Scott L Wing

Smithsonian Institution · Department of Paleobiology

Rapid global warming of 5 degrees to 10 degrees C during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) coincided with major turnover in vertebrate faunas, but previous studies have found little floral change. Plant fossils discovered in Wyoming, United States, show that PETM floras were a mixture of native and migrant lineages and that plant range sh...

We describe an in situ fossil flora of Late Cretaceous age (∼73 Ma [mega-annum or million years]) from Big Cedar Ridge in central Wyoming, USA, which we sampled using a modified line-intercept method to quantify the relative abundances of 122 taxa at 100 sites across 4 km of exposed sedimentary deposits. We also measured three physical variables at...

Premise of the study: The fossil record provides information about the long-term response of plants to CO2-induced climate change. The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a 200000-yr-long period of rapid carbon release and warming that occurred ∼56 million years ago, is analogous to future anthropogenic global warming. Methods: We collected...

Some experiments and observations of free-living plants have found that increasing atmospheric concentration of CO2 (pCO2) is directly correlated with increasing discrimination against ¹³C during photosynthesis (Δ¹³C) in C3 plants. The inverted form of this correlation has been used to estimate pCO2 in the geological past (i.e. the C3 plant proxy),...

Most studies of the response of terrestrial vegetation to climate change during the Paleocene‐Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) have focused on individual sites and sections. To get a broader perspective we compiled published records of terrestrial pollen and spores across the Paleocene‐Eocene transition at 38 sites around the globe. For the 10 sites w...

Photorespiration can limit gross primary productivity in terrestrial plants. The rate of photorespiration relative to carbon fixation increases with temperature and decreases with atmospheric [CO 2 ]. However, the extent to which this rate varies in the environment is unclear. Here, we introduce a proxy for relative photorespiration rate based on t...

Merritts et al. (2023) misrepresent Paul Crutzen’s Anthropocene concept as encompassing all significant anthropogenic impacts, extending back many millennia. Crutzen’s definition reflects massively enhanced, much more recent human impacts that transformed the Earth System away from the stability of Holocene conditions. His concept of an epoch (henc...

Abilities of taxa to track suitable habitat under climate change is a concern in conservation biology. Projections that assume suitable habitat is limited to currently occupied biomes can produce underestimates of species viability. The geological record is a valuable source of data to test assumptions about habitat tracking because it archives pas...

Paleotemperature proxy data form the cornerstone of paleoclimate research and are integral to understanding the evolution of the Earth system across the Phanerozoic Eon. Here, we present PhanSST, a database containing over 150,000 data points from five proxy systems that can be used to estimate past sea surface temperature. The geochemical data hav...

Three dimensional calcitic casts of a two-seeded compound cone are described from the Upper Jurassic Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation based on specimens from Colorado and Utah. Cones of Bassitheca hoodiorum gen. et sp. nov. are broadly obovate in face view, ~3.5 mm high, ~2.6 mm wide, and viewed from above have two planes of symmetry....

Event stratigraphy is used to help characterise the Anthropocene as a chronostratigraphic concept, based on analogous deep-time events, for which we provide a novel categorization. Events in stratigraphy are distinct from extensive, time-transgressive ‘episodes’ – such as the global, highly diachronous record of anthropogenic change, termed here an...

Plant megafossils from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) in the Bighorn Basin, north-central Wyoming, USA, document a dramatic shift in floral composition, whereas palynofloral change from the same sections has appeared to be more subtle. We investigated this discrepancy by quantifying pollen preservation and measuring the stable carbon i...

Event stratigraphy is used to help characterise the Anthropocene as a chronostratigraphic concept, based on analogous deep-time events, for which we provide a novel categorization. Events in stratigraphy are distinct from extensive, time-transgressive ‘episodes’ – such as the global, highly diachronous record of anthropogenic change, termed here an...

Event stratigraphy is used to help characterise the Anthropocene as a chronostratigraphic concept, based on analogous deep-time events, for which we provide a novel categorization. Events in stratigraphy are distinct from extensive, time-transgressive ‘episodes’ – such as the global, highly diachronous record of anthropogenic change, termed here an...

The extensive array of mid-20 th century stratigraphic event signals associated with the 'Great Acceleration' enables precise and unambiguous recognition of the Anthropocene as an epoch/series within the Geological Time Scale. A mid-20 th century inception is consistent with Earth System science analysis in which the Anthropocene term and concept a...

Pollen and spores were recovered from the Paleocene Fort Union Formation and Paleocene–Eocene Willwood Formation of the Bighorn Basin (BHB), northwestern Wyoming, USA. In many local stratigraphic sections in the BHB, the base of the Eocene has been identified by the characteristic negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) that marks the beginning of...

The Anthropocene defined as an epoch/series within the Geological Time Scale, and with an isochronous inception in the mid-20th century, would both utilize the rich array of stratigraphic signals associated with the Great Acceleration and align with Earth System science analysis from where the term Anthropocene originated. It would be stratigraphic...

Premise of the study: Biodiversity results from origination and extinction, justifying interest in identifying traits that influence this balance. Traits implicated in the success or failure of lineages include dispersal, colonization ability, and geographic range size. We investigate the impact of dispersal and range size on contemporary diversit...

Plain Language Summary The chemical breakdown of silicate minerals on continents promotes the withdrawal of CO2 from the ocean and atmosphere. This process is thought to be enhanced when CO2 rapidly enters the ocean and atmosphere, such as during past climate change events like the Paleocene‐Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). Although this enhancement...

Premise: Understanding the evolutionary history of flowering plants has been enriched by the integration of molecular phylogenies and evidence from the fossil record. Fossil fruits and leaves from the late Paleocene and Eocene of Wyoming and Eocene of Kentucky and Tennessee are described as extinct genera in the tropical American Bowdichia clade o...

Leaves are the most abundant and visible plant organ, both in the modern world and the fossil record. Identifying foliage to the correct plant family based on leaf architecture is a fundamental botanical skill that is also critical for isolated fossil leaves, which often, especially in the Cenozoic, represent extinct genera and species from extant...

A new kind of seed-bearing structure is described based on three-dimensional casts and partially permineralized small cones from the Upper Jurassic Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation, in the Henry Mountains of Utah. Cones of Dayvaultia tetragona gen. et sp. nov. are obovate in lateral view, 10.0–11.0 mm long, square in cross-section and...

Global warming will likely perturb carbon storage and cycling throughout many components of the exogenic carbon cycle, but its net impact on the long-term fate of organic carbon stabilized in soils is unclear. Abrupt warming during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) profoundly altered vegetation and hydrologic patterns globally. To assess...

The birth of modern rainforests The origin of modern rainforests can be traced to the aftermath of the bolide impact at the end of the Cretaceous. Carvalho et al. used fossilized pollen and leaves to characterize the changes that took place in northern South American forests at this time (see the Perspective by Jacobs and Currano). They not only fo...

Land plants first colonized, evolved, and diversified in wetlands. As plant stature and rooting systems evolved, so did the wetlands they inhabited: from groundcover wetlands, to marshes, to forest swamps on mineral substrates, and then to marshes (fens) and swamps on peat. The plants and animals that inhabited ancient wetlands were different from...

Stratigraphy provides insights into the evolution and dynamics of the Earth System over its long history. With recent developments in Earth System science, changes in Earth System dynamics can now be observed directly and projected into the near future. An integration of the two approaches provides powerful insights into the nature and significance...

The late Quaternary of North America was marked by prominent ecological changes, including the end-Pleistocene megafaunal extinction, the spread of human settlements and the rise of agriculture. Here we examine the mechanistic reasons for temporal changes in mammal species association and body size during this time period. Building upon the co-occu...

Leguminosae are one of the most diverse flowering-plant groups today, but the evolutionary history of the family remains obscure because of the scarce early fossil record, particularly from lowland tropics. Here, we report ~500 compression or impression specimens with distinctive legume features collected from the Cerrejón and Bogotá Formations, Mi...

While modern forests have their origin in the diversification and expansion of angiosperms in the Late Cretaceous and early Cenozoic, it is unclear whether the rise of closed-canopy tropical rainforests preceded or followed the end-Cretaceous extinction. The “canopy effect” is a strong vertical gradient in the carbon isotope (δ13C) composition of l...

Presentation of the 2018 Paleontological Society Medal to Anna K. Behrensmeyer - Volume 93 Issue 5 - Scott L. Wing

Continental sedimentary records of early Paleogene hyperthermals are typically limited to weathered, often discontinuous, outcrop exposures. In 2011, the Bighorn Basin Coring Project (BBCP) collected the first continuous terrestrial records of the Paleocene‐Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming. Organic matter preservation was...

Stomata regulate important physiological processes in plants and are often phenotyped by researchers in diverse fields of plant biology. Currently, there are no user‐friendly, fully automated methods to perform the task of identifying and counting stomata, and stomata density is generally estimated by manually counting stomata. We introduce Stomata...

Background: Phylogenetic comparative methods allow us to test evolutionary hypotheses without the benefit of an extensive fossil record. These methods, however, make simplifying assumptions, among them that clades are always increasing or stable in diversity, an assumption we know to be false. This study simulates hypothetical clades to test wheth...

Palaeontologists increasingly use large datasets of observations collected from museum specimens to address broad-scale questions about evolution and ecology on geological timescales. One such question is whether information from fossil organisms can be used as a robust proxy for atmospheric carbon dioxide through time. Here, we present the citizen...

Plant-derived diterpenoids are commonly used as conifer-specific biomarkers and for chemotaxonomic assignment or confirmation. Numerous studies have reported on the utility of diterpenoids as chemotaxonomic indicators, but few have quantitatively analyzed diterpenoid concentrations, especially with respect to conifer phylogeny. In addition, the car...

Presentation of the 2017 Schuchert Award of the Paleontological Society to Caroline A.E. Strömberg - Volume 92 Issue 5 - Scott L. Wing

Stomata regulate important physiological processes in plants and are often phenotyped by researchers in diverse fields of plant biology. Currently, there are no user friendly, fully-automated methods to perform the task of identifying and counting stomata, and stomata density is generally estimated by manually counting stomata. We introduce Stomata...

A consistent chronostratigraphic framework is required to understand the effect of major paleoclimate perturbations on both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Transient global warming events in the early Eocene, at 56–54 Ma, show the impact of large-scale carbon input into the ocean–atmosphere system. Here we provide the first timescale synchroniza...

The Anthropocene as a potential new unit of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart (which serves as the basis of the Geological Time Scale) is assessed in terms of the stratigraphic markers and approximate boundary levels available to define the base of the unit. The task of assessing and selecting potential Global Boundary Stratotype Section...

The Anthropocene, as a potential new unit of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart, is assessed in terms of stratigraphic markers and approximate boundary levels available to define the unit base. The task of assessing and selecting potential GSSP candidate sections, a requirement in seeking formalisation of the term, is being actively pursue...

Plants can become incorporated into the sediments of virtually any environment, from the oozes of abyssal plains to the silts and sands of delta fronts to brecciated mudflows of volcanic origin. However there is a much narrower range of sedimentary environments in which identifiable plant remains are found in abundance. Generally speaking these are...

A consistent stratigraphic framework is required to understand the effect of major climate perturbations of the geological past on both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Transient global warming events in the early Eocene, 56–54 Ma ago, show the impact of large scale input of carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system. Here we provide the first time-...

This is the link to the press release from University of Leicester for the new AWG paper authored by the above members of the working group: https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2017/march/the-anthropocene-scientists-respond-to-criticisms-of-a-new-geological-epoch

A range of published arguments against formalizing the Anthropocene as a geological time unit have variously suggested that it is a misleading term of non-stratigraphic origin and usage, is based on insignificant temporal and material stratigraphic content unlike that used to define older geological time units, is focused on observation of human hi...

Past warm periods provide an opportunity to evaluate climate models under extreme forcing scenarios, in particular high ( > 800 ppmv) atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Although a post hoc intercomparison of Eocene ( ∼ 50 Ma) climate model simulations and geological data has been carried out previously, models of past high-CO2 periods have never been...

We assess the scale and extent of the physical technosphere, defined here as the summed material output of the contemporary human enterprise. It includes active urban, agricultural and marine components, used to sustain energy and material flow for current human life, and a growing residue layer, currently only in small part recycled back into the...

Quantifying the relationship between carbon cycle perturbations and the hydrologic cycle in the geologic past is crucial to accurately modeling how future anthropogenic carbon emissions and resulting radiative forcing might affect the hydrologic cycle. Interpreting changes in proxy records for insight into paleohydrologic change is complex, and doc...

Stratigraphy provides insights into the evolution and dynamics of the Earth System over its long history. With recent developments in Earth System science, changes in Earth System dynamics can now be observed directly and projected into the near future. An integration of the two approaches provides powerful insights into the nature and significance...