Palynofacies as a tool for high-resolution palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of Gondwanan post-glacial coal deposits: no. 2 coal seam, Witbank Coalfield (South Africa)
The early Permian movement of Gondwana away from the South Pole caused a major climatic change across the continent. The shift from a post-glacial Carboniferous flora to a temperate Permian flora is represented in the palynological record. Using palynofacies analysis, this climate transition can be...
Published in: | Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments |
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ftunivqespace:oai:espace.library.uq.edu.au:UQ:410520 2023-05-15T18:23:15+02:00 Palynofacies as a tool for high-resolution palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of Gondwanan post-glacial coal deposits: no. 2 coal seam, Witbank Coalfield (South Africa) Wheeler, Alexander Goetz, Annette E. 2016-10-12 https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:410520 eng eng Springer doi:10.1007/s12549-016-0248-x issn:1867-1608 issn:1867-1594 Not set 94589 Palaeoclimate Palaeoenvironment Palynofacies Permian South Africa Witbank Coalfield 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 1907 Geology 1911 Palaeontology 2303 Ecology 2306 Global and Planetary Change Journal Article 2016 ftunivqespace https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-016-0248-x 2020-12-08T00:45:58Z The early Permian movement of Gondwana away from the South Pole caused a major climatic change across the continent. The shift from a post-glacial Carboniferous flora to a temperate Permian flora is represented in the palynological record. Using palynofacies analysis, this climate transition can be studied at a high resolution, and the palaeoenvironment can be interpreted on a local scale. Core samples were studied from four localities of the Artinskian/Kungurian-aged No. 2 Coal Seam of the Witbank Coalfield. At some localities, the No. 2 Coal Seam is split into an Upper Coal Seam and a Lower Coal Seam by an intraseam parting, and samples were collected from both horizons as well as the parting. All samples were studied with respect to palynomorph composition and phytoclast content. The results suggest a swamp-dominated environment in the Lower Coal Seam, a river-dominated environment in the parting, and an environment which fluctuated locally from a lake-dominated to swamp-dominated in the Upper Coal Seam due to increased input of glacial meltwater from the hinterlands. The vegetation switched from a fern- and conifer-dominated flora in the Lower Coal Seam to a more diverse Glossopteris-Gangamopteris flora in the Upper Coal Seam. Cordaites appears to be limited to valleys on the northern edge of the swamplands in the Lower Coal Seam. A decrease in monosaccate pollen grains and an increase in bisaccate pollen grains are apparent in all sample sets and interpreted to indicate a transition from a cold to a fluctuating cool-temperate climate. This climate signal is well documented in palynofacies of the coal seam and thus a powerful correlation tool for high-resolution basin-wide and Gondwanan correlation. Article in Journal/Newspaper South pole The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace South Pole Glossopteris ENVELOPE(-113.717,-113.717,-84.733,-84.733) Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments 97 2 259 271 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftunivqespace |
language |
English |
topic |
Palaeoclimate Palaeoenvironment Palynofacies Permian South Africa Witbank Coalfield 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 1907 Geology 1911 Palaeontology 2303 Ecology 2306 Global and Planetary Change |
spellingShingle |
Palaeoclimate Palaeoenvironment Palynofacies Permian South Africa Witbank Coalfield 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 1907 Geology 1911 Palaeontology 2303 Ecology 2306 Global and Planetary Change Wheeler, Alexander Goetz, Annette E. Palynofacies as a tool for high-resolution palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of Gondwanan post-glacial coal deposits: no. 2 coal seam, Witbank Coalfield (South Africa) |
topic_facet |
Palaeoclimate Palaeoenvironment Palynofacies Permian South Africa Witbank Coalfield 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 1907 Geology 1911 Palaeontology 2303 Ecology 2306 Global and Planetary Change |
description |
The early Permian movement of Gondwana away from the South Pole caused a major climatic change across the continent. The shift from a post-glacial Carboniferous flora to a temperate Permian flora is represented in the palynological record. Using palynofacies analysis, this climate transition can be studied at a high resolution, and the palaeoenvironment can be interpreted on a local scale. Core samples were studied from four localities of the Artinskian/Kungurian-aged No. 2 Coal Seam of the Witbank Coalfield. At some localities, the No. 2 Coal Seam is split into an Upper Coal Seam and a Lower Coal Seam by an intraseam parting, and samples were collected from both horizons as well as the parting. All samples were studied with respect to palynomorph composition and phytoclast content. The results suggest a swamp-dominated environment in the Lower Coal Seam, a river-dominated environment in the parting, and an environment which fluctuated locally from a lake-dominated to swamp-dominated in the Upper Coal Seam due to increased input of glacial meltwater from the hinterlands. The vegetation switched from a fern- and conifer-dominated flora in the Lower Coal Seam to a more diverse Glossopteris-Gangamopteris flora in the Upper Coal Seam. Cordaites appears to be limited to valleys on the northern edge of the swamplands in the Lower Coal Seam. A decrease in monosaccate pollen grains and an increase in bisaccate pollen grains are apparent in all sample sets and interpreted to indicate a transition from a cold to a fluctuating cool-temperate climate. This climate signal is well documented in palynofacies of the coal seam and thus a powerful correlation tool for high-resolution basin-wide and Gondwanan correlation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wheeler, Alexander Goetz, Annette E. |
author_facet |
Wheeler, Alexander Goetz, Annette E. |
author_sort |
Wheeler, Alexander |
title |
Palynofacies as a tool for high-resolution palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of Gondwanan post-glacial coal deposits: no. 2 coal seam, Witbank Coalfield (South Africa) |
title_short |
Palynofacies as a tool for high-resolution palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of Gondwanan post-glacial coal deposits: no. 2 coal seam, Witbank Coalfield (South Africa) |
title_full |
Palynofacies as a tool for high-resolution palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of Gondwanan post-glacial coal deposits: no. 2 coal seam, Witbank Coalfield (South Africa) |
title_fullStr |
Palynofacies as a tool for high-resolution palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of Gondwanan post-glacial coal deposits: no. 2 coal seam, Witbank Coalfield (South Africa) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Palynofacies as a tool for high-resolution palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of Gondwanan post-glacial coal deposits: no. 2 coal seam, Witbank Coalfield (South Africa) |
title_sort |
palynofacies as a tool for high-resolution palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of gondwanan post-glacial coal deposits: no. 2 coal seam, witbank coalfield (south africa) |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:410520 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-113.717,-113.717,-84.733,-84.733) |
geographic |
South Pole Glossopteris |
geographic_facet |
South Pole Glossopteris |
genre |
South pole |
genre_facet |
South pole |
op_relation |
doi:10.1007/s12549-016-0248-x issn:1867-1608 issn:1867-1594 Not set 94589 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-016-0248-x |
container_title |
Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments |
container_volume |
97 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
259 |
op_container_end_page |
271 |
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1766202799036563456 |