Article
Plant Sciences
Anna Stepanova, Anastasia A. Odintsova, Alena Rybkina, Yuliana Rostovtseva, Alexei A. Oskolski
Summary: This study described a fossil wood of the Juniperus genus from the Popov Kamen section in South Russia, providing insights into the taxonomic position and phytogeographic history of the genus. The fossil wood, well-preserved by mummification, showed similarities to the extant Mediterranean species J. excelsa. This is the first reliable macrofossil evidence of the sect. Sabina from Eurasia, and the age of the wood aligns with molecular dating of juniper species in Europe, Asia, and eastern Africa.
Article
Geography, Physical
Thomas Filek, Felix Hofmayer, Iris Feichtinger, Bjoern Berning, Juergen Pollerspoeck, Jennifer Zwicker, Daniel Smrzka, Joern Peckmann, Matthias Kranner, Oleg Mandic, Bettina Reichenbacher, Andreas Kroh, Alfred Uchman, Reinhard Roetzel, Mathias Harzhauser
Summary: The study re-evaluated the fossil fauna and flora, as well as lithology of the Eferding Formation in Upper Austria. It showed the impact of sea-level fluctuations on marine biota and terrestrial climate, with the presence of phosphatic nodules indicating eutrophication in the coastal environment.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Katja Muzek, Oleg Mandic, Valentina Hajek Tadesse, Mathias Harzhauser, Marijan Kovacic, Tomislav Kurecic, Durdica Pezelj
Summary: Lake Pannon, a large lake in the late Neogene period, played a significant role in the Pannonian Basin. The lake's benthic fauna went through adaptive radiation, resulting in the emergence of many endemic species. Some of these species serve as markers for the Lago Mare interval in the Mediterranean Basin. The outflow of water from Lake Pannon to the Eastern Paratethys did not occur at the same time as the hypothetical drainage event in the Mediterranean Basin.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
F. Andreetto, G. Aloisi, F. Raad, H. Heida, R. Flecker, K. Agiadi, J. Lofi, S. Blondel, F. Bulian, A. Camerlenghi, A. Caruso, R. Ebner, D. Garcia-Castellanos, V. Gaullier, L. Guibourdenche, Z. Gvirtzman, T. M. Hoyle, P. T. Meijer, J. Moneron, F. J. Sierro, G. Travan, A. Tzevahirtzian, I. Vasiliev, W. Krijgsman
Summary: The article summarizes the significant changes in the late Miocene evolution of the Mediterranean Basin, including salinity crises, geological sedimentation, and biological evolution. Studies have shown a transition in the hydrological regime of the Mediterranean from high salinity to low salinity, but the causes and mechanisms behind this change are still unclear.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Geanina A. Butiseaca, Iuliana Vasiliev, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Wout Krijgsman, Dan V. Palcu, Angelica Feurdean, Eva M. Niedermeyer, Andreas Mulch
Summary: The study investigates the impact of the Paratethys water body on the Eurasian climate during the middle and late Miocene period. The results show three exceptionally evaporative intervals at 9.65, 9.4, and 7.9 Ma, which are associated with aridity, increased fire activity, and changes in vegetation. The data suggest a strong regional imprint on climate patterns and evidence of severe droughts affecting the late Miocene circum-Paratethys region.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dan Valentin Palcu, Irina Stanislavovna Patina, Ionut Sandric, Sergei Lazarev, Iuliana Vasiliev, Marius Stoica, Wout Krijgsman
Summary: The largest megalake in the late Miocene Eurasia experienced several episodes of hydrological instability and partial desiccation, with major regressions correlating with aridification events, vegetation changes and faunal turnovers in Europe. The Paratethys Sea was profoundly transformed during regression episodes, losing significant water volume and surface area. Partial desiccations of the megalake matched with climate, food-web and landscape changes throughout Eurasia, although the exact triggers and mechanisms remain unresolved.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Geology
Elshan Abdullayev, Andre Baldermann, Laurence N. Warr, Georg Grathoff, Yelena Taghiyeva
Summary: The Miocene Diatom Suite sediments in the Eastern Paratethys Sea of Azerbaijan provide crucial information on how Middle Miocene climate affected erosion, sedimentation, and deposition in the region, indicating a transition from humid to relatively arid conditions. The geochemical proxies suggest a moderately humid to arid climate in eastern Azerbaijan during the Cenozoic era, with warm climatic conditions lasting through the mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum.
SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geology
Mathia Sabino, Daniel Birgel, Marcello Natalicchio, Francesco Dela Pierre, Jorn Peckmann
Summary: This study investigates the impact of the crisis on the carbon cycle in the Mediterranean Sea. The results show that the crisis led to C-13 enrichment of the DIC pool, primarily due to the export of C-12 to the seafloor after phytoplankton blooms, and limited replenishment of remineralized carbon due to the stabilization of thermohaline stratification.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lin Li, Guillaume Dupont-Nivet, Yani Najman, Mustafa Kaya, Niels Meijer, Marc Poujol, Jovid Aminov
Summary: This study confirms a phase of geological deformation and surface uplift in the Pamir during the middle-late Miocene, indicated by changes in detrital zircon U-Pb age spectra, mudstone bulk-rock epsilon(Nd) values, and stable isotopic values of carbonate cements. These changes suggest different sediment sources and shifts in climate environment.
Article
Geography, Physical
Jimin Sun, Morteza Talebian, Chunsheng Jin, Weiguo Liu, Zhiliang Zhang, Mengmeng Cao, Brian F. Windley, Morteza Sheykh, Reza Shahbazi, Shengchen Tian
Summary: The Iranian Plateau is located in the middle of the Neotethys tectonic domain and underwent land/sea changes and tectonic uplift in response to the Arabia-Asia plate collision. Research indicates that the marine environment in Central Iran ended around 17 million years ago, with the final seawater retreat occurring around 16.8 million years ago, leading to increased aridification in the region.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Rui Zhang, Xiaohao Wei, Vadim A. Kravchinsky, Leping Yue, Yan Zheng, Jie Qin, Lijun Yang, Minghao Ma, Feng Xian, Hujun Gong, Yunxiang Zhang, Xiaofan Liu
Summary: In the late Miocene record of geomagnetic reversals in the Linxia Basin in China, two tiny wiggles (TWs) were identified through magnetostratigraphy dating and spectral analysis. The presence of these TWs was confirmed by orbital calibration of the age model using eccentricity, obliquity, and precession in magnetic susceptibility and sedimentary grain size records.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Zhilin He, Zhongshi Zhang, Zhengtang Guo, Christopher R. Scotese, Chenglong Deng
Summary: Global cooling events occurred during the middle Miocene (around 14-13 Ma) and the late Miocene (around 7-6 Ma), with the Antarctic Ice Sheet expanding and Northern Hemisphere glaciation initiating during these periods. The causes of these events are still unclear, but paleoclimate modeling provides an important approach for investigating the mechanisms.
PALEOCEANOGRAPHY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Gustavo N. Aumond, Karlos G. D. Kochhann, Renata G. Netto, Lais de Souza, Daniel Sedorko, Rodrigo S. Horodyski, Flavio N. Almeida Junior, Mariano Verde
Summary: The study assessed the paleoenvironmental changes recorded by the marine and/or marine-influenced strata of the Camacho Formation in Uruguay, finding a shallowing-upward trend in sediment deposition and increased influence of freshwater input within the upper half of the studied succession. These trends were likely related to high latitude cooling and/or ice volume expansion between 7.2 and 6.9 million years ago.
JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Geology
Maud J. M. Meijers, Ferhat Kaya, Ahmet A. Peynircioglu, Faysal Bibi, Cesur Pehlevan, Andreas Mulch, Cor G. Langereis
Summary: This study presents a new magnetostratigraphy for the late Miocene period in the Sivas Basin, Turkey. The findings suggest that the Pikermian chronofauna thrived under stable hydrological and climatic conditions in the basin, and it shares high faunal similarities with the European Mammal Neogene.
NEWSLETTERS ON STRATIGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jinbo Zan, Wenxiao Ning, Friedrich Heller, Xiaomin Fang, Weilin Zhang, Jian Kang
Summary: The study found that eolian loess deposits began accumulating in the western margin of the Pamir Plateau around 2.7 million years ago, representing the most complete and oldest loess-paleosol sequence in western Central Asia. The rapid desiccation of Central Asia during the late Pliocene is evidenced by the widely distributed continuous loess deposition in the region. Furthermore, the significant increase in global ice volume played a dominant role in the expansion of eolian loess deposits in Central Asia, China, and Europe, with the middle Pleistocene expansion being a crucial precondition for the establishment of modern distribution patterns of the Eurasian loess belt.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geology
Elisabeth L. Jorissen, Hemmo A. Abels, Frank P. Wesselingh, Sergei Lazarev, Vusala Aghayeva, Wout Krijgsman
Article
Geography, Physical
Erhan Gulyuz, Hulya Durak, Murat Ozkaptan, Wout Krijgsman
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2020)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Dan Palcu, Joy R. Muraszko, Plinio F. Jaqueto, Luigi Jovane
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ashley S. Hammond, Silindokuhle S. Mavuso, Maryse Biernat, David R. Braun, Zubair Jinnah, Sharon Kuo, Sahleselasie Melaku, Sylvia N. Wemanya, Emmanuel K. Ndiema, David B. Patterson, Kevin T. Uno, Dan V. Palcu
Summary: The study confirms the age of KNM-ER 2598 to be older than 1.855 million years, locating it as Homo erectus and uncovering fossils of C-4 grazers, as well as additional hominin fossils.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Iuliana Vasiliev, Marius Stoica, Arjen Grothe, Sergei Lazarev, Dan Valentin Palcu, Christiaan van Baak, Arjan De Leeuw, Francesca Sangiorgi, Gert-Jan Reichart, Gareth R. Davies, Wout Krijgsman
Summary: The Dacian Basin uniquely recorded late Miocene hydrological changes and connectivity from the latest Tortonian to the early Pleistocene, with differences in strontium isotope ratios providing insights into depositional environments and faunal dispersal in Central Eurasia's mega-lake Paratethys.
GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dan Valentin Palcu, Irina Stanislavovna Patina, Ionut Sandric, Sergei Lazarev, Iuliana Vasiliev, Marius Stoica, Wout Krijgsman
Summary: The largest megalake in the late Miocene Eurasia experienced several episodes of hydrological instability and partial desiccation, with major regressions correlating with aridification events, vegetation changes and faunal turnovers in Europe. The Paratethys Sea was profoundly transformed during regression episodes, losing significant water volume and surface area. Partial desiccations of the megalake matched with climate, food-web and landscape changes throughout Eurasia, although the exact triggers and mechanisms remain unresolved.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Geanina A. Butiseaca, Iuliana Vasiliev, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Wout Krijgsman, Dan V. Palcu, Angelica Feurdean, Eva M. Niedermeyer, Andreas Mulch
Summary: The study investigates the impact of the Paratethys water body on the Eurasian climate during the middle and late Miocene period. The results show three exceptionally evaporative intervals at 9.65, 9.4, and 7.9 Ma, which are associated with aridity, increased fire activity, and changes in vegetation. The data suggest a strong regional imprint on climate patterns and evidence of severe droughts affecting the late Miocene circum-Paratethys region.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Stephanie Leone, Dan Palcu, Priyeshu Srivastava, Muhammad Bin Hassan, Joy R. Muraszko, Luigi Jovane
Summary: By analyzing sediment samples from Greenland and Iceland, we found that basaltic sediments from Iceland were dominant during glacial periods in the North Atlantic basin, while non-basaltic sediments from Greenland and other sources were identified during interglacial periods. We also discovered a new type of coarse lithic fragments, classified as Iceberg-Rafted Debris, with distinctive magnetic properties. Our findings highlight the importance of magnetic and particle size analysis in characterizing glacial episodes in the subpolar North Atlantic.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Dan V. Palcu, Izabela Maris, Arjan de Leeuw, Mihaela Melinte-Dobrinescu, Eliza Anton, Dumitru Frunzescu, Sergey Popov, Marius Stoica, Luigi Jovane, Wout Krijgsman
Summary: Paratethys was a large anoxic sea that lasted for 15-20 million years in central Eurasia. It transformed into a megalkae that was filled with sediment from nearby mountain ranges. Most stratigraphic records are incomplete, except for the Outer Carpathian Basin, which preserved a complete record of Paratethys' rise and fall.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Amelia Villasenor, Kevin T. Uno, Rahab N. Kinyanjui, Anna K. Behrensmeyer, Rene Bobe, Eldert L. Advokaat, Marion Bamford, Susana C. Carvalho, Ashley S. Hammond, Dan Palcu, Mark J. Sier, Carol Ward, David R. Braun
Summary: This study describes a new hominin locality from the Koobi Fora Formation in the Turkana Basin, dated to 3.60-3.44 Ma. By analyzing multiple proxies, including sedimentology, associated mammalian fauna, phytoliths, and stable isotopes, the paleoenvironment of the locality and its surroundings is reconstructed. The results indicate that the Pliocene hominins inhabited a biodiverse community of primates in a humid, grassy woodland setting, with woody vegetation resilient to periods of aridity, similar to the vegetation structure in the Turkana Basin today.
JOURNAL OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
S. V. Popov, L. A. Golovina, D. V. Palcu, I. A. Goncharova, T. N. Pinchuk, Yu. V. Rostovtseva, M. A. Akhmetiev, G. N. Aleksandrova, N. I. Zaporozhets, A. F. Bannikov, M. E. Bylinskaya, S. Yu. Lazarev
Summary: This article revises the stratigraphic scale of the Eastern Paratethys based on a study of the Neogene stratotype and reference sections, providing new data on regional subdivisions and their correlation with the Central Paratethys and Mediterranean stratotypes. It also discusses the history of identification, biotic characteristics, and stratigraphic methods, as well as the main results of the stratigraphic scheme revision.
PALEONTOLOGICAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Wout Krijgsman, Iuliana Vasiliev, Anouk Beniest, Timothy Lyons, Johanna Lofi, Gabor Tari, Caroline P. Slomp, Namik Cagatay, Maria Triantaphyllou, Rachel Flecker, Dan Palcu, Cecilia McHugh, Helge Arz, Pierre Henry, Karen Lloyd, Gunay Cifci, Ozgur Sipahioglu, Dimitris Sakellariou
Summary: The MagellanPlus workshop BlackGate discussed the dynamic evolution of the Mediterranean-Black Sea gateway and its environmental consequences. The exchange history of the gateway is poorly understood, and drilling across the gateway is needed to investigate the hydrological changes, biological turnovers, tectonic activities, and carbon cycling. The workshop selected three key drilling sites for further research.
SCIENTIFIC DRILLING
(2022)
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Wout Krijgsman, Dan Palcu, Federico Andreetto, Marius Stoica, Oleg Mandic
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2020)
Meeting Abstract
Anthropology
Amelia Villasenor, David R. Braun, Kevin Uno, Eldert Advokaat, Marion Bamford, Anna K. Behrensmeyer, Bobe Rene, Carvalho Susana, Hammond S. Ashley, Kinyanjui Rahab, Dan V. Palcu, Mark Sier, Carol V. Ward
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2020)
Meeting Abstract
Anthropology
Georgia Oppenheim, Chloe Daniel-Holden, Oumeyma Ben Brahim, Russell Cutts, Dan Palcu, Kevin Uno, Caitlin Craig, Jeanwon Kim, Deanna Maybee, Teresiah Thuku, Tamara Capps, Amanda Stricklan, David R. Braun, Sarah Hlubik
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2020)