Eocene Terrestrial Palynology of Seymour Island, Antarctica

该奖项支持了一项研究，该研究记录和解释了从南极半岛东北部西摩岛始新世三角洲La Meseta组中恢复的孢子和花粉组合。这些孢子和花粉来自始新世南极半岛上生长的陆地植物，当时与冈瓦纳其他地区的陆地联系被切断。始新世的孢子和花粉组合反映了地球历史上最后一次南极变暖期间的植被，这一时期南方高纬度地区的进化创新仍然很明显。特别令人感兴趣的是始新世期间的古气候波动，以及可能记录在La Meseta组最上层的始新世/渐新世边界附近的植物区系和古气候变化。

This award supports a study to document and interpret the spore and pollen assemblages recovered from the Eocene deltaic La Meseta Formation of Seymour Island, northeastern Antarctic Peninsula. These spores and pollen were derived from land plants growing on the Eocene Antarctic Peninsula, at a time when the land connections with the rest of Gondwana were severed. The Eocene spore and pollen assemblages reflect the vegetation during the last interval of south polar warmth in earth history - a time when evolutionary innovation was still apparent in the southern high latitudes. Of special interest are postulated paleoclimatic fluctuations during Eocene, and the floristic and paleoclimatic changes near the Eocene/Oligocene boundary which may be recorded in the uppermost La Meseta Formation.