CORRELATION OF MIOCENE FLORAS OF THE CLIMATIC OPTIMUM IN THE FAR EAST

Abstract

Based on interregional correlation of geological and paleogeographic events, a new approach has actively been developed in the past few decades. One such Cenozoic significant event in the Russian Far East is the Miocene Climatic Optimum, which designates a temperature increase after a prolonged climatic depression in the second half of the Oligocene–initial Miocene and reached its maximum at the Early–Middle Miocene transitional interval. This paleoclimatic event is of planetary importance [1]. It was recorded on paleoclimatic curves based on study of the isotopic composition of carbonates of marine fossils [2]. Terrestrial plants are known to be sensitive indicators of climatic changes. Therefore, they can be used not only for paleoclimatic reconstructions, but also for the stratigraphic correlation of sedimentary sequences of spatially distant regions as well. It is especially important for the southern region of the Russian Far East where Tertiary deposits are mainly represented by continental facies.