Paleotemperature Estimation Using Leaf-Margin Analysis: Is Australia Different?

摘要

Australia has numerous fossil floras suitable for paleoclimatic analysis, with potential to improve understanding of Southern Hemisphere climatic evolution. Leaf-margin analysis (LMA) is a widely used method that applies present-day correlations between the proportion of woody dicot species with untoothed leaves and mean annual temperature to estimate paleotemperatures from fossil megafloras. Australia's unique history and vegetation imply that its leaf-margin correlation might differ from other regions; these possible differences are investigated here to improve paleoclimatic interpretations.