Preprints

Filtering by Subject: Paleontology

Paleocene to Miocene southern Tethyan carbonate factories of the Southwestern and Western Central Asia

Giovanni Coletti, Lucrezi Commissario, Luca Mariani, et al.

Published: 2022-03-11
Subjects: Geology, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Sedimentology

One hundred and forty-four sections of shallow-water carbonates, deposited between the Paleocene and the Miocene, from the Levant to the Himalaya, have been investigated to analyze the distribution of carbonate facies and carbonate producing organisms. Large benthic foraminifera resulted the volumetrically most important group of carbonate producers during the whole period, with a peak in [...]

Macrostratigraphy of the Ediacaran System in North America

Daniel Christian Segessenman, Shanan E Peters

Published: 2022-02-11
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Paleontology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure

Ediacaran sediments record the termination of Cryogenian ‘Snowball Earth’ glaciations, preserve the first occurrences of macroscopic metazoans, and contain one of the largest known negative δ13C excursions (the Shuram-Wonoka). The rock record for the transition between the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic in North America is also physically distinct, with much of the continent characterized by a wide [...]

Quaternary E-W extension uplifts Kythira Island and segments the Hellenic Arc

Gino de Gelder, David Fernández-Blanco, Nazik Ögretmen, et al.

Published: 2022-01-25
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Paleontology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure

Several crustal and lithospheric mechanisms lead to deformation and vertical motion of the upper plate during subduction, but their relative contribution is often enigmatic. Multiple areas of the Hellenic Forearc have been uplifting since Plio-Quaternary times, yet spatiotemporal characteristics and sources of this uplift are poorly resolved. The remarkable geology and geomorphology of Kythira [...]

Calibrating the temporal and spatial dynamics of the Ediacaran - Cambrian radiation of animals

Fred Toby Bowyer, Andrey Yu Zhuravlev, Rachel Wood, et al.

Published: 2021-12-31
Subjects: Geochemistry, Geology, Paleontology, Stratigraphy

The Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, which incorporates the radiation of animals, lacks a robust global temporal and spatial framework, resulting in major uncertainty in the evolutionary dynamics of this critical radiation and its relationship to changes in palaeoenvironmental geochemistry. We first present a new δ13Ccarb composite reference curve for the Ediacaran Nama Group of southern Namibia, [...]

Elevated Post K-Pg Export Productivity in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean

Christopher Michael Lowery, Timothy J Bralower

Published: 2021-12-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics

The global heterogeneity in export productivity after the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction is well documented, with some sites showing no change on geologic timescales, some demonstrating sustained decline, and a few showing a somewhat surprising increase. However, observational data come from sites so widespread that a key outstanding question is the geographic scale of changes in [...]

Reproducibility in subsurface geoscience

Michael J. Steventon, Christopher Aiden-Lee Jackson, Mark Ireland, et al.

Published: 2021-10-26
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Cosmochemistry, Earth Sciences, Environmental Education, Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Glaciology, Hydrology, Mineral Physics, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resources and Conservation, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Other Earth Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Sedimentology, Soil Science, Speleology, Stratigraphy, Sustainability, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology, Water Resource Management

Reproducibility, the extent to which consistent results are obtained when an experiment or study is repeated, sits at the foundation of science. The aim of this process is to produce robust findings and knowledge, with reproducibility being the screening tool to benchmark how well we are implementing the scientific method. However, the re-examination of results from many disciplines has caused [...]

Foraminiferal Analysis of Holocene Sea Level Rise within the Trinity River Incised Paleo-Valley, Offshore Galveston Bay, Texas

Patricia Standring, Christopher Michael Lowery, Jacob Burstein, et al.

Published: 2021-10-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Paleontology

Sea-level is expected to continue to rise in the next century, and as society prepares to deal with this hazard it is critically important to understand how coastal systems will respond, especially in regions with rapid rates of coastal erosion and relative sea-level rise like the Gulf of Mexico Texas coast. Tide gauge records in Galveston Bay, Texas, indicate that local sea level rise rates are [...]

Safety and Belonging in the Field: A Checklist for Educators

Sarah E Greene, Gawain T. Antell, Jake Atterby, et al.

Published: 2021-08-19
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Biogeochemistry, Climate, Cosmochemistry, Earth Sciences, Education, Environmental Education, Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Fresh Water Studies, Geochemistry, Geographic Information Sciences, Geography, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Glaciology, Higher Education, Human Geography, Hydrology, Life Sciences, Meteorology, Mineral Physics, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resources and Conservation, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Nature and Society Relations, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Other Earth Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences, Other Geography, Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Planetary Sciences, Outdoor Education, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Physical and Environmental Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Biogeochemistry, Planetary Geochemistry, Planetary Geology, Planetary Geomorphology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Planetary Glaciology, Planetary Hydrology, Planetary Mineral Physics, Planetary Sciences, Planetary Sedimentology, Remote Sensing, Sedimentology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Soil Science, Spatial Science, Speleology, Stratigraphy, Sustainability, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology, Water Resource Management

Ensuring taught fieldwork is a positive, generative, collective, and valuable experience for all participants requires considerations beyond course content. To guarantee safety and belonging, participants’ identities (backgrounds and protected characteristics) must be considered as a part of fieldwork planning and implementation. Furthermore, getting fieldwork right is an important step in [...]

The early diversification of ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii): hypotheses, challenges and future prospects

Struan Henderson, Emma M Dunne, Sophie A. Fasey, et al.

Published: 2021-08-13
Subjects: Paleobiology, Paleontology

Actinopterygii are the most speciose living vertebrate clade, and study of fossil members during their Palaeozoic rise to dominance has a long history of descriptive work. Although research interest into Palaeozoic actinopterygians has increased in recent years, broader patterns of diversity and diversity dynamics remain critically understudied. Past studies have investigated macroevolutionary [...]

Colonial history and global economics distort our understanding of deep-time biodiversity

Nussaïbah B. Raja, Emma M Dunne, Aviwe Matiwane, et al.

Published: 2021-06-24
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Sampling variations in the fossil record distort estimates of past biodiversity. However, compilations of global fossil occurrences used in these analyses not only reflect the geological and spatial aspects of the fossil record, but also the historical collation of these data. Here, we demonstrate how the legacy of colonialism as well as socio-economic factors such as wealth, education and [...]

Publication pressure threatens the integrity of palaeontological research

Nussaïbah B. Raja, Emma M Dunne

Published: 2021-06-01
Subjects: Paleobiology, Paleontology

Publications are the de facto currency of academia. Academics, palaeontologists included, are often judged by publication metrics, which usually include the impact factor of the journal in which they publish, the number of publications and the number of citations. However, in the race to publish in high-impact journals and the pressure to increase research productivity, sometimes corners are cut, [...]

Meteorites that produce K-feldspar-rich ejecta blankets correspond to mass extinctions.

Matt Pankhurst, Christopher Stevenson, Beverley Claire Coldwell

Published: 2021-05-24
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Atmospheric Sciences, Earth Sciences, Geology, Other Planetary Sciences, Paleontology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Meteorite impacts load the atmosphere with dust and cover the Earth‘s surface with debris. They have long been debated as a trigger of mass extinctions through Earth‘s history. Impact winters generally last <100 years, whereas ejecta blankets persist for 10^3-10^5 years. Here we show that only meteorite impacts that emplaced ejecta blankets rich in K-feldspar (Kfs) correlate to Earth system [...]

The Sidi Ifni transect across the rifted margin of Morocco (Central Atlantic): Vertical movements constrained by low-temperature thermochronology

Rémi Charton, Giovanni Bertotti, Angel Arantegui, et al.

Published: 2021-03-17
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Paleontology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure

The occurrence of km-scale exhumations during syn- and post-rift stages has been documented along Atlantic continental margins, which are also characterised by basins undergoing substantial subsidence. The relationship between the exhuming and subsiding domains is poorly understood. In this study, we reconstruct the evolution of a 50 km long transect across the Moroccan rifted margin from the [...]

INCORPORATING INFORMATION ON VARYING SEDIMENTATION RATES INTO PALEONTOLOGICAL ANALYSES

Niklas Hohmann

Published: 2021-02-26
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy

Stratigraphic changes in the clustering of first or last taxon occurrences are a joint expression of evolutionary, ecological, taphonomic, and sedimentological processes. Sedimentation rates control the degree of sedimentary dilution and condensation and thus alter the time contained in a given thickness of sediment. However, it remains poorly explored quantitatively how distinct the [...]

Shallow or deep? A reinterpretation of the Rifian Corridor’s unique sandy contourites

Daan Beelen, Lesli Joy Wood, Mohammed Najib Zaghloul, et al.

Published: 2021-02-25
Subjects: Climate, Earth Sciences, Geology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Paleontology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy

This study proposes that sandstone layers exposed in the Fez-Meknes region of Northern Morocco (Ben Allou (Sidi Chaded) and El Adergha localities), have been misinterpreted as unique examples of geostrophically-driven, deep marine (150 - 400 m water depth) sandy contourites. Instead, our independent paleontological, sedimentological, and stratigraphic analyses show that these sandstones represent [...]

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