High latitude Albian climate variability: Palynological evidence for long-term drying in a greenhouse world

BE Wagstaff; SJ Gallagher; MS Norvick; DJ Cantrill; MW Wallace

Journal article

High latitude Albian climate variability: Palynological evidence for long-term drying in a greenhouse world

BE Wagstaff, SJ Gallagher, MS Norvick, DJ Cantrill, MW Wallace

Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology | ELSEVIER | Published : 2013

DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.06.018

Abstract

Detailed "Quaternary-style" quantitative spore-pollen counts, with a pollen sum based on total non-angiosperm seed plants, from a southern high palaeolatitude (60-65°) terrestrial sequence in Gippsland, southeast Australia has revealed strong vegetation and climate variability during the Albian. This variability is more pronounced than previously suggested in global Early Cretaceous vegetation and climate reconstructions. The quantitative spore-pollen record shows drying throughout the Albian based on upward decreasing total ferns and variation in podocarp and total Alisporites/. Vitreisporites pollen. This record suggests that although global climate during the Albian is considered to have ..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Stephen Gallagher Author

David Cantrill Author

Malcolm Wallace Author

Related Projects (1)

The climate evolution of high latitude 140 to 90 million year old hydrocarbon prospective strata of Southeast Australia

Melbourne University and the Royal Botanic Gardens will collaborate with three companies to investigate climate variability in a 140 to 90 m..

Grants

Awarded by ARC

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Lakes Oil N.L. for providing access to geological data on the wells and some of the samples from Wombat-3. The Department of Primary Industries allowed sampling of the wells and we would particularly like to thank Terry Smith for providing help with accessing the cuttings. We would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments to improve the text. ARC Linkage Grant LP0989203 funded this research with industry partners Lakes Oil N.L., Nexus Energy and Geotrack International.