Proxy-based quantitative estimates of Eocene climates can be made from marine isotope records for ocean conditions or fossil plants for terrestrial environment. However, our understanding about Eocene terrestrial climates is derived mainly from North America and Europe, and little is known about East Asia. Previous qualitative paleoclimate studies briefly revealed three climatic regimes across China during the Eocene with a planetary wind-dominated subtropical to tropical arid zone in the central part (i.e., the subtropical highs), which was flanked by the subtropical climate zone in the north and tropical climate zone in the south. But such a pattern of paleoclimatic zonation still requires a test from quantitative study. Based on analyses of 66 plant assemblages, carefully selected from 37 fossil sites throughout China, we here report the first large-scale quantitative climatic results and discuss the Eocene climatic patterns in China. Our results demonstrate that the Eocene monsoonal climate must have been more or less developed over China, judging from the presence of apparent seasonality of both temperature and precipitation revealed by our quantitative estimation. This appears not to support the previously claimed Eocene planetary wind-dominated climate system, at least in the region of eastern China. In addition, the research indicates that, with a slight declining trend of MAT during the Eocene, the winter temperature substantially dropped in tropical southern China during the middle to late Eocene interval. This might be related to the development of a weak Eocene Kuroshio Current in the southwestern Pacific, and/or a significantly enhanced paleo-winter monsoon from Siberia.

Submitted by William Justo Figueiro (williamjf) on 2015-07-03T13:29:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 32.pdf: 3411336 bytes, checksum: f358b7f3896f7cfa77f0e9df07d8de5c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-03T13:29:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 32.pdf: 3411336 bytes, checksum: f358b7f3896f7cfa77f0e9df07d8de5c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-07-30 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Restos de plantas são comuns em áreas do norte da Península Antártica, em níveis datados entre o final do Cretáceo e início do Neógeno, tanto nas bacias de retroarco, como nas regiões correspondentes ao arco e antearco da Península continental e ilhas adjacentes. Sua importância reside na possibilidade que oferecem de reconstituir os eventos paleoclimáticos e paleogeográficos regionais aí ocorridos como, por sua relação com as modernas floras da América do Sul e Australásia, para a compreensão dos aspectos envolvidos na origem e distribuição das floras austrais modernas. A ilha King George, a mais setentrional das ilhas Shetland do Sul, insere-se no contexto de antearco e suas sucessões e fósseis foram profundamente afetados pelos eventos tectônicos e magmáticos que marcaram sua gênese. O objetivo deste trabalho é o estudo da flora preservada na pequena ilha Dufayel, situada no interior da baía Admiralty, porção central da ilha King George, onde os níveis com fósseis ocorrem entre litologias vulcânicas com idades K-Ar entre 52 e 57 Ma. A tafoflora foi revista e abordada em termos de sua caracterização taxonômica e relação com as litologias, e comparada com as presentes em bacias próximas e nas bacias austrais, objetivando avaliar sua coerência com as idades absolutas propostas, dada a possibilidade de rejuvenescimento das litologias datadas por este método. O intervalo fossilífero é constituído por tufos e tufos lapilíticos, com aproximadamente 4 m de espessura, atribuídos a Formação Dalmor Bank, unidade basal do Grupo Dufayel Island. Nas 42 amostras analisadas foi possível identificar 20 distintas formas, discutidas em suas afinidades. A precária preservação, onde muitas vezes faltavam os caracteres marginais e as nervuras de ordem mais alta, foi possível seu agrupamento em morfotipos e a separação de seus caracteres arquiteturais. Atestam uma tafocenose dominada por Nothofagus de folhas micro-mesofílicas, acompanhado por tipos relacionados com as famílias Myrtaceae, inclusive da secção Leptospermoidea, Sapindaceae, Anacardiaceae, Monimiaceae, Lauraceae, Celastraceae e Malvaceae, estando ausentes os fetos e coníferas, comuns em outras paleoassembléias da ilha King George. Composicionalmente a paleoflora é comparável com àquelas da base da Formação La Meseta, na Subacia de James Ross e das bacias austrais do Chile e Argentina durante o Paleoceno Superior e Eoceno basal. São igualmente correlacionáveis as que se distribuem entre o Eoceno e o Mioceno da Nova Zelândia. Assim, comprova-se a idade Eoceno Inferior (Ypresiano) proposta pelos dados isotópicos. Florestas subtropicais a temperadas úmidas de composição similar crescem hoje na região de Valdívia no Chile, e em áreas do sul da Austrália e na Nova Zelândia, entre os 35o e 45º de latitude. Sugerem condições ambientais mais aquecidas para seu crescimento nas áreas da Península durante o Paleógeno, e sua posterior dispersão para o norte, quando os climas na Antártica se tornaram desfavoráveis. / Plant remains preserved in levels deposited between the end of Cretaceous to the beginning of Neogene are common in the northern Antarctic Peninsula areas, been found both in the marine and transitional paleonvironments of the back-arc basins and in the corresponding arc and fore-arc subareal environments from the continental Peninsula and adjacent islands. Those floras have a critical role in the establishment of the paleoclimate and paleogeographic events occurred in this strategic area of the Gondwana land and to the understanding of the origin and distribution of modern southern hemisphere vegetation. King George Island, the northernmost South Shetland Islands, was formed in a fore-arc geological context and their successions and fossil were deeply affected by tectonic and magmatic events that marked its genesis. In this work the taphoflora identified in a 4 meters tick tephra deposit intercalated in an expressive volcanic and aglomerate pile at Dufayel Island, central area of KGI, was reviewed and discussed in terms of their taxonomic affinities and relationship to lithologies. It is compared with other plant fossil assemblages knowing from expositions of the island, with those knowing from Antarctic Peninsula, and from other southern basins, looking for its consistency with the K-Ar absolute ages of 57 and 52 Ma proposed to the lower and upper lava beds, given the possibility of rejuvenation in age of the lithologies dated by this method. Forty two samples were analyzed showing only impressions of leaves from 20 different morphotypes, some of them capable of to be established in its taxonomic affinities. Overall leaf material shows a very poor preservation, where often lacks the marginal characters and venation of higher order, that incentivates their treatment by morphological groups and occasionally the proposition of familiar and generic relations. The taphocenosis shows to be dominated by micro to mesophilic leaves of Nothofagus, accompanied by types related with Myrtaceae, including the section Leptospermoidea, Sapindaceae, Anacardiaceae, Monimiaceae, Lauraceae, Celastraceae and Malvaceae. Conifers and ferns, common in other fossil assemblages of King George Island and suggested in the previous works with this flora were not confirmed. The composition of the paleoflora is comparable with those present in the lower levels of La Meseta Formation, at James Ross basin, and some other floras identified in the southern basins from Chile, Argentina, with a Lower Eocene age. Also corresponds to the assemblages found in New Zealand, during the Upper Paleocene until Miocene. Those data gives support to the Lower Eocene (Ypresian) age proposed by the absolute methods obtained in the volcanic associated lithologies. Subtropical to temperate humid forests with a comparable composition grows today in Valdivian region of Chile, between 35o and 45º of latitude, and in areas of southern Australia and New Zealand, over thin and volcanic soils, suggesting similar conditions for its growth in the Antarctic Peninsula area during the Paleogene. Their disjunct modern distribution and its dispersion to more northern land masses seem to be a result of the definitive breakup of Gondwanaland and the arriving of severe and cold climates.