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| Paleogene geology | |
|---|---|
| Name | Paleogene |
| Time start | 66 |
| Time end | 23 |
| Time unit | Ma |
| Color | #ff9999 |
| Caption | Paleogene world map reconstruction with major basins |
Paleogene geology
The Paleogene epoch sequence records major Earth system reorganization after the Cretaceous–Paleogene event and underpins modern Plate tectonics-driven basins, paleoclimate reconstructions, and biotic radiations tied to the early Cenozoic. Studies integrate stratigraphic frameworks from the Geological Society of America, isotope stratigraphy developed in work by the International Commission on Stratigraphy, and field syntheses spanning the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Paris Basin, Eocene-Oligocene transition research sites.
The Paleogene chronostratigraphy is divided into the Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene epochs and is calibrated against magnetostratigraphy from the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale, biostratigraphy using foraminifera tied to the Planktonic Foraminifera Zonations, and radiometric ages produced by laboratories at the United States Geological Survey and GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. Global stage boundaries such as the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum and the Eocene–Oligocene boundary are anchored by stratotypes at formal sections defined by the International Commission on Stratigraphy and correlated through cores from the Deep Sea Drilling Project, the Ocean Drilling Program, and the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program.
Paleogene tectonics reflects active rifting and plate reorganizations including the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Greenland Plate and the Eurasian Plate, continued convergence at the Alpine orogeny between the African Plate and Eurasian Plate, and the development of the Himalayan orogeny as the Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate. Back-arc extension influenced basins such as the North Sea Basin and the Japan Sea, while transform and strike-slip motions along faults like the San Andreas Fault analogs reconfigured continental margins documented in the Western Interior Seaway reconstructions and mapped by agencies like the British Geological Survey.
Paleogene climate evolution spans the extreme warmth of the early Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum through the long-term cooling culminating in the Eocene–Oligocene transition and Antarctic glaciation documented in ice-rafted debris records and proxy datasets from the Taylor Glacier vicinity and Southern Ocean cores. Isotopic records from benthic foraminifera, work by researchers at institutions such as Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, and modeling studies using frameworks developed at Max Planck Institute for Meteorology demonstrate shifts in greenhouse gas concentrations tied to volcanic episodes like the Deccan Traps and to orbital forcing explored in studies referencing the Milankovitch cycles.
Paleogene sedimentation produced thick clastic wedges in foreland basins such as the Molasse Basin linked to the Alpine orogeny, carbonate platforms in the Tethys Ocean region, and deep-sea pelagic successions recovered by the DSDP and ODP. Deltaic architectures in the Gulf of Mexico and Amazon Basin record provenance changes tied to uplift of the Andes Mountains and sediment routing shaped by river systems documented by the USGS and the Brazilian Geological Survey. Paleosol horizons, coal seams in the Williston Basin, and lacustrine shales in the Green River Formation record terrestrial depositional nuances exploited in basin analysis compiled by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Marine ecosystems show major turnovers in microfossil assemblages including planktonic and benthic foraminifera, nannofossils used in zonations by the International Paleontological Association, and radiolarian changes recorded in Pacific cores from the IODP. Terrestrial responses include mammalian adaptive radiations in faunas described from the Bighorn Basin, flora shifts preserved in floras from the Fossil Butte National Monument and the famed Green River Formation, and vertebrate turnovers documented by paleontologists associated with the Smithsonian Institution and the Natural History Museum, London.
Paleogene strata host hydrocarbon source rocks and reservoirs in prolific provinces such as the North Sea Basin, the Persian Gulf Basin, and the Gulf of Mexico, with organic-rich shales and carbonate reservoirs evaluated by companies like BP, ExxonMobil, and national surveys including the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. Coal resources of Paleogene age occur in basins administered by the Australian Government databases and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Russia), while phosphate and evaporite deposits tied to restricted Paleogene shelves are documented in deposits evaluated by the United States Department of Energy and mining studies from the Geological Survey of India.
Key regional stratigraphic records include the Basin and Range Province exposures, the North Sea Basin petroleum successions, the Paris Basin marine-to-deltaic logs, the Indus Basin siliciclastic sequences, and the Western Interior Basin terrestrial stratigraphy. High-resolution type sections such as those at the El Kef section and cores from the Walvis Ridge integrate with stratigraphic charts produced by the International Commission on Stratigraphy and regional geological surveys like the Geological Survey of Canada to provide intercontinental correlations used in academic syntheses by universities including Harvard University, University of Cambridge, and University of Tokyo.