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Paleoclimatology (thesaurus)

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Preferred term

Upper Devonian  

Definition

  • The Late Devonian started with the Frasnian, 382.7 to 372.2 Ma, during which the first forests took shape on land. The first tetrapods appeared in the fossil record in the ensuing Famennian subdivision, the beginning and end of which are marked with extinction events. This lasted until the end of the Devonian, 358.9 Ma. The Late Devonian warmed to levels equivalent to the Early Devonian; while there is no corresponding increase in CO2 concentrations, continental weathering increases (as predicted by warmer temperatures); further, a range of evidence, such as plant distribution, points to a Late Devonian warming. The climate would have affected the dominant organisms in reefs; microbes would have been the main reef-forming organisms in warm periods, with corals and stromatoporoid sponges taking the dominant role in cooler times. The warming at the end of the Devonian may even have contributed to the extinction of the stromatoporoids. At the terminus of the Devonian, Earth rapidly cooled into an icehouse, marking the beginning of the Late Paleozoic icehouse. (Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devonian#subdivisions)

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  • Late Devonian

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http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/QX8-LSRQ67X6-P

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