Vegetation dynamics, climate and sea-level changes at the New Jersey Atlantic margin during the Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene; Abbreviation: DYNJOM

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This project aims at a better understanding of the reaction of terrestrial coastal ecosystems to climate change between ~33 to ~13 million years before present. Palynological analyses will be used to reconstruct vegetation and climate development in the hinterland of the New Jersey Shallow shelf. Quantitative precipitation and temperature data for the terrestrial realm will be generated via the application of pollen-based methods of climate reconstruction. The vegetation and climate reconstructions for the terrestrial realm will be compared with local and global sea level- and climate changes. A direct comparison with conditions in the marine realm will be allowed by analyzing marine palynomorphs from the same samples. Research foci will be on the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, which was an interval of rapid global cooling, and on the Oligocene-Miocene boundary, which was characterized by an increase in atmospheric CO2, temperatures and sea level, and a decrease in continental ice sheets extend. In addition to the major aim, the project results will be important for the understanding of evolution and biogeographic development of the North-eastern American vegetation.