Journal
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
Volume 56, Issue -, Pages 399-420Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2015.04.002
Keywords
Isachsen Formation; Sverdrup Basin; Cretaceous; Canada; Arctic; Palynology
Categories
Funding
- GeoMapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM) Program (Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada)
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Quantitative palynology of the marginal marine and deltaic-fluvial Isachsen Formation of the Sverdrup Basin, Canadian Arctic, provides insight into high latitude climate during much of the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian to early Aptian). Detrended Correspondence Analysis of main pollen and spore taxa is used to derive three ecological groupings influenced by moisture and disturbance based on the botanical affinities of palynomorphs: 1) a mixed coniferous assemblage containing both lowland and upland components; 2) a conifer-filicopsid community that likely grew in dynamic lowland habitats; and, 3) a mature dry lowland community composed of Cheirolepidiaceans. Stratigraphic changes in the relative abundance of pollen and spore taxa reflect climate variability in this polar region during the similar to 20 Mya history of the Isachsen Formation. The late Valanginian was relatively cool and moist and promoted lowland conifer-filicopsid communities. Warming in the Hauterivian resulted in the expansion coniferous communities in well-drained or arid hinterlands. A return to relatively cool and moist conditions in the Barremian resulted in the expansion of mixed lowland communities. This work demonstrates the utility of a multivariate statistical approach to palynology to provide insight into the composition and dynamics of ecosystems and climate of high latitude regions during the Early Cretaceous. Crown Copyright (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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