Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene Rocks and \Fertebrate Fossils at the Emerald Lake Locality, 3 Miles South of Ifellowstone National Park,Wyoming

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene Rocks and \Fertebrate Fossils at the Emerald Lake Locality, 3 Miles South of Ifellowstone National Park,Wyoming Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene Rocks and \fertebrate Fossils at the Emerald Lake Locality, 3 Miles South of Ifellowstone National Park,Wyoming GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 932-A Prepared in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Wyoming, the Department of Geology of the University of Wyoming, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Carnegie Museum Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene Rocks and \fertebrate Fossils at the Emerald Lake Locality 3 Miles South of Ifellowstone National Park,Wyoming By J. D. LOVE, MALCOLM C. McKENNA, and MARY R. DAWSON GEOLOGY OF THE TETON-JACKSON HOLE REGION, NORTHWESTERN WYOMING GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 932-A Prepared in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Wyoming, the Department of Geology of the University of Wyoming, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Carnegie Museum UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1976 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR THOMAS S. KLEPPE, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY V. E. McKelvey, Director Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Love, John David, 1913- Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene rocks and vertebrate fossils at the Emerald Lake locality, 3 miles south of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (Geology of the Teton-Jackson Hole region, northwestern Wyoming) (Geological Survey Professional Paper 932-A) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Geology, Stratigraphic Tertiary. 2. Vertebrates, Fossil. 3. Geology Wyoming Teton Co. I. McKenna, Malcolm C., joint author. II. Dawson, Mary R., joint author. III. Wyoming Geological Survey. IV. Title: Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene rocks and vertebrate fossils at the Emerald Lake locality ... V. Series. VI. Series: United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 932-A. QE691.L79 551.?'8 76-8159 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, B.C. 20402 Stock Number 024-001-02792-5 CONTENTS Page Page Metric-English equivalents........................................................... IV Post-Miocene rocks....................................................................... A21 Abstract......................................................................................... Al Pyroxene andesite and basalt of Emerald Lake.................... 21 Introduction.................................................................................. 1 Huckleberry Ridge Tuff........................................................ 22 Acknowledgments......................................................................... 2 Structural summary...................................................................... 22 Wiggins Formation (Eocene)........................................................ 2 References cited............................................................................. 25 White River Formation (Oligocene)............................................ 8 Index............................................................................................. 27 Colter Formation (Miocene)......................................................... 18 ILLUSTRATIONS Page FIGURE 1. Map showing mountains, basins, and volcanic areas in and adjacent to northwestern Wyoming............................................... A2 2. Relief map................................................................................................................................................................................^ 3 3. Geologic map.................................................................................................................................................^ 4 4-9. Photographs: 4. Volcanic conglomerate in the Wiggins Formation, measured section A ......................................................................... 6 5. Volcanic conglomerate in the Wiggins Formation, measured section D......................................................................... 7 6. Measured section C of the White River Formation........................................................................................................... 8 7. Measured section D of the White River Formation .......................................................................................................... 9 8. View north from measured section D, showing the White River and Wiggins Formations........................................... 10 9. Detail of lithology of the White River Formation............................................................................................................ U 10. Graph showing semiquantitative spectrographic analyses ............................................................................................................. 16 11. Diagram showing relations between the Wiggins and White River Formations........................................................................... 18 12. Schematic diagram showing relations of Tertiary and older rocks ................................................................................................ 18 13-18. Photographs: 13. Vertical aerial photograph showing Oligocene and Miocene vertebrate fossil sites........................................................ 19 14. View northwest up fault valley, showing vertebrate fossil sites and stratigraphic relations of formations.................... 21 15. Colter Formation at locality SR ........................................................................................................................................ 22 16. Vertebrate fossil sites in Colter Formation at locality SR................................................................................................. 23 17. Closeup view of west-dipping tuffaceous sandstone in Colter Formation....................................................................... 24 18. Right lower jaw of undescribed aplodontid rodent....................................................-.................. 24 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Rock analyses of tuffaceous strata of early Oligocene and Miocene age in the Emerald Lake, Granite Mountains, and Beaver Divide areas, Wyoming, and Black Butte, Montana.................................................................................................................... A14 2. Potassium-argon ages of some Oligocene and Eocene rocks in northwestern and central Wyoming................................................ 17 3. Distribution by site of Oligocene and Miocene fossils at Emerald Lake locality ............................................................................. 20 in IV CONTENTS METRIC-ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS Metric unit English equivalent Metric unit English equivalent Length Specific combinations Continued millimetre (mm) = 0.03937 inch (in) litre per second (1/s) = .0353 cubic foot per second metre (m) = 3.28 feet (ft) cubic metre per second kilometre (km) = .62 mile (mi) per square kilometre [(m3/s)/km2] Area square mile [(ft3/s)/mi2] metre per day (m/d) 3.28 feet per day (hydraulic square metre (m2) = 10.76 square feet (ft2) conductivity) (ft/d) square kilometre (km2 = .386 square mile (mi2) metre per kilometre hectare (ha) = 2.47 acres (m/km) = 5.28 feet per mile (ft/mi) kilometre per hour (km/h) = .9113 foot per second (ft/s) Volume metre per second (m/s) 3.28 feet per second cubic centimetre (cm3) = 0.061 cubic inch (in3) metre squared per day litre (1) 61.03 cubic inches (m2/d) = 10.764 feet squared per day (ft2/d) cubic metre (m3) = 35.31 cubic feet (ft3) ( tr ansmissivity ) cubic metre = .00081 acre-foot (acre-ft) cubic metre per second cubic hectometre (hm3 ) =810.7 acre-feet (m3/s) = 22.826 million gallons per day litre = 2.113 pints (pt) (Mgal/d) litre = 1.06 quarts (qt) cubic metre per minute litre = .26 gallon (gal) (m3/min) = 264.2 gallons per minute (gal/min) cubic metre = .00026 million gallons (Mgal or litre per second (1/s) = 15.85 gallons per minute 10e gal) litre per second per cubic metre = 6.290 barrels (bbl) (1 bbl = 42 gal) metre [(l/s)/m] = 4.83 gallons per minute per foot [(gal/min) /ft] kilometre per hour Weight (km/h) = .62 mile per hour (mi/h) gram (g) = 0.035 ounce, avoirdupois (oz avdp) metre per second (m/s) = 2.237 miles per hour gram = .0022 pound, avoirdupois (Ib avdp) gram per cubic tonne (t) = 1.1 tons, short (2,000 Ib) centimetre (g/cm3 ) = 62.43 pounds per cubic foot (lb/ft3) tonne = .98 ton, long (2,240 Ib) gram per square centimetre (g/cm2) 2.048 pounds per square foot (lb/ft2) gram per square Specific combinations centimetre .0142 pound per square inch (lb/in2) kilogram per square centimetre (kg/cm2) = 0.96 atmosphere (atm) Temperature kilogram per square centimetre = .98 bar (0.9869 atm) degree Celsius (°C) = 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) cubic metre per second degrees Celsius (mVs) = 35.3 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) (temperature) = [(1.8X°C)+32] degrees Fahrenheit GEOLOGY OF THE TETON-JACKSON HOLE REGION, NORTHWESTERN WYOMING EOCENE, OLIGOCENE, AND MIOCENE ROCKS AND VERTEBRATE FOSSILS AT THE EMERALD LAKE LOCALITY, 3 MILES SOUTH OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING By J. D. LOVE, MALCOLM C. McKENNA, 1 and MARY R. DAWSON2 ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Several small remnants of Oligocene and Miocene rocks, partly chan­ No Oligocene or Miocene rocks are at present rec­ nel deposits, containing diagnostic vertebrate fossils were preserved by late Cenozoic downfaulting in the Emerald Lake area, 3 miles (4.8 ognized in Yellowstone National Park and, except for the kilometres) south of Yellowstone National Park. Inasmuch as no Emerald Lake locality (Love, 1956b) and other localities to Oligocene or Miocene
Recommended publications
  • South Dakota to Nebraska
    Geological Society of America Special Paper 325 1998 Lithostratigraphic revision and correlation of the lower part of the White River Group: South Dakota to Nebraska Dennis O. Terry, Jr. Department of Geology, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0340 ABSTRACT Lithologic correlations between type areas of the White River Group in Nebraska and South Dakota have resulted in a revised lithostratigraphy for the lower part of the White River Group. The following pedostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic units, from oldest to youngest, are newly recognized in northwestern Nebraska and can be correlated with units in the Big Badlands of South Dakota: the Yellow Mounds Pale- osol Equivalent, Interior and Weta Paleosol Equivalents, Chamberlain Pass Forma- tion, and Peanut Peak Member of the Chadron Formation. The term “Interior Paleosol Complex,” used for the brightly colored zone at the base of the White River Group in northwestern Nebraska, is abandoned in favor of a two-part division. The lower part is related to the Yellow Mounds Paleosol Series of South Dakota and rep- resents the pedogenically modified Cretaceous Pierre Shale. The upper part is com- posed of the unconformably overlying, pedogenically modified overbank mudstone facies of the Chamberlain Pass Formation (which contains the Interior and Weta Paleosol Series in South Dakota). Greenish-white channel sandstones at the base of the Chadron Formation in Nebraska (previously correlated to the Ahearn Member of the Chadron Formation in South Dakota) herein are correlated to the channel sand- stone facies of the Chamberlain Pass Formation in South Dakota. The Chamberlain Pass Formation is unconformably overlain by the Chadron Formation in South Dakota and Nebraska.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 30. Latest Oligocene Through Early Miocene Isotopic Stratigraphy
    Shackleton, N.J., Curry, W.B., Richter, C., and Bralower, T.J. (Eds.), 1997 Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, Vol. 154 30. LATEST OLIGOCENE THROUGH EARLY MIOCENE ISOTOPIC STRATIGRAPHY AND DEEP-WATER PALEOCEANOGRAPHY OF THE WESTERN EQUATORIAL ATLANTIC: SITES 926 AND 9291 B.P. Flower,2 J.C. Zachos,2 and E. Martin3 ABSTRACT Stable isotopic (d18O and d13C) and strontium isotopic (87Sr/86Sr) data generated from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 926 and 929 on Ceara Rise provide a detailed chemostratigraphy for the latest Oligocene through early Miocene of the western Equatorial Atlantic. Oxygen isotopic data based on the benthic foraminifer Cibicidoides mundulus exhibit four distinct d18O excursions of more than 0.5ä, including event Mi1 near the Oligocene/Miocene boundary from 23.9 to 22.9 Ma and increases at about 21.5, 18 and 16.5 Ma, probably reßecting episodes of early Miocene Antarctic glaciation events (Mi1a, Mi1b, and Mi2). Carbon isotopic data exhibit well-known d13C increases near the Oligocene/Miocene boundary (~23.8 to 22.6 Ma) and near the early/middle Miocene boundary (~17.5 to 16 Ma). Strontium isotopic data reveal an unconformity in the Hole 926A sequence at about 304 meters below sea ßoor (mbsf); no such unconformity is observed at Site 929. The age of the unconfor- mity is estimated as 17.9 to 16.3 Ma based on a magnetostratigraphic calibration of the 87Sr/86Sr seawater curve, and as 17.4 to 15.8 Ma based on a biostratigraphic calibration. Shipboard biostratigraphic data are more consistent with the biostratigraphic calibration.
    [Show full text]
  • Timeline of Natural History
    Timeline of natural history This timeline of natural history summarizes significant geological and Life timeline Ice Ages biological events from the formation of the 0 — Primates Quater nary Flowers ←Earliest apes Earth to the arrival of modern humans. P Birds h Mammals – Plants Dinosaurs Times are listed in millions of years, or Karo o a n ← Andean Tetrapoda megaanni (Ma). -50 0 — e Arthropods Molluscs r ←Cambrian explosion o ← Cryoge nian Ediacara biota – z ←Earliest animals o ←Earliest plants i Multicellular -1000 — c Contents life ←Sexual reproduction Dating of the Geologic record – P r The earliest Solar System -1500 — o t Precambrian Supereon – e r Eukaryotes Hadean Eon o -2000 — z o Archean Eon i Huron ian – c Eoarchean Era ←Oxygen crisis Paleoarchean Era -2500 — ←Atmospheric oxygen Mesoarchean Era – Photosynthesis Neoarchean Era Pong ola Proterozoic Eon -3000 — A r Paleoproterozoic Era c – h Siderian Period e a Rhyacian Period -3500 — n ←Earliest oxygen Orosirian Period Single-celled – life Statherian Period -4000 — ←Earliest life Mesoproterozoic Era H Calymmian Period a water – d e Ectasian Period a ←Earliest water Stenian Period -4500 — n ←Earth (−4540) (million years ago) Clickable Neoproterozoic Era ( Tonian Period Cryogenian Period Ediacaran Period Phanerozoic Eon Paleozoic Era Cambrian Period Ordovician Period Silurian Period Devonian Period Carboniferous Period Permian Period Mesozoic Era Triassic Period Jurassic Period Cretaceous Period Cenozoic Era Paleogene Period Neogene Period Quaternary Period Etymology of period names References See also External links Dating of the Geologic record The Geologic record is the strata (layers) of rock in the planet's crust and the science of geology is much concerned with the age and origin of all rocks to determine the history and formation of Earth and to understand the forces that have acted upon it.
    [Show full text]
  • Rodents (Mammalia) from the Pilgrim Creek Local Fauna, Wyoming: a Mixed Eocene and Oligocene Assemblage (Duchesnean to Whitneyan)
    Paludicola 11(2):51-72 March 2017 © by the Rochester Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology RODENTS (MAMMALIA) FROM THE PILGRIM CREEK LOCAL FAUNA, WYOMING: A MIXED EOCENE AND OLIGOCENE ASSEMBLAGE (DUCHESNEAN TO WHITNEYAN) William W. Korth Rochester Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, 265 Carling Road, Rochester, New York 14610 <[email protected]> ABSTRACT Previously, only the non-eomyid rodents from the Pilgrim Creek fauna of Wyoming have been described (Sutton and Black, 1975; Korth, 1981; Korth and Emry, 2013). This fauna has been considered as Chadronian in age since its first description. Twenty-seven species of rodents are recognized here from this fauna. There is a predominance of Chadronian species (13 taxa); however, the presence of three species known elsewhere from the Duchesnean (“Leptotomus” guildayi, Metanoiamys korthi, Griphomys cf. alecer), four from the Orellan (“Prosciurus” sp., cf. relictus, Eumys elegans, “Scottimus” viduus, Protosciurus sp., cf. P. mengi), and two from the Whitneyan (Leptodontomys douglassi, Ansomys sp., cf. A. cyanotephrus,) demonstrates that the fauna is clearly mixed with elements from four different horizons. INTRODUCTION either earlier or later horizons, demonstrating the evident mixing of faunas. Over 40 years ago, Sutton and Black (1975) _________________________________________ identified 11 species of rodents from the Pilgrim Creek fauna of Wyoming (Table 1). However, TABLE 1. Previously identified rodents from the Pilgrim Creek specimens of the family Eomyidae were not local fauna, Wyoming (Sutton and Black, 1975). described or listed. The locality from which the Ischyromyidae fossils were collected is in the Teton National Forest Ischyromys cf. veterior in Jackson County, Wyoming along Pilgrim Creek Cylindrodontidae (Sutton and Black, 1975).
    [Show full text]
  • 21. BRYOZOA from SITE 282 WEST of TASMANIA Robin E
    21. BRYOZOA FROM SITE 282 WEST OF TASMANIA Robin E. Wass and J. J. Yoo, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Sydney, Australia ABSTRACT More than 15,000 bryozoan fragments have been identified from 17 samples in the late Miocene and late Pleistocene sediments at Site 282, Leg 29, Deep Sea Drilling Project, off the west coast of Tas- mania (lat 42°14.76'S, long 143°29.18'E). Bryozoa are referable to the Orders Cyclostomata and Cheilostomata and represent 79 species belonging to 48 genera. Both late Miocene and late Pleisto- cene assemblages are closely related to assemblages found in the Tertiary of southern Australia, and the Recent of the southern Aus- tralian continental shelf. INTRODUCTION The bryozoan fauna is small relative to that found in the late Pleistocene sediments and relative to records of Recent and Tertiary bryozoan faunas from southern late Miocene Bryozoa from southeastern Australia. The Australia have been documented for more than a late Miocene Bryozoa in the Tertiary of southeastern century. The dominant works have been by MacGilli- Australia are also greatly diminished when compared vray (1879, 1895), Maplestone (1898), Stach (1933), and with the middle Miocene faunas. Few studies have been Brown (1958). Brown's monograph (1952) on the New made of Pliocene bryozoa in southeastern Australia, but Zealand Tertiary Bryozoa, recorded genera and species apparently bryozoans are fewer in number than in the from the Recent and Tertiary of southern Australia. late Miocene. While a great deal of work has been done, there are still The fauna observed at Site 282 is composed almost a large number of studies which have to be completed entirely of four zoarial types—catenicelliform, cellari- before the bryozoan faunas are properly understood.
    [Show full text]
  • Reduced El Niño–Southern Oscillation During the Last Glacial
    RESEARCH | REPORTS PALEOCEANOGRAPHY vergent results and our newly generated data by considering geographic location, choice of fora- minifera species, and changes in thermocline – depth (see supplementary materials). Reduced El Niño Southern Oscillation ENSO variability is asymmetric (the El Niño warm phase is more extreme than the La Niña during the Last Glacial Maximum cold phase) (14), so temperature variations in the equatorial Pacific are not normally distrib- Heather L. Ford,1,2* A. Christina Ravelo,1 Pratigya J. Polissar2 uted (7, 15), and statistical tests that assume normality (e.g., standard deviation) can lead to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a major source of global interannual variability, but erroneous conclusions with respect to changes its response to climate change is uncertain. Paleoclimate records from the Last Glacial in variance. Therefore, we use quantile-quantile Maximum (LGM) provide insight into ENSO behavior when global boundary conditions (Q-Q) plots—a simple, yet powerful way to vi- — (ice sheet extent, atmospheric partial pressure of CO2) were different from those today. sualize distribution data to compare the tem- In this work, we reconstruct LGM temperature variability at equatorial Pacific sites perature range and distribution recorded by two using measurements of individual planktonic foraminifera shells. A deep equatorial populations of individual foraminifera shells to thermocline altered the dynamics in the eastern equatorial cold tongue, resulting in interpret possible climate forcing mechanisms. reduced ENSO variability during the LGM compared to the Late Holocene. These results Sensitivity studies using modern hydrographic suggest that ENSO was not tied directly to the east-west temperature gradient, as data show how changes in ENSO and seasonality previously suggested.
    [Show full text]
  • Exhibit Specimen List FLORIDA SUBMERGED the Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Eocene (145 to 34 Million Years Ago) PARADISE ISLAND
    Exhibit Specimen List FLORIDA SUBMERGED The Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Eocene (145 to 34 million years ago) FLORIDA FORMATIONS Avon Park Formation, Dolostone from Eocene time; Citrus County, Florida; with echinoid sand dollar fossil (Periarchus lyelli); specimen from Florida Geological Survey Avon Park Formation, Limestone from Eocene time; Citrus County, Florida; with organic layers containing seagrass remains from formation in shallow marine environment; specimen from Florida Geological Survey Ocala Limestone (Upper), Limestone from Eocene time; Jackson County, Florida; with foraminifera; specimen from Florida Geological Survey Ocala Limestone (Lower), Limestone from Eocene time; Citrus County, Florida; specimens from Tanner Collection OTHER Anhydrite, Evaporite from early Cenozoic time; Unknown location, Florida; from subsurface core, showing evaporite sequence, older than Avon Park Formation; specimen from Florida Geological Survey FOSSILS Tethyan Gastropod Fossil, (Velates floridanus); In Ocala Limestone from Eocene time; Barge Canal spoil island, Levy County, Florida; specimen from Tanner Collection Echinoid Sea Biscuit Fossils, (Eupatagus antillarum); In Ocala Limestone from Eocene time; Barge Canal spoil island, Levy County, Florida; specimens from Tanner Collection Echinoid Sea Biscuit Fossils, (Eupatagus antillarum); In Ocala Limestone from Eocene time; Mouth of Withlacoochee River, Levy County, Florida; specimens from John Sacha Collection PARADISE ISLAND The Oligocene (34 to 23 million years ago) FLORIDA FORMATIONS Suwannee
    [Show full text]
  • Paleontological Resources at Grand Teton National Park, Northwestern Wyoming Vincent L
    University of Wyoming National Park Service Research Center Annual Report Volume 22 22nd Annual Report, 1998 Article 7 1-1-1998 Paleontological Resources at Grand Teton National Park, Northwestern Wyoming Vincent L. Santucci National Park Service William P. Wall Georgia College and State University Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.uwyo.edu/uwnpsrc_reports Recommended Citation Santucci, Vincent L. and Wall, William P. (1998) "Paleontological Resources at Grand Teton National Park, Northwestern Wyoming," University of Wyoming National Park Service Research Center Annual Report: Vol. 22 , Article 7. Available at: http://repository.uwyo.edu/uwnpsrc_reports/vol22/iss1/7 This Grand Teton National Park Report is brought to you for free and open access by Wyoming Scholars Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Wyoming National Park Service Research Center Annual Report by an authorized editor of Wyoming Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Santucci and Wall: Paleontological Resources at Grand Teton National Park, Northwest PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES AT GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, NORTHWESTERN WYOMING + VINCENT L. SANTUCCI+ NATIONAL PARK SERVICE KEMMERER + WY WILLIAM P. WALL+ DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY GEORGIA COLLEGE AND STATE UNIVERSITY MILLEDGEVILLE + GA + ABSTRACT landscape, and though the last great ice masses melted 15 ,000 years ago, some re-established small Paleontological resources occur throughout glaciers still exist. the formations exposed in Grand Teton National Park. A comprehensive paleontological survey has This report provides a preliminary not been attempted previously at Grand Teton assessment of paleontological resources identified at National Park. Preliminary paleontologic resource Grand Teton National Park. data is given in this report in order to establish baseline data.
    [Show full text]
  • PALEOGENE FOSSILS and the RADIATION of MODERN BIRDS HQ F
    The Auk 122(4):1049–1054, 2005 © The American Ornithologists’ Union, 2005. Printed in USA. OVERVIEW PALEOGENE FOSSILS AND THE RADIATION OF MODERN BIRDS Hq F. Jrx1 Division of Birds, MRC-116, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013, USA M birds arose mainly in 1989, Mayr and Manegold 2004), and others. the Neogene Period (1.8–23.8 mya), and mod- Paleogene fossils also document diverse extinct ern species mainly in the Plio-Pleistocene branches of the neornithine tree, ranging from (0.08–5.3 mya). Neogene fossil birds generally large pseudotoothed seabirds to giant fl ightless resemble modern taxa, and those that cannot land birds to small zygodactyl perching birds be a ributed to a modern genus or species (Ballmann 1969, Harrison and Walker 1976, can usually be placed in a modern family with Andors 1992). a fair degree of confi dence (e.g. Becker 1987, Before the Paleogene, fossils of putative neor- Olson and Rasmussen 2001). Fossil birds from nithine birds are sparse and fragmentary (Hope earlier in the Cenozoic can be more challeng- 2002), and their phylogenetic placement is all ing to classify. The fossil birds of the Paleogene the more equivocal. The Paleogene is thus a cru- (23.8–65.5 mya) are clearly a ributable to the cial time period for understanding the history of Neornithes (modern birds), and the earliest diversifi cation of birds, particularly with respect well-established records of most traditional to the deeper branches of the neornithine tree. orders and families of modern birds occur then.
    [Show full text]
  • Barren Ridge FEIS-Volume IV Paleo Tech Rpt Final March
    March 2011 BARREN RIDGE RENEWABLE TRANSMISSION PROJECT Paleontological Resources Assessment Report PROJECT NUMBER: 115244 PROJECT CONTACT: MIKE STRAND EMAIL: [email protected] PHONE: 714-507-2710 POWER ENGINEERS, INC. PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES ASSESSMENT REPORT Paleontological Resources Assessment Report PREPARED FOR: LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER 111 NORTH HOPE STREET LOS ANGELES, CA 90012 PREPARED BY: POWER ENGINEERS, INC. 731 EAST BALL ROAD, SUITE 100 ANAHEIM, CA 92805 DEPARTMENT OF PALEOSERVICES SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PO BOX 121390 SAN DIEGO, CA 92112 ANA 032-030 (PER-02) LADWP (MARCH 2011) SB 115244 POWER ENGINEERS, INC. PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES ASSESSMENT REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 STUDY PERSONNEL ....................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................................. 2 1.2.1 Construction of New 230 kV Double-Circuit Transmission Line ........................................ 4 1.2.2 Addition of New 230 kV Circuit ......................................................................................... 14 1.2.3 Reconductoring of Existing Transmission Line .................................................................. 14 1.2.4 Construction of New Switching Station .............................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Uncorking the Bottle: What Triggered the Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum Methane Release? Miriame
    PALEOCEANOGRAPHY, VOL. 16, NO. 6, PAGES 549-562, DECEMBER 2001 Uncorking the bottle: What triggered the Paleocene/Eocene thermal maximum methane release? MiriamE. Katz,• BenjaminS. Cramer,Gregory S. Mountain,2 Samuel Katz, 3 and KennethG. Miller,1,2 Abstract. The Paleocene/Eocenethermal maximum (PETM) was a time of rapid global warming in both marine and continentalrealms that has been attributed to a massivemethane (CH4) releasefrom marine gas hydrate reservoirs. Previously proposedmechanisms for thismethane release rely on a changein deepwatersource region(s) to increasewater temperatures rapidly enoughto trigger the massivethermal dissociationof gas hydratereservoirs beneath the seafloor.To establish constraintson thermaldissociation, we modelheat flow throughthe sedimentcolumn and showthe effectof the temperature changeon the gashydrate stability zone throughtime. In addition,we provideseismic evidence tied to boreholedata for methanerelease along portions of the U.S. continentalslope; the releasesites are proximalto a buriedMesozoic reef front. Our modelresults, release site locations, published isotopic records, and oceancirculation models neither confirm nor refute thermaldissociation as the triggerfor the PETM methanerelease. In the absenceof definitiveevidence to confirmthermal dissociation,we investigatean altemativehypothesis in which continentalslope failure resulted in a catastrophicmethane release.Seismic and isotopic evidence indicates that Antarctic source deepwater circulation and seafloor erosion caused slope retreatalong
    [Show full text]
  • Clay Minerals at the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum: Interpretations, Limits, and Perspectives
    minerals Review Clay Minerals at the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum: Interpretations, Limits, and Perspectives Fabio Tateo Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IGG-CNR) Padova, c/o Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, I-35131 Padova, Italy; [email protected] Received: 20 October 2020; Accepted: 26 November 2020; Published: 30 November 2020 Abstract: The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was an “extreme” episode of environmental stress that affected the Earth in the past, and it has numerous affinities concerning the rapid increase in the greenhouse effect. It has left several biological, compositional, and sedimentary facies footprints in sedimentary records. Clay minerals are frequently used to decipher environmental effects because they represent their source areas, essentially in terms of climatic conditions and of transport mechanisms (a more or less fast travel, from the bedrocks to the final site of recovery). Clay mineral variations at the PETM have been studied by several authors in terms of climatic and provenance indicators, but also as tracers of more complicated interplay among different factors requiring integrated interpretation (facies sorting, marine circulation, wind transport, early diagenesis, etc.). Clay minerals were also believed to play a role in the recovery of pre-episode climatic conditions after the PETM exordium, by becoming a sink of atmospheric CO2 that is considered a necessary step to switch off the greenhouse hyperthermal effect. This review aims to consider the use of clay minerals made by different authors to study the effects of the PETM and their possible role as effective (simple) proxy tools for environmental reconstructions.
    [Show full text]