High-paleolatitude late cretaceous paleotemperatures: New data from James Ross Island, Antarctica

Journal Article · Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Geology; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1990)018<0031:HPLCPN>2.3.CO;2· OSTI ID:6140721

Pirrie, D ^[1]; Marshall, J D ^[2]

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1. Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge (England)
2. Univ. of Liverpool (England)

Oxygen-isotope analysis of well-preserved macrofossils from the Santonian-Campanian of James Ross Island and the Maastrichtian of Vega Island, Antarctica, indicates that cool high-paleolatitude temperatures prevailed during the Late Cretaceous and suggests that cooling occurred between the Santonian-Campanian and the Maastrichtian. Although more than 50% of the material showed diagenetic alteration, 52 unaltered aragonite and calcite samples were analyzed. Mean {delta}{sup 18}O and calculated paleotemperature values were {minus}0.23{per thousand} and 13.6 C, respectively, for the Santonian-Campanian, and 0.66{per thousand} and 11.7 C, respectively, for the Masstrichtian. In conjunction with recent Late Cretaceous paleoclimatic data from high northern paleolatitudes, these data indicate the presence of cool polar regions with broad climatic zonation during the late Cretaceous. This may have partly controlled faunal distributions.

• OSTI ID: 6140721
• Journal Information: Geology; (USA), Vol. 18:1; ISSN 0091-7613
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
ANTARCTICA
PALEOTEMPERATURE
CALCITE
CRETACEOUS PERIOD
FOSSILS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
ISLANDS
ISOTOPE RATIO
LATITUDE EFFECT
OXYGEN 18
PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ANTARCTIC REGIONS
CALCIUM CARBONATES
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONATE MINERALS
CARBONATES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
GEOLOGIC AGES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERALS
NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN ISOTOPES
PALEONTOLOGY
POLAR REGIONS
STABLE ISOTOPES
VARIATIONS
580000* - Geosciences