Fire in a Weichselia-dominated coastal ecosystem from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) of the Kurnub Group in NW Jordan |
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| Institution: | 1. Laboratory of Geology and Remote Sensing, URAC46, Scientific Institute, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Avenue Ibn Batouta, P.B. 703, 10106 Rabat-Agdal, Morocco;2. Laboratory of Electronic Signal Treatments and Geomatics, Faculty of Sciences, University Mohammed V of Rabat. Avenue Ibn Batouta, P.B. 1014, Rabat-Agdal, Morocco;3. UFR-STRM, University Felix Houphouet Boigny, B.P. 582, Abidjan 22, Côte d''Ivoire;4. Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic), Bedford Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 1006, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada;1. Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;2. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS), Nanjing 210008, China;3. College of Paleontology, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang 110034, China;4. Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. Stoletiya Vladivostoka 159, Vladivostok 690022, Russia;5. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;1. Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università di Perugia, Via Pascoli, 06123 Perugia, Italy;2. Eni E&P, Via Emilia 1, San Donato Milanese, Milano, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Large intervals of the Cretaceous are considered as a ‘high-fire’ period in Earth's history. However, so far most studies dealing in greater detail with the fossil evidence of palaeo-wildfires, i.e. fossil charcoal, originate from the northern hemisphere (i.e. North America, Europe, Asia) whereas there are large stratigraphic and geographic gaps on the Cretaceous southern continents. The present paper deals with the fossil contents (plant macro-remains, palynomorphs and charcoal) of a lignite lens from the lower part of the Lower Cretaceous Kurnub Group near King Talal Dam in Jordan. The data provide evidence for the repeated occurrence of palaeo-wildfires in coastal ecosystems on the northern margin of Gondwana during the Barremian. The fossil content of the lens indicates that the vegetation, which was repeatedly affected by fire, has been dominated by the matoniaceous tree fern Weichselia reticulata. Palynological data from the lignite, as well as the repeated occurrence of wildfires point to an at least seasonally dry (or at least less humid) climate during deposition of the lignite. |
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| Keywords: | Cretaceous Jordan Lignite Charcoal Wildfire Coastal ecosystems |
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