Biogeographic shifts in a transgressive succession: the Cambrian (Furongian, Jiangshanian; Latest Steptoean–earliest Sunwaptan) agnostoid arthropodsKormagnostellaRomanenko andBiciragnostusErgaliev in North America

2013 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 804-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Westrop ◽  
Jonathan M. Adrain

The first records of the upper Cambrian agnostoid generaKormagnostella, E. Romanenko,inRomanenko and Romanenko, 1967, andBiciragnostusF. Ergaliev,inEraliev and Ergaliev, 2001, in Laurentian North America are from a narrow stratigraphic interval in the Steptoean–Sunwaptan boundary interval (Furongian, Jiangshanian) of Nevada and Utah. In Nevada, both genera occur in a condensed bioclastic lag below a major flooding surface, andKormagnostellaalso appears in a transgressive interval in Utah. Immigration of these genera is associated with sea level rise, and also with faunal turnover.Biciragnostusis confined to the latestElviniaZone, immediately below the onset of a trilobite and agnostoid extinction event at the base of theIrvingella majorZone (basal Sunwaptan).Kormagnostellais present in the latestElviniaZone, and has its highest occurrence in theI. majorZone. Stratigraphic data from the Karatau-Naryn Terrane, Kazakhstan indicate that both genera disappear near the local extinction ofIrvingella, suggesting that faunal turnover in that region may have been broadly correlative with the more profound extinction in Laurentia. New species areKormagnostella advena,K. insolitaandBiciragnostus viator.

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110482
Author(s):  
Kelvin W Ramsey ◽  
Jaime L. Tomlinson ◽  
C. Robin Mattheus

Radiocarbon dates from 176 sites along the Delmarva Peninsula record the timing of deposition and sea-level rise, and non-marine wetland deposition. The dates provide confirmation of the boundaries of the Holocene subepochs (e.g. “early-middle-late” of Walker et al.) in the mid-Atlantic of eastern North America. These data record initial sea-level rise in the early Holocene, followed by a high rate of rise at the transition to the middle Holocene at 8.2 ka, and a leveling off and decrease in the late-Holocene. The dates, coupled to local and regional climate (pollen) records and fluvial activity, allow regional subdivision of the Holocene into six depositional and climate phases. Phase A (>10 ka) is the end of periglacial activity and transition of cold/cool climate to a warmer early Holocene. Phase B (10.2–8.2 ka) records rise of sea level in the region, a transition to Pinus-dominated forest, and decreased non-marine deposition on the uplands. Phase C (8.2–5.6 ka) shows rapid rates of sea-level rise, expansion of estuaries, and a decrease in non-marine deposition with cool and dry climate. Phase D (5.6–4.2 ka) is a time of high rates of sea-level rise, expanding estuaries, and dry and cool climate; the Atlantic shoreline transgressed rapidly and there was little to no deposition on the uplands. Phase E (4.2–1.1 ka) is a time of lowering sea-level rise rates, Atlantic shorelines nearing their present position, and marine shoal deposition; widespread non-marine deposition resumed with a wetter and warmer climate. Phase F (1.1 ka-present) incorporates the Medieval Climate Anomaly and European settlement on the Delmarva Peninsula. Chronology of depositional phases and coastal changes related to sea-level rise is useful for archeological studies of human occupation in relation to climate change in eastern North America, and provides an important dataset for future regional and global sea-level reconstructions.


2003 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 105-114
Author(s):  
T. Hansen ◽  
A.T. Nielsen

Over 5000 trilobites have been collected from Lower Ordovician rocks exposed at the Lynna River in the Volkhov region, east of St. Petersburg, Russia. Bed-by-bed sampling has been carried out through the upper part of Volkhov Formation (top of Jeltiaki Member and the entire Frizy Member), the Lynna Formation and the basal part of the Obukhovo Formation. This interval, which is 7.5 metres thick, correlates with the upper part of the Arenig Series, and presumably even ranges into the very base of the Llanvirn. A preliminary biostratigraphical investigation of top Jeltiaki Member (BIIβ), Frizy Member (BIIγ) and basal Lynna Formation (BIIIα) reveals a rather continuous faunal turnover lacking sharp boundaries, and the biostratigraphical zonation (BIIβ–BIIIα) is primarily defined by the index trilobite taxa. The trilobite ranges are generally in agreement with the pattern described by Schmidt in 1907. The abundance ratio between Asaphus and the ptychopygids seems to be related to changes in relative sea level with Asaphus preferring the most shallow water conditions. A tentative interpretation of sea-level changes suggests an initial drowning at the base of BIIγ, immediately followed by a lowstand that in turn was succeeded by a moderate sea-level rise and then a significant fall. The last marks the BIIγ/BIIIα boundary. Correlation with sections in Scandinavia suggests that the basal part of BIIγ is strongly condensed.


The Condor ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel G Roberts ◽  
Rebecca A Longenecker ◽  
Matthew A Etterson ◽  
Chris S Elphick ◽  
Brian J Olsen ◽  
...  

Abstract Globally limited to 45,000 km2, salt marshes and their endemic species are threatened by numerous anthropogenic influences, including sea-level rise and predator pressure on survival and nesting success. Along the Atlantic coast of North America, Seaside (Ammospiza maritima) and Saltmarsh (A. caudacuta) sparrows are endemic to salt marshes, with Saltmarsh Sparrows declining by 9% annually. Because vital rates and factors affecting population persistence vary for both species, local estimates are necessary to best predict population persistence in response to management actions. We used a metapopulation model to estimate the population viability of the breeding Seaside and Saltmarsh sparrow populations in coastal New Jersey over a 42-yr period. We incorporated empirical data on the vital rates and abundances of these populations and simulated the effect of low (0.35 m) and high (0.75 m) levels of sea-level rise. We found that the Seaside Sparrow population persisted under both sea-level rise scenarios; however, the Saltmarsh Sparrow population reached a quasi-extinction threshold within 20 yr. Using the same framework, we modeled potential management scenarios that could increase the persistence probability of Saltmarsh Sparrows and found that fecundity and juvenile survival rates will require at least a 15% concurrent increase for the local population to persist beyond 2050. Future field research should evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of management actions, such as predator control, for increasing Saltmarsh Sparrow vital rates in order to maintain the species in coastal New Jersey.


1989 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 2292-2304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Westrop

The Bison Creek and Mistaya formations form the youngest Cambrian sedimentary grand cycle exposed in Banff and Jasper national parks. The shaly half-cycle of the Bison Creek Formation records the displacement of a carbonate bank during a major rise in sea level that can be identified in other parts of North America. Lithofacies of the Bison Creek Formation fall into three recurrent associations that represent sedimentation in shallow, subtidal, storm-dominated shelf settings. The Mistaya Formation records the reestablishment of carbonate bank deposition, probably due to a decrease in the rate of sea-level rise, and includes two facies associations that represent a mosaic of shallow subtidal to supratidal environments. The grand cycle was terminated by a sea-level rise, possibly eustatic in nature, that drowned the carbonate platform. The overlying shales, mudstones, packstones, grainstones, and rudstones of the Survey Peak Formation mark a return to subtidal, storm-dominated shelf conditions.


1997 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Stitt ◽  
Wendy Metcalf Straatmann

Trilobites assigned to 29 genera and 39 species are reported from the Deadwood Formation in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Two new species, Prosaukia lochmani and Arcifimbria pahasapaensis, are described. Brachiopods are reported from the Taenicephalus Zone.A biostratigraphic zonation is established for the upper part of the Deadwood Formation. The Taenicephalus Zone in the lower part of the study interval is succeeded upsection by the Ellipsocephaloides Zone, both of which are assigned to the Franconian Stage. These two zones are overlain in turn by the Illaenurus and Saukia Zones of the Trempealeauan Stage. These zones are used to correlate this part of the Deadwood with coeval strata in Montana and Wyoming, central Texas, Oklahoma, and Alberta, Canada. The lowstand of sea level that occurred in the Great Basin at the time of the deposition of the Saukiella junia Subzone of the Saukia Zone probably extended eastward into the Black Hills, resulting in the absence of this fauna in the Black Hills.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aoibheann Brady ◽  
Jonathan Rougier ◽  
Bramha Dutt Vishwakarma ◽  
Yann Ziegler ◽  
Richard Westaway ◽  
...  

<p>Sea level rise is one of the most significant consequences of projected future changes in climate. One factor which influences sea level rise is vertical land motion (VLM) due to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), which changes the elevation of the ocean floor. Typically, GIA forward models are used for this purpose, but these are known to vary with the assumptions made about ice loading history and Earth structure. In this study, we implement a Bayesian hierarchical modelling framework to explore a data-driven VLM solution for North America, with the aim of separating out the overall signal into its GIA and hydrology (mass change) components. A Bayesian spatio-temporal model is implemented in INLA using satellite (GRACE) and in-situ (GPS) data as observations. Under the assumption that GIA varies in space but is constant in time, and that hydrology is both spatially- and temporally-variable, it is possible to separate the contributions of each component with an associated uncertainty level. Early results will be presented. Extensions to the BHM framework to investigate sea level rise at the global scale, such as the inclusion of additional processes and incorporation of increased volumes of data, will be discussed.</p>


1991 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
William P. Elder

Mytiloides hattini, a new species of inoceramid bivalve from the basal Turonian (Upper Cretaceous), is described and its stratigraphic importance discussed. This inoceramid is particularly significant because its first occurrence can be used as a marker for the base of the Turonian in strata that typically contain no ammonites and few other taxa. The lowest occurrence of Mytiloides hattini is characterized by abundant specimens over wide regions of the Western Interior of North America; this species also apparently occurs in the lowest Turonian strata of western Europe. The typical absence of ammonites in this stratigraphic interval potentially makes the first occurrence of Mytiloides hattini an important fossil for regional and intercontinental correlation of the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul B. Goddard ◽  
Jianjun Yin ◽  
Stephen M. Griffies ◽  
Shaoqing Zhang

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