Geology, fossil angiosperm Word and phytolith assemblages from the Upper Paleocene-Eocene? of Central Patagonia

RAIGEMBORN M.S., BREA, M., ZUCOL A.F. AND S.D., MATHEOS.

Bilbao

Congreso; Climate & Biota of the Early Paleogene. International Meeting and Field trips; 2006

Department of Stratigraphy and Paleontology Faculty of Science and Technology University of the Basque Country

In central Patagonia (Golfo San Jorge basin, Chubut, Argentina), the Río Chico Group (Upper Paleocene-Eocene?) outcrops. This group is composed by three units, from the eldest to the youngest: the Peñas Coloradas, Las Flores and Koluél Kaike formations (Legarreta and Uliana, 1994). This sequence represents a meandering fluvial system which was deposited during the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum (LPTM) and Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). In this context, we define the paleoxylological assemblages, found in the Peñas Coloradas Formation in Punta Peligro and Cerro Abigarrado profiles, and phytolith assemblages from the Las Flores formation in the Gran Barranca profile. These data were used to reconstruct the climatic condition that happened during the Early Paleogene in central Patagonia.