Early Cenozoic global plate reorganization

Early Cenozoic Global Plate Reorganization

Synthesis of regional plate movements reveals a major reorganization of global plate motion from Mesozoic to Cenozoic patterns that occurred primarily during the Eocene epoch (53.5 to 37.5 m.y.B.P.). The reorganization involved reorientation of relative plate motions with large N-S components into large E-W components, continuation of pre-existing E-W sea floor spreading, initiation of new E-W ...

Pacific plate slab pull and intraplate deformation in the early Cenozoic

Large tectonic plates are known to be susceptible to internal deformation, leading to a range of phenomena including intraplate volcanism. However, the space and time dependence of intraplate deformation and its relationship with changing plate boundary configurations, subducting slab geometries, and absolute plate motion is poorly understood. We utilise a buoyancy-driven Stokes flow solver, BE...

Cenozoic evolution of global mountain systems

Marine ecosystem responses to Cenozoic global change.

The future impacts of anthropogenic global change on marine ecosystems are highly uncertain, but insights can be gained from past intervals of high atmospheric carbon dioxide partial pressure. The long-term geological record reveals an early Cenozoic warm climate that supported smaller polar ecosystems, few coral-algal reefs, expanded shallow-water platforms, longer food chains with less energy...

Early cenozoic glaciation, antarctic weathering, and seawater

Stable and radiogenic isotopic and sedimentological data from sub-Antarctic deep sea sediment cores reveal a temporal link between changes in seawater SrrSr ratios and major episodes of late Eocene–early Oligocene climate change. The SrrSr records show two major inflections, one at 38–39 Ma near the middlerlate Eocene boundary, followed by another at 33.4 Ma. Similarly, the oxygen isotope, ice-...