The Arctic Forest of the Middle Eocene

Abstract

Lush forests, dominated by deciduous conifers, existed well north of the Arctic Circle during the middle Eocene (∼45 Ma). The Fossil Forest site, located on Axel Heiberg Island, Canada, has yielded a particularly rich assemblage of plant macro- and microfossils, as well as paleosols—all exquisitely preserved. Methods ranging from classical paleobotany, to stable-isotope geochemistry, have been applied to materials excavated from the Fossil Forest and have revealed layers of diverse conifer forests with a rich angiosperm understory that successfully endured three months of continuous light and three months of continuous darkness. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions suggest a warm, ice-free environment, with high growing-season-relative humidity, and high rates of soil methanogenesis. Methods to evaluate intraseasonal variability highlight the switchover from stored to actively fixed carbon during the short annual growing season.