Geological Society of America

T11 “Curse Your Sudden but Inevitable Betrayal": Advances and Challenges in Terrestrial Paleoclimate

Monday, 26 October 2020
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Meeting Rooms

PROSPECTS, PITFALLS, AND PRATFALLS OF HIGH LATITUDE PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RECONSTRUCTION FROM THE POST-ERUPTIVE SEDIMENTARY FILL OF KIMBERLITE PIPES IN NORTHERN CANADA

Paper number: T11-4
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:15 PM – 2:30 PM

Authors

Alberto Reyes Presenting Author
University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Jessica Tierney
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Brielle Andersen
St.Albert, AB
Matthew Bolton
University of Alberta Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, EDMONTON, AB
Serhiy D. Buryak
University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Fiona Madsen
University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Joshua H.F.L. Davies
Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC
Eva B. Koppelhus
University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Dana Royer
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Peter A. Siver
Connecticut College, New London, CT

Abstract

Several kimberlite pipes in subarctic Canada host thick accumulations of Early Cenozoic lake sediment and peat that accumulated in maar basins. Extensive diamond exploration drilling has provided a valuable window into this unique sedimentary archive of paleoenvironments during the sustained “greenhouse” interval prior to the onset of global cooling ~45 million years ago, in a high-latitude region otherwise devoid of sediment cover. Multidisciplinary studies of the “Giraffe” and “Wombat” kimberlite pipes highlight the potential of this sedimentary record, but also underscore the challenges of early Cenozoic terrestrial paleoenvironmental reconstruction, particularly with respect to geochronology. We present substantial revisions to the geochronological frameworks for both kimberlite pipes based on tephra glass-fission-track, tephra zircon U-Pb, and pollen biostratigraphy techniques. These new geochronological frameworks underpin revisions to the Middle Eocene paleo-CO₂ record from the ~48 Ma “Giraffe” kimberlite pipe and development of biomarker-based paleoclimate proxy records from well-preserved lacustrine facies. The revised “Wombat” pipe geochronology is less secure, but new and ongoing research on its post-eruptive fill gives insight into latest Cretaceous paleoclimate, paleogeography, paleoecology, and biogeochemical cycling.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 52, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2020AM-358957

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