Macrofossils as indicators of Plio-Pleistocene climates in Tasmania and Antarctica

Abstract

Plant macrofossils can be used as proxy palaeoclimatic indicators, since both the taxa present at a site and the form ofleaves depend on the climate, and macrofossils are rarely transported far. In the simple case of the Sirius Group Nothofagus leaves and wood in Antarctica, the fossils provide data on climate that suggest temperatures at the time of deposition were in the order of> 10°C warmer than at present. While the age of the fossils is still debated, the climatic signal is not. However, in more subtle cases, where the climatic differences are smaller and the fossil evidence is more complex, it is critical to interpret the evidence cauriously. Macrofossils from Pleistocene localities in Tasmania provide a clear signal on temperature and rainfall that is sometimes at odds with pollen-based reconstructions, bur the former is inherently likely to be more accurate.