Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous paleoclimate of Sverdrup Basin, Canadian Arctic Archipelago inferred from the palynostratigraphy

• Published in: Marine and Petroleum Geology
• Main Authors: Galloway, Jennifer M., Sweet, Arthur R., Swindles, Graeme T., Dewing, Keith, Hadlari, Thomas, Embry, Ashton F., Sanei, Hamed
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Arctic; Canada; Climate change; Cretaceous; Jurassic; Palynology; Sverdrup Basin; /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1910; name=Oceanography; /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1908; name=Geophysics; /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1907; name=Geology; /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1905; name=Economic Geology; /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1913; name=Stratigraphy; /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action; name=SDG 13 - Climate Action; /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/life_below_water; name=SDG 14 - Life Below Water; Canadian Arctic Archipelago; Ellef Ringnes Island; Hoodoo Dome; Arctic Archipelago; sverdrup basin
• Online Access: https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/02de2d99-a49d-443b-bbe5-6d105c5f8905; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2013.01.001; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84877927114&partnerID=8YFLogxK

Jurassic to Cretaceous strata of Sverdrup Basin contain both marine and nonmarine fossils that serve to date interlayered sandstone and mudstone units and interpret paleoenvironments and paleoclimates. Applying a multi-variate statistical approach to long-ranging spore and pollen types typical for this time interval, we define four palynoassemblages within an Aalenian to Albian succession preserved in the Hoodoo Dome H-37 oil and gas well located on southern Ellef Ringnes Island near the centre of Sverdrup Basin. We propose an association between palynoassemblages and Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous pan-hemispherical climate events. The largest palynoassemblage shift occurs when an assemblage containing Classopollis classoides pollen is replaced by an assemblage dominated by pollen of the Taxodiaceae-Cupressaceae-Taxaceae in the late Valanginian or early Hauterivian. We interpret this vegetation change to a shift from a seasonally arid climate to cooler and more humid conditions in high latitude regions.