Data-mining the past environment (original) (raw)
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Rapid reconstruction of paleoenvironmental features using a new multiplatform program
…, 2004
As a symptom of evolution, human beings are always trying to better understand current and past events so as to be able to foresee future situations. In order to do that the development of new tools and/or methods is a must. Currently, the Modern Analog Technique (MAT) is one of the most used techniques in paleoceanography and it is applied for the quantitative reconstruction of environmental conditions of the past. Here we propose a new tool, PaleoAnalogs, a method that combines the MAT technique with an interactive analysis to produce faster and more accurate down core reconstructions of (i.e.) sea surface temperature. The tool is tested here using planktonic foraminifers from Pleistocene sediments in the Mediterranean sea, where a well-build data-base is available. PaleoAnalogs is programmed with flexibility in order to enable the use of this technique for different micropaleontological groups and it is available for any operating system.
fossil: palaeoecological and palaeogeographical analysis tools.
The fossil software package is a collection of analytical tools to synthetically analyse ecological and geographical data sets. The software is designed to be used with the R Statistical Language and is under an Open Source license, making it free to download, use or modify. The package includes functions for estimating species richness, shared species/beta diversity, species area curves and geographic distances and areas. The package also contains extensive documentation and examples of how to use all of the functions.
Paleosols as indicators of paleoenvironment and paleoclimate
Paleosols are ancient soils that have been incorporated into the geological record. Soils form in response to interactions among the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere, so paleosols potentially record physical, biological, and chemical information about past conditions near Earth’s surface. As a result, paleosols are an important resource for terrestrial environmental and climatic reconstructions. Long-standing paleosol research topics include morphology, classification, and clay mineralogy, all of which provide information about pedogenic processes and local paleoenvironments. Paleosols are also used to infer processes involved in the development of stratigraphic architecture and basin evolution. Recent paleosol research has introduced semiquantitative and quantitative measures for environmental and chronometric reconstructions that provide insight intomajor regional to global changes in temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric pCO2. These new proxies focus on morphological and chemical transfer functions and stable isotope geochemistry to provide estimates of precipitation, temperature, pCO2, and productivity, as well as chronometric estimates of mineral crystallization in deep-time pedogenic systems. Looking forward, consensus must be reached on terminology that most effectively communicates paleosol characteristics and implies important processes. Proxy development will continue to improve as data sets become available across greater ranges of environments and timescales.
A comprehensive, but simple-to-use software package for executing a range of standard numerical analysis and operations used in quantitative paleontology has been developed. The program, called PAST (PAleontological STatistics), runs on standard Windows computers and is available free of charge. PAST integrates spreadsheet-type data entry with univariate and multivariate statistics, curve fitting, timeseries analysis, data plotting, and simple phylogenetic analysis. Many of the functions are specific to paleontology and ecology, and these functions are not found in standard, more extensive, statistical packages. PAST also includes fourteen case studies (data files and exercises) illustrating use of the program for paleontological problems, making it a complete educational package for courses in quantitative methods.
Fossil plants as palaeoenvironmental proxies - Some remaks on selected approaches
Acta Palaeobotanica
All methods and approaches used for the reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic information have inherent shortcomings, limitations, and problems. Consequently there is no optimal, universally applicable and absolutely reliable technique for deriving these from fossil plants. Recent data on the preservation and taphonomic history of fossil plant remains (i.e., permineralized wood and charcoal), the anatomy and morphology of fossil leaves (i.e., cuticular adaptations and leaf physiognomy), as well as the interpretation of Nearest Living Relatives (NLR) are summarised. Although there is undoubtedly information loss through taphonomy, and taphonomical biases must be taken into account, especially when using quantitative methods, the analysis of taphonomic processes also may be used to obtain informations about the palaeoenvironment, whereas preservational modes may allow for the reconstruction of different and, sometimes complementary, palaeoenvironmental information. It is clear that the accuracy of quantitative methods, not only the accuracy of the NLR approach, decreases with an increasing age of a palaeofl ora. Consequently, all quantitative methods may be applied most reliably to Cenozoic fl oras. Based on the results presented here, it is suggested that a combination of different, independent techniques and proxies should be used, not only to overcome the shortcomings, limitations and problems associated with the application of individual methods, but also to combine the advantages of individual methods. Such an integrated analysis of different proxies can lead to more reliable information about palaeoenvironmental conditions and improve our knowledge about the comparability and applicability of these methods.