Miocene lake systems and the decline of the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum
PD Dr. Michael Rasser, Naturkundemuseum Stuttgart
The Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO) was a warm interval ca. 17-15 Ma ago, and represents the last occurrence of thermophilic faunas and floras in Central Europe. The subsequent cooling initiated a long-term trend that ultimately led to the Quaternary ice age. A series of Miocene nonmarine fossillagerstätten in SW Germany is presented here to test the hypothesis, that they provide time windows capturing the decline of the MCO. These sites are: (1) Engelswies-Schellenfeld (ca. 17 Ma), part of an extensive lake district and yielding the oldest known Eurasian hominid; (2) Randeck Maar (ca. 16 Ma), with an exceptionally preserved insect fauna, among them the oldest known wasp; (3) Steinheim Basin (ca. 14 Ma), an impact-crater lake showcasing an iconic case of intralacustrine snail evolution; (4) Öhningen (ca. 13.7 Ma), a maar lake with giant salamanders; and (5) Höwenegg (ca. 10 Ma), iconic for horse evolution. This presentation aims to discuss the potential climate proxies of these sites, as well as the sampling- and taphonomic biases.
As usual, we will also broadcast via zoom for those who can not join in person: https://zoom.us/j/94510498226