Lower Jurassic Amaltheidae (Ammonitina) in North America: paleobiogeography and tectonic implications

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (10) ◽  
pp. 1439-1449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L Smith ◽  
Howard W Tipper ◽  
David M Ham
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Lower Jurassic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Longitudinal Displacement ◽  
The North ◽  
East Pacific ◽  
Northwest Europe ◽  
Dispersal Route ◽  
North American Craton

The amaltheids are restricted temporally to the late Pliensbachian and geographically to the northern part of the northern hemisphere. Amaltheus stokesi is the only species that occurs in all areas of North America where amaltheids are found. The craton north of the Canada–U.S.A. border yields the most diverse amaltheid fauna, including six of the seven taxa known in North America. On Quesnellia and Stikinia, there are no endemic amaltheids, and diversity is low; A. stokesi increases in abundance northwards where, in Stikinia, A. margaritatus makes rare appearances. Wrangellia, with its rich Pliensbachian Tethyan and east Pacific faunas, is almost devoid of amaltheids, but its amaltheid fauna does include two specimens of A. viligaensis, an eastern Russian species that is unknown elsewhere in North America. Cratonal amaltheid faunas have more in common with those of northwest Europe than eastern Eurasia, suggesting that the Arctic and northern North Atlantic constituted the main dispersal route. Paleobiogeographic patterns on the major allochthonous terranes argue against terrane rotation and in support of post-Pliensbachian northward displacement relative to the North American craton. In addition, the presence of western Pacific faunal elements on Wrangellia suggests a more significant longitudinal displacement relative to the craton for this terrane compared to that for Quesnellia and Stikinia. The Chilliwack terrane of southwestern British Columbia is a Pliensbachian paleobiogeographic anomaly.

THE POST-GLACIAL COLONIZATION OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC ISLANDS

1988 ◽  
Vol 120 (S144) ◽  
pp. 55-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. Downes
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North American ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
North Greenland ◽  
Arctic Fauna

AbstractThe paper discusses the nature and origins of the present-day insect faunas of Greenland, Iceland, and the Faeroes in relation to those of North America and Europe. The markedly warm-adapted faunas of the Early Tertiary were modified or eliminated as the climate cooled from the Oligocene onward to the Pleistocene glaciations. The Wisconsinan glaciation peaked about 20 000 years ago, and then gave way rapidly to the arctic and cool temperate climates of the present, and the North Atlantic islands thus became habitable again but separated by wide expanses of northern seas. At most only a few strongly arctic-adapted species could have persisted through the Pleistocene and no land bridges from the continents have existed since the Early Miocene, 20 million years ago.Southern Greenland, Iceland, and the Faeroes have been colonized across sea passages from the adjacent continents, mainly by air but partly by sea, during the postglacial period (ca. 10 000 years). The faunas are all young, with no endemic species among about 2000 in all; the faunas are not arctic but distinctly subarctic, mainly of the High and Low Boreal life zones, and derived from these life zones of North America or Europe. The naturally established faunas are small or very small, less than 14% of the corresponding continental faunas, and are obviously disharmonic, with some groups absent across the North Atlantic, e.g. Culicidae, Tabanidae, Tachinidae, Papilionoidea, aculeate Hymenoptera (except Bombus sp.). This indicates a severe "sweepstakes" route. The lack of Tachinidae is noteworthy because their hosts are plentiful, and indicates dispersal by air, with adult Tachinidae, unlike adult Lepidoptera, unable to make the journey; dispersal by a land bridge would offer parasites and hosts an equal opportunity. Aerial transport is indicated also by the high proportion of migrant species (of Lepidoptera) in the island faunas, and the arrival in Surtsey (a new volcanic island) of almost 25% of the Icelandic fauna in 12 years. The Surtsey observations suggest that the Icelandic fauna is preadapted to aerial dispersal, by selection during its journey from Europe.The fauna of southern Greenland is derived partly from boreal America and partly from boreal Europe. The North American moiety becomes vestigial in Iceland and the Faeroes and does not reach Europe. Iceland and the Faeroes have been populated from northwestern Europe, especially Britain and Scandinavia. A few species extend to southern Greenland and thence, or even directly, reach North America, and have thus completed a post-glacial traverse of the North Atlantic.The fauna of North Greenland differs fundamentally from all the above. It is a high arctic fauna, nearly identical with the high arctic fauna in Canada, and thus complete, not disharmonie, though very small by virtue of its high arctic nature. It has encountered no "sweepstakes" dispersal. North Greenland is separated from High Arctic Canada only by a narrow channel which permits winter dispersal by wind across unbroken sea ice. Biologically, North Greenland is part of the North American High Arctic, and although certain species (e.g. mosquitoes and butterflies) may extend somewhat into southern Greenland, it has not contributed to the basic faunas of the North Atlantic islands.Among other problems, the extreme variability in wing pattern of many Lepidoptera in Iceland, the Faeroes, and Shetland is also commented on.

An ammonite zonation for the Lower Jurassic of Canada and the United States: the Pliensbachian

1988 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 1503-1523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L. Smith ◽  
Howard W. Tipper ◽  
David G. Taylor ◽  
Jean Guex
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lower Jurassic ◽  
Queen Charlotte Islands ◽  
The North ◽  
East Pacific ◽  
Reference Sections ◽  
Northeast Asian

This is the first in a series of papers intended to establish a Lower Jurassic ammonite zonation that takes into account the biostratigraphic and biogeographic peculiarities of the North American succession. Its development has been spurred by the need for high-resolution correlation between allochthonous terranes and the need for a standard to which microfossil sequences may be coupled.In North America the lower boundary of the Pliensbachian is drawn above the last echioceratids. The lower Pliensbachian is divided into, in ascending order, the Imlayi, Whiteavesi, and Freboldi zones; the upper Pliensbachian, into the Kunae and Carlottense zones. The Fannin Bay section in the Queen Charlotte Islands is designated the stratotype for the Whiteavesi, Freboldi, and Kunae zones; ideal stratotypes for the Imlayi and Carlottense zones are not presently known. Reference sections former illustrating the faunal associations that characterize all the zones are designated in western Nevada (the Sunrise Formation), northeastern Oregon (the Hurwal Formation), and northern British Columbia (the Spatsizi Group and Takwahoni Formation).The Polymorphitidae and Eoderoceratidae furnish the most important zonal indicators for the lower Pliensbachian; Oxynoticeratidae (Fanninoceras) and Hildoceratidae, for the upper Pliensbachian. Pseudoskirroceras imlayi and Acanthopleuroceras whiteavesi are described as new species. The presence of amaltheids in the northern parts of the allochthonous terranes permits a comparison with the northwest European succession at this level. Furthermore, the association in North America of typically east Pacific, Mediterranean, and northeast Asian species, as well as northwest European forms, emphasizes the critical importance of the North American Pliensbachian in achieving global correlations.

scholarly journals Change in the North Atlantic circulation associated with the mid-Pleistocene transition

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 1639-1651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria M. Martin-Garcia ◽  
Francisco J. Sierro ◽  
José A. Flores ◽  
Fátima Abrantes
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Major Change ◽  
Water Masses ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Atlantic Current ◽  
The North ◽  
Oceanic Fronts ◽  
Surface Circulation ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract. The southwestern Iberian margin is highly sensitive to changes in the distribution of North Atlantic currents and to the position of oceanic fronts. In this work, the evolution of oceanographic parameters from 812 to 530 ka (MIS20–MIS14) is studied based on the analysis of planktonic foraminifer assemblages from site IODP-U1385 (37∘34.285′ N, 10∘7.562′ W; 2585 m b.s.l.). By comparing the obtained results with published records from other North Atlantic sites between 41 and 55∘ N, basin-wide paleoceanographic conditions are reconstructed. Variations of assemblages dwelling in different water masses indicate a major change in the general North Atlantic circulation during MIS16, coinciding with the definite establishment of the 100 ky cyclicity associated with the mid-Pleistocene transition. At the surface, this change consisted in the redistribution of water masses, with the subsequent thermal variation, and occurred linked to the northwestward migration of the Arctic Front (AF), and the increase in the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation with respect to previous glacials. During glacials prior to MIS16, the NADW formation was very weak, which drastically slowed down the surface circulation; the AF was at a southerly position and the North Atlantic Current (NAC) diverted southeastwards, developing steep south–north, and east–west, thermal gradients and blocking the arrival of warm water, with associated moisture, to high latitudes. During MIS16, the increase in the meridional overturning circulation, in combination with the northwestward AF shift, allowed the arrival of the NAC to subpolar latitudes, multiplying the moisture availability for ice-sheet growth, which could have worked as a positive feedback to prolong the glacials towards 100 ky cycles.

Notes on Power Operated Controls for Large Aircraft

1945 ◽  
Vol 49 (410) ◽  
pp. 51-54
Author(s):  
A. Gouge
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
The North ◽  
The World ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Large Aircraft

A Study of the air routes of the world brings out almost at once the fact that some of the most difficult route are also the most attractive. For instance, the North Atlantic route which couples North America with Europe is certainly one of the most difficult in the world, but also by the fact that it couples two of the most densely populated, as well as the most wealthy groups of people in the world, one of the most attractive.

Meridional Tripole Mode of Winter Precipitation over the Arctic and Continental North Africa–Eurasia

2021 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Xiaolin Liu ◽  
Jianhua Lu ◽  
Yimin Liu ◽  
Guoxiong Wu
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
North Africa ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Hadley Cell ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Positive Phase ◽  
The North ◽  
Ferrel Cell ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Westerly Jets

AbstractWintertime precipitation is vital to the growth of glaciers in the northern hemisphere. We find a tripole mode of precipitation (PTM), with each pole of the mode extending zonally over the eastern hemisphere roughly between 30°W and 120°E, and the positive/negative/positive structure for its positive phase extending meridionally from the Arctic to the continental North Africa–Eurasia. The large-scale dynamics associated with the PTM is explored. The positive phase of the PTM is associated with the negative while eastward-shifted phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and a zonal band of positive SST anomaly in the tropics, together with a narrowed Hadley cell and weakened Ferrel cell. While being north-eastward tilted and separated from their North Africa-Eurasia counterpart in the climatological mean, the upper-tropospheric westerly jets over the east Pacific and north Atlantic become extending zonally and shifting southward and hence form a circumpolar subtropical jet as a whole by connecting with the westerly jets over the North Africa-Eurasia. The enhanced zonal winds over the north Atlantic promote more synoptic-scale transient eddies which are waveguided by the jet streams. The polar vortex weakens and cold air dips southward from the North Pole. Further diagnosis of the E-vectors suggests that transient eddies have a positive feedback on the weakening of Ferrel cell. Opposite features are associated with the negative phase of the PTM. The reconstructed time series using multiple linear regression on the NAO index and the tropical SST averaged over 20°S– 20°N, can explain 62.4% of the variance of the original the original precipitation time series.

X. NATO and the Challenge in the North Atlantic and the Arctic

2018 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
James G Foggo ◽  
Alarik Fritz
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

scholarly journals On the Nonlinearity of Winter Northern Hemisphere Atmospheric Variability

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 333-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hannachi ◽  
W. Iqbal
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Empirical Orthogonal Functions ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Climate Change Signal ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Orthogonal Functions ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
The North

Abstract Nonlinearity in the Northern Hemisphere’s wintertime atmospheric flow is investigated from both an intermediate-complexity model of the extratropics and reanalyses. A long simulation is obtained using a three-level quasigeostrophic model on the sphere. Kernel empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs), which help delineate complex structures, are used along with the local flow tendencies. Two fixed points are obtained, which are associated with strong bimodality in two-dimensional kernel principal component (PC) space, consistent with conceptual low-order dynamics. The regimes reflect zonal and blocked flows. The analysis is then extended to ERA-40 and JRA-55 using daily sea level pressure (SLP) and geopotential heights in the stratosphere (20 hPa) and troposphere (500 hPa). In the stratosphere, trimodality is obtained, representing disturbed, displaced, and undisturbed states of the winter polar vortex. In the troposphere, the probability density functions (PDFs), for both fields, within the two-dimensional (2D) kernel EOF space are strongly bimodal. The modes correspond broadly to opposite phases of the Arctic Oscillation with a signature of the negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Over the North Atlantic–European sector, a trimodal PDF is also obtained with two strong and one weak modes. The strong modes are associated, respectively, with the north (or +NAO) and south (or −NAO) positions of the eddy-driven jet stream. The third weak mode is interpreted as a transition path between the two positions. A climate change signal is also observed in the troposphere of the winter hemisphere, resulting in an increase (a decrease) in the frequency of the polar high (low), consistent with an increase of zonal flow frequency.

Edges and interactions beyond Europe

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Wells ◽  
Naoise Mac Sweeney
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
The North ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Temperate Europe ◽  
The North Atlantic

Iron Age Europe, once studied as a relatively closed, coherent continent, is being seen increasingly as a dynamic part of the much larger, interconnected world. Interactions, direct and indirect, with communities in Asia, Africa, and, by the end of the first millennium AD, North America, had significant effects on the peoples of Iron Age Europe. In the Near East and Egypt, and much later in the North Atlantic, the interactions can be linked directly to historically documented peoples and their rulers, while in temperate Europe the evidence is exclusively archaeological until the very end of the prehistoric Iron Age. The evidence attests to often long-distance interactions and their effects in regard to the movement of peoples, and the introduction into Europe of raw materials, crafted objects, styles, motifs, and cultural practices, as well as the ideas that accompanied them.

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