Carboniferous paleoclimate and global change: Isotopic evidence from the Russian Platform
We present new and published isotopic data on brachiopod shells from the Urals and Moscow Basin to explore paleoclimate, global change, and chemostratigraphy in the Carboniferous. A total of 134 shells were analyzed from the Askyn, Sokol, Zilim, and Kamen Perevolochny sections in the Urals. The most...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.512.1828 http://geoweb.tamu.edu/grossman/Grossman02.pdf |
| Summary: | We present new and published isotopic data on brachiopod shells from the Urals and Moscow Basin to explore paleoclimate, global change, and chemostratigraphy in the Carboniferous. A total of 134 shells were analyzed from the Askyn, Sokol, Zilim, and Kamen Perevolochny sections in the Urals. The most important feature of this record is a sharp increase in d 18O and d 13C at the Serpukhovian-Bashkirian boundary. A Mid-Carboniferous increase had been reported for Moscow Basin and North American sections, but the timing had never been so well constrained. This shift bears witness to the transition from greenhouse to icehouse climate in the Carboniferous. The magnitude of the d 18O and d 13C shifts in the Urals (Askyn section) appears exaggerated because of anomalously low Serpukhovian values. Using the d 18O increase recorded in North American and Moscow Basin sections as conservative estimates, this shift implies an ice sheet at least the size of modern glaciers, and perhaps a lowering of tropical temperature several degrees celsius. The simultaneous increase of d 18O and d 13C provides evidence that cooling was promoted by increased burial of organic carbon. These d 18O and d 13C |
|---|