Strathcona Fiord
Encyclopedia
Strathcona Fiord is a fiord on the west central coast of Ellesmere Island
, the most northern island within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
, Nunavut
, Canada.
marks the limit of the last ice advance in the area. Taggart Lake running eastward of the moraine drains Upper and Lower Taggart lakes into the head of the fiord. The Prince of Wales Icefield lies on the eastern flank of this valley.
, about 170 km to the northwest, is a weather station and staging point for scientific expeditions and for other visitors to Ellesmere Island
and the Qikiqtaaluk Region. Grise Fiord is an Inuit
settlement, located about 250 km to the south, also on Ellesmere Island
.
A parcel of land located south of the head of Strathcona Fiord is designated Inuit
Owned Land. The area is sometimes visited by hunters from the nearest Inuit
community, Grise Fiord.
to sub-bituminous and have been estimated to comprise roughly 1 billion tonnes (Kalkreuth et al., 1993).
In January 2010 when the paleontological scientific community learned of Weststar’s interest in exploring this area the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
issued a press release, (http://www.vertpaleo.org/news/permalinks/2010/01/14/PRESS-RELEASE---Concern-Over-Possible-Loss-of-Fossil-Resources/) . Within 4 days the Nunavut Impact Review Board received over 70 letters of concern from paleontologists and the public alike.
The coal properties belong now to Pacific Coal Corp. ("PCC").
through the past 4 or 5 million years on the arctic environment, and on its flora and fauna.
High Arctic vertebrate fossil
locality known is the Beaver Pond site at Strathcona Fiord. The Beaver Pond site was first noted by John Fyles (Geological Survey of Canada) in 1961. In 1988 he found the first vertebrate
remains there. In 1992 vertebrate paleontologist, Richard Harington (Canadian Museum of Nature
), began 10 summers of excavations at the site.
This fossil site includes the mummified remains of fossil plants
, including trees such as an extinct larch
(Larix groenlandii) and other trees indicative of a boreal forest (Mathews & Fyles 2000). Much of the wood preserved at the site has been gnawed by beavers (Rybczynski 2008) and some of it is fire-blackened. This exceptional site also has yielded remains of pollen, insects, mollusks, fish (a percid), frogs and mammals such as an unusual rodent, a deerlet (Boreameryx), 3-toed horse
, an extinct beaver (Dipoides), a rabbit (Hypolagus
), an unusual shrew (Arctisorex polaris), a primitive black bear
(Ursus abstrusus), a badger (Arctomeles), and several other carnivores (Harington 1997, 2001; Hulbert & Harington 1999; Tedford and Harington 2003; Zakrzewski & Harington 2001; Hutchison & Harington 2002; Dawson & Harington 2007; Murray et al. 2009)
Paleoclimatic reconstruction suggests a mean annual temperature that was 19°C warmer than present day Ellesmere Island
(Ballantyne et al. 2010). The assemblage of Pliocene
plant macrofossils (wood, leaves, cones and seeds) is typical of present day boreal forest, as it includes alder (Alnus), birch (Betula), bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata), larch (Larix), sweet gale (Myrica gale
), spruce (Picea), pine (Pinus), and lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea
), as well as the southern boreal tree, the white cedar (Thuja occidentalis
)(Matthewes & Ovenden 1990; Matthews & Fyles 2000; Ballantyne et al. 2010).
(Carnegie Museum). These earliest finds include the fossil remains of an alligator, considered to be Allognathosuchus
, and also small arboreal mammals called plagiomenids. Since then, field expeditions in Strathcona Fiord have yielded a much more complete picture of the biodiversity
of the Eocene
Arctic. Although, Eocene
fossil vertebrates are known from other areas on Ellesmere Island
(e.g., Stenkul Fiord), and Axel Heiberg Island
, Strathcona Fiord has yielded the richest vertebrate fossil record.
The fossil vertebrate record of the Eocene
Arctic includes giant tortoises, varanid lizards, and boid snakes (Estes & Hutchison 1980). Mammal fossils are extremely diverse, including the rhino-like brontotheres, the hippo-like Coryphodon
, a tapir
like relative (Thuliadanta), an early horse
(Hyracotherium
?), carnivores (e.g., Viverravus, Miacis), meat-eating creodonts (e.g. Paaeonictis), a mesonychid
(Pachyaena), a small swimming carnivore (pantolestid), a leptictid and at least 5 rodents (including Paramys
and Microparamys) (Eberle & McKenna 2002; Dawson 2001; Eberle 2004). There are over 40 fossil vertebrate sites in the Strathcona Fiord region.
There are numerous Eocene
plant fossil
sites, including shale
units that are rich with leaves as compression fossil
s (Hickey et al. 1983; Basinger et al. 1994; McIver & Basinger 1999). Very notable are the petrified tree stumps, some of which are preserved in their original growth position. The trees show wide growth rings indicating favorable growth conditions (Francis
1988). The fossil flora indicates the presence of rich floodplain forests dominated by dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides
), together with ginkgo
(Ginkgo adiantoides), walnut family (Juglans and other Juglandaceae
), elms (Ulmus spp.), birch and alder (Betulaceae
), and katsura (Cercidiphyllum)(Basinger et al. 1994; McIver & Basinger 1999). Analysis of nearby fossil leaf sites from central Ellesmere Island
of the same age indicate that these forests grew under very high rainfall, and can be considered to have represented a polar rainforest (Greenwood et al. 2010).
This lush Eocene
ecosystem thrived under a polar light regime. Like today, the region would have seen 24 hour sun in the summer and 24 hour darkness in the winter as it was positioned at almost the same latitude in the Eocene
as it is today. Despite an early Eocene climate with generally mild frost-free temperatures, the polar light regime likely forced these plants to be deciduous (Basinger et al. 1994).
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
press release on proposed coal exploration in Strathcona Fiord http://www.vertpaleo.org/news/permalinks/2010/01/14/PRESS-RELEASE---Concern-Over-Possible-Loss-of-Fossil-Resources/
And news http://www.vertpaleo.org/news/permalinks/2010/03/03/Further-Update-on-the-Proposed-Drilling-on-Ellesmere-Island-/
Anne Jefferson blog:
Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...
, the most northern island within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Canadian Arctic Archipelago
The Canadian Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Arctic Archipelago, is a Canadian archipelago north of the Canadian mainland in the Arctic...
, Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
, Canada.
Geography
Strathcona Fiord (78° 41 'N, 82° 40'W) is a southern tributary of Bay Fiord. The landscape in the region is fragile and spectacular. The steep hills forming the sides of the valley rise about 400 meters above sea level. The striking arc of a terminal moraineTerminal moraine
A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a moraine that forms at the end of the glacier called the snout.Terminal moraines mark the maximum advance of the glacier. An end moraine is at the present boundary of the glacier....
marks the limit of the last ice advance in the area. Taggart Lake running eastward of the moraine drains Upper and Lower Taggart lakes into the head of the fiord. The Prince of Wales Icefield lies on the eastern flank of this valley.
Human Activity
Although currently there is no permanent settlement in the Strathcona Fiord area, stone tent rings and other archaeological features indicate past human habitation. EurekaEureka, Nunavut
Eureka is a small research base on Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Qikiqtaaluk Region, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is located on the north side of Slidre Fiord, which enters Eureka Sound farther west. It is the second-northernmost permanent research community in the world. The...
, about 170 km to the northwest, is a weather station and staging point for scientific expeditions and for other visitors to Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...
and the Qikiqtaaluk Region. Grise Fiord is an Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
settlement, located about 250 km to the south, also on Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...
.
A parcel of land located south of the head of Strathcona Fiord is designated Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
Owned Land. The area is sometimes visited by hunters from the nearest Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
community, Grise Fiord.
Coal
A large portion of the Strathcona Fiord area lies within a coal license area, owned until December 2010 by the Weststar Resources Corporation (http://www.weststarresources.com/s/NunavutCoal.asp). The coal property is governed by 3 coal exploration licenses covering an area of 37,628 hectares. Coal deposits in the Strathcona Fiord area are ranked from ligniteLignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
to sub-bituminous and have been estimated to comprise roughly 1 billion tonnes (Kalkreuth et al., 1993).
In January 2010 when the paleontological scientific community learned of Weststar’s interest in exploring this area the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology was founded in 1940 for individuals with an interest in vertebrate paleontology. SVP now has almost 2,000 members. The society's website states that SVP "is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes...
issued a press release, (http://www.vertpaleo.org/news/permalinks/2010/01/14/PRESS-RELEASE---Concern-Over-Possible-Loss-of-Fossil-Resources/) . Within 4 days the Nunavut Impact Review Board received over 70 letters of concern from paleontologists and the public alike.
The coal properties belong now to Pacific Coal Corp. ("PCC").
Paleontology
The vicinity of Strathcona Fiord has yielded a fossil record of tremendous international scientific significance. These fossils, including plant and animal remains, have provided a unique opportunity for understanding the effect of climatic changeClimatic Change
Climatic Change is a scientific journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. It deals with the problems of climatic variability and change...
through the past 4 or 5 million years on the arctic environment, and on its flora and fauna.
Pliocene fossils (3-5 million years old): trees, beavers and a three-toed horse
The only PliocenePliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
High Arctic vertebrate fossil
Vertebrate paleontology
Vertebrate paleontology is a large subfield to paleontology seeking to discover the behavior, reproduction and appearance of extinct animals with vertebrae or a notochord, through the study of their fossilized remains...
locality known is the Beaver Pond site at Strathcona Fiord. The Beaver Pond site was first noted by John Fyles (Geological Survey of Canada) in 1961. In 1988 he found the first vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
remains there. In 1992 vertebrate paleontologist, Richard Harington (Canadian Museum of Nature
Canadian Museum of Nature
The Canadian Museum of Nature is a natural history museum in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its collections, which were started by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1856, include all aspects of the intersection of human society and nature, from gardening to gene-splicing...
), began 10 summers of excavations at the site.
This fossil site includes the mummified remains of fossil plants
Paleobotany
Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...
, including trees such as an extinct larch
Larch
Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...
(Larix groenlandii) and other trees indicative of a boreal forest (Mathews & Fyles 2000). Much of the wood preserved at the site has been gnawed by beavers (Rybczynski 2008) and some of it is fire-blackened. This exceptional site also has yielded remains of pollen, insects, mollusks, fish (a percid), frogs and mammals such as an unusual rodent, a deerlet (Boreameryx), 3-toed horse
Evolution of the horse
The evolution of the horse pertains to the phylogenetic ancestry of the modern horse from the small dog-sized, forest-dwelling Hyracotherium over geologic time scales...
, an extinct beaver (Dipoides), a rabbit (Hypolagus
Hypolagus
Hypolagus is an extinct genus of Lagomorpha, first recorded in the Hemingfordian of North America. It enters Asia during the early Turolian and spreads to Europe not much later, where it survives until the Middle Pleistocene...
), an unusual shrew (Arctisorex polaris), a primitive black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
(Ursus abstrusus), a badger (Arctomeles), and several other carnivores (Harington 1997, 2001; Hulbert & Harington 1999; Tedford and Harington 2003; Zakrzewski & Harington 2001; Hutchison & Harington 2002; Dawson & Harington 2007; Murray et al. 2009)
Paleoclimatic reconstruction suggests a mean annual temperature that was 19°C warmer than present day Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...
(Ballantyne et al. 2010). The assemblage of Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
plant macrofossils (wood, leaves, cones and seeds) is typical of present day boreal forest, as it includes alder (Alnus), birch (Betula), bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata), larch (Larix), sweet gale (Myrica gale
Myrica gale
Myrica gale is a species of flowering plant in the genus Myrica, native to northern and western Europe and parts of northern North America. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 1–2 m tall. Common names include Bog Myrtle and Sweet Gale...
), spruce (Picea), pine (Pinus), and lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Vaccinium vitis-idaea is a short evergreen shrub in the heath family that bears edible sour fruit, native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America. In the past it was seldom cultivated, but fruit was commonly collected in the wild. ...
), as well as the southern boreal tree, the white cedar (Thuja occidentalis
Thuja occidentalis
Thuja occidentalis is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is widely cultivated for use as an ornamental plant known as American Arbor Vitae. The endemic occurrence of this species is a northeastern distribution in North America...
)(Matthewes & Ovenden 1990; Matthews & Fyles 2000; Ballantyne et al. 2010).
Eocene fossils (about 50 million years old): when alligators lived in the Arctic.
The first High Arctic terrestrial fossil vertebrates were discovered in 1975, in the Strathcona Fiord by a team led by Mary DawsonMary Dawson
Dr. Mary R. Dawson is the curator emeritus of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She held the position of curator from 1972 to 2003, and was chair of the Earth Sciences Division from 1973 to 1997....
(Carnegie Museum). These earliest finds include the fossil remains of an alligator, considered to be Allognathosuchus
Allognathosuchus
Allognathosuchus is an extinct genus of alligatorine crocodylian with a complicated taxonomic history. This small alligatorine is known for its stout jaws and bulbous teeth, found near the rear of the tooth row in upper and lower jaws. These adaptations have historically been interpreted as...
, and also small arboreal mammals called plagiomenids. Since then, field expeditions in Strathcona Fiord have yielded a much more complete picture of the biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
of the Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
Arctic. Although, Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
fossil vertebrates are known from other areas on Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...
(e.g., Stenkul Fiord), and Axel Heiberg Island
Axel Heiberg Island
Axel Heiberg Island is an island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located in the Arctic Ocean, it is the 31st largest island in the world and Canada's seventh largest island. According to Statistics Canada, it has an area of ....
, Strathcona Fiord has yielded the richest vertebrate fossil record.
The fossil vertebrate record of the Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
Arctic includes giant tortoises, varanid lizards, and boid snakes (Estes & Hutchison 1980). Mammal fossils are extremely diverse, including the rhino-like brontotheres, the hippo-like Coryphodon
Coryphodon
Coryphodon is an extinct genus of mammal. It was widespread in North America between 59 and 51 million years ago. It is regarded as the ancestor of the genus Hypercoryphodon of Mid Eocene Mongolia....
, a tapir
Tapiroidea
Tapiroidea is a superfamily of perissodactyls which includes the modern Tapir. Members of the Superfamily are small to large browsing mammals, roughly pig-like in shape, with short, prehensile snouts. Their closest relatives are the other odd-toed ungulates, including horses and rhinoceroses...
like relative (Thuliadanta), an early horse
Evolution of the horse
The evolution of the horse pertains to the phylogenetic ancestry of the modern horse from the small dog-sized, forest-dwelling Hyracotherium over geologic time scales...
(Hyracotherium
Hyracotherium
Hyracotherium , also known as Eohippus or the dawn horse, is an extinct genus of very small perissodactyl ungulates that lived in the woodlands of the northern hemisphere, with species ranging throughout Asia, Europe, and North America during the early Tertiary Period and the early to mid Eocene...
?), carnivores (e.g., Viverravus, Miacis), meat-eating creodonts (e.g. Paaeonictis), a mesonychid
Mesonychid
Mesonychia are an extinct order of medium to large-sized carnivorous mammals that were closely related to artiodactyls and to cetaceans...
(Pachyaena), a small swimming carnivore (pantolestid), a leptictid and at least 5 rodents (including Paramys
Paramys
Paramys is an extinct genus of rodent from North America, Europe, and Asia. It is one of the oldest genera of rodents known and probably lived in trees. While the genus name literally means "like a mouse", it coexisted with Thisbemys, a similar rodent, thus yielding a reference to Pyramus and...
and Microparamys) (Eberle & McKenna 2002; Dawson 2001; Eberle 2004). There are over 40 fossil vertebrate sites in the Strathcona Fiord region.
There are numerous Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
plant fossil
Paleobotany
Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...
sites, including shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
units that are rich with leaves as compression fossil
Compression fossil
A compression fossil is a fossil preserved in sedimentary rock that has undergone physical compression. While it is uncommon to find animals preserved as good compression fossils, it is very common to find plants preserved this way...
s (Hickey et al. 1983; Basinger et al. 1994; McIver & Basinger 1999). Very notable are the petrified tree stumps, some of which are preserved in their original growth position. The trees show wide growth rings indicating favorable growth conditions (Francis
Jane Francis
Jane Francis is Professor of Palaeoclimatology at the University of Leeds In 2002 became the fourth woman to receive the Polar Medal.-Education:...
1988). The fossil flora indicates the presence of rich floodplain forests dominated by dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, critically endangered deciduous conifer tree, sole living species of the genus Metasequoia, and one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. It is native to the Sichuan-Hubei region of China...
), together with ginkgo
Ginkgo
Ginkgo , also spelled gingko and known as the Maidenhair Tree, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives...
(Ginkgo adiantoides), walnut family (Juglans and other Juglandaceae
Juglandaceae
The Juglandaceae, also known as the Walnut Family, is a family of trees, or sometimes shrubs, in the order Fagales. Various members of this family are native to the Americas, Eurasia, and Southeast Asia....
), elms (Ulmus spp.), birch and alder (Betulaceae
Betulaceae
Betulaceae, or the Birch Family, includes six genera of deciduous nut-bearing trees and shrubs, including the birches, alders, hazels, hornbeams and hop-hornbeams, numbering about 130 species...
), and katsura (Cercidiphyllum)(Basinger et al. 1994; McIver & Basinger 1999). Analysis of nearby fossil leaf sites from central Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...
of the same age indicate that these forests grew under very high rainfall, and can be considered to have represented a polar rainforest (Greenwood et al. 2010).
This lush Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
ecosystem thrived under a polar light regime. Like today, the region would have seen 24 hour sun in the summer and 24 hour darkness in the winter as it was positioned at almost the same latitude in the Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
as it is today. Despite an early Eocene climate with generally mild frost-free temperatures, the polar light regime likely forced these plants to be deciduous (Basinger et al. 1994).
Links
Weststar Resources Corporation http://www.weststarresources.com/s/NunavutCoal.aspSociety of Vertebrate Paleontology
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology was founded in 1940 for individuals with an interest in vertebrate paleontology. SVP now has almost 2,000 members. The society's website states that SVP "is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes...
press release on proposed coal exploration in Strathcona Fiord http://www.vertpaleo.org/news/permalinks/2010/01/14/PRESS-RELEASE---Concern-Over-Possible-Loss-of-Fossil-Resources/
And news http://www.vertpaleo.org/news/permalinks/2010/03/03/Further-Update-on-the-Proposed-Drilling-on-Ellesmere-Island-/
Anne Jefferson blog:
- http://scienceblogs.com/highlyallochthonous/2010/01/coal_and_the_fossil_record_of.php