Late Eocene to middle Miocene (33 to 13 million years ago) vegetation and climate development on the North American Atlantic Coastal Plain (IODP Expedition 313, Site M0027)
We investigated the palynology of sediment cores from Site M0027 of IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program) Expedition 313 on the New Jersey shallow shelf to examine vegetation and climate dynamics on the east coast of North America between 33 and 13 million years ago and to assess the impact of ov...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2014-08-01
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| Series: | Climate of the Past |
| Online Access: | http://www.clim-past.net/10/1523/2014/cp-10-1523-2014.pdf |
| Summary: | We investigated the palynology of sediment cores from Site M0027 of
IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program)
Expedition 313 on the New Jersey shallow shelf to examine vegetation and
climate dynamics on the east coast of North America between 33 and 13 million
years ago and to assess the impact of over-regional climate events on the
region. Palynological results are complemented with pollen-based quantitative
climate reconstructions. Our results indicate that the hinterland vegetation
of the New Jersey shelf was characterized by oak–hickory forests in the
lowlands and conifer-dominated vegetation in the highlands from the early
Oligocene to the middle Miocene. The Oligocene witnessed several expansions
of conifer forest, probably related to cooling events. The pollen-based
climate data imply an increase in annual temperatures from
∼11.5 °C to more than 16 °C during the Oligocene.
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The Mi-1 cooling event at the onset of the Miocene is reflected by an
expansion of conifers and mean annual temperature decrease of
∼4 °C, from ∼16 °C to ∼12 °C
around 23 million years before present. Relatively low annual temperatures
are also recorded for several samples during an interval around ∼20
million years before present, which may reflect the Mi-1a and the Mi-1aa
cooling events. Generally, the Miocene ecosystem and climate conditions were
very similar to those of the Oligocene. Miocene grasslands, as known from
other areas in the USA during that time period, are not evident for the
hinterland of the New Jersey shelf, possibly reflecting moisture from the
proto-Gulf Stream.
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The palaeovegetation data reveal stable conditions during the mid-Miocene
climatic optimum at ∼15 million years before present, with only a
minor increase in deciduous–evergreen mixed forest taxa and a decrease in
swamp forest taxa. Pollen-based annual temperature reconstructions show
average annual temperatures of ∼14 °C during the mid-Miocene
climatic optimum, ∼2 °C higher than today, but
∼1.5 °C lower than preceding and following phases of the
Miocene. We conclude that vegetation and regional climate in the hinterland
of the New Jersey shelf did not react as sensitively to Oligocene and Miocene
climate changes as other regions in North America or Europe due to the
moderating effects of the North Atlantic. An additional explanation for the
relatively low regional temperatures reconstructed for the mid-Miocene
climatic optimum could be an uplift of the Appalachian Mountains during the
Miocene, which would also have influenced the catchment area of our pollen
record. |
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| ISSN: | 1814-9324 1814-9332 |