Ypresian

In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between 56 and 47.8 Ma, is preceded by the Thanetian age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian age. The Ypresian is consistent with the lower Eocene.

Ypresian
56.0 – 47.8 Ma
Earth ~50 mya
Chronology
Key events in the Paleogene
-65 
-60 
-55 
-50 
-45 
-40 
-35 
-30 
-25 
First Antarctic permanent ice-sheets[1]
An approximate timescale of key Paleogene events
Axis scale: millions of years ago
Formerly part ofTertiary Period/System
Etymology
Name formalityFormal
Usage information
Celestial bodyEarth
Regional usageGlobal (ICS)
Time scale(s) usedICS Time Scale
Definition
Chronological unitAge
Stratigraphic unitStage
First proposed byDumont
Time span formalityFormal
Lower boundary definitionStrong negative anomaly in δ13C values at the PETM[2]
Lower boundary GSSPDababiya section, Luxor, Egypt[2]
25.5000°N 32.5311°E / 25.5000; 32.5311
GSSP ratified2003[2]
Upper boundary definitionFAD of the calcareous nannofossil Blackites inflatus
Upper boundary GSSPGorrondatxe section, Western Pyrenees, Basque Country, Spain
43.3796°N 3.0143°W / 43.3796; -3.0143
GSSP ratifiedApril 2011[3]

Events

The Ypresian age begins during the throes of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The Fur Formation in Denmark, the Messel shales in Germany, the Oise amber of France and Cambay amber of India are of this age.

Stratigraphic definition

The Ypresian stage was introduced in scientific literature by Belgian geologist André Hubert Dumont in 1850. The Ypresian is named after the Flemish city of Ypres in Belgium (spelled Ieper in Dutch). The definitions of the original stage were totally different from the modern ones.[4] The Ypresian shares its name with the Belgian Ieper Group (French: Groupe d'Ypres), which has an Ypresian age.

The base of the Ypresian stage is defined at a strong negative anomaly in δ13C values at the PETM. The official reference profile (GSSP) for the base of the Ypresian is the Dababiya profile near the Egyptian city of Luxor.[5] Its original type section was located in the vicinity of Ieper.

The top of the Ypresian (the base of the Lutetian) is identified by the first appearance of the foraminifera genus Hantkenina in the fossil record.

The Ypresian stage overlaps the upper Neustrian and most of the Grauvian European Land Mammal Mega Zones (it spans the Mammal Paleogene zones 7 through 10.[6]), the Wasatchian and lower and middle Bridgerian North American Land Mammal Ages, the Casamayoran South American Land Mammal Age and the Bumbanian and most of the Arshantan Asian Land Mammal Ages. It is also coeval with the upper Wangerripian and lowest Johannian regional stages of Australia and the Bulitian, Penutian and Ulatisian regional stages of California.

References

  1. Zachos, J. C.; Kump, L. R. (2005). "Carbon cycle feedbacks and the initiation of Antarctic glaciation in the earliest Oligocene". Global and Planetary Change. 47 (1): 51–66. Bibcode:2005GPC....47...51Z. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2005.01.001.
  2. Aubry, Marie-Pierre; Ouda, Khaled; Dupuis, Christian; William A. Berggren; John A. Van Couvering; Working Group on the Paleocene/Eocene Boundary (2007). "The Global Standard Stratotype-section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Eocene Series in the Dababiya section (Egypt)" (PDF). Episodes. 30 (4): 271–286. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2007/v30i4/003.
  3. Molina, Eustoquio; Alegret, Laia; Apellaniz, Estibaliz; Bernaola, Gilen; Caballero, Fernando; Jaume Dinarès-Turell; Hardenbol, Jan; Claus Heilmann-Clausen; Juan C. Larrasoana; Hanspeter Luterbacher; Simonetta Monechi; Silvia Ortiz; Xabier Orue-Etxebarria; Aitor Payros; Victoriano Pujalte; Francisco J. Rodríguez-Tobar; Flavia Tori; Josep Tosquella; Alfred Uchman (2011). "The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Lutetian Stage at the Gorrondatxe section, Spain" (PDF). Episodes. 34 (2): 86–108. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2011/v34i2/006.
  4. Steurbaut (2006)
  5. The GSSP was established by Dupuis et al. (2003)
  6. Alroy, John. "Mammal Paleogene zones". p. The Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 15 July 2009.

Literature

  • Dumont, A. H.; 1850: Rapport sur la carte géologique du Royaume, Bulletins de l’Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique 16 (2), pp. 351–373. (in French)
  • Dupuis, C.; Aubry, M.; Steurbaut, É; Berggren, W. A.; Ouda, K.; Magioncalda, R.; Cramer, B. S.; Kent, D. V.; Speijer, R. P. & Heilmann-Clausen, C.; 2003: The Dababiya Quarry Section: Lithostratigraphy, clay mineralogy, geochemistry and paleontology, Micropaleontology 49 (1), pp. 41–59, ISSN 0026-2803.
  • Gradstein, F. M.; Ogg, J. G. & Smith, A. G.; 2004: A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press.
  • Steurbaut, É.; 2006: Ypresian, Geologica Belgica 9 (1–2), pp. 73–93.
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