Towards adaptable, interactive and quantitative paleogeographic maps

Abstract. A variety of paleogeographic atlases have been constructed, with applications from paleoclimate, ocean circulation and faunal radiation models to resource exploration; yet their uncertainties remain difficult to assess, as they are generally presented as low-resolution static maps. We present a methodology for ground-truthing paleogeographic maps, by linking the GPlates plate reconstruction tool to the global Paleobiology Database and a Phanerozoic plate motion model. We develop a spatio-temporal data mining workflow to compare a Phanerozoic Paleogeographic Atlas of Australia with biogeographic indicators. The agreement between fossil data and paleogeographic maps is quite good, but the methodology also highlights key inconsistencies. The Early Devonian paleogeography of southeastern Australia insufficiently describes the Emsian inundation that is supported by biogeography. Additionally, the Cretaceous inundation of eastern Australia retreats by 110 Ma according to the paleogeography, but the biogeography indicates that inundation prevailed until at least 100 Ma. Paleobiogeography can also be used to refine Gondwana breakup and the extent of pre-breakup Greater India can be inferred from the southward limit of inundation along western Australia. Although paleobiology data provide constraints only for paleoenvironments with high preservation potential of organisms, our approach enables the use of additional proxy data to generate improved paleogeographic reconstructions.

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Towards community-driven paleogeographic reconstructions: integrating open-access paleogeographic and paleobiology data with plate tectonics

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-10-1529-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 1529-1541 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

N. Wright ◽

S. Zahirovic ◽

R. D. Müller ◽

M. Seton

Keyword(s):

Ocean Circulation ◽

Plate Tectonics ◽

Numerical Models ◽

Plate Motion ◽

Temporal Data Mining ◽

Dynamic Topography ◽

Southeastern Australia ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

Fossil Data

Abstract. A variety of paleogeographic reconstructions have been published, with applications ranging from paleoclimate, ocean circulation and faunal radiation models to resource exploration; yet their uncertainties remain difficult to assess as they are generally presented as low-resolution static maps. We present a methodology for ground-truthing the digital Palaeogeographic Atlas of Australia by linking the GPlates plate reconstruction tool to the global Paleobiology Database and a Phanerozoic plate motion model. We develop a spatio-temporal data mining workflow to validate the Phanerozoic Palaeogeographic Atlas of Australia with paleoenvironments derived from fossil data. While there is general agreement between fossil data and the paleogeographic model, the methodology highlights key inconsistencies. The Early Devonian paleogeographic model of southeastern Australia insufficiently describes the Emsian inundation that may be refined using biofacies distributions. Additionally, the paleogeographic model and fossil data can be used to strengthen numerical models, such as the dynamic topography and the associated inundation of eastern Australia during the Cretaceous. Although paleobiology data provide constraints only for paleoenvironments with high preservation potential of organisms, our approach enables the use of additional proxy data to generate improved paleogeographic reconstructions.

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Improving global paleogeography since the late Paleozoic using paleobiology

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-14-5425-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (23) ◽

pp. 5425-5439 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Wenchao Cao ◽

Sabin Zahirovic ◽

Nicolas Flament ◽

Simon Williams ◽

Jan Golonka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ocean Circulation ◽

Plate Motion ◽

Dynamic Topography ◽

Map Projections ◽

Motion Models ◽

Tectonic Reconstruction ◽

Isotope Record ◽

America South ◽

Regional Sea Level ◽

Plate Reconstruction

Abstract. Paleogeographic reconstructions are important to understand Earth's tectonic evolution, past eustatic and regional sea level change, paleoclimate and ocean circulation, deep Earth resources and to constrain and interpret the dynamic topography predicted by mantle convection models. Global paleogeographic maps have been compiled and published, but they are generally presented as static maps with varying map projections, different time intervals represented by the maps and different plate motion models that underlie the paleogeographic reconstructions. This makes it difficult to convert the maps into a digital form and link them to alternative digital plate tectonic reconstructions. To address this limitation, we develop a workflow to restore global paleogeographic maps to their present-day coordinates and enable them to be linked to a different tectonic reconstruction. We use marine fossil collections from the Paleobiology Database to identify inconsistencies between their indicative paleoenvironments and published paleogeographic maps, and revise the locations of inferred paleo-coastlines that represent the estimated maximum transgression surfaces by resolving these inconsistencies. As a result, the consistency ratio between the paleogeography and the paleoenvironments indicated by the marine fossil collections is increased from an average of 75 % to nearly full consistency (100 %). The paleogeography in the main regions of North America, South America, Europe and Africa is significantly revised, especially in the Late Carboniferous, Middle Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Late Cretaceous and most of the Cenozoic. The global flooded continental areas since the Early Devonian calculated from the revised paleogeography in this study are generally consistent with results derived from other paleoenvironment and paleo-lithofacies data and with the strontium isotope record in marine carbonates. We also estimate the terrestrial areal change over time associated with transferring reconstruction, filling gaps and modifying the paleogeographic geometries based on the paleobiology test. This indicates that the variation of the underlying plate reconstruction is the main factor that contributes to the terrestrial areal change, and the effect of revising paleogeographic geometries based on paleobiology is secondary.

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Geomagnetic imprinting predicts spatio-temporal variation in homing migration of pink and sockeye salmon

Journal of The Royal Society Interface ◽

10.1098/rsif.2014.0542 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 11 (99) ◽

pp. 20140542 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Nathan F. Putman ◽

Erica S. Jenkins ◽

Catherine G. J. Michielsens ◽

David L. G. Noakes

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Temporal Variation ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

Sockeye Salmon ◽

Movement Patterns ◽

Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽

Migration Routes ◽

Long Distance ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

Olfactory Imprinting

Animals navigate using a variety of sensory cues, but how each is weighted during different phases of movement (e.g. dispersal, foraging, homing) is controversial. Here, we examine the geomagnetic and olfactory imprinting hypotheses of natal homing with datasets that recorded variation in the migratory routes of sockeye ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) and pink ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha ) salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean to the Fraser River, British Columbia. Drift of the magnetic field (i.e. geomagnetic imprinting) uniquely accounted for 23.2% and 44.0% of the variation in migration routes for sockeye and pink salmon, respectively. Ocean circulation (i.e. olfactory imprinting) predicted 6.1% and 0.1% of the variation in sockeye and pink migration routes, respectively. Sea surface temperature (a variable influencing salmon distribution but not navigation, directly) accounted for 13.0% of the variation in sockeye migration but was unrelated to pink migration. These findings suggest that geomagnetic navigation plays an important role in long-distance homing in salmon and that consideration of navigation mechanisms can aid in the management of migratory fishes by better predicting movement patterns. Finally, given the diversity of animals that use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation, geomagnetic drift may provide a unifying explanation for spatio-temporal variation in the movement patterns of many species.

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Comprehensive performance analysis of Spatio-Temporal Data Mining approach on multi-temporal coastal remote sensing datasets

2011 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium ◽

10.1109/igarss.2011.6049592 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Balakrishna Gokaraju ◽

Surya S. Durbha ◽

Roger L. King ◽

Nicolas H. Younan

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Data Mining ◽

Performance Analysis ◽

Temporal Data Mining ◽

Temporal Data ◽

Data Mining Approach ◽

Comprehensive Performance ◽

Multi Temporal ◽

Spatio Temporal

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Exploratory spatio-temporal data mining and visualization

Journal of Visual Languages & Computing ◽

10.1016/j.jvlc.2007.02.006 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 255-279 ◽

Cited By ~ 84

Author(s):

P. Compieta ◽

S. Di Martino ◽

M. Bertolotto ◽

F. Ferrucci ◽

T. Kechadi

Keyword(s):

Data Mining ◽

Temporal Data Mining ◽

Temporal Data ◽

Spatio Temporal

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Towards a predictive model for opal exploration using a spatio-temporal data mining approach

Australian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1080/08120099.2012.754793 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 60 (2) ◽

pp. 217-229 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

A. S. Merdith ◽

T. C. W. Landgrebe ◽

A. Dutkiewicz ◽

R. D. Müller

Keyword(s):

Data Mining ◽

Predictive Model ◽

Temporal Data Mining ◽

Temporal Data ◽

Data Mining Approach ◽

Spatio Temporal

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Improving global paleogeography since the late Paleozoic using paleobiology

10.5194/bg-2017-94 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Wenchao Cao ◽

Sabin Zahirovic ◽

Nicolas Flament ◽

Simon Williams ◽

Jan Golonka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ocean Circulation ◽

Mantle Convection ◽

Growth Models ◽

Plate Motion ◽

Late Paleozoic ◽

Plate Tectonic ◽

Dynamic Topography ◽

Tectonic Reconstructions ◽

Marine Boundaries ◽

Continental Growth

Abstract. Paleogeographic reconstructions are important to understand Earth's tectonic evolution, past eustatic and regional sea level change, hydrocarbon genesis, and to constrain and interpret the dynamic topography predicted by time-dependent global mantle convection models. Several global paleogeographic maps have been compiled and published but they are generally presented as static maps with varying temporal resolution and fixed spatial resolution. Existing global paleogeographic maps are also tied to a particular plate motion model, making it difficult to link them to alternative digital plate tectonic reconstructions. To address this limitation, we developed a workflow to reverse-engineer global paleogeographic maps to their present-day coordinates and enable them to be linked to any tectonic reconstruction. Published paleogeographic compilations are also tied to fixed input datasets. We used fossil data from the Paleobiology Database to identify inconsistencies between fossils paleo-environments and published paleogeographic maps, and to improve the location of inferred terrestrial-marine boundaries by resolving these inconsistencies. As a result, the overall consistency ratio between the paleogeography and fossil collections was improved from 76.9 % to 96.1 %. We estimated the surface areas of global paleogeographic features (shallow marine environments, landmasses, mountains and ice sheets), and reconstructed the global continental flooding history since the late Paleozoic based on the amended paleogeographies. Finally, we discuss the relationships between emerged land area and total continental crust area through time, continental growth models, and strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) signatures in ocean water. Our study highlights the flexibility of digital paleogeographic models linked to state-of-the-art plate tectonic reconstructions in order to better understand the interplay of continental growth and eustasy, with wider implications for understanding Earth's paleotopography, ocean circulation, and the role of mantle convection in shaping long-wavelength topography.

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