Paleoenvironmental analysis of the White River Formation

The paleoecology and paleoclimate of the White River Formation near Douglas, Wyoming was investigated. This formation contains a record of the Eocene-Oligocene transition, a time of significant global cooling. This event was interpreted from the field area based on paleoenvironmental analysis of paleosols, which indicated that forest cover receded during the Oligocene. Stable isotope analysis of carbonate from these rocks confirms that paleotemperatures decreased during the transition as well. These paleoclimate records will be compared to body mass approximations of mammals from those times to evaluate the effect of climate change on mammalian body mass. Research is on going.
Researchers: Schmerge, Hasiotis, Martin