US Geological Survey
Date of this Version
1991
Abstract
The Upper Triassic Chinle Formation was deposited at an exceptional time in Earth's paleogeographic and paleoclimatic history. During the Triassic, the supercontinent Pangaea was at its greatest size, in terms of both aggregated continental crust and exposed land area. Moreover, the exposed land was divided symmetrically about the paleoequator between the northern and south- ern hemispheres. These conditions were ideal for maximizing monsoonal circulation, as predicted from paleoclimate models. The Chinle was deposited between about 5° to 15° N paleolatitude in the western equatorial region of Pangaea, a key area for documenting the effects of the monsoonal climate. This study summarizes sedimentologic and paleontologic data from the Chinle Formation on the Colorado Plateau and integrates that data with paleoclimatic models. The evidence for abundant moisture and seasonality attest to the reversal of equatorial flow and support the hypothesis that the Triassic Pangaean climate was dominated by monsoonal circulation.
Comments
Published in PALAIOS, 1991, V. 6, p. 347-370.