Using Microfossils to Understand Paleo-Climate Hilary Clement Olson Institute for Geophysics Jackson School of Geosciences The University of Texas at Austin
What are fossils? Fossils (from Latin fossus, literally "having been dug up") are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fossil (10/14/2010)
What do you know about sand dollars? Where do they like to live? Where have you seen them in nature living? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/file:sanddollarsonseabed.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/file:sand_dollar.jpg (10/14/2010)
Here s what we know about living sand dollars (echinoderms) Sand Dollars are widespread in ocean waters of the Northern Hemisphere, from the intertidal zone to deeper water depths. They can be found in temperate and tropical zones. So, what if we found fossil echinoderms from Cretaceous age rocks in Texas? What would we interpret about the environment? http://www.geology.19thcenturyscience.org/books/1896- Dana-ManGeol/README.htm (10/14/2010)
So these fossils would indicate some kind of shallow seaway through Central Texas Fossils can tell us about: Age (=time) Environment Climate
Woolly Mammoth what is the significance? The stuffed Beresovka mammoth, in The Museum of Zoology, St. Petersburg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/file:stuffed_mammoth.jpg (10/14/2010)
Example: Spain City of Malaga http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/file:sp-map.png (10/14/2010) Average Temperatures 53-77 o F 12-25 o C http://www.holiday-weather.com/malaga/averages/ (10/14/2010)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/file: Sp-map.png (10/14/2010) Iberian sites with Mammuthus primigenius remains (from Álvarez Lao (2007). Padul is represented with a black star. Sites contemporaneous with Padul are represented with black triangles. The Padul mammoth finds On the southernmost record of Mammuthus primigenius in Europe and its southern spread during the Late Pleistocene (Álvarez-Lao et al., 2009) Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
Sketch of global maximum distribution of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) during the Late Pleistocene. The Padul mammoth finds On the southernmost record of Mammuthus primigenius in Europe and its southern spread during the Late Pleistocene (Álvarez-Lao et al., 2009) Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
Columbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi Skeleton of Columbian mammoth, Mammuthus columbi, in the George C. Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles, California (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/file:columbian_mammoth.jpg) http://www.wacomammoth.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xaixu3ctlo
F O R A M I N I F E R A What is it? http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/oceanography/faculty/zeebe_ files/paleoceanography.html (10/14/2010) http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2007/05/neoloboquadrina_pachyderm a.php (10/14/2010)
CLIMATE ANALYSIS USING PLANKTONIC FORAMINIFERA Neogloboquadrina pachyderma http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2007/05/neoloboquadrina_pachyderm a.php (10/14/2010) Left-coiling (cold) less than 8 C Proxy for marine surface waters temperatures http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/foram_activity/page_05.html http://www.eol.org/pages/4916 (10/14/2010) Right-coiling (warm) greater than 8 C
Complete the chart to normalize the data Work in pairs
Answer Key
Gulf Intraslope Basin Project Study Area
Globorotalia menardii Prefers warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico interglacial
CORES - STRATIGRAPHY SEISMIC DATA
PISTON Core IG 41-11
Foraminifera and Paleo-Climate Examples: Neogloboquadrina pachyderma coiling direction Globorotalia menardii migration