Reconstruction of the response of the biodiversity/migration of Western European vegetation to climate change (CC) from the Oligocene and Mid-Miocene

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Oligocene and Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO) (33.9-15.0Ma). Research Questions: 1. Which species of terrestrial biota were present in the British Isles throughout the Oligocene-Miocene climatic transition? a. Which species show the most sensitivity to climate changes? b. How does sporomorph distribution and frequency change from the end of the Oligocene to the MMCO to the end of the Miocene? 2. Is there evidence for the onset or intensification of the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation throughout the Oligocene-Miocene? a. Do boreal biomes migrate towards the equator towards the end of the Oligocene? b. Do tundra environments expand towards to end of the Oligocene? 3. What were the carbon and nitrogen cycles like in these Cenozoic forests? a. Do carbon and nitrogen concentration results indicate warmer climates in the British Isles from the Oligocene-Miocene? b. Can carbon and nitrogen concentrations be synchronised between boreholes? Research Objectives: 1. Create a reference guide for each individual sporomorph and diatom species found in the core, using a light microscope (LM) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). a. Create stratigraphic plots for each borehole detailing sporomorph, diatom and geochemical distributions. 2. Infer changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation from changes in carbon and nitrogen concentrations in the British Isles. a. Infer whether tundra/ pioneer-species quantities increase across all boreholes towards the end of the Oligocene and vice versa. 3. Model changes in carbon/nitrogen concentrations for Western Europe. a. Ensure models reproduce Western-European climatic characteristics. b. Ensure models produce a valid refugia fingerprint for the British Isles which can be extrapolated and applied to Western Europe vegetation migration.