Deterioration and/or cyclicity? The development of vegetation and climate during the Eocene and Oligocene in Antarctica

Summary The late Eocene to early Oligocene is a time interval in earth history with major changes in both the global environment and the biota. To understand the vegetation history of this time, ODP and "Islas Orcadas " core samples from the Antarctic Peninsula area and the Tasman Sea were analysed using qualitative and quantitative palynological methods. Both floras represent a Nothofagus-Podocarpaceae forest association with a high percentage of ferns. The mid-Eocene flora of the Antarctic Peninsula region is an indicator of a warm-temperate, humid climate. The younger Tasman Sea flora shows a similar Nothofagus-Podocarpaceae forest association, but with a different composition of Nothofagaceae as well as a smaller percentage and diversity of ferns and the presence of Casuarina, a dryness indicator. Cryptogams, gymnosperms and angiosperms show tectonically or orbitally forced temperature changes in the time period examined