Abstract
Although there is general consensus that a global greenhouse climate characterized the mid-Cretaceous, details of the climate state of the mid-Cretaceous Southern Hemisphere are less clearly understood. In particular, continental paleoclimate reconstructions are scarce and exclusively derived from paleontological records. Using paleosol-derived climofunction studies of the mid- to Upper Cretaceous Mata Amarilla Formation, southern Patagonia, Argentina, we present a reconstruction of the mid-Cretaceous climate of southern South America. Our results indicate that at ~ 60° south paleolatitude during the Cenomanian–Santonian stages, the climate was subtropical temperate–warm (12 °C ± 2.1 °C) and humid (1404 ± 108 mm/yr) with marked rainfall seasonality. These results are consistent with both previous estimations from the fossil floras of the Mata Amarilla Formation and other units of the Southern Hemisphere, and with the previous observations of the displacement of tropical and subtropical floras towards the poles in both hemispheres. The data presented here show a more marked seasonality and slightly lower mean annual precipitation and mean annual temperature values than those recorded at the same paleolatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 83-95 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Sedimentary Geology |
| Volume | 363 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2018 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Geology
- Stratigraphy
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Late Cretaceous paleosols as paleoclimate proxies of high-latitude Southern Hemisphere : Mata Amarilla Formation, Patagonia, Argentina. / Varela, Augusto N.; Raigemborn, M. Sol; Richiano, Sebastián; White, Timothy Stapler; Poiré, Daniel G.; Lizzoli, Sabrina.
In: Sedimentary Geology, Vol. 363, 01.01.2018, p. 83-95.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Late Cretaceous paleosols as paleoclimate proxies of high-latitude Southern Hemisphere
T2 - Mata Amarilla Formation, Patagonia, Argentina
AU - Varela, Augusto N.
AU - Raigemborn, M. Sol
AU - Richiano, Sebastián
AU - White, Timothy Stapler
AU - Poiré, Daniel G.
AU - Lizzoli, Sabrina
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - Although there is general consensus that a global greenhouse climate characterized the mid-Cretaceous, details of the climate state of the mid-Cretaceous Southern Hemisphere are less clearly understood. In particular, continental paleoclimate reconstructions are scarce and exclusively derived from paleontological records. Using paleosol-derived climofunction studies of the mid- to Upper Cretaceous Mata Amarilla Formation, southern Patagonia, Argentina, we present a reconstruction of the mid-Cretaceous climate of southern South America. Our results indicate that at ~ 60° south paleolatitude during the Cenomanian–Santonian stages, the climate was subtropical temperate–warm (12 °C ± 2.1 °C) and humid (1404 ± 108 mm/yr) with marked rainfall seasonality. These results are consistent with both previous estimations from the fossil floras of the Mata Amarilla Formation and other units of the Southern Hemisphere, and with the previous observations of the displacement of tropical and subtropical floras towards the poles in both hemispheres. The data presented here show a more marked seasonality and slightly lower mean annual precipitation and mean annual temperature values than those recorded at the same paleolatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.
AB - Although there is general consensus that a global greenhouse climate characterized the mid-Cretaceous, details of the climate state of the mid-Cretaceous Southern Hemisphere are less clearly understood. In particular, continental paleoclimate reconstructions are scarce and exclusively derived from paleontological records. Using paleosol-derived climofunction studies of the mid- to Upper Cretaceous Mata Amarilla Formation, southern Patagonia, Argentina, we present a reconstruction of the mid-Cretaceous climate of southern South America. Our results indicate that at ~ 60° south paleolatitude during the Cenomanian–Santonian stages, the climate was subtropical temperate–warm (12 °C ± 2.1 °C) and humid (1404 ± 108 mm/yr) with marked rainfall seasonality. These results are consistent with both previous estimations from the fossil floras of the Mata Amarilla Formation and other units of the Southern Hemisphere, and with the previous observations of the displacement of tropical and subtropical floras towards the poles in both hemispheres. The data presented here show a more marked seasonality and slightly lower mean annual precipitation and mean annual temperature values than those recorded at the same paleolatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85034043218&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85034043218&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.sedgeo.2017.11.001
DO - 10.1016/j.sedgeo.2017.11.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85034043218
VL - 363
SP - 83
EP - 95
JO - Sedimentary Geology
JF - Sedimentary Geology
SN - 0037-0738
ER -