Ancient environments Central Kansas - 80 Ma. Setting the Stage: Major Erosional/Depositional...
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Transcript of Ancient environments Central Kansas - 80 Ma. Setting the Stage: Major Erosional/Depositional...
Understanding the distant past by reconstructing:
• Ancient environments• Ancient climates• Ancient life• Ancient ecosystems
“The present is the key to the past.”“The past is the key to the present.”
Ancient Environments Paleoenvironment
A past environment (i.e., meandering stream, delta, ocean basin) that existed in a given area.
Determined through the study of:
• modern depositional systems
• rocks & enclosing structures
• biological remains (fossils)
Clues Within the Sediment II
Planar Bedding
Cross Bedding
Imbrication
Graded Bedding
Cut and Fill
Ripple Bedding
Ancient ClimatesPaleoclimate
Determined through the study of:
• modern climate
• rocks & associated structures/fossils
• chemistry
Temperature, humidity, rainfall, etc. in a given area during a particular ancient time interval.
During the:
Ord = Ordovician
P/T = Permo-Triassic
Cretac = Cretaceous
PETM = Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
LGM – Last Glacial Maximum
LIA - Little Ice Age
Paleogeographic map & Paleotemperature distributions
Ancient LifePaleontology
Life that existed during a particular time interval in the distant past.
Understanding gained through the:
• examination of preserved remains (fossils)
• comparison to living organisms
Ancient EcologiesPaleoecology
Interactions among living organisms living within a particular ancient environment.
Understanding gained through the:
• study of modern ecologies
• examination of fossils
Paleobiology
“Fish-within-a-fish” – Niobrara Formation (85 Ma), Kansas
Study of the mode of life of organisms (i.e., how big an animal grew, how it moved, what it ate)