ASGP (2022), vol. 92: 219–231

TRIASSIC MICRO-CHARCOAL AS A PROMISING PUZZLE PIECE IN PALAEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTION: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE GERMANIC BASIN

Annette E. GÖTZ (1*) & Dieter UHL (2)

1) State Authority for Mining, Energy and Geology, Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hannover, Germany; e-mail: annette.goetz@lbeg.niedersachsen.de
2) Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; e-mail: dieter.uhl@senckenberg.de
*) Corresponding author

Götz, A. E. & Uhl, D., 202X. Triassic micro-charcoal as a promising puzzle piece in palaeoclimate reconstruction: An example from the Germanic Basin. Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae, 92: 219–231.

Abstract: Fossil charcoal is the primary source of evidence for palaeo-wildfires and has gained increasing interest as a proxy in the reconstruction of past climates and environments. Today, increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation/humidity appear to correlate with increases in the frequency and intensity of wildfires in many regions worldwide. Apart from appropriate climatic conditions, sufficient atmospheric oxygen (>15%) is a necessary precondition to sustain combustion in wildfires. The Triassic has long been regarded as a period without evidence of wildfires; however, recent studies on macro-charcoal have provided data indicating their occurrence throughout almost the entire Triassic. Still, the macro-palaeobotanical record is scarce and the study of micro-charcoal from palynological residue is seen as very promising to fill the gap in our current knowledge on Triassic wildfires. Here, the authors present the first, verified records of micro-charcoal from the Triassic of the Germanic Basin, complementing the scarce macro-charcoal evidence of wildfires during Buntsandstein, Muschelkalk and Keuper (Anisian–Rhaetian). The particles analysed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) show anatomical features typical of gymnosperms, a major element of the early Mesozoic vegetation following the initial recovery phase after the PT-boundary event. From the continuously increasing dataset of Triassic charcoal, it becomes apparent that the identification of wildfires has a huge potential to play a crucial role in future studies, deciphering Triassic climate dynamics. The first SEM study of micro-charcoal from palynological residue spanning the entire Triassic period, presented here, is a key technique to further unravel the charcoal record as a puzzle piece in palaeoclimate reconstruction.

Manuscript received 8 January 2022, accepted 15 June 2022.