Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous paleoclimate of Sverdrup Basin, Canadian Arctic Archipelago inferred from the palynostratigraphy

Jennifer M. Galloway*, Arthur R. Sweet, Graeme T. Swindles, Keith Dewing, Thomas Hadlari, Ashton F. Embry, Hamed Sanei

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    43 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Jurassic to Cretaceous strata of Sverdrup Basin contain both marine and nonmarine fossils that serve to date interlayered sandstone and mudstone units and interpret paleoenvironments and paleoclimates. Applying a multi-variate statistical approach to long-ranging spore and pollen types typical for this time interval, we define four palynoassemblages within an Aalenian to Albian succession preserved in the Hoodoo Dome H-37 oil and gas well located on southern Ellef Ringnes Island near the centre of Sverdrup Basin. We propose an association between palynoassemblages and Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous pan-hemispherical climate events. The largest palynoassemblage shift occurs when an assemblage containing Classopollis classoides pollen is replaced by an assemblage dominated by pollen of the Taxodiaceae-Cupressaceae-Taxaceae in the late Valanginian or early Hauterivian. We interpret this vegetation change to a shift from a seasonally arid climate to cooler and more humid conditions in high latitude regions.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)240-255
    Number of pages16
    JournalMarine and petroleum geology
    Volume44
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 01 Jun 2013

    Keywords

    • Arctic
    • Canada
    • Climate change
    • Cretaceous
    • Jurassic
    • Palynology
    • Sverdrup Basin

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Oceanography
    • Geophysics
    • Geology
    • Economic Geology
    • Stratigraphy

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