Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Biogeographic History of Iceland – The North Atlantic Land Bridge Revisited

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Late Cainozoic Floras of Iceland

Part of the book series: Topics in Geobiology ((TGBI,volume 35))

Abstract

Plants lacking long distance dispersal mechanisms required a functioning land bridge to colonize Iceland, a route provided by the North Atlantic Land Bridge (NALB). During the Cainozoic, the NALB, also referred to as the Thulean route, came into existence in the latest Paleocene and Early Eocene, but there has been considerable debate about the timing of its termination. The North Atlantic Land Bridge consisted of the well defined subaerial Greenland-Scotland Transverse Ridge. The individual parts of this ridge may have undergone markedly different subsidence histories during the Neogene. At the western end of the NALB, possible links between Greenland and North America are provided by the shallow bathymetric sill at the Davis Strait between southern Baffin Land and southwestern Greenland, and, alternatively, the more northern land connection between the Queen Elizabeth Islands and Greenland. In this chapter, we use evidence from different disciplines (geology, palaeontology, phylogeography), amended with a large new palaeobotanical data set emerging from the present study, to evaluate the history of the North Atlantic Land Bridge and its potential role for transatlantic plant migration during the Neogene.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 259.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Akhmetiev, M. A., Bratzeva, G. M., Giterman, R. E., Golubeva, L. V., & Moiseyeva, A. I. (1978). Late Cainozoic stratigraphy and flora of Iceland. Transactions of the Academy of Sciences USSR, 316, 1–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C. L. (2007). Dating divergence times in phylogenies. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 322. 79 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berggren, W. A., & Schnitker, D. (1983). Cenozoic marine environments in the North Atlantic and Norwegian-Greenland Sea. In M. H. P. Bott, S. Saxow, M. Talwani, & J. Thiede (Eds.), Structure and development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge: New methods and concepts (pp. 495–548). New York: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bott, M. H. P., Saxov, S., Talwani, M., & Thiede, J. (1983). Structure and development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. New York: Plenum. 685 pp.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, R., Cartwright, J., Pike, L., & Line, C. (2001). Early Oligocene initiation of North Atlantic Deep Water formation. Nature, 410, 917–920.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Denk, T. (2006). Rhododendron ponticum var. sebinense in the Late Pleistocene flora of Hötting, Northern Calcareous Alps: Witness of a climate warmer than today? Veröffentlichungen des Tiroler Landesmuseums Ferdinandeum, 86, 43–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denk, T., & Grimm, G. W. (2009). The biogeographic history of beech trees. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 158, 83–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denk, T., Grímsson, F., & Kvaček, Z. (2005). The Miocene floras of Iceland and their significance for late Cainozoic North Atlantic biogeography. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 149, 369–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denk, T. & Grimm, G. W. (2009). The oaks of western Eurasia: Traditional classifications and evidence from two nuclear markers. Taxon, 59, 351–366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denk, T., Grímsson, F., & Zetter, R. (2010). Episodic migration of oaks to Iceland – Evidence for a North Atlantic ‘land bridge’ in the latest Miocene. American Journal of Botany, 97, 276–287.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Donoghue, M. J., & Smith, S. A. (2004). Patterns in the assembly of temperate forests around the Northern Hemisphere. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B – Biological Sciences, 359, 1633–1644.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eldholm, O., Myhre, A. M., & Thiede, J. (1994). Cenozoic tectono-magmatic events in the North Atlantic: Potential palaeoenvironmental implications. In M. C. Boulter & H. C. Fisher (Eds.), Cenozoic plants and climates of the Arctic (NATO ASI Series, Vol. 127, pp. 35–55). Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Friedrich, W. L., & Símonarson, L. A. (1981). Die fossile Flora Islands: Zeugin der Thule- Landbrücke. Spektrum der Wissenschaft, 10(1981), 22–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Funck, T., Jackson, H. R., Louden, K. E., & Klingelhöfer, F. (2007). Seismic study of the transform-rifted margin in Davis Strait between Baffin Island (Canada) and Greenland: What happens when a plume meets a transform. Journal of Geophysical Research, 112, B04402. doi:10.1029/2006JB004308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grímsson, F., & Denk, T. (2005). Fagus from the Miocene of Iceland: Systematics and biogeographical considerations. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 134, 27–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grímsson, F., & Denk, T. (2007). Floristic turnover in Iceland from 15 to 6 Ma extracting biogeographical signals from fossil floral assemblages. Journal of Biogeography, 34, 1490–1504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grímsson, F., Denk, T., & Símonarson, L. A. (2007). Middle Miocene floras of Iceland – the early colonization of an island? Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 144, 181–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grímsson, F., Denk, T., & Zetter, R. (2008). Pollen, fruits, and leaves of Tetracentron (Trochodendraceae) from the Cainozoic of Iceland and western North America and their palaeobiogeographic implications. Grana, 47, 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hably, L., Kvaček, Z., & Manchester, S. R. (2000). Shared taxa of land plants in the Oligocene of Europe and North America in context of Holarctic phytogeography. Acta Universitatis Carolinae – Geologica, 44, 59–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoey, M. T., & Parks, C. R. (1991). Isozyme divergence between eastern Asian, North American, and Turkish species of Liquidambar (Hamamelidaceae). American Journal of Botany, 78, 938–947.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knobloch, E. (1998). Der pliozäne Laubwald von Willershausen am Harz. Documenta naturae, 120, 1–302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kvaček, Z., & Walther, H. (1989). Revision der mitteleuropäischen Fagaceen nach blattepidermalen Charakteristiken. II. Teil: Castanopsis (D.Don) Spach, Trigonobalanus Forman, Trigonobalanopsis Kvaček & Walther. Feddes Repertorium, 99, 395–418.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kvaček, Z., Velitzelos, D., & Velitzelos, E. (2002). Late Miocene flora of Vegora Macedonia N. Greece. Athens: Korali Publications. 175 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larsen, B. (1983). Geology of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge in the Denmark Strait. In M. H. P. Bott, S. Saxow, M. Talwani, & J. Thiede (Eds.), Structure and development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge: New methods and concepts (pp. 425–444). New York: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Y.-S., Zetter, R., Ferguson, D. K., & Mohr, B. A. R. (2007). Discriminating fossil and evergeen Quercus pollen: A case study from the Miocene of eastern China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 145, 289–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mabberly, D. J. (2008). Mabberley’s plant book (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1021 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKenna, M. C. (1983b). Holarctic landmass rearrangement, cosmic events, and Cenozoic terrestrial organisms. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 70, 459–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKenna, M. C. (1983a). Cenozoic paleogeography of North Atlantic land bridges. In M. H. P. Bott, S. Saxov, M. Talwani, & J. Thiede (Eds.), Structure and development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge (pp. 351–399). New York: Plenum Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, K. G., & Tucholke, B. E. (1983). Development of Cenozoic abyssal circulation south of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. In M. H. P. Bott, S. Saxov, M. Talwani, & J. Thiede (Eds.), Structure and development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge (pp. 549–589). New York: Plenum Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Milne, R. I. (2004). Phylogeny and biogeography of Rhododendron subsection Pontica, a group with a tertiary relict distribution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 33, 389–401.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nilsen, T. H. (1978). Lower Tertiary laterite on the Iceland-Faeroe Ridge and the Thulean land bridge. Nature, 274, 786–788.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parks, C. R., & Wendel, J. F. (1990). Molecular divergence between Asian and North American species of Liriodendron (Magnoliaceae) with implications for interpretations of fossil floras. American Journal of Botany, 77, 1243–1256.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Piasecki, S. (2003). Neogene dinoflagellate cysts from Davis Strait, offshore West Greenland. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 20, 1075–1088.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poore, R. H. (2008). Neogene Epeirogeny and the Iceland Plume. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Cambridge. 232 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poore, R. H., Samworth, R., White, N., Jones, S., & McCave, I. (2006). Neogene overflow of Northern Component Water at the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 7(6), 24. doi:10.1029/2005GC001085.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramsay, A. T. S., Smart, C. W., & Zachos, J. C. (1998). A model of early to middle Miocene Deep Ocean circulation for the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The Geological Society of London, 131, 55–70. Special Publications.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ridley, H. N. (1930). The Dispersal of plants throughout the World. Ashford/Kent: L. Reeve & Co., Ltd. 744 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schloemer-Jäger, A. (1958). Alttertiäre Pflanzen aus Flössen der Brögger-Halbinsel Spitzbergens. Palaeontographica B, 104, 39–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava, S. P. (1983). Davis Strait: Structures, origin and evolution. In M. H. P. Bott, S. Saxow, M. Talwani, & J. Thiede (Eds.), Structure and development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge: New methods and concepts (pp. 159–189). New York: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava, S. P., & Arthur, M. (1989). Tectonic evolution of the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay: Constraints imposed by regional geophysics and drilling results from Leg 1051. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, 105, 989–1008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinþórsson, S. (1981). Ísland og flekakenningin. In S. Þórarinsson (Ed.), Náttúra Íslands (2nd ed., pp. 29–63). Reykjavík: Almenna bókafélagið.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoker, M. S., Praeg, D., Hjelstuen, B. O., Laberg, J. S., Nielsen, T., & Shannon, P. M. (2005). Neogene stratigraphy and the sedimentary and oceanographic development of the NW European Atlantic margin. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 22, 977–1005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauch, F. (1970). Die Thule-Landbrücke als Wanderweg und Faunenscheide zwischen Atlantik und Skandik im Tertiär. Geologische Rundschau, 60, 381–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauch, F. (1972). Phylogenese, Adaptation und Migration einiger nordischer mariner Molluskengenera (Neptunea, Panomya, Cyrtodaria und Mya). Abhandlungen der Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, 531, 1–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strauch, F. (1983). Geological history of the Iceland-Faeroe-Ridge and its influence on Pleistocene glaciations. In M. H. P. Bott, S. Saxow, M. Talwani, & J. Thiede (Eds.), Structure and development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge: New methods and concepts (pp. 601–606). New York: Plenum Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Thiede, J., & Eldholm, O. (1983). Speculations about the paleodepth of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge during late Mesozoic and Cenozoic times. In M. H. P. Bott, S. Saxow, M. Talwani, & J. Thiede (Eds.), Structure and development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge: New methods and concepts (pp. 445–456). New York: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Tiffney, B. H. (1985). The Eocene North Atlantic Land Bridge: Its importance in Tertiary and modern phytogeography of the Northern Hemisphere. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum, 66, 243–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiffney, B. H. (2000). Geographic and climatic influences on the Cretaceous and Tertiary history of Euramerican floristic similarity. Acta Universitatis Carolinae Geologica, 44, 5–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiffney, B. H. (2008). Phylogeography, fossils, and Northern Hemisphere biogeography: the role of physiological uniformitarianism. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 95, 135–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiffney, B. H., & Manchester, S. R. (2001). The use of geological and paleontological evidence in evaluating plant phylogeographic hypotheses in the northern hemisphere Tertiary. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 162, S3–S17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walther, H., & Zetter, R. (1993). Zur Entwicklung der paläogenen Fagaceae Mitteleuropas. Palaeontographica B, 230, 183–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitcher, N. I., & Wen, J. (2001). Phylogeny and biogeography of Corylus (Betulaceae): Inferences from ITS sequences. Systematic Botany, 26, 283–298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winkworth, R. C., & Donoghue, M. J. (2006). Viburnum phylogeny based on combined molecular data: implications for taxonomy and biogeography. American Journal of Botany, 92, 653–666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiang, Q.-Y., Soltis, D. E., & Soltis, P. S. (1998). The eastern Asian and eastern and western North America floristic disjunction: congruent phylogenetic patterns in seven diverse genera. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 10, 178–190.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiang, Q.-Y., Thomas, D. T., Zhang, W., Manchester, S. R., & Murrell, Z. (2006). Species level phylogeny of the genus Cornus (Cornaceae) based on molecular and morphological evidence – Implications for taxonomy and Tertiary intercontinental migration. Taxon, 55, 9–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zetter, R. (1998). Palynological investigations from the Early Miocene lignite opencast mine Oberdorf (N Voitsberg, Styria, Austria). Jahrbuch der Geologischen Bundesanstalt, 140, 461–468.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, S., Renner, S. S., & Wen, J. (2006). Molecular phylogeny and intra- and intercontinental biogeography of Calycanthaceae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 39, 1–15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Palaeobotany, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden

    Thomas Denk

  2. Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Friðgeir Grímsson & Reinhard Zetter

  3. Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Sturlugata 7, 101, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Leifur A. Símonarson

Authors
  1. Thomas Denk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Friðgeir Grímsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Reinhard Zetter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Leifur A. Símonarson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Denk .

Appendix 12.1

Appendix 12.1

Chronological occurrence of plant (morpho-)taxa recorded from the Cainozoic of Iceland.

First appearances in formations younger than 15 Ma indicate that the taxon is potentially biogeographically informative (see Chaps. 4–11). Conifers, woody angiosperms, and herbaceous taxa including fern and fern allies and angiosperms, are listed separately. Grey bars indicate taxa based on pollen and spores, black bars taxa based on macro fossils.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Denk, T., Grímsson, F., Zetter, R., Símonarson, L.A. (2011). The Biogeographic History of Iceland – The North Atlantic Land Bridge Revisited. In: Late Cainozoic Floras of Iceland. Topics in Geobiology, vol 35. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0372-8_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation