Abstract:
During field work in 2001 over 1600 specimens were collected from four main fossil plant assemblages: the 'Nordenksjold flora' from the Cross Valley Formation of Late Palaeocene age; and 3 floras from La Meseta Formation i) Flora2 from the Valle De Las Focas allomember, ~late Early Eocene, ii) Wiman Flora, Acantilados allomember, late Early/mid Eocene, iii) Cucullaea 1, Cuculleae 1 allomember Flora, early Late Eocene. In addition smaller collections of fossils from other parts of the La Meseta Formation were collected. The work concentrated on the Late Palaeocene and the Cuculleae 1 floras as these were the best preserved and had sufficient morphotypes for climate analysis. In the Late Palaeocene flora 36 angiosperm leaf morphotypes were identified, along with 2 pteridophytes (ferns), and podocarp and araucarian conifers. Discovery of several new leaf types indicates that the Tertiary floras from Antarctica were more diverse than previously thought.
Keywords:
Palaeocene, Tertiary floras, biodiversity change, forest diversity, former greenhouse climate, plant fossils, terrestrial climate change
| Access Constraints: | Requests for data can be made via the UK Polar Data Centre (UK PDC) at BAS. |
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| Creation Date: | 2008-01-22 |
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| Dataset Progress: | Complete |
| Dataset Language: | English |
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| Parameters: |
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| Personnel: | |
| Name | UK PDC |
| Role(s) | Metadata Author |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Professor Jane Francis |
| Role(s) | Technical Contact, Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Leeds |
| Parent Dataset: | N/A |
| Reference: | David J. Cantrill, Anne-Marie P. Tosolini & Jane E. Francis (2011): Paleocene flora from Seymour Island, Antarctica: revision of Duséén's (1908) pteridophyte and conifer taxa, Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, 35:2, 309-328. Howells, S.; Francis, J. 2004. Mankind versus Planet Earth - climate change article, Be Unlimited, Issue 3, 2004. Francis, J.E.; Tosolini A.P.; Cantrill D.J., Antarctic Palaeogene floras: biodiversity and climate change International Organisation or Palaeobotany; Argentina, Book of abstracts, pp.52, 2004. Francis, J. E.; Tosolini, A.; Cantrill, D.J. Biodiversity and climate change in Antarctic Palaeogene floras. Antarctic Earth Sciences Symposium. Conference abstract, 2003. Francis, J.; Askin, R.; Tosolini, A.; Cantrill, D.; Raine, I. Antarctic Vegetation and Climate through the Cenozoic. EGS/AGU/EUG Joint Assembly, Nice, Conference abstracts, 2003. Francis, J.E.; Tosolini A.P.; Cantrill D.J., AFI workshop: Biodiversity response to climate change in Palaeogene floras of Antarctica Antarctic Funding Initiative Workshop, Cambridge, 2002. Francis, J.E.; Tosolini, A.P.; Cantrill, D.J., Climate change in Antarctica during the late Cretaceous 8th International Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems, Cape Town, South Africa, 2002. Francis, J.E.; Tosolini, A.P.; Cantrill, D.J., Biodiversity response to climate change in Palaeogene floras of Antarctica 6th European Palaeobotany-Palynology Conference, Athens, Greece, 2002. Cantrill, D.J.; Francis, J.E.; Tosolini, A.P., Response of floristic diversity to environmental change during the Tertiary: an example from Seymour Island, Antarctica First International Palaeontological Congress, Sydney, Geological Society of Australia Abstracts, 68, pp.28, 2002. Tosolini, A.P.; Francis, J.E.; Cantrill, D.J., Antarctic palaeoclimates from Palaeogene floras Gondwana 11, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2002. Francis J.E. 1991. Palaeoclimatic significance of Cretaceous-early Tertiary fossil forests of the Antarctic Peninsula. (In Thomson, M.R.A., Crame, J.A. & Thomson, J.W., eds. Geological evolution of Antarctica. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 623-627.) p. 625; fig. 2.e,2.f Project: AFI 01/01 - Biodiversity response to climate change: biodiversity and climate significance of Tertiary forest communities of Antarctica |
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| Quality: | Some of the best preserved plant fossils of early Tertiary (Palaeocene to Eocene) age in the Southern Hemisphere were collected from Seymour Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula. | |
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| Temporal Coverage: | |
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| Start Date | 2001-01-01 |
| End Date | 2001-03-31 |
| Paleo Temporal Coverage: | |
| Paleo Start Date | N/A |
| Paleo End Date | N/A |
| Chronostratigraphic Unit | TERTIARY |
| Spatial Coverage: | |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -64.283 |
| Northernmost | -64.283 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -56.75 |
| Easternmost | -56.75 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Location: | |
| Location | Antarctica |
| Detailed Location | Seymour Island |
| Data Storage: | These data are managed by the UK Polar Data Centre (UK PDC) Geological Data Manager at BAS and held in the Palaeontology store. There are approximately 1600 specimens associated with this dataset. |
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