A palynological study of an extinct arctic ecosystem from the Palaeocene of Northern Alaska
The Palaeocene arctic supported a vegetation type quite distinct from the tundra and polar desert of today. Here we demonstrate, through the palynological record, the structure of this extinct vegetation and its dynamics over this period. The Late Palaeocene coal-bearing units of the Sagwon Bluffs o...
Published in: | Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology |
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Online Access: | https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2161627 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2011.05.008 |
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ftulundlup:oai:lup.lub.lu.se:bd328fbb-82a9-4bcd-baf7-7974a93d7c58 2023-05-15T14:51:09+02:00 A palynological study of an extinct arctic ecosystem from the Palaeocene of Northern Alaska Daly, Robert J. Jolley, David W. Spicer, Robert A. Ahlberg, Anders 2011 https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2161627 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2011.05.008 eng eng Elsevier https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2161627 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2011.05.008 wos:000293317400010 scopus:79959886818 Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology; 166(1-2), pp 107-116 (2011) ISSN: 0034-6667 Pedagogy Palaeocene Arctic Palynology Metasequoia Vegetation Ecology contributiontojournal/article info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2011 ftulundlup https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2011.05.008 2023-02-01T23:27:05Z The Palaeocene arctic supported a vegetation type quite distinct from the tundra and polar desert of today. Here we demonstrate, through the palynological record, the structure of this extinct vegetation and its dynamics over this period. The Late Palaeocene coal-bearing units of the Sagwon Bluffs on Alaska's North Slope (present latitude 69 degrees N) are predominantly fine-grained, non-marine and rich in palynomorph-bearing sediments. From the analysed palynological assemblage we were able to demonstrate, using 'Detrended Correspondence Analysis' (DCA) and 'Fuzzy c-Means Cluster Analysis' (FCM), 1) a complex heterogeneous ecosystem, 2) its major successional states, and 3) its development over an extended period. The climax state of the floodplain was dominated by flood-tolerant, deciduous conifers such as Metasequoia. A more heterogeneous mid-successional assemblage is represented by angiosperm and gymnosperm co-dominance with an angiosperm dominance of Corylus, while early-successional ecological groups, dominated by ferns and bryophytes, are considered to represent riparian and post-disturbance niches. The structure of this vegetation does not remain static over the course of the stratigraphic interval represented. We observe a particularly dramatic ecological change for instance, following the deposition of a large conglomeratic unit. It is hypothesized that this corresponds to altered drainage and/or precipitation on the North Slope. The vegetation examined herein shows marked similarities to that of other palaeobotanical studies from various sites of similar age at high northern latitudes. It is hence considered to represent an extensive and long-lived circumpolar arctic biome. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic north slope polar desert Tundra Alaska Lund University Publications (LUP) Arctic Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 166 1-2 107 116 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Lund University Publications (LUP) |
op_collection_id |
ftulundlup |
language |
English |
topic |
Pedagogy Palaeocene Arctic Palynology Metasequoia Vegetation Ecology |
spellingShingle |
Pedagogy Palaeocene Arctic Palynology Metasequoia Vegetation Ecology Daly, Robert J. Jolley, David W. Spicer, Robert A. Ahlberg, Anders A palynological study of an extinct arctic ecosystem from the Palaeocene of Northern Alaska |
topic_facet |
Pedagogy Palaeocene Arctic Palynology Metasequoia Vegetation Ecology |
description |
The Palaeocene arctic supported a vegetation type quite distinct from the tundra and polar desert of today. Here we demonstrate, through the palynological record, the structure of this extinct vegetation and its dynamics over this period. The Late Palaeocene coal-bearing units of the Sagwon Bluffs on Alaska's North Slope (present latitude 69 degrees N) are predominantly fine-grained, non-marine and rich in palynomorph-bearing sediments. From the analysed palynological assemblage we were able to demonstrate, using 'Detrended Correspondence Analysis' (DCA) and 'Fuzzy c-Means Cluster Analysis' (FCM), 1) a complex heterogeneous ecosystem, 2) its major successional states, and 3) its development over an extended period. The climax state of the floodplain was dominated by flood-tolerant, deciduous conifers such as Metasequoia. A more heterogeneous mid-successional assemblage is represented by angiosperm and gymnosperm co-dominance with an angiosperm dominance of Corylus, while early-successional ecological groups, dominated by ferns and bryophytes, are considered to represent riparian and post-disturbance niches. The structure of this vegetation does not remain static over the course of the stratigraphic interval represented. We observe a particularly dramatic ecological change for instance, following the deposition of a large conglomeratic unit. It is hypothesized that this corresponds to altered drainage and/or precipitation on the North Slope. The vegetation examined herein shows marked similarities to that of other palaeobotanical studies from various sites of similar age at high northern latitudes. It is hence considered to represent an extensive and long-lived circumpolar arctic biome. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Daly, Robert J. Jolley, David W. Spicer, Robert A. Ahlberg, Anders |
author_facet |
Daly, Robert J. Jolley, David W. Spicer, Robert A. Ahlberg, Anders |
author_sort |
Daly, Robert J. |
title |
A palynological study of an extinct arctic ecosystem from the Palaeocene of Northern Alaska |
title_short |
A palynological study of an extinct arctic ecosystem from the Palaeocene of Northern Alaska |
title_full |
A palynological study of an extinct arctic ecosystem from the Palaeocene of Northern Alaska |
title_fullStr |
A palynological study of an extinct arctic ecosystem from the Palaeocene of Northern Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
A palynological study of an extinct arctic ecosystem from the Palaeocene of Northern Alaska |
title_sort |
palynological study of an extinct arctic ecosystem from the palaeocene of northern alaska |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2161627 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2011.05.008 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic north slope polar desert Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic north slope polar desert Tundra Alaska |
op_source |
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology; 166(1-2), pp 107-116 (2011) ISSN: 0034-6667 |
op_relation |
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2161627 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2011.05.008 wos:000293317400010 scopus:79959886818 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2011.05.008 |
container_title |
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology |
container_volume |
166 |
container_issue |
1-2 |
container_start_page |
107 |
op_container_end_page |
116 |
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1766322204940697600 |