically influenced by continental runoff, and describe six depositional sequences that we place in the global framework of Lower Eocene (Ypresian) sequence stratigraphy. We note however significant incompatibilities between the Thebes depositional sequences and the global sequences. We emend the definition of the Thebes Formation by defining its top as corresponding to level 326 m at the top of Nodular Limestone 'L' (NLL), and assigning the overlying beds to the Minia Limestone Formation. New biostratigraphic data and revision of previous studies establish the direct assignment of the Thebes Formation to planktonic foraminiferal Zones E4/P6b (upper part), E5/P7 and (indirectly) Zone E6/P8, and (probably, indirectly) Zone E7a/;P9;, and to calcareous nannofossil Zone NP12 and lower Zone NP13 of the Lower Eocene (Ypresian) and provide a temporal framework spanning ∼ 2.8 Myr from towards the end of the Early Eocene. Dominantly carbonate deposition, with a strongly reduced detrital influx, occurred on a very wide shelf (probably) at least ∼ 100 km from the coastline. The thick sedimentary succession and the marked vertical lithologic variations are interpreted as resulting from sea level fluctuations imprinted on a long-term decrease in sea-level associated with rapid subsidence reflecting tectonic relaxation after the major Late Paleocene tectonic reorganization of the Syrian Arc.

Highly resolved early Eocene food webs show development of modern trophic structure after the end-Cretaceous extinction

OpenAIRE

Dunne, Jennifer A.; Labandeira, Conrad C.; Williams, Richard J.

2014-01-01

Generalities of food web structure have been identified for extant ecosystems. However, the trophic organization of ancient ecosystems is unresolved, as prior studies of fossil webs have been limited by low-resolution, high-uncertainty data. We compiled highly resolved, well-documented feeding interaction data for 700 taxa from the 48 million-year-old latest early Eocene Messel Shale, which contains a species assemblage that developed after an interval of protracted environmental and biotal c...

An interesting new genus of Berothinae (Neuroptera: Berothidae) from the early Eocene Green River Formation, Colorado.

Science.gov (United States)

Makarkin, Vladimir N

2017-01-30

Xenoberotha angustialata gen. et sp. nov. (Neuroptera: Berothidae) is described from the early Eocene of the Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation (U.S.A., Colorado). It is assigned to Berothinae as an oldest known member of the subfamily based on the presence of scale-like setae on the foreleg coxae. Distal crossveins of the fourth (outer) gradate series which are located very close to the wing margin in Xenoberotha gen. nov. is a character state previously unknown in Berothinae.

Daytime Thermal Anisotropy of Urban Neighbourhoods: Morphological Causation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Scott Krayenhoff

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Surface temperature is a key variable in boundary-layer meteorology and is typically acquired by remote observation of emitted thermal radiation. However, the three-dimensional structure of cities complicates matters: uneven solar heating of urban facets produces an “effective anisotropy” of surface thermal emission at the neighbourhood scale. Remotely-sensed urban surface temperature varies with sensor view angle as a consequence. The authors combine a microscale urban surface temperature model with a thermal remote sensing model to predict the effective anisotropy of simplified neighbourhood configurations. The former model provides detailed surface temperature distributions for a range of “urban” forms, and the remote sensing model computes aggregate temperatures for multiple view angles. The combined model’s ability to reproduce observed anisotropy is evaluated against measurements from a neighbourhood in Vancouver, Canada. As in previous modeling studies, anisotropy is underestimated. Addition of moderate coverages of small (sub-facet scale structure can account for much of the missing anisotropy. Subsequently, over 1900 sensitivity simulations are performed with the model combination, and the dependence of daytime effective thermal anisotropy on diurnal solar path (i.e., latitude and time of day and blunt neighbourhood form is assessed. The range of effective anisotropy, as well as the maximum difference from nadir-observed brightness temperature, peak for moderate building-height-to-spacing ratios (H/W, and scale with canyon (between-building area; dispersed high-rise urban forms generate maximum anisotropy. Maximum anisotropy increases with solar elevation and scales with shortwave irradiance. Moreover, it depends linearly on H/W for H/W < 1.25, with a slope that depends on maximum off-nadir sensor angle. Decreasing minimum brightness temperature is primarily responsible for this linear growth of maximum anisotropy. These

Methane and Environmental Change during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM): Modeling the PETM Onset as a Two-stage Event

Science.gov (United States)

Carozza, David A.; Mysak, Lawrence A.; Schmidt, Gavin A.

2011-01-01

An atmospheric CH4 box model coupled to a global carbon cycle box model is used to constrain the carbon emission associated with the PETM and assess the role of CH4 during this event. A range of atmospheric and oceanic emission scenarios representing different amounts, rates, and isotopic signatures of emitted carbon are used to model the PETM onset. The first 3 kyr of the onset, a pre-isotope excursion stage, is simulated by the atmospheric release of 900 to 1100 Pg C CH4 with a delta C-13 of -22 to - 30 %. For a global average warming of 3 deg C, a release of CO2 to the ocean and CH4 to the atmosphere totalling 900 to 1400 Pg C, with a delta C-13 of -50 to -60%, simulates the subsequent 1 -kyr isotope excursion stage. To explain the observations, the carbon must have been released over at most 500 years. The first stage results cannot be associated with any known PETM hypothesis. However, the second stage results are consistent with a methane hydrate source. More than a single source of carbon is required to explain the PETM onset.

Eocene to Miocene Out-of-Sequence Deformation in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau: Insights From Shortening Structures in the Sichuan Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Yuntao; Kohn, Barry P.; Qiu, Nansheng; Yuan, Yusong; Hu, Shengbiao; Gleadow, Andrew J. W.; Zhang, Peizhen

2018-02-01

A distinctive NNE trending belt of shortening structures dominates the topography and deformation of the eastern Sichuan Basin, 300 km east of the Tibetan Plateau. Debate continues as to whether the structures resulted from Cenozoic eastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau. A low-temperature thermochronology (AFT and AHe) data set from four deep boreholes and adjacent outcrops intersecting a branch of the shortening structures indicates distinctive differential cooling at 35-28 Ma across the structure, where stratigraphy has been offset vertically by 0.8-1.3 km. This result forms the first quantitative evidence for the existence of a late Eocene-Oligocene phase of shortening in the eastern Sichuan Basin, synchronous with the early phase of eastward growth and extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau. Further, a compilation of regional Cenozoic structures reveals a Miocene retreat of deformation from the foreland basin to the hinterland areas. Such a tectonic reorganization indicates that Eocene to Miocene deformation in the eastern Tibetan Plateau is out-of-sequence and was probably triggered by enhanced erosion in the eastern Tibetan Plateau.

A thermally regenerative ammonia-based battery for efficient harvesting of low-grade thermal energy as electrical power

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Fang

2015-01-01

© 2015 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Thermal energy was shown to be efficiently converted into electrical power in a thermally regenerative ammonia-based battery (TRAB) using copper-based redox couples [Cu(NH3)4 2+/Cu and Cu(ii)/Cu]. Ammonia addition to the anolyte (2 M ammonia in a copper-nitrate electrolyte) of a single TRAB cell produced a maximum power density of 115 ± 1 W m-2 (based on projected area of a single copper mesh electrode), with an energy density of 453 W h m-3 (normalized to the total electrolyte volume, under maximum power production conditions). Adding a second cell doubled both the voltage and maximum power. Increasing the anolyte ammonia concentration to 3 M further improved the maximum power density to 136 ± 3 W m-2. Volatilization of ammonia from the spent anolyte by heating (simulating distillation), and re-addition of this ammonia to the spent catholyte chamber with subsequent operation of this chamber as the anode (to regenerate copper on the other electrode), produced a maximum power density of 60 ± 3 W m-2, with an average discharge energy efficiency of ∼29% (electrical energy captured versus chemical energy in the starting solutions). Power was restored to 126 ± 5 W m-2 through acid addition to the regenerated catholyte to decrease pH and dissolve Cu(OH)2 precipitates, suggesting that an inexpensive acid or a waste acid could be used to improve performance. These results demonstrated that TRABs using ammonia-based electrolytes and inexpensive copper electrodes can provide a practical method for efficient conversion of low-grade thermal energy into electricity.

A new brontothere from the Eocene of South China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Averianov

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The upper Eocene Youganwo Formation in Maoming Province, Guangdong Province, China, produced abundant remains of turtles and crocodiles, but mammalian remains are rare. The previously found mammals from Youganwo Formation include a nimravid carnivore and an amynodontid perissodactyl. Here we report on a new brontotheriid perissodactyl from the Youganwo Formation. Maobrontops paganus gen. et sp. nov. is described based on a maxillary fragment with P4 and M1–2 (SYSU-M-4. Maobrontops paganus gen. et sp. nov. is characterized by the combination of a simple P4 without a hypocone with derived molars having large molar fossae and large anterolingual cingular cusp. A parsimony implied weighting character analysis places Maobrontops gen. nov. in the clade Embolotheriita as a sister taxon to the terminal subclade containing Nasamplus, Protembolotherium, and Embolotherium. Maobrontops paganus gen. et sp. nov. is one of the largest Asian brontotheres. The brontotheriid fauna of South China is endemic and includes at least three valid taxa: Dianotitan from Brontotheriita and Pygmaetitan and Maobrontops gen. nov. from Embolotheriita.

Evaluating CO2 and CH4 dynamics of Alaskan ecosystems during the Holocene Thermal Maximum

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yujie; Jones, Miriam C.; Zhuang, Qianlai; Bochicchio, Christopher; Felzer, B. S.; Mason, Erik; Yu, Zicheng

2014-01-01

The Arctic has experienced much greater warming than the global average in recent decades due to polar amplification. Warming has induced ecological changes that have impacted climate carbon-cycle feedbacks, making it important to understand the climate and vegetation controls on carbon (C) dynamics. Here we used the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM, 11–9 ka BP, 1 ka BP = 1000 cal yr before present) in Alaska as a case study to examine how ecosystem Cdynamics responded to the past warming climate using an integrated approach of combining paleoecological reconstructions and ecosystem modeling. Our paleoecological synthesis showed expansion of deciduous broadleaf forest (dominated by Populus) into tundra and the establishment of boreal evergreen needleleaf and mixed forest during the second half of the HTM under a warmer- and wetter-than-before climate, coincident with the occurrence of the highest net primary productivity, cumulative net ecosystem productivity, soil C accumulation and CH4 emissions. These series of ecological and biogeochemical shifts mirrored the solar insolation and subsequent temperature and precipitation patterns during HTM, indicating the importance of climate controls on C dynamics. Our simulated regional estimate of CH4 emission rates from Alaska during the HTM ranged from 3.5 to 6.4 Tg CH4 yr−1 and highest annual NPP of 470 Tg C yr−1, significantly higher than previously reported modern estimates. Our results show that the differences in static vegetation distribution maps used in simulations of different time slices have greater influence on modeled C dynamics than climatic fields within each time slice, highlighting the importance of incorporating vegetation community dynamics and their responses to climatic conditions in long-term biogeochemical modeling.

New protocetid whale from the middle eocene of pakistan: birth on land, precocial development, and sexual dimorphism.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philip D Gingerich

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Protocetidae are middle Eocene (49-37 Ma archaeocete predators ancestral to later whales. They are found in marine sedimentary rocks, but retain four legs and were not yet fully aquatic. Protocetids have been interpreted as amphibious, feeding in the sea but returning to land to rest. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Two adult skeletons of a new 2.6 meter long protocetid, Maiacetus inuus, are described from the early middle Eocene Habib Rahi Formation of Pakistan. M. inuus differs from contemporary archaic whales in having a fused mandibular symphysis, distinctive astragalus bones in the ankle, and a less hind-limb dominated postcranial skeleton. One adult skeleton is female and bears the skull and partial skeleton of a single large near-term fetus. The fetal skeleton is positioned for head-first delivery, which typifies land mammals but not extant whales, evidence that birth took place on land. The fetal skeleton has permanent first molars well mineralized, which indicates precocial development at birth. Precocial development, with attendant size and mobility, were as critical for survival of a neonate at the land-sea interface in the Eocene as they are today. The second adult skeleton is the most complete known for a protocetid. The vertebral column, preserved in articulation, has 7 cervicals, 13 thoracics, 6 lumbars, 4 sacrals, and 21 caudals. All four limbs are preserved with hands and feet. This adult is 12% larger in linear dimensions than the female skeleton, on average, has canine teeth that are 20% larger, and is interpreted as male. Moderate sexual dimorphism indicates limited male-male competition during breeding, which in turn suggests little aggregation of food or shelter in the environment inhabited by protocetids. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Discovery of a near-term fetus positioned for head-first delivery provides important evidence that early protocetid whales gave birth on land. This is consistent with skeletal

Thermal Diffusivity and Thermal Conductivity of Dispersed Glass Sphere Composites Over a Range of Volume Fractions

Science.gov (United States)

Carson, James K.

2018-06-01

Glass spheres are often used as filler materials for composites. Comparatively few articles in the literature have been devoted to the measurement or modelling of thermal properties of composites containing glass spheres, and there does not appear to be any reported data on the measurement of thermal diffusivities over a range of filler volume fractions. In this study, the thermal diffusivities of guar-gel/glass sphere composites were measured using a transient comparative method. The addition of the glass beads to the gel increased the thermal diffusivity of the composite, more than doubling the thermal diffusivity of the composite relative to the diffusivity of the gel at the maximum glass volume fraction of approximately 0.57. Thermal conductivities of the composites were derived from the thermal diffusivity measurements, measured densities and estimated specific heat capacities of the composites. Two approaches to modelling the effective thermal diffusivity were considered.

A study of the Eocene S-type granites of Chapedony metamorphic core complex (northeast of Yazd province, Central Iran)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zakipour, A.; Torabi, Gh.

2016-01-01

The Eocene Chapedony metamorphic core complex, is located in western part of the Posht-e-Badam block. This complex is consisting of migmatite, gneiss, amphibolite, marble, micaschist and various types of granitoids. In middle part of this complex (Kalut-e-Chapedony), an Eocene granitic rock unit cross cuts the other rocks. The minerals of this granite are plagioclase (An 9 Ab 8 7O r 4), potassium feldspars (orthoclase), quartz, euhedral garnet (Alm 7 7Sps 1 3Prp 9 Grs 1 ), zircon, apatite, fibrolitic sillimanite and muscovite. Petrology and geochemical studies reveal calc-alkaline, peraluminous and S-type nature of the studied granites. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns represent evident negative anomaly of Eu and low values of the REEs. Continental crust and North American shale composite (NASC) - normalized multi-elements spider diagrams indicate trace elements depletion. These granites are formed by melting of continental crust sedimentary rocks, resulted by emplacement of mantle-derived magma at the bottom of continental crust which formed the Chapedony metamorphic core complex. The source rock of these granites should be a clay-rich sedimentary rock with low amount of plagioclase and CaO/Na 2 O ratio.

Formulation of charged-particle pseudorapidity distribution in Au-Au collisions at the maximum RHIC energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu-Hu, Liu; Dong-Hai, Zhang; Mai-Ying, Duan

2003-01-01

The pseudorapidity distributions of charged particles produced in relativistic heavy-ion collider experiment are analyzed by the thermalized two-cylinder model. The calculated results are compared and found to be in agreement with the experimental data of Au-Au collisions at the maximum RHIC energy (the energy in the center-of-mass reference frame is √s = 200 A GeV) which is the maximum energy in the present accelerator energy region. (authors)

Ternary ceramic thermal spraying powder and method of manufacturing thermal sprayed coating using said powder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vogli, Evelina; Sherman, Andrew J.; Glasgow, Curtis P.

2018-02-06

The invention describes a method for producing ternary and binary ceramic powders and their thermal spraying capable of manufacturing thermal sprayed coatings with superior properties. Powder contain at least 30% by weight ternary ceramic, at least 20% by weight binary molybdenum borides, at least one of the binary borides of Cr, Fe, Ni, W and Co and a maximum of 10% by weight of nano and submicro-sized boron nitride. The primary crystal phase of the manufactured thermal sprayed coatings from these powders is a ternary ceramic, while the secondary phases are binary ceramics. The coatings have extremely high resistance against corrosion of molten metal, extremely thermal shock resistance and superior tribological properties at low and at high temperatures.

Preliminary study of uranium favorability of the Wilcox and Claiborne Groups (Eocene) in Texas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilbert, W.P.; Templain, C.J.

1978-01-01

Rocks of the Wilcox and Claiborne Groups crop out in the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain and are represented by a series of sands and shales which reflect oscillation of the strandline. The Wilcox Group (lower Eocene), usually undifferentiated in Texas, consists of very fine sands and clays and abundant lignite. The Claiborne Group (middle Eocene) comprises, in ascending order, Carrizo Sand, Reklaw Formation (clay), Queen City Sand, Weches Formation (clay), Sparta Sand, Cook Mountain Formation (clay), and Yegua Formation (sand). Fluvial systems of the Wilcox and Claiborne Groups exist in east Texas and trend perpendicular to the present coastline. In central Texas, sand bodies are parallel to the present coastline and are strand-plain, barrier-bar systems. Since the time of deposition of the Queen City Sand, a significant fluvial sand buildup occurred in the area of the present Rio Grande embayment where the marine clays pinch out. Known occurrences of mineral matter in the Wilcox and Claiborne (up to the Yegua) are limited to lignite (particularly in the Wilcox), cannel coal in the upper Claiborne, and hydrocarbons throughout. No uranium mineralization is known, and no uranium is likely to be discovered in the Claiborne and Wilcox. Approximately 50 surface samples and many gamma-ray logs showed no significant anomalies. The sands are very good potential host rocks, but no uranium source was discovered. During deposition of the Wilcox and Claiborne Groups, there was no volcanism to serve as a source of uranium (as with the prolific occurrences in the younger rocks of south Texas); also, Precambrian crystalline rocks in the Llano uplift were not exposed

Mechanical spectroscopy of thermal stress relaxation in aluminium alloys reinforced with short alumina fibres

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carreno-Morelli, E.; Schaller, R. [Ecole Polytechnique Federale, Lausanne (Switzerland). Inst. de Genie Atomique; Urreta, S.E.

1998-05-01

The mechanical behaviour under low temperature thermal cycling of aluminium-based composites reinforced with short Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} SAFFIL fibres has been investigated by mechanical spectroscopy (mechanical loss and elastic shear modulus measurements). A mechanical loss maximum has been observed during cooling which originates in the relaxation of thermal stresses at the interfaces due to the differential thermal expansion between matrix and reinforcement. The maximum height increases with the volumetric fibre content. In addition, if the matrix strength is increased by the appropriated choice of alloy and thermal treatment, the maximum diminishes and shifts to lower temperatures. No damage accumulation at the interfaces has been detected during long period thermal cycling in the range 100 to 500 K. A description of the damping behaviour is made in terms of the development of microplastic zones which surround the fibres. (orig.) 9 refs.

Environmental forcing of terrestrial carbon isotope excursion amplification across five Eocene hyperthermals

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, G. J.; Abels, H.

2015-12-01

Abrupt changes in the isotope composition of exogenic carbon pools accompany many major episodes of global change in the geologic record. The global expression of this change in substrates that reflect multiple carbon pools provides important evidence that many events reflect persistent, global redistribution of carbon between reduced and oxidized stocks. As the diversity of records documenting any event grows, however, discrepancies in the expression of carbon isotope change among substrates are almost always revealed. These differences in magnitude, pace, and pattern of change can complicate interpretations of global carbon redistribution, but under ideal circumstances can also provide additional information on changes in specific environmental and biogeochemical systems that accompanied the global events. Here we evaluate possible environmental influences on new terrestrial records of the negative carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) associated with multiple hyperthermals of the Early Eocene, which show a common pattern of amplified carbon isotope change in terrestrial paleosol carbonate records relative to that recorded in marine substrates. Scaling relationships between climate and carbon-cycle proxies suggest that that the climatic (temperature) impact of each event scaled proportionally with the magnitude of its marine CIE, likely implying that all events involved release of reduced carbon with a similar isotopic composition. Amplification of the terrestrial CIEs, however, does not scale with event magnitude, being proportionally less for the first, largest event (the PETM). We conduct a sensitivity test of a coupled plant-soil carbon isotope model to identify conditions that could account for the observed CIE scaling. At least two possibilities consistent with independent lines of evidence emerge: first, varying effects of pCO2 change on photosynthetic carbon isotope discrimination under changing background pCO2, and second, contrasting changes in regional

Volutidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of the Lakhra Formation (Earliest Eocene, Sindh, Pakistan): systematics, biostratigraphy and paleobiogeography.

Science.gov (United States)

Merle, Didier; Pacaud, Jean-Michel; Métais, Grégoire; Bartolini, Annachiara; Lashari, Rafiq A; Brohi, Imdad A; Solangi, Sarfraz H; Marivaux, Laurent; Welcomme, Jean-Loup

2014-06-27

The paleobiodiversity of the Volutidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of the Ranikot Group (Sindh, Pakistan) and particularly of the Lakhra Formation (SBZ 5 biozone, Earliest Eocene), is reconsidered on the basis of new material collected during recent field trips. Ten new species are described (Mitreola brohii sp. nov., Lyrischapa vredenburgi sp. nov., L. brevispira sp. nov., Athleta (Volutopupa) citharopsis sp. nov., A. (Volutocorbis) lasharii sp. nov., Volutilithes welcommei sp. nov., V. sindhiensis sp. nov., Pseudaulicina coxi sp. nov., Sindhiluta lakhraensis sp. nov. and Pakiluta solangii sp. nov.) and one species is in open nomenclature (Lyria sp.). Three new genera are described: Lyriopsis gen. nov. [Volutinae, ?Lyriini, type species: Lyriopsis cossmanni (Vredenburg, 1923)], Sindhiluta gen. nov. [Volutilithinae, type species: Sindhiluta lakhraensis n. sp.] and Pakiluta gen. nov. [?Volutodermatinae, type species: Pakiluta solangii n. sp.]. Two new combinations are proposed: Lyriopsis cossmanni (Vredenburg, 1923) comb. nov. and Athleta (Volutopupa) intercrenatus (Cossmann & Pissarro, 1909) comb. nov. Lectotypes are designated for Lyria cossmanni Vredenburg, 1923, L. feddeni Vredenburg, 1923, Volutospina noetlingi Cossmann & Pissarro, 1909, V. intercrenata Cossmann & Pissarro, 1909 and Athleta (Volutocorbis) victoriae Vredenburg, 1923. With 21 species, this volutid fauna is the most diverse recorded from the Tethys Ocean during Earliest Eocene time. The assemblage is characterized by a strong turnover marked by regional speciation and the appearance of many western Tethyan invaders. Although at the species level, the assemblage documents a strong provincialism, at the genus level, the high number of shared genera between Eastern Tethyan and Old World Tethyan realms begins a phase of long-term homogeneity of volutid assemblages from the Tethyan paleobiogeographic province.

A fossil unicorn crestfish (Teleostei, Lampridiformes, Lophotidae) from the Eocene of Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Davesne, Donald

2017-01-01

Lophotidae, or crestfishes, is a family of rare deep-sea teleosts characterised by an enlarged horn-like crest on the forehead. They are poorly represented in the fossil record, by only three described taxa. One specimen attributed to Lophotidae has been described from the pelagic fauna of the middle-late Eocene Zagros Basin, Iran. Originally considered as a specimen of the fossil lophotid † Protolophotus , it is proposed hereby as a new genus and species † Babelichthys olneyi , gen. et sp. nov., differs from the other fossil lophotids by its relatively long and strongly projecting crest, suggesting a close relationship with the modern unicorn crestfish, Eumecichthys . This new taxon increases the diversity of the deep-sea teleost fauna to which it belongs, improving our understanding of the taxonomic composition of the early Cenozoic mesopelagic ecosystems.

Field Synergy Analysis and Optimization of the Thermal Behavior of Lithium Ion Battery Packs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongwen He

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, a three dimensional (3D modeling has been built for a lithium ion battery pack using the field synergy principle to obtain a better thermal distribution. In the model, the thermal behavior of the battery pack was studied by reducing the maximum temperature, improving the temperature uniformity and considering the difference between the maximum and maximum temperature of the battery pack. The method is further verified by simulation results based on different environmental temperatures and discharge rates. The thermal behavior model demonstrates that the design and cooling policy of the battery pack is crucial for optimizing the air-outlet patterns of electric vehicle power cabins.

Rectification of invalidly published new names for plants from the late Eocene of North Bohemia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kvaček Zlatko

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Valid publication of new names of fossil plant taxa published since 1 January 1996 requires a diagnosis or description in English, besides other requirements included in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code adopted by the Eighteenth International Botanical Congress, Melbourne, Australia, July 2011 (McNeill et al. 2012. In order to validate names published from the late Eocene flora of the Staré Sedlo Formation, North Bohemia, diagnosed only in German (Knobloch et al. 1996, English translations are provided, including references to the type material and further relevant information.

Detailed cross sections of the Eocene Green River Formation along the north and east margins of the Piceance Basin, western Colorado, using measured sections and drill hole information

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Ronald C.

2014-01-01

This report presents two detailed cross sections of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado, constructed from eight detailed measured sections, fourteen core holes, and two rotary holes. The Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin contains the world’s largest known oil shale deposit with more than 1.5 billion barrels of oil in place. It was deposited in Lake Uinta, a long-lived saline lake that once covered much of the Piceance Basin and the Uinta Basin to the west. The cross sections extend across the northern and eastern margins of the Piceance Basin and are intended to aid in correlating between surface sections and the subsurface in the basin.

A new find of the fossil Cyclosorus from the Eocene of South China and its paleoclimatic implication.

Science.gov (United States)

Naugolnykh, Serge V; Wang, Li; Han, Meng; Jin, Jian-Hua

2016-01-01

The thelypteroid ferns are widely distributed across tropical regions around the world, but information about their fossil representatives is scarce. A new species, Cyclosorus scutum Naugolnykh, Wang, Han et Jin was discovered from the Eocene Changchang Formation of Hainan Island, South China, and is described on the basis of sterile and fertile leaves, sori, sporangia and spores preserved in situ. Discovery of this new species clearly shows that climatic conditions of that time in this area were humid, i.e. warm and wet.

Multilocus Phylogeny of the Afrotropical Freshwater Crab Fauna Reveals Historical Drainage Connectivity and Transoceanic Dispersal Since the Eocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Daniels, Savel R; Phiri, Ethel E; Klaus, Sebastian; Albrecht, Christian; Cumberlidge, Neil

2015-07-01

Phylogenetic reconstruction, divergence time estimations and ancestral range estimation were undertaken for 66% of the Afrotropical freshwater crab fauna (Potamonautidae) based on four partial DNA loci (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, cytochrome oxidase one [COI], and histone 3). The present study represents the most comprehensive taxonomic sampling of any freshwater crab family globally, and explores the impact of paleodrainage interconnectivity on cladogenesis among freshwater crabs. Phylogenetic analyses of the total evidence data using maximum-likelihood (ML), maximum parsimony (MP), and Bayesian inference (BI) produced a robust statistically well-supported tree topology that reaffirmed the monophyly of the Afrotropical freshwater crab fauna. The estimated divergence times suggest that the Afrotropical Potamonautidae diverged during the Eocene. Cladogenesis within and among several genera occurred predominantly during the Miocene, which was associated with major tectonic and climatic ameliorations throughout the region. Paleodrainage connectivity was observed with specimens from the Nilo-Sudan and East African coast proving to be sister to specimens from the Upper Guinea Forests in West Africa. In addition, we observed strong sister taxon affinity between specimens from East Africa and the Congo basin, including specimens from Lake Tanganyika, while the southern African fauna was retrieved as sister to the Angolan taxa. Within the East African clade we observed two independent transoceanic dispersal events, one to the Seychelles Archipelago and a second to Madagascar, while we observe a single transoceanic dispersal event from West Africa to São Tomé. The ancestral area estimation suggested a West African/East African ancestral range for the family with multiple dispersal events between southern Africa and East Africa, and between East Africa and Central Africa The taxonomic implications of our results are discussed in light of the widespread paraphyly evident among a

Thermal comfort following immersion.

Science.gov (United States)

Guéritée, Julien; Redortier, Bernard; House, James R; Tipton, Michael J

2015-02-01

Unlike thermal comfort in air, little research has been undertaken exploring thermal comfort around water sports. We investigated the impact of swimming and cooling in air after swimming on thermal comfort. After 10 min of swimming-and-resting cycles in 28°C water, volunteers wearing two types of garments or in swim briefs, faced winds in 24°C air, at rest or when stepping. Thermal comfort was significantly higher during swimming than resting. Post-immersion, following maximum discomfort, in 45 of 65 tests thermal comfort improved although mean skin temperature was still cooling (0.26 [SD 0.19] °C·min(-1) - max was 0.89°C·min(-1)). When thermal comfort was re-established mean skin temperature was lower than at maximal discomfort in 39 of 54 tests (0.81 [SD 0.58] °C - max difference was 2.68°C). The reduction in thermal discomfort in this scenario could be due to the adaptation of thermoreceptors, or to reductions in cooling rates to levels where discomfort was less stimulated. The relief from the recent discomfort may explain why, later, thermal comfort returned to initial levels in spite of poorer thermal profiles. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Overview of thermal conductivity models of anisotropic thermal insulation materials

Science.gov (United States)

Skurikhin, A. V.; Kostanovsky, A. V.

2017-11-01

Currently, the most of existing materials and substances under elaboration are anisotropic. It makes certain difficulties in the study of heat transfer process. Thermal conductivity of the materials can be characterized by tensor of the second order. Also, the parallelism between the temperature gradient vector and the density of heat flow vector is violated in anisotropic thermal insulation materials (TIM). One of the most famous TIM is a family of integrated thermal insulation refractory material («ITIRM»). The main component ensuring its properties is the «inflated» vermiculite. Natural mineral vermiculite is ground into powder state, fired by gas burner for dehydration, and its precipitate is then compressed. The key feature of thus treated batch of vermiculite is a package structure. The properties of the material lead to a slow heating of manufactured products due to low absorption and high radiation reflection. The maximum of reflection function is referred to infrared spectral region. A review of current models of heat propagation in anisotropic thermal insulation materials is carried out, as well as analysis of their thermal and optical properties. A theoretical model, which allows to determine the heat conductivity «ITIRM», can be useful in the study of thermal characteristics such as specific heat capacity, temperature conductivity, and others. Materials as «ITIRM» can be used in the metallurgy industry, thermal energy and nuclear power-engineering.

Pristine Early Eocene wood buried deeply in kimberlite from northern Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolfe, Alexander P; Csank, Adam Z; Reyes, Alberto V; McKellar, Ryan C; Tappert, Ralf; Muehlenbachs, Karlis

2012-01-01

We report exceptional preservation of fossil wood buried deeply in a kimberlite pipe that intruded northwestern Canada's Slave Province 53.3±0.6 million years ago (Ma), revealed during excavation of diamond source rock. The wood originated from forest surrounding the eruption zone and collapsed into the diatreme before resettling in volcaniclastic kimberlite to depths >300 m, where it was mummified in a sterile environment. Anatomy of the unpermineralized wood permits conclusive identification to the genus Metasequoia (Cupressaceae). The wood yields genuine cellulose and occluded amber, both of which have been characterized spectroscopically and isotopically. From cellulose δ(18)O and δ(2)H measurements, we infer that Early Eocene paleoclimates in the western Canadian subarctic were 12-17°C warmer and four times wetter than present. Canadian kimberlites offer Lagerstätte-quality preservation of wood from a region with limited alternate sources of paleobotanical information.

A thermoelectric generator using loop heat pipe and design match for maximum-power generation

KAUST Repository

Huang, Bin-Juine

2015-09-05

The present study focuses on the thermoelectric generator (TEG) using loop heat pipe (LHP) and design match for maximum-power generation. The TEG uses loop heat pipe, a passive cooling device, to dissipate heat without consuming power and free of noise. The experiments for a TEG with 4W rated power show that the LHP performs very well with overall thermal resistance 0.35 K W-1, from the cold side of TEG module to the ambient. The LHP is able to dissipate heat up to 110W and is maintenance free. The TEG design match for maximum-power generation, called “near maximum-power point operation (nMPPO)”, is studied to eliminate the MPPT (maximum-power point tracking controller). nMPPO is simply a system design which properly matches the output voltage of TEG with the battery. It is experimentally shown that TEG using design match for maximum-power generation (nMPPO) performs better than TEG with MPPT.

Study on thermal conductive BN/novolac resin composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Shasha; Qi, Shuhua; Liu, Nailiang; Cao, Peng

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Boron nitride (BN) particles were used to modify novolac resin. → BN particles were pretreated by γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. → The thermal conductivity trend of composite almost agrees with the predicted data from the Maxwell-Eucken model. → At BN concentration of 80 wt.%, thermal conductivity value of composite is 4.5 times that of pure novolac resin. → Combined use of the larger and smaller particles with a mass ratio of 1:2 provides the composites with the maximum thermal conductivity among the testing systems. → The composite thermal property also increases with an increase in the BN concentration. - Abstract: In this study, γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane-treated boron nitride (BN) particles were used to modify novolac resin. The effect of varying the BN concentration, particle size, and hybrid BN fillers with the binary particle size distribution on the thermal conductivity of the composites was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging showed homogeneously dispersed treated BN particles in the matrix. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity increased as the BN concentration was increased. This behavior was also observed when the filler size was increased. Experimentally obtained thermal conductivity values agree with the predicted data from the Maxwell-Eucken model well at less than 70 wt.% BN loading. A larger particle size BN-filled novolac resin exhibits a higher thermal conductivity than a smaller particle size BN-filled one. The combined use of 0.5 and 15 μm particles with a mass ratio of 2:1 achieved the maximum thermal conductivity among the testing systems. The thermal resistance properties of the composites were also studied.

Fossil and modern sponge fauna of southern Australia and adjacent regions compared: interpretation, evolutionary and biogeographic significance of the late Eocene ‘soft’ sponges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Łukowiak, M.

2016-01-01

The late Eocene ‘soft’ sponge fauna of southern Australia is reconstructed based on disassociated spicules and is used to interpret the paleoecology and environmental context of shallow marine communities in this region. The reconstructed sponge association was compared with coeval sponge

New phiomorph rodents from the latest Eocene of Egypt, and the impact of Bayesian "clock"-based phylogenetic methods on estimates of basal hystricognath relationships and biochronology.

Science.gov (United States)

Sallam, Hesham M; Seiffert, Erik R

2016-01-01

The Fayum Depression of Egypt has yielded fossils of hystricognathous rodents from multiple Eocene and Oligocene horizons that range in age from ∼37 to ∼30 Ma and document several phases in the early evolution of crown Hystricognathi and one of its major subclades, Phiomorpha. Here we describe two new genera and species of basal phiomorphs, Birkamys korai and Mubhammys vadumensis, based on rostra and maxillary and mandibular remains from the terminal Eocene (∼34 Ma) Fayum Locality 41 (L-41). Birkamys is the smallest known Paleogene hystricognath, has very simple molars, and, like derived Oligocene-to-Recent phiomorphs (but unlike contemporaneous and older taxa) apparently retained dP(4)∕4 late into life, with no evidence for P(4)∕4 eruption or formation. Mubhammys is very similar in dental morphology to Birkamys, and also shows no evidence for P(4)∕4 formation or eruption, but is considerably larger. Though parsimony analysis with all characters equally weighted places Birkamys and Mubhammys as sister taxa of extant Thryonomys to the exclusion of much younger relatives of that genus, all other methods (standard Bayesian inference, Bayesian "tip-dating," and parsimony analysis with scaled transitions between "fixed" and polymorphic states) place these species in more basal positions within Hystricognathi, as sister taxa of Oligocene-to-Recent phiomorphs. We also employ tip-dating as a means for estimating the ages of early hystricognath-bearing localities, many of which are not well-constrained by geological, geochronological, or biostratigraphic evidence. By simultaneously taking into account phylogeny, evolutionary rates, and uniform priors that appropriately encompass the range of possible ages for fossil localities, dating of tips in this Bayesian framework allows paleontologists to move beyond vague and assumption-laden "stage of evolution" arguments in biochronology to provide relatively rigorous age assessments of poorly-constrained faunas. This

Thermal analysis and design of passive solar buildings

CERN Document Server

Athienitis, AK

2013-01-01

Passive solar design techniques are becoming increasingly important in building design. This design reference book takes the building engineer or physicist step-by-step through the thermal analysis and design of passive solar buildings. In particular it emphasises two important topics: the maximum utilization of available solar energy and thermal storage, and the sizing of an appropriate auxiliary heating/cooling system in conjunction with good thermal control.Thermal Analysis and Design of Passive Solar Buildings is an important contribution towards the optimization of buildings as systems th

Estimation of the Maximum Output Power of Double-Clad Photonic Crystal Fiber Laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yue-E; Wang Yong; Qu Xi-Long

2012-01-01

Compared with traditional optical fiber lasers, double-clad photonic crystal fiber (PCF) lasers have larger surface-area-to-volume ratios. With an increase of output power, thermal effects may severely restrict output power and deteriorate beam quality of fiber lasers. We utilize the heat-conduction equations to estimate the maximum output power of a double-clad PCF laser under natural-convection, air-cooling, and water-cooling conditions in terms of a certain surface-volume heat ratio of the PCF. The thermal effects hence define an upper power limit of double-clad PCF lasers when scaling output power. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

A review of passive thermal management of LED module

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ye, H.; Sau, K.; Zeijl, H. van; Gielen, A.W.J.; Zhang, G.

2011-01-01

Recently, the high-brightness LEDs have begun to be designed for illumination application. The increased electrical currents used to drive LEDs lead to thermal issues. Thermal management for LED module is a key design parameter as high operation temperature directly affects their maximum light