Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Changes In Climate And Moisture Availability In The Antarctic Eocene, Oligocene, And Miocene: Evidence From Palynological And Stable Isotope Geochemical Analyses Of The Shaldril And Andrill Cores, Kathryn Whitney Griener

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Prior to the Late Eocene, the Antarctic continent experienced lush vegetation under temperate conditions. Just before the Eocene/Oligocene Boundary, the climate of the southernmost continent began to deteriorate dramatically. This cooling trend largely continued until most Antarctic vegetation disappeared, ~13.85-12.8 Ma. Classifying the nature and cause of Antarctica’s drastic climate change is essential for furthering our knowledge of Earth’s history, and also for grasping the potential effects of current and future climate shifts. Here, I present evidence from three new palynomorph-centric studies that deepen our understanding of Antarctic earth science, climate change, and of climate proxies. The first study involved …