ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess


Abstract Number: 2109
Poster No. = 972


CANADIAN HIGH ARCTIC EARLY TERTIARY FLORAL EVOLUTION


E. McIver and J. Basinger, Dept. Geol. Sciences, Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada


Intensive collection of plant fossils from the 4 formations of the Eureka Sound Group (Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg islands) in the Canadian Arctic (early Paleocene through middle Eocene, paloeolatitudes of 75-80 degrees N) provides a basis for paleofloristic and paleoenvironmental interpretations. Although formations are floristically distinct, assemblages are vegetationally similar, flora and vegetation are consistent with mesothermal, humid climates essentially frost-free at low elevations. Assemblages from the middle to late Eocene Buchanan Lake Fm. are more complex and are correlated with both the Eurekan Orogeny and the onset of Tertiary global climatic deterioration. Origins of some lineages that characterize northern deciduous vegetation appear to have been influenced by tectonically induced regional environmental heterogeneity and global cooling.


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