Other research related to paleontology, including research related to
geology,
palaeogeography,
paleoceanography and
paleoclimatology. • A study testing the hypothesis that chemodenitrification, the rapid reduction of
nitric oxide by ferrous iron, would have enhanced the
flux of
nitrous oxide from Proterozoic seas, leading to nitrous oxide becoming an important constituent of Earth's atmosphere during Proterozoic and possibly life's primary terminal
electron acceptor during the transition from an anoxic to oxic surface Earth, is published by Stanton
et al. (2018). • A study on the iron mineralogy of the 1.1-billion-year-old Paleolake Nonesuch (
Nonesuch Formation), and on its implications for inferring whether the waters of this lake were oxygenated, is published by Slotznick, Swanson-Hysell & Sperling (2018). • A study on the Earth's atmosphere and the productivity of global biosphere 1.4 billion years ago, based on triple oxygen isotope measurements sedimentary sulfates from the Sibley basin (
Ontario,
Canada), is published by Crockford
et al. (2018). • A study on the isotopically enriched
chromium in Mesoproterozoic-aged shales from the Shennongjia Group (China) dating back to 1.35 billion years ago is published by
Canfield et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as document elevated atmospheric oxygen levels through most of Mesoproterozoic Era, likely sufficient for early
crown group animal respiration, but attained over 400 million years before they evolved. • A study on the rate of biotic oxygen production and the attendant large-scale biogeochemistry of the mid-
Proterozoic Earth system is published online by Ozaki, Reinhard & Tajika (2018). • A study on the
paleomagnetism of the Precambrian
Bunger Hills dykes of the
Mawson Craton (
East Antarctica), and on its tectonic implications, is published by Liu
et al. (2018). • A study on the causes of formation and on global extent of the
Great Unconformity is published online by Keller
et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicating that this unconformity may record rapid erosion during
Neoproterozoic "
Snowball Earth" glaciations, and that environmental and geochemical changes which led to the diversification of multicellular animals may be a direct consequence of Neoproterozoic glaciation. • A study on the environments and food sources that sustained the
Ediacaran biota is published by Pehr
et al. (2018), who present the
lipid biomarker and nitrogen and carbon isotopic data obtained from late
Ediacaran (2 rise and warming during the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum is published by van der Ploeg
et al. (2018). • Su
et al. (2018) use radiometrically dated plant fossil assemblages to quantify when southeastern
Tibet achieved its present elevation, and what kind of floras existed there at that time. • Description of a plant megafossil assemblage from the
Kailas Formation in western part of the southern
Lhasa terrane, and a study on its implications for inferring the elevation history of the southern
Tibetan Plateau, is published online by Ai
et al. (2018). • A study on the relationship between the
Rovno and
Baltic amber deposits, based on stable carbon and hydrogen isotope analyses, is published by Mänd
et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicative of distinct origin of Rovno and Baltic amber deposits. • A study aiming to establish an accurate and precise age model for the eruption of the
Columbia River Basalt Group, and to use it to test the hypothesis that there is a temporal relationship between the eruption of the Columbia River Basalt Group and the mid-
Miocene climate optimum, is published by Kasbohm & Schoene (2018). • A study on the age of the
Ashfall Fossil Beds fossil site (
Nebraska, United States) is published by Smith
et al. (2018). • A study on the causes of changes of environmental conditions in the
Paratethys Sea of Central Europe during the middle Miocene is published online by Simon
et al. (2018). • A study on plant fossils spanning 14–4 million years ago from sites in Europe, Asia and East Africa, aiming to test the hypothesis of a single cohesive
biome in the Miocene that extended from Mongolia to East Africa and at its peak covered much of the Old World, is published by Denk
et al. (2018), who interpret data from plant fossil record as disproving the existence of a cohesive
savannah biome from eastern Asia to northeast Africa, formerly inferred from mammal fossil record. • A study on changes in local climate and habitat conditions in central
Spain in a period from 9.1 to 6.3 million years ago, and on the diet and ecology of large mammals from this area in this time period as indicated by
tooth wear patterns, is published online by De Miguel, Azanza & Morales (2018). • Faith (2018) evaluates the aridity index, a widely used technique for reconstructing local paleoclimate and water deficits from oxygen isotope composition of fossil mammal teeth, arguing that in some taxa altered drinking behavior (influencing oxygen isotope composition of teeth) might have been caused by dietary change rather than water deficits. • A study evaluating when the island of
Sulawesi (
Indonesia) gained its modern shape and size, and determining the timings of diversification of the three largest endemic mammals on the island (the
babirusa, the
Celebes warty pig and the
anoa) is published by Frantz
et al. (2018). • A study on the
Pliocene fish fossils from the
Kanapoi site (
Kenya) and their implications for reconstructing lake and river environments in the Kanapoi Formation is published online by Stewart & Rufolo (2018). • Evidence indicating that reduced
nutrient upwelling in the
Bering Sea and expansion of
North Pacific Intermediate Water coincided with the Mid-Pleistocene Transition cooling is presented by Kender
et al. (2018), who assess the potential links between cooling, sea ice expansion, closure of the
Bering Strait, North Pacific Intermediate Water production, reduced high latitude CO2 and nutrient upwelling, and development of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. • Domínguez-Rodrigo & Baquedano (2018) evaluate the ability of successful machine learning methods to compare and distinguish various types of bone surface modifications (trampling marks, crocodile bite marks and cut marks made with stone tools) in archaeofaunal assemblages. • Description of new mammal and fish remains from the
Olduvai Gorge site (
Tanzania), comparing the mammal assemblage from this site to the present mammal community of
Serengeti, and a study on their implications for reconstructing the paleoecology of this site at ~1.7–1.4 million years ago, is published by Bibi
et al. (2018). • A study on the environment in the interior of the
Arabian Peninsula in the Pleistocene, as indicated by data from stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of fossil mammal
tooth enamel from the middle Pleistocene locality of Ti's al Ghadah (
Saudi Arabia), is published by Roberts
et al. (2018). • A study on the environmental dynamics before and after the onset of the early
Middle Stone Age in the
Olorgesailie Basin (Kenya) is published by Potts
et al. (2018). • A study on the chronology of the
Acheulean and early Middle Stone Age sedimentary deposits in the Olorgesailie Basin (Kenya) is published by Deino
et al. (2018). • A study on the proxy evidence for environmental changes during past 116,000 years in lake sediment cores from the
Chew Bahir basin, south
Ethiopia (close to the key hominin site of
Omo Kibish), and on its implications for inferring the environmental context for dispersal of
anatomically modern humans from northeastern Africa, is published by Viehberg
et al. (2018). • A study on the effects of the
Toba supereruption in East Africa is published by Yost
et al. (2018), who find no evidence of the eruption causing a
volcanic winter in East Africa or a
population bottleneck among African populations of
anatomically modern humans. • A study on the environmental conditions in the area of present-day
Basque Country (
Spain) across the Middle to Upper
Paleolithic transition, based on stable isotope data from
red deer and horse bones, is published by Jones
et al. (2018). • The first reconstructions of terrestrial temperature and hydrologic changes in the south-central margin of the
Bering land bridge from the
Last Glacial Maximum to the present are presented by Wooller
et al. (2018). • A study on the fossil-bound
nitrogen isotope records from the
Southern Ocean is published by Studer
et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicative of an acceleration of
nitrate supply to the Southern Ocean surface from underlying deep water during the Holocene, possibly contributing to the Holocene atmospheric CO2 rise. • A study on the causes of replacement of mature rainforests by a forest–savannah mosaic in Western Central Africa between 3,000 y ago and 2,000 years ago, based on a continuous record of 10,500 years of vegetation and hydrological changes from
Lake Barombi Mbo (
Cameroon) inferred from changes in carbon and hydrogen isotope compositions of plant waxes, is published by Garcin
et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicating that humans triggered the rainforest fragmentation 2,600 years ago. • A study on the vegetational and climatic changes since the last glacial period, based on data from 594 sites worldwide, and aiming to estimate the extent of future ecosystem changes under alternative scenarios of global warming, is published by Nolan
et al. (2018). • A study on the changing ecology of woodland vegetation of southern mainland
Greece during the late
Pleistocene and the early-mid
Holocene, and on the ecological context of the first introduction of crop domesticates in the southern Greek mainland, as indicated by data from carbonized fuel wood waste from the
Franchthi Cave, is published by Asouti, Ntinou & Kabukcu (2018). • A large
impact crater found beneath
Hiawatha Glacier (
Greenland), most likely formed during the
Pleistocene, is reported by Kjær
et al. (2018).
Paleoceanography • A study on the nitrogen isotope ratios, selenium abundances, and selenium isotope ratios from the ~2.66 billion years old
Jeerinah Formation (
Australia), providing evidence of transient surface ocean oxygenation ~260 million years before the
Great Oxygenation Event, is published by Koehler
et al. (2018). • A study on the ocean chemistry at the start of the
Mesoproterozoic as indicated by rare earth element, iron-speciation and inorganic carbon isotope data from the 1,600–1,550 million years old Yanliao Basin,
North China Craton is published by Zhang
et al. (2018), who report evidence of a progressive oxygenation event starting at ≈1,570 million years ago, immediately prior to the occurrence of complex multicellular
eukaryotes in shelf areas of the Yanliao Basin. • Evidence of
euxinia occurring in the
photic zone of the ocean in the Mesoproterozoic, based on measurements of
mercury isotope compositions in late Mesoproterozoic (~1.1 billion years old) shales from the
Atar Group and the
El Mreiti Group (
Tauodeni Basin,
Mauritania), is presented by Zheng
et al. (2018). • A study on abundant
pyrite concretions from the topmost
Nantuo Formation (China), deposited during the terminal
Cryogenian Marinoan glaciation, is published by Lang
et al. (2018), who interpret these concretions as evidence of a transient but widespread presence of marine
euxinia in the aftermath of the Marinoan glaciation. • A study on wave ripples and tidal
laminae in the
Elatina Formation (
Australia), interpreted as evidence of rapid sea level rise in the aftermath of the Marinoan glaciation, is published by Myrow, Lamb & Ewing (2018). • A study on the global ocean
redox conditions at a time when the
Ediacaran biota began to decline, based on analysis of uranium isotopes in carbonates from the
Dengying Formation (
China), is published by Zhang
et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicative of
an episode of extensive oceanic anoxia at the end of the Ediacaran. • New uranium isotope data from upper Ediacaran to lower
Cambrian marine carbonate successions, indicative of short-lived episodes of widespread marine anoxia near the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition and during
Cambrian Stage 2, is presented by Wei
et al. (2018), who argue that the
Cambrian explosion might have been triggered by marine
redox fluctuations rather than progressive oxygenation. • New
δ15N data from late Ediacaran to Cambrian strata from South China is presented by Wang
et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicating that ocean redox dynamics were closely coupled with key evolutionary events during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition. • A study on the isotopic composition and surface temperatures of early Cambrian seas, based on stable oxygen isotope data from the
small shelly fossils from the
Comley limestones (
United Kingdom), is published by Hearing
et al. (2018). • High-resolution
geochemical,
sedimentological and biodiversity data from the Cambrian
Sirius Passet Lagerstätte (
Greenland is presented by Hammarlund
et al. (2018), who aim to assess the chemical conditions in the shelf sea inhabited by the Sirius Passet fauna. • A study on the impact of the disruption of sediments caused by
Fortunian bioturbation on the ocean chemistry, as indicated by data from the
Chapel Island Formation (
Canada), is published by Hantsoo
et al. (2018). • A study on the timing of the
Sauk transgression in the
Grand Canyon region is published by Karlstrom
et al. (2018). • A study on the oxygen isotope composition of seawater throughout the
Phanerozoic is published by Ryb & Eiler (2018). • Jin, Zhan & Wu (2018) present paleontological, sedimentological, and geochemical data to test a hypothesis that a cold surface current became established by the late Middle Ordovician in the equatorial peri-
Gondwana oceans, similar to the eastern equatorial Pacific cold tongue today. • Evidence from uranium isotopes from Upper Ordovician–lower Silurian marine limestones of
Anticosti Island (
Canada), indicative of an abrupt global-ocean
anoxic event coincident with the Late Ordovician mass extinction, is presented by Bartlett
et al. (2018). • A study on the ocean
redox conditions and climate change across a Late Ordovician to Early Silurian on the Yangtze Shelf Sea (
China) and their implications for inferring the causes of the Late Ordovician mass extinction is published by Zou
et al. (2018). • Evidence of multiple episodes of oceanic
anoxia in the
Early Triassic, based on U-isotope data from carbonates of the uppermost Permian to lowermost Middle Triassic Zal section (
Iran), is presented by Zhang
et al. (2018). • A study on changes in global bottom water oxygen contents over the
Toarcian Oceanic
Anoxic Event, based on
thallium isotope records from two ocean basins, is published by Them
et al. (2018), who report evidence of global marine deoxygenation of ocean water some 600,000 years before the classically defined Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event. • A study on the palaeoenvironmental conditions of the seas at high latitudes (60°) of southern
South America during the Early Cretaceous is published online by Gómez Dacal
et al. (2018). • A study evaluating the utility of oxygen-isotope compositions of fossilised foraminifera
tests as proxies for surface- and deep-ocean paleotemperatures, and its implications for inferring Late Cretaceous and Paleogene deep-ocean and high-latitude surface-ocean temperatures, published by Bernard
et al. (2017) is criticized by Evans
et al. (2018). • Evidence from sulfur-isotope data indicative of a large-scale
ocean deoxygenation during the
Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum is presented by Yao, Paytan & Wortmann (2018). • Nitrogen isotope data from deposits from the northeast margin of the
Tethys Ocean, spanning the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, is presented by Junium, Dickson & Uveges (2018), who interpret their findings as indicating that dramatic change in the
nitrogen cycle occurred during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum. • A study aiming to evaluate the global extent of surface ocean acidification during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum is published by Babila
et al. (2018). • A study on the tropical sea-surface temperatures in the
Eocene is published by Evans
et al. (2018). • A 25-million-year-long
alkenone-based record of surface temperature change in the
Paleogene from the North
Atlantic Ocean is presented by Liu
et al. (2018). • A study on the likely magnitude of the sea-level drawdown during the
Messinian salinity crisis, based on the analysis of the late
Neogene faunas of the
Balearic Islands, is published by Mas
et al. (2018). • An extensive, buried sedimentary body deposited by the passage of a megaflood from the western to the eastern
Mediterranean Sea in the
Pliocene (
Zanclean), at the end of the Messinian salinity crisis, is identified in the western Ionian Basin by Micallef
et al. (2018). • A study on the impact of major, abrupt environmental changes over the past 30,000 years on the
Great Barrier Reef is published by Webster
et al. (2018). • Evidence of sea level drop relative to the modern level at the shelf edge of the Great Barrier Reef between 21,900 and 20,500 years ago, followed by period of sea level rise lasting around 4,000 years, is presented by Yokoyama
et al. (2018).
Paleoclimatology • A study on the geologic record of
Milankovitch climate cycles, extending their analysis into the
Proterozoic and aiming to reconstruct the history of solar system characteristics, is published by Meyers & Malinverno (2018). • A study on the effect of different forms of primitive
photosynthesis on Earth's early atmospheric chemistry and climate is published by Ozaki
et al. (2018). • A quantitative estimate of Paleoproterozoic atmospheric oxygen levels is presented by Bellefroid
et al. (2018). • A study on the timing of the onset of the
Sturtian glaciation, based on new stratigraphic and geochronological data from the upper Tambien Group (
Ethiopia), is published by Scott MacLennan
et al. (2018). • A study on changes in the atmospheric concentration of
carbon dioxide throughout the Phanerozoic, as indicated by data from a product of
chlorophyll –
phytane from marine sediments and oils, is published by Witkowski
et al. (2018). • A revised model and a new high-resolution reconstruction of the oxygenation of the Paleozoic atmosphere is presented by Krause
et al. (2018). • A study on the Early Ordovician climate, as indicated by new high-resolution phosphate oxygen isotope record of conodont assemblages from the Lange Ranch section of central
Texas, is published by Quinton
et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as consistent with very warm temperatures during the Early Ordovician. • A study on the climate changes during the period of the
Late Devonian extinction (and possibly causing it), inferred from a high-resolution oxygen isotope record based on
conodont apatite from the
Frasnian–
Famennian transition in South China, is published by Huang, Joachimski & Gong (2018). • A study on the atmospheric oxygen levels through the
Phanerozoic, evaluating whether
Romer's gap and
the concurrent gap in the fossil record of insects were caused by low oxygen levels, is published by Schachat
et al. (2018). • A study on the impact of sulfur and carbon outgassing from the
Siberian Traps flood basalt magmatism on the climate changes at the end of the Permian is published by Black
et al. (2018). • A study on the atmospheric
carbon dioxide concentration levels in the
Early Cretaceous based on data from specimens of the fossil
conifer species
Pseudofrenelopsis papillosa is published by Jing & Bainian (2018). • A study on the terrestrial climate in northern
China at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, indicating the occurrence of a warming caused by the onset of
Deccan Traps volcanism and the occurrence of extinctions prior to the Chicxulub impact, is published by Zhang
et al. (2018). • A study on the sources of secondary CO2 inputs after the initial rapid onset of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, contributing to the prolongation of this event, is published online by Lyons
et al. (2018). • Estimates of mean annual terrestrial temperatures in the mid-
latitudes during the early Paleogene are presented by Naafs
et al. (2018). • A study on the early stages of development of Asian inland aridity and its underlying mechanisms, based on data from red clay sequence from the Cenozoic Xorkol Basin (
Altyn-Tagh, northeastern
Tibetan Plateau), is published by Li
et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicating that enhanced Eocene Asian inland aridity was mainly driven by global palaeoclimatic changes rather than being a direct response to the plateau uplift. • New mid-latitude terrestrial climate proxy record for southeastern
Australia from the middle Eocene to the middle Miocene, indicative of a widespread cooling in the Gippsland Basin beginning in the middle Eocene, is presented by Korasidis
et al. (2018). • A study on CO2 concentrations during the early Miocene, as indicated by
stomatal characteristics of fossil leaves from a late early Miocene assemblage from
Panama and a leaf gas-exchange model, is published by Londoño
et al. (2018). • A study on the climate in the areas of the
Iberian Peninsula inhabited by hominins during the Early Pleistocene, as indicated by data from macroflora and pollen assemblages, is published online by Altolaguirre
et al. (2018). • A study on the hydrological changes in the
Limpopo River catchment and in sea surface temperature in the southwestern
Indian Ocean for the past 2.14 million years, and on their implications for inferring the palaeoclimatic changes in southeastern Africa in this time period and their possible impact on the evolution of early hominins, is published by Caley
et al. (2018). • A study evaluating whether changes of vegetation and diet of East African herbivorous mammals were linked to climatic fluctuations 1.7 million years ago, based on data from mammal teeth from the Olduvai Gorge site, as well as evaluating whether crocodile teeth from this site may be used as paleoclimatic indicators, is published by Ascari
et al. (2018). • Evidence for progressive aridification in East Africa since about 575,000 years before present, based on data from sediments from
Lake Magadi (
Kenya), is presented by Owen
et al. (2018), who also evaluate the influence of the increasing Middle- to Late-Pleistocene aridification and environmental variability on the physical and cultural evolution of
Homo sapiens in East Africa. • A study on the climatic changes in the
Lake Tana area in the last 150,000 years and their implications for early modern human dispersal out of Africa is published by Lamb
et al. (2018). • A high-resolution palaeoclimate reconstruction for the
Eemian from northern
Finland, based on pollen and plant macrofossil record, is presented by Salonen
et al. (2018). • A study on the extent and nature of millennial/centennial-scale climate instability during the Last
Interglacial (129–116 thousand years ago), as indicated by data from joint pollen and ocean proxy analyses in a deep-sea core on the Portuguese Margin (
Atlantic Ocean) and
speleothem record from Antro del Corchia cave system (
Italy), is published by Tzedakis
et al. (2018). • A study on the timing and duration of periods of climate deterioration in the interior of the
Iberian Peninsula in the late
Pleistocene, evaluating the impact of climate on the abandonment of inner Iberian territories by
Neanderthals 42,000 years ago, is published by Wolf
et al. (2018). • A study on the climate changes in Europe during the Middle–Upper
Paleolithic transition (based on
speleothem records from the Ascunsă Cave and from the Tăușoare Cave,
Romania), and on their implications for the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans in Europe, is published by Fernández
et al. (2018). • A study on the timing of the latest Pleistocene glaciation in southeastern
Alaska and its implication for inferring the route and timing of early human migration to the Americas is published by Lesnek
et al. (2018). • Quantitative estimates of climate in western North America over the past 50,000 years, based on data from plant community composition of more than 600 individual paleo
middens, are presented by Harbert & Nixon (2018). • A study assessing the similarity of future projected climate states to the climate during the Early Eocene, the Mid-Pliocene, the Last Interglacial (129–116
ka), the Mid-Holocene (6 ka), preindustrial (), and the
20th century is published by Burke
et al. (2018). ==References==