Middle Turonian dinosaur paleoenvironments in the Upper Cretaceous Kaskapau Formation, northeast British Columbia

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 631-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica R Rylaarsdam ◽  
Bogdan L Varban ◽  
A Guy Plint ◽  
Lisa G Buckley ◽  
Richard T McCrea

The Kaskapau Formation is a mudstone-dominated wedge up to 950 m thick that spans late Cenomanian to middle Turonian time. The formation has a prominent wedge geometry and was deposited in the foredeep of the Western Canada Foreland Basin. In outcrop in northeast British Columbia, nearshore sandstones are locally well developed and include rare wedges of nonmarine strata. On Quality Creek, near Tumbler Ridge, 11 m of nonmarine strata contain abundant dinosaur tracks and the first in situ dinosaur bone reported from British Columbia. This site, at a paleolatitude of about 67°N, preserves a rare glimpse of Turonian terrestrial environments during global eustatic highstand. Three main dinosaur habitats are recognized: strandplain and beach-ridge; freshwater lake; and brackish lagoon. Back-beach sandstone has a relief of about 2.5 m, interpreted as beach ridges; sandy coals containing abundant dinosaur tracks represent inter-ridge slough deposits. Overlying lake deposits comprising laminated muds with freshwater molluscs grade up into rooted muddy siltstone and locally, dinoturbated sandstone. Lake deposits are capped by lagoonal mudstone with abundant brackish-water molluscs, locally including a dinosaur-trampled oyster bioherm. The upper parts of sandy lagoonal deltas are pervasively dinoturbated. Sandstone filling a tidal channel contains logs, oyster shells, and bones of dinosaurs, turtles, and crocodiles, as well as fish scales. The lagoonal succession is erosively overlain by offshore sandy mudstones. Various lines of evidence suggest that the mean annual temperature at this sea-level location was about 14 °C, with a cold-month mean no less than 5.5 °C. The high-latitude location implies a significant period of winter darkness, and correspondingly diminished plant productivity.

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (10) ◽  
pp. 1403-1422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randolph J Enkin ◽  
Judith Baker ◽  
Peter S Mustard

The Baja B.C. model has the Insular Superterrane and related entities of the Canadian Cordillera subject to >3000 km of northward displacement with respect to cratonic North America from ~90 to ~50 Ma. The Upper Cretaceous Nanaimo Group (on and about Vancouver Island, British Columbia) is a prime target to test the model paleomagnetically because of its locality and age. We have widely sampled the basin (67 sites from seven islands spread over 150 km, Santonian to Maastrichtian age). Most samples have low unblocking temperatures (<450°C) and coercivities (~10 mT) and strong present-field contamination, forcing us to reject three quarters of the collection. Beds are insufficiently tilted to provide a conclusive fold test, and we see evidence of relative vertical axis rotations. However, inclination-only analysis indicates pretilting remanence is preserved for many samples. Both polarities are observed, and reversals correlate well to paleontological data, proving that primary remanence is observed. The mean inclination, 55 ± 3°, is 13 ± 4° steeper than previously published results. Our new paleolatitude, 35.7 ± 2.6° is identical to that determined from the slightly older Silverquick and Powell Creek formations at Mount Tatlow, yet the inferred displacement is smaller (2300 ± 400 km versus 3000 ± 500 km) because North America was drifting southward starting around 90 Ma. The interpreted paleolatitude conflicts with sedimentologic and paleontologic evidence that the Nanaimo Basin was deposited near its present northern position.


2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1823) ◽  
pp. 20152274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten Boersma ◽  
Nico Grüner ◽  
Natália Tasso Signorelli ◽  
Pedro E. Montoro González ◽  
Myron A. Peck ◽  
...  

Studies dealing with the effects of changing global temperatures on living organisms typically concentrate on annual mean temperatures. This, however, might not be the best approach in temperate systems with large seasonality where the mean annual temperature is actually not experienced very frequently. The mean annual temperature across a 50-year, daily time series of measurements at Helgoland Roads (54.2° N, 7.9° E) is 10.1°C while seasonal data are characterized by a clear, bimodal distribution; temperatures are around 6°C in winter and 15°C in summer with rapid transitions in spring and autumn. Across those 50 years, the temperature at which growth is maximal for each single bloom event for 115 phytoplankton species (more than 6000 estimates of optimal temperature) mirrors the bimodal distribution of the in situ temperatures. Moreover, independent laboratory data on temperature optima for growth of North Sea organisms yielded similar results: a deviance from the normal distribution, with a gap close to the mean annual temperature, and more optima either above or below this temperature. We conclude that organisms, particularly those that are short-lived, are either adapted to the prevailing winter or summer temperatures in temperate areas and that few species exist with thermal optima within the periods characterized by rapid spring warming and autumn cooling.


Author(s):  
J. B. Sissons

ABSTRACTThe extent of 64 glaciers that existed in the Lake District during the Loch Lomond Stadial is inferred from end, hummocky and fluted moraines and illustrated by detailed maps. Glacier surfaces are contoured and the equilibrium firn lines of the glaciers are calculated. Firn line altitudes were strongly influenced by snowfall, glacier aspect and the transfer of snow by wind from adjacent high ground. Snowfall was associated mainly with south to southeast winds and the mean direction of winds responsible for snow transfer was probably slightly west of south. It is inferred that mean July temperature at sea-level was slightly below 8°C. Protalus ramparts and other snowbed deposits indicate the former presence of numerous perennial snow beds down to altitudes of 200-300 m although the widespread occurrence of fossil gelifluction sheets and lobes points to large snow-free areas above these altitudes in summer. Fossil valley-wall rock glaciers indicate a mean annual temperature at sea-level no higher than 1°C. During deglaciation the great majority of the small glaciers retreated actively for 100-150 m and then probably decayed in situ, but some, at least, of the larger glaciers were active during much of the time their margins retreated.


1975 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1805-1807 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Storer

Columbosauripus ungulatus Sternberg is identified from the Dunvegan Formation, Cenomanian (early Upper Cretaceous) of East Pine, northeastern British Columbia. The species was originally reported from the Gething Formation, Albian (late Lower Cretaceous) of Peace River canyon, British Columbia.


Author(s):  
Kranti Singh ◽  
Surajpal Verma ◽  
Shyam Prasad ◽  
Indu Bala

Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride loaded Eudragit RS100 nanoparticles were prepared by using w/o/w emulsification (multiple emulsification) solvent evaporation followed by drying of nanoparticles at 50°C. The nanoparticles were further incorporated into the pH-triggered in situ gel forming system which was prepared using Carbopol 940 in combination with HPMC as viscosifying agent. The developed nanoparticles was evaluated for particle size, zeta potential value and loading efficiency; nanoparticle incorporated in situ gelling system was evaluated for pH, clarity, gelling strength, rheological studies, in-vitro release studies and ex-vivo precorneal permeation studies. The nanopaticle showed the mean particle size varying between 263.5nm - 325.9 nm with the mean zeta potential value of -5.91 mV to -8.13 mV and drug loading capacity varied individually between 72.50% to 98.70% w/w. The formulation was clear with no suspended particles, showed good gelling properties. The gelling was quick and remained for longer time period. The developed formulation was therapeutically efficacious, stable and non-irritant. It provided the sustained release of drug over a period of 8-10 hours.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6910
Author(s):  
Adil Dilawar ◽  
Baozhang Chen ◽  
Arfan Arshad ◽  
Lifeng Guo ◽  
Muhammad Irfan Ehsan ◽  
...  

Here, we provided a comprehensive analysis of long-term drought and climate extreme patterns in the agro ecological zones (AEZs) of Pakistan during 1980–2019. Drought trends were investigated using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) at various timescales (SPEI-1, SPEI-3, SPEI-6, and SPEI-12). The results showed that droughts (seasonal and annual) were more persistent and severe in the southern, southwestern, southeastern, and central parts of the region. Drought exacerbated with slopes of −0.02, −0.07, −0.08, −0.01, and −0.02 per year. Drought prevailed in all AEZs in the spring season. The majority of AEZs in Pakistan’s southern, middle, and southwestern regions had experienced substantial warming. The mean annual temperature minimum (Tmin) increased faster than the mean annual temperature maximum (Tmax) in all zones. Precipitation decreased in the southern, northern, central, and southwestern parts of the region. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed a robust increase in temperature extremes with a variance of 76% and a decrease in precipitation extremes with a variance of 91% in the region. Temperature and precipitation extremes indices had a strong Pearson correlation with drought events. Higher temperatures resulted in extreme drought (dry conditions), while higher precipitation levels resulted in wetting conditions (no drought) in different AEZs. In most AEZs, drought occurrences were more responsive to precipitation. The current findings are helpful for climate mitigation strategies and specific zonal efforts are needed to alleviate the environmental and societal impacts of drought.


2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunming Huang ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Shaodong Zhang ◽  
Gang Chen ◽  
Kaiming Huang ◽  
...  

AbstractThe eastward- and westward-traveling 10-day waves with zonal wavenumbers up to 6 from surface to the middle mesosphere during the recent 12 years from 2007 to 2018 are deduced from MERRA-2 data. On the basis of climatology study, the westward-propagating wave with zonal wave number 1 (W1) and eastward-propagating waves with zonal wave numbers 1 (E1) and 2 (E2) are identified as the dominant traveling ones. They are all active at mid- and high-latitudes above the troposphere and display notable month-to-month variations. The W1 and E2 waves are strong in the NH from December to March and in the SH from June to October, respectively, while the E1 wave is active in the SH from August to October and also in the NH from December to February. Further case study on E1 and E2 waves shows that their latitude–altitude structures are dependent on the transmission condition of the background atmosphere. The presence of these two waves in the stratosphere and mesosphere might have originated from the downward-propagating wave excited in the mesosphere by the mean flow instability, the upward-propagating wave from the troposphere, and/or in situ excited wave in the stratosphere. The two eastward waves can exert strong zonal forcing on the mean flow in the stratosphere and mesosphere in specific periods. Compared with E2 wave, the dramatic forcing from the E1 waves is located in the poleward regions.


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