The Arctic Forest of the Middle Eocene
Abstract
Lush forests, dominated by deciduous conifers, existed well north of the Arctic Circle during the middle Eocene (45 Ma). The Fossil Forest site, located on Axel Heiberg Island, Canada, has yielded a particularly rich assemblage of plant macro- and microfossils, as well as paleosols -- all exquisitely preserved. Methods ranging from classical paleobotany, to stable-isotope geochemistry, have been applied to materials excavated from the Fossil Forest and have revealed layers of diverse conifer forests with a rich angiosperm understory that successfully endured three months of continuous light and three months of continuous darkness. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions suggest a warm, ice-free environment, with high growing-season-relative humidity, and high rates of soil methanogenesis. Methods to evaluate intraseasonal variability highlight the switchover from stored to actively fixed carbon during the short annual growing season.
- Publication:
-
Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Pub Date:
- May 2007
- DOI:
- 10.1146/annurev.earth.35.031306.140125
- Bibcode:
- 2007AREPS..35..509J