Southern high latitude climate variability in the Late Cretaceous greenhouse world

A palynological study of oil exploration wells in the Gippsland Basin southeastern Australia has provided a record of southern high latitude climate variability for the last 12 million years of the Cretaceous greenhouse world. During this time, the vegetation was dominated by a cool to temperate flora of Podocarpaceae, Proteaceae and Nothofagidites spp. at a latitude of 60°S. Milankovitch forced cyclic alternations from drier to wetter climatic periods caused vegetation variability from 72 to 77 Ma. This climate change was probably related to the waxing and waning of ephemeral (100 ky) small ice sheets in Antarctica during times of insolation minima and maxima. Drying and cooling after 72 Ma culminated from 68 to 66 Ma, mirroring trends in global δ¹⁸O data. Quantitative palynofloral analyses have the potential to provide realistic proxies for small-scale climate variability in the predominantly ice-free Late Cretaceous.     

The palynological record from Coniacian to lower Campanian continental sequences in the Songliao Basin,northeastern China and its implications for palaeoclimate

A palynological record recovered from successions of Coniacian to early Campanian age (89.1–83.5 Ma) was obtained from the lacustrine sequences of the SK-I south core (SK-Is) in the Songliao Basin, northeastern China. The palynoflora is dominated by bisaccate gymnosperm pollen, followed by spores of pteridophytes, and just minor amounts of angiosperm pollen. Based on the relative abundance of the different spore and pollen taxa through the core, the succession was subdivided into three palynological assemblages. The results indicate two opposite trends for climate change, a minor warming trend (from 89.1 to 85.7 Ma) followed by a rapid cooling trend (85.7–83.5 Ma). The first warming trend reached its maximum at 85.7 Ma, which is inconsistent with results from the marine realm (which instead show a minor cooling trend based on several proxy records). However, the second cooling phase is consistent with global changes from various and abundant palaeoclimate proxies from marine deposits. We interpret the climatic changes within the studied interval (89.1–83.5 Ma) as a consequence of the shifting climate from a hot/super greenhouse to a temperate greenhouse.     

陕西秃尾河晚三叠世孢粉植物群及其环境意义

本文基于陕西北部秃尾河地区上三叠统发现的孢子花粉化石 31属 4 8种的研究,建立了研究区晚三叠世孢粉植物群。根据孢粉植物群的特征探讨了该区晚三叠世生态环境及其与石油和煤炭形成的关系。研究结果认为,暖湿 (或湿热 )气候条件下的湖泊和沼泽沉积环境有利于油气和煤炭的形成     

青藏高原上新世以来植被与气候研究进展

由于青藏高原的特殊大气环流形势，夏半年受印度洋热带海洋季风──西南季风控制，向高原内部、尤其西北部，水份逐渐减弱；冬半年高原面受干冷西风环流影响，致使气候寒冷干燥。从而使高原植被由东南向西北发生递交。上新世早、中期在冈底斯山和念青唐古拉山以南地区发育常绿硬叶林，而北部则生长山地常绿针叶林，到更新世早期藏南以亚热带针阀混交林为主，北部出现灌丛和草原植被。自更新世晚期以来，青藏高原除东南部及喜马拉雅山以南的一部分地区保留部分亚热带针阔混交林外，大部分地区为高山草甸、灌丛草原或荒漠草原。      

A new terrestrial Cretaceous-Paleogene site in New Zealand—turnover in macroflora confirmed by palynology

A fluvial sequence near Cave Stream (north of Castle Hill Village, central Canterbury), New Zealand, contains organically-preserved plant macrofossils (cuticles). The almost ubiquitous presence of Araucariaceae macrofossils in the lower part of the section and their stratigraphic disappearance roughly coincident with the appearance of the angiosperm leaf Dryandra comptoniaefolia and conifer taxa only known elsewhere from sediments of Paleogene age, indicates that the section spans the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-T) boundary. This was subsequently confirmed by a palynological study that demonstrated the disappearance of Late Cretaceous index species within the investigated exposure. The sequence supports the pattern recognized elsewhere in New Zealand where Araucariaceae macrofossils either disappear or become very rare in end-Cretaceous and the leaf Dryandra comptoniaefolia is an important component in the early Cenozoic. The Cave Stream K-T boundary is one of the very few in the world with organically-preserved plant macrofossils and confirms the dramatic turnover in macroflora, which is known from North America.