Dataset Information

Heterogeneity in global vegetation and terrestrial climate change during the late Eocene to early Oligocene transition.

ABSTRACT: Rapid global cooling at the Eocene - Oligocene Transition (EOT), ~33.9-33.5?Ma, is widely considered to mark the onset of the modern icehouse world. A large and rapid drop in atmospheric pCO₂ has been proposed as the driving force behind extinctions in the marine realm and glaciation on Antarctica. However, the global terrestrial response to this cooling is uncertain. Here we present the first global vegetation and terrestrial temperature reconstructions for the EOT. Using an extensive palynological dataset, that has been statistically grouped into palaeo-biomes, we show a more transitional nature of terrestrial climate change by indicating a spatial and temporal heterogeneity of vegetation change at the EOT in both hemispheres. The reconstructed terrestrial temperatures show for many regions a cooling that started well before the EOT and continued into the Early Oligocene. We conclude that the heterogeneous pattern of global vegetation change has been controlled by a combination of multiple forcings, such as tectonics, sea-level fall and long-term decline in greenhouse gas concentrations during the late Eocene to early Oligocene, and does not represent a single response to a rapid decline in atmospheric pCO₂ at the EOT.

SUBMITTER: Pound MJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5324063 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Heterogeneity in global vegetation and terrestrial climate change during the late Eocene to early Oligocene transition.

Pound Matthew J MJ Salzmann Ulrich U

Scientific reports 20170224

Rapid global cooling at the Eocene - Oligocene Transition (EOT), ~33.9-33.5 Ma, is widely considered to mark the onset of the modern icehouse world. A large and rapid drop in atmospheric pCO<sub>2</sub> has been proposed as the driving force behind extinctions in the marine realm and glaciation on Antarctica. However, the global terrestrial response to this cooling is uncertain. Here we present the first global vegetation and terrestrial temperature reconstructions for the EOT. Using an extensiv ...[more]

PMID: 28233862

Similar Datasets

Project description:Climate change refugia are areas that are relatively buffered from contemporary climate change and may be important safe havens for wildlife and plants under anthropogenic climate change. Topographic variation is an important driver of thermal heterogeneity, but it is limited in relatively flat landscapes, such as the boreal plain and prairie regions of western Canada. Topographic variation within this region is mostly restricted to river valleys and hill systems, and their effects on local climates are not well documented. We sought to quantify thermal heterogeneity as a function of topography and vegetation cover within major valleys and hill systems across the boreal-grassland transition zone. Using iButton data loggers, we monitored local temperature at four hills and 12 river valley systems that comprised a wide range of habitats and ecosystems in Alberta, Canada (N = 240), between 2014 and 2020. We then modeled monthly temperature by season as a function of topography and different vegetation cover types using general linear mixed effect models. Summer maximum temperatures (T max) varied nearly 6°C across the elevation gradient sampled. Local summer mean (T mean) and maximum (T max) temperatures on steep, north-facing slopes (i.e., low levels of potential solar radiation) were up to 0.70°C and 2.90°C cooler than highly exposed areas, respectively. T max in incised valleys was between 0.26 and 0.28°C cooler than other landforms, whereas areas with greater terrain roughness experienced maximum temperatures that were up to 1.62°C cooler. We also found that forest cover buffered temperatures locally, with coniferous and mixedwood forests decreasing summer T mean from 0.23 to 0.72°C and increasing winter T min by up to 2°C, relative to non-forested areas. Spatial predictions of temperatures from iButton data loggers were similar to a gridded climate product (ClimateNA), but the difference between them increased with potential solar radiation, vegetation cover, and terrain roughness. Species that can track their climate niche may be able to compensate for regional climate warming through local migrations to cooler microsites. Topographic and vegetation characteristics that are related to cooler local climates should be considered in the evaluation of future climate change impacts and to identify potential refugia from climate change.

Dataset Information

Heterogeneity in global vegetation and terrestrial climate change during the late Eocene to early Oligocene transition.

Publications

Heterogeneity in global vegetation and terrestrial climate change during the late Eocene to early Oligocene transition.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets