ARCTIC A 50-Million-Year-Old Fossil Forest from Strathcona Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada: Evidence for a Warm Polar Climate
ABSTRACT. The remains of a fossil forest are buried within a sedimentary sequence of Eocene age (approximately 50 million years old) near Strathcona Fiord, Ellesmere Island. Large petrified tree stumps are preserved in their original growth positions in coals of the Eureka Sound Group, a sequence of...
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ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.583.5618 2023-05-15T14:19:41+02:00 ARCTIC A 50-Million-Year-Old Fossil Forest from Strathcona Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada: Evidence for a Warm Polar Climate Jane E. Francis The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives 1988 application/pdf http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.583.5618 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic41-4-314.pdf en eng http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.583.5618 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic41-4-314.pdf Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic41-4-314.pdf Key words fossil forest Tertiary Canadian Arctic palaeoclimate Ellesmere Island petrified wood Eureka Sound Group text 1988 ftciteseerx 2016-08-28T00:05:01Z ABSTRACT. The remains of a fossil forest are buried within a sedimentary sequence of Eocene age (approximately 50 million years old) near Strathcona Fiord, Ellesmere Island. Large petrified tree stumps are preserved in their original growth positions in coals of the Eureka Sound Group, a sequence of sandstones, siltstones and coals deposited in a deltdfloodplain environment. The dimensions of 83 stumps were recorded and their positions plotted on a plan of the exposed area of coal. The fossil stumps are roughly conical in shape, up to 1.8 m high and with roots spreading up to 5 m in diameter. They are closely spaced on the coal, some only 1 m apart. A density of 1 stump in 27 mz (367 stumps.Ha-’) was calculated for this forest. The stumps represent large forest trees that grew in freshwater, swampy conditions between large river channels. Their buttressed roots provided extra support in the waterlogged peats. The rivers periodically shifted their courses, flooding the forests and burying them under silts and sands. Wide growth rings in the fossil wood, in addition to evidence from associated sediments and vertebrate faunas, indicate favourable growing conditions in a mild, cool/wann temperate climate with high rainfall. Palaeolatitude studies suggest that the forest lay close to its present high-latitude position during the Eocene. Such a forest is therefore evidence that the Eocene polar climate was much wanner than today and that the trees were able to tolerate a polar sunlight regime of continuous summer sunlight followed by months of winter darkness. Text Arctic Arctic Ellesmere Island Eureka Sound Unknown Arctic Canada Ellesmere Island Eureka ENVELOPE(-85.940,-85.940,79.990,79.990) Eureka Sound ENVELOPE(-84.999,-84.999,79.002,79.002) Strathcona ENVELOPE(99.200,99.200,-67.417,-67.417) Strathcona Fiord ENVELOPE(-82.915,-82.915,78.719,78.719) Stump ENVELOPE(-153.167,-153.167,-86.183,-86.183) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
ftciteseerx |
language |
English |
topic |
Key words fossil forest Tertiary Canadian Arctic palaeoclimate Ellesmere Island petrified wood Eureka Sound Group |
spellingShingle |
Key words fossil forest Tertiary Canadian Arctic palaeoclimate Ellesmere Island petrified wood Eureka Sound Group Jane E. Francis ARCTIC A 50-Million-Year-Old Fossil Forest from Strathcona Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada: Evidence for a Warm Polar Climate |
topic_facet |
Key words fossil forest Tertiary Canadian Arctic palaeoclimate Ellesmere Island petrified wood Eureka Sound Group |
description |
ABSTRACT. The remains of a fossil forest are buried within a sedimentary sequence of Eocene age (approximately 50 million years old) near Strathcona Fiord, Ellesmere Island. Large petrified tree stumps are preserved in their original growth positions in coals of the Eureka Sound Group, a sequence of sandstones, siltstones and coals deposited in a deltdfloodplain environment. The dimensions of 83 stumps were recorded and their positions plotted on a plan of the exposed area of coal. The fossil stumps are roughly conical in shape, up to 1.8 m high and with roots spreading up to 5 m in diameter. They are closely spaced on the coal, some only 1 m apart. A density of 1 stump in 27 mz (367 stumps.Ha-’) was calculated for this forest. The stumps represent large forest trees that grew in freshwater, swampy conditions between large river channels. Their buttressed roots provided extra support in the waterlogged peats. The rivers periodically shifted their courses, flooding the forests and burying them under silts and sands. Wide growth rings in the fossil wood, in addition to evidence from associated sediments and vertebrate faunas, indicate favourable growing conditions in a mild, cool/wann temperate climate with high rainfall. Palaeolatitude studies suggest that the forest lay close to its present high-latitude position during the Eocene. Such a forest is therefore evidence that the Eocene polar climate was much wanner than today and that the trees were able to tolerate a polar sunlight regime of continuous summer sunlight followed by months of winter darkness. |
author2 |
The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives |
format |
Text |
author |
Jane E. Francis |
author_facet |
Jane E. Francis |
author_sort |
Jane E. Francis |
title |
ARCTIC A 50-Million-Year-Old Fossil Forest from Strathcona Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada: Evidence for a Warm Polar Climate |
title_short |
ARCTIC A 50-Million-Year-Old Fossil Forest from Strathcona Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada: Evidence for a Warm Polar Climate |
title_full |
ARCTIC A 50-Million-Year-Old Fossil Forest from Strathcona Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada: Evidence for a Warm Polar Climate |
title_fullStr |
ARCTIC A 50-Million-Year-Old Fossil Forest from Strathcona Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada: Evidence for a Warm Polar Climate |
title_full_unstemmed |
ARCTIC A 50-Million-Year-Old Fossil Forest from Strathcona Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada: Evidence for a Warm Polar Climate |
title_sort |
arctic a 50-million-year-old fossil forest from strathcona fiord, ellesmere island, arctic canada: evidence for a warm polar climate |
publishDate |
1988 |
url |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.583.5618 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic41-4-314.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-85.940,-85.940,79.990,79.990) ENVELOPE(-84.999,-84.999,79.002,79.002) ENVELOPE(99.200,99.200,-67.417,-67.417) ENVELOPE(-82.915,-82.915,78.719,78.719) ENVELOPE(-153.167,-153.167,-86.183,-86.183) |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Ellesmere Island Eureka Eureka Sound Strathcona Strathcona Fiord Stump |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Ellesmere Island Eureka Eureka Sound Strathcona Strathcona Fiord Stump |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ellesmere Island Eureka Sound |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ellesmere Island Eureka Sound |
op_source |
http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic41-4-314.pdf |
op_relation |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.583.5618 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic41-4-314.pdf |
op_rights |
Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. |
_version_ |
1766291450251706368 |