The late Pliocene palaeoenvironments and palaeoclimates of the western Iberian Atlantic margin from the Rio Maior flora

Vieira, Manuel, Pound, Matthew and Pereira, Diamantino I. (2018) The late Pliocene palaeoenvironments and palaeoclimates of the western Iberian Atlantic margin from the Rio Maior flora. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 495. pp. 245-258. ISSN 0031-0182

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Vieira et al - The late Pliocene palaeoenvironments and palaeoclimates of the western Iberian Atlantic margin from the Rio Maior flora AAM.pdf - Accepted Version

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.01.018

Abstract

Using a revised chronology, a new palynological study on the late Pliocene (Piacenzian and earliest Gelasian) Rio Maior site of the Tagus Basin in western Portugal has been undertaken from the F98 core. Combining light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, a total of 127 different pollen and spore taxa have been identified from the Piacenzian Lake and indicate the presence of a subtropical to warm-temperate mixed forest during the majority of the Piacenzian (3.6–2.8 Ma). It is only in the latest Piacenzian (after 2.8 Ma) that progressive extinctions of climate sensitive taxa and a drop in diversity indicate a cooling and drying climate trend that has also been recorded from high-latitude localities. By the earliest Gelasian (2.58 Ma), a low diversity Ericaceae and Pinus dominated vegetation remained. The Piacenzian flora of Rio Maior also shows fluctuations in the presence of climate sensitive taxa and pollen-spore diversity that may be related to Piacenzian glaciations.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Piacenzian; Tagus Basin; Pollen and spores; Flora, vegetation; Climate change
Subjects: F400 Forensic and Archaeological Science
F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences
Department: Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Geography and Environmental Sciences
Depositing User: Paul Burns
Date Deposited: 11 Jul 2018 10:37
Last Modified: 01 Aug 2021 13:15
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/34925

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