A short episode (~170 kyr) of extremely high global temperatures that occurred ~56 Ma, known as the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, is widely considered an ancient analogue ongoing anthropogenic warming. This hyperthermal event consisted three phases, onset, core and recovery, which are respectively represented in mid-latitude south Pyrenean Tremp-Graus Basin by successive terrestrial units, ...

In Central and Eastern Europe, research has been focused on loess associated with a plateau-setting, which preserves distinct well-developed palaeosol units linked to orbital scale changes. This led the view that during last glacial period Middle Lower Danube predominantly experienced dry continental climates supported steppic environments. However outside of typical plateau setting, some autho...

Of all the components of biogeochemical cycles, few attract more attention than the waste product of oxygenic photosynthesis. Chemically unstable and biosynthetically dangerous, diatomic oxygen is the key ingredient in aerobic metabolism, and a prerequisite for the evolution of large complex organisms that define the modern biosphere. Exactly how much they require is only loosely constrained, b...

The δ18O record in deep-sea sediments show a significant reduced amplitude of the ice volume variations before Marine Isotope Stage 11, about 400 ka ago, with less warm interglacials and less cold glacials. The deuterium temperature and the greenhouse gases records in the Antarctic ice cores show the same feature. As the reduction in the amplitude of climate and greenhouse gases concentration v...

Fossil forests, buried in growth position in a geological instant (T° assemblages) are far more abundant in Pennsylvanian successions than in any other part of the geological record. In this review paper, we evaluate the fundamental controls on the origin of these phenomena, investigate the taphonomic biases that influence their composition, and summarize their palaeoecological significance. Fo...