Search

Fossil leaf anatomy has previously been used as a proxy for paleoclimate. However, the exposure of leaves to sun or shade during their growth can lead to morphotype differences that confound the interpretation of fossil leaf anatomy in relation to climate and prevent reliable paleoclimate reconstruction. This work aims to model the differences in leaf anatomy that are due to various climatic drivers and differences attributable to sun or shade positions, using Nothofagus cunninghamii as the model species. Leaves from the sun and shade parts of three trees have been sampled from each of 11 sites in Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The gross morphological and cuticular features have been scored and modelled with climate data from the sites. Random forest models can accurately predict Nothofagus cunninghamii contemporary climatic conditions of the spring temperature and summer rainfall based on leaf anatomical measurements. Leaf area, stomatal density and epidermal cell density are the most accurate predictors of whether a leaf grew in the sun or shade. Leaf area is also the strongest predictor of the maximum and minimum spring temperatures and rainfall. The models have implications for the use of fossilised leaves in paleoclimate reconstruction. The models we have built can be used to effectively predict whether a fossil leaf was from a sun or shade position on the tree and thus enable more reliable inference of paleoclimate by removing the confounding issues of variable leaf anatomy due to sun exposure during growth. Finally, these models could conceivably be used to make predictions of past paleoclimatic conditions provided suitable training and validation data on climatic conditions are available.

XRISM (X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission), with the Resolve high-resolution spectrometer and the Xtend wide-field imager on-board, is designed to build on the successes of the abbreviated Hitomi mission to address outstanding astrophysical questions using high resolution X-ray spectroscopy. In preparation for launch, the XRISM Science Data Center (SDC) is constructing and testing an integrated and automated system for data transfer and processing based upon the Hitomi framework, introducing improvements informed by previous experience and internal collaboration. The XRISM pipeline ingests FITS files transferred from Japan that contain data converted from spacecraft telemetry, processes (calibrates and screens) the data, creates data products, and transfers data and metadata used to populate data archives in the U.S. and Japan. Improvement and rigorous testing of the system are conducted from the single-task level through fully-integrated levels. We provide an overview of the XRISM pipeline system, with a focus on the data processing, and how new and improved documentation and testing are creating accessible and effective software tools for future XRISM data., 13 pages, 7 figures, SPIE Conference: Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

Background and Aims The three relict genera Pherosphaera, Microcachrys and Saxegothaea in Podocarpaceae produce quite distinct seed cone types in comparison with other genera and do not form a clade along with Acmopyle. The detailed seed cone morpho-anatomy of these three relict genera and affinities with other podocarps are poorly known. This study aims to understand the seed cone morpho-anatomy and affinities among these three disjunct relict genera and with other podocarps. Methods We comparatively analysed the seed cone morpho-anatomical traits of the three podocarps genera and used ancestral state reconstruction to understand the evolution of these traits. Key Results We described the seed cone morpho-anatomical structures of the three relict genera in detail. The three genera produce aggregated multiovulate cones. Both Microcachrys and Saxegothaea have an asymmetrical free cup-like epimatium. Both species of Pherosphaera lack an epimatium. The ancestral state reconstruction implies that the presence of an epimatium is an ancestral trait in podocarps and is independently lost in Pherosphaera and Phyllocladus. The seed cones are fleshy in Microcachrys and non-fleshy in Saxegothaea and Pherosphaera. The seed cone macrofossils of both extinct and living podocarps also show the presence of an epimatium and fleshiness in podocarps. Conclusions Altogether, the morpho-anatomy suggests that Pherosphaera, Microcachrys and Saxegothaea present affinities with each other and other podocarps, but the reconstruction of the ancestral seed cone in Podcarpaceae is quite complex due to multiple convergent evolutions of several structures. These structures (e.g. epimatium, aril and receptaculum) are of low taxonomic value but of great evolutionary and ecological significance, and are responsive adaptations to ever-changing environmental conditions.

Background and Aims Seed cone traits are significant for understanding the evolutionary history of conifers. Podocarpaceae has fleshy cones with a distinct morphology compared with other conifers. However, we have a poor understanding of the seed cone morphology of the Prumnopityoid clade and within Podocarpaceae. This study presents detailed seed cone morpho-anatomy and the evolution of fleshy structures traits in the Prumnopityoid clade. Methods We investigated the detailed seed cone morpho-anatomy of selected species from the nine genera using the histological method. The evolution of morpho-anatomical traits was assessed using ancestral state reconstruction methods. Key Results The Prumnopityoid clade has evolved fleshy seed cones using different functional structures (e.g. aril, epimatium, bracts or receptaculum) and fleshiness is an ancestral trait in the clade. An epimatium is present in all genera except Phyllocladus, but with different structural morphologies (e.g. a fleshy asymmetrical cup-like epimatium or an epimatium that is fused with the integument, forming a fleshy sarcotesta-like seed coat). In all species with fleshy sarcotesta-like seed coats, the endotesta is hard and woody, forming a sclerotesta-like structure and the epimatium and exotesta are fused, forming a fleshy sarcotesta-like structure. Conclusions This study highlights that the Prumnopityoid clade has an amazing diversity of structures and complex evolutionary patterns. Fleshiness is an ancestral trait of the clade and has been achieved via diverse evolutionary pathways and structures. This clade has four distinct seed cone types, i.e. drupe-like, receptaculate, arilloid and dacrydioid cones, based on morpho-anatomical structures and traits. The macrofossil record also demonstrates the presence of several structures and traits.

Floral Lagerstätten deposits (i.e., fossil sites with exceptional preservation and diversity) are preserved within the Miocene brown coals of the Latrobe Group, Gippsland Basin, Australia. Three independent mechanisms are conducive to their accumulation. Throughout the coal seams the conversion of plant material into charcoal (fusain) and its accumulation in a subaqueous setting provides one means of near-perfect preservation. A second and more uncommon example occurs in the form of a 20 cm thick leaf-litter horizon that extends for over two kilometers. In this case, flooding of freshwater tributaries and lakes during the early stages of low-gradient peat development resulted in an extensive, shallow, acidic and water-filled depression that subsequently accumulated and preserved the surrounding plant material. The third and most common form results from the deposition of plant material into small, isolated pools that formed as depressions on the ombrogenous (i.e., rain-fed) and domed surface of the peatlands. In all of these settings an essential component allowing detailed floral preservation is the delivery of plant material directly to the anaerobic catotelm (i.e., below the water table), hence avoiding the physical and chemical processes of degradation that typically occur in the surficial aerobic acrotelm (i.e., above the water table). Leaf litter that falls into low-energy acidic and anoxic water-filled depressions that lie below the acrotelm will likely be well-preserved.

A first pass workflow for placing cover sequence materials into four broad lithological groups using A-CNK-FM (Al2O3-CaO + Na2O + K2O-Fe2O3+MgO) and A-CN-K (Al2O3-CaO + Na2O-K2O) ternary diagrams in conjunction with the SiO2 vs Al2O3, Fe2O3 and CaO plus the Ca versus Sr XY diagrams has been derived from lithological logging and laboratory whole-rock geochemistry of 2346 samples. These lithological groups include siliciclastics (quartz sands and clays), weathered material, carbonate lithologies (marine limestone, pedogenic carbonate and compositions intermediate between the two end members) and ferruginous lithologies (including ferricrete and ferruginous sediments). Depositional, weathering and groundwater processes influence sample geochemistry during or after the formation of the material and will influence where the sample will plot on the geochemical diagrams used in this study. Geochemical data for discrete lithologies targeted during sampling (e.g. carbonate lithologies) clusters on diagrams used in the geochemical workflow, whereas data from targeted stratigraphic horizons (e.g. basement-cover interface) are more variable. The ability to characterise rock types that are texturally defined using the geochemical workflow is limited. For instance, the geochemistry of diamictite/conglomerate samples is dependent on the matrix versus clast content and composition as well as the source rock and catchment area. This workflow has the potential to be applied in a mineral exploration environment for rapid interpretation of real-time geochemical (e.g. portable XRF) data to gain an understanding of background geochemistry and geochemical signatures that may be related to underlying mineralisation.Key points A workflow for broad lithogeochemcial characterisation of cover sequence materials has been developed. Uses commonly collected major element plus strontium data acquired by laboratory or portable techniques. Categorises materials into siliciclastics, weathered material, carbonate lithologies and ferruginous lithologies. Applications include a mineral exploration environment for interpretation of large geochemical datasets to understand geology and mineralisation vectors. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Premise of research. We collate and interpret previously undescribed foliar material of Araucaria section Eutacta from Australian Cenozoic sediments.Methodology. The fossils we describe here were c...

Simple to compound leaves occur in the Viola albida complex, which comprises the simple, finely serrate leaves of V. albida Palib., the deeply lobed leaves of V. albida var. takahashii (Nakai) Nakai, and the compound leaves of Viola chaerophylloides (Regel) W. Becker. To identify a correlation between the different leaf forms and the expression of several key genes with roles in leaf morphogenesis, the distinct leaf forms occurring within these species were generated by tissue culture of the V. chaerophylloides petiole, for comparison with wild-type leaves. Compound leaves were generally formed from a petiole explant taken close to the leaf blade, whereas simple leaves resulted from petiole explants taken close to the petiole base. KNOTTED-1 (VaKN1), SHOOTMERISTEMLESS (VaSTM), CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON-2 (VaCUC2), and ASYMMETRIC LEAVES 1 (VaAS1), which are known to play key roles during compound leaf patterning and morphogenesis, were isolated and multiple sequence alignment revealed that there was no sequence variation at the amino acid level within each gene and between the three varieties. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that the isolated genes were homologous to KN, STM, CUC2, and AS1. The expression of VaKN1, VaSTM, and VaCUC2 was significantly elevated in the in vitro-cultured deeply lobed and compound leaves, as well as in V. chaerophylloides and V. albida var. takahashii plants, but was very low in the in vitro-cultured simple leaves and V. albida plants. These findings demonstrated that elevated transcripts of VaKN1, VaSTM, and VaCUC2 lead to the development of compound and deeply lobed leaves in the V. albida complex.

Premise of research. This study compares the pinnule morphology of three fossil Bowenia species, one Eobowenia (fossil) species, and several Bowenia fossil pinnule fragments with the two extant Bowenia species. Methodology. Pinnule area, stomatal density, and size have been measured on fossil and extant specimens. Measures have been correlated with solar radiation and temperature to ascertain any correlations. Environment and climate variables have been chosen, as they have changed since the Eocene and Lower Cretaceous when the Australian and South American fossils were growing. Pivotal results. Two of the fossil Bowenia species and Eobowenia have significantly smaller pinnules than the living species, and all the fossils have relatively small and sparse stomata compared with the living species. Extant Bowenia pinnule area is positively correlated with daily radiation and temperature. Conclusions. Those fossil species with small pinnules likely lived in relatively dark environments where small pinnules aided the capture of sunflecks and/or facilitated light capture. The smaller and sparser stomata may have limited the potential sites for fungal invasion in the extremely humid growth conditions without hampering overall growth rates in the prevailing very high atmospheric CO 2 levels.

Callitris Vent., is the most speciose of the Southern Hemisphere Cupressaceae (conifer) genera, with species indigenous to Australia and New Caledonia. While most other Southern Hemisphere conifers are restricted to wet climates, Callitris species occupy a broad range of habitats, from the margins of rainforests to arid Australia. This study examines fossilized Callitris foliage collected from three south-eastern Australian sites ranging in age from middle Miocene to the Last Interglacial. The oldest, middle Miocene, fossils are from Yallourn, southern Victoria and represent a new (extinct) species, Callitris blackburnii. Much younger, early Pleistocene (∼ 1.59 Ma), fossils are from four slightly different aged horizons within the Stony Creek Basin, western Victorian uplands. One of these specimens is consistent with extant C. rhomboidea R.Br. ex Rich. & A. Rich. in both morphology and size. Specimens from other depths in the Stony Creek sediments are assigned to another extant species, C. columellaris F. Muell., but are smaller in size than the extant species. The youngest fossil specimens (Last Interglacial (∼ 110 ka) Yarra Creek, King Island) are assigned to extant C. rhomboidea. The findings of this study enhance the previously sparse fossil record of Callitris and further indicate that two widespread extant Callitris species have been present in south-eastern Australia for at least ∼ 1.5 million years.

Premise of research. This study describes a new fossil species of Bowenia and reconsiders known fossil species and their evolutionary significance.Methodology. The fossils we describe here were col...

A new mid-latitude terrestrial climate proxy record is presented for southeastern Australia. The Middle Eocene to Middle Miocene palynofloral and δ13C record of the Latrobe Group, Gippsland Basin, details that the climate of southeastern Australia, paleolatitude 60–50°S, supported the growth of highly diverse subtropical to cool-temperate rainforests. These forests are characterized by mesothermal to microthermal floral elements that are here interpreted as subtropical (Malvacipollis subtilis and Cupanieidites orthoteichus dominated palynofloras), warm-temperate (Beaupreadites elegansiformis and Phyllocladus mawsonii dominated palynofloras) and cool-temperate (Nothofagus spp. and Dacrycarpidites australiensis dominated palynofloras) rainforests. The palynofloral record of the Latrobe Group indicates that mean annual temperatures were between 20 and 24 °C during the Middle Eocene resulting in subtropical rainforests, between 14 and 20 °C for the late Middle Eocene to earliest (i.e. pre-Oi1) Oligocene resulting in warm-temperate rainforests, between 10 and 14 °C for the late Early Oligocene to Early Miocene resulting in cool-temperate rainforests and between 14 and 20 °C in the Middle Miocene, facilitating the resurgence of warm-temperate rainforest floras. Rainfall was also likely in excess of 1500 mm throughout the Middle Eocene to the Middle Miocene in southeastern Australia. The climatic trends preserved within this mid-latitude terrestrial record relate to global Cenozoic cooling, the exception being the Middle Miocene records, which instead relate to the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum. In the mid-latitude Gippsland Basin, cooling appears to have begun in the Middle Eocene. Correlation of our palynoflora with records from Antarctica and New Zealand, in addition to benthic δ18O records, reaffirms that the Latrobe Group coals provide a long-term, largely authochthonous mid-latitude floral record that directly relates to global climatic evolution through the Cenozoic. Our new mid-latitude terrestrial record provides critical insight into the validation of Eocene-Oligocene climate models and improves our understanding of mid-latitude terrestrial ecosystem responses to increased carbon dioxide forcing. The correlation between the δ13C values of the Yallourn and Morwell coal seams to benthic δ13C records also highlights that a relationship exists between the terrestrial and marine benthic δ13C record.

New palynological analysis of the Middle Eocene to Middle Miocene Latrobe Group coals of the Gippsland Basin in Australia sheds new light on fire adaptation in Australia's modern flora. The distribution of charcoal and fire-prone flora within brown coals is entirely controlled by facies and the paleoenvironments within the peatland, and does not result from drier climates as has been previously suggested. There is therefore, no evidence of climatic drying from this Cenozoic peatland record. Charcoal and fire-prone floras are associated with emergent and meadow marsh environments that produce darker coal lithotypes. Counter-intuitively, the low-nutrient and fire-prone environments that fringed the ever-wet rainforests of the Latrobe Group peatlands may have represented an ideal setting for southeastern Australia's modern fire-adapted and sclerophyllous flora (i.e., Eucalyptus and Banksia) to evolve in.

Pollen and plant macrofossils from Langdon liner give an interglacial floral record for western Tasmania. The location of the site between the ice limits of the Last or Margaret Glaciation and the Penultimate or Henty Glaciation indicate that it cannot be younger than the Last Interglacial. The sequence of vegetation changes shows the succession Casuarina Phyllocladus-Nothofagus with Casuarina as pioneer and Nothofagus as representing Maximum wet forest development. After the maximum the presence of Phyllocladus-Nothofagus-Eucalyptus-Microstrobos suggests deterioration to subalpine woodland/shrubland, and Compositae, Gramineae-Microstrobos to alpine shrubland and herbland. The sequence represents most of a glacial-interglacial-glacial cycle Of environmental changes that occurred before 43 000 14 C yr B.P. Very high Casuarina values occur in the early part at the interglacial sequence which contrasts with the Holocene where Eucalyptus is more important than Casuarina. Otherwise the sequence of Phyllocladus, Nothofagus, Eucryphia-Anodopetalum is the same as for Holocene forest development. The interglaeial 'optimum' is marked by the occurrence of Pomaderris apetala type and Dicksonia antarctica. There is some similarity with the Casuarina curves in the Lake George interglacials before the Last Interglacial. But, on the whole, there is more similarity with interglacial rainforest development in western South Island, New Zealand Only one cycle of vegetation change is recognized at Langdon River which is unlike New Zealand and central Chilean records from 40-42° S which in different ways record a mid Last Interglacial climatic deterioration.

The structure of phylloclades and true leaves in Phyllocladus was investigated with emphasis on function, ecology and evolution. Only in the earliest ontogenetic stages are true, needle leaves developed. The earliest phylloclades comprise a fusion product of a shoot axis of the first order and its inserted leaves. Later, this is augmented by the expansion of axillary short shoots from the base of some of the fused leaves. Phylloclades of mature individuals are entire short shoot systems, including leaves and shoots, becoming fused with photosynthetic tissue. These phylloclades represent one of the adaptations for increasing functional photosynthetic area that are present in Podocarpaceae. Such adaptations were probably needed because Podocarpaceae are usually medium-sized trees faced with competition from the ever-expanding angiosperm forests at mid to high latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere from the Late Cretaceous, but especially during the Palaeocene–Eocene, when dense and diverse angiosperm-dominated rainforests were common. The data obtained from living species were compared to those from fossil material of Phyllocladus. Phyllocladus with fully developed phylloclades have been in place since at least the early Cenozoic.

The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, XRISM, is scheduled to launch in 2022, with the goal of building on the brief successes of the ASTRO-H (Hitomi) mission, and recovering the prime science objective to solve outstanding astrophysical questions using high resolution X-ray spectroscopy. The XRISM Science Operations Team (SOT), consists of the JAXA-led Science Operations Center (SOC) and NASA-led Science Data Center (SDC) that work together to optimize the scientific output from the Resolve high-resolution spectrometer and the Xtend wide-field imager through planning and scheduling observations, processing and distribution of data, development and distribution of software tools and the calibration database (CaldB), user support, and support of ground and in-flight calibration. Here, we summarize the roles and responsibilities of the SDC, and the current status and future plans, covering scheduling software, software and CalDB production and release, data transmission and processing pipeline, and simulation and other post-pipeline analysis tools. Resolve poses particular challenges due to its unprecedented combination of high spectral resolution and throughput, broad spectral coverage, and relatively small field-of-view and large pixel-size; and, we highlight those challenges.

A new podocarpaceous conifer is described from the early Danian Salamanca Formation (southern Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina) based on compressions of leafy branches with cuticular remains. Kirketapel salamanquensis gen. et sp. nov. has amphistomatic, scale-like leaves with marginal frills distinguishable at the apex; stomata oriented randomly in relation to the major axis of the leaf with four to five subsidiary cells and extremely reduced Florin rings; and irregularly shaped epidermal cells. We compare K. salamanquensis with extant and extinct members of the imbricate-leaved podocarps, among which it closely resembles Florin’s Dacrydium group C genera (i.e., Lagarostrobos, Manoao, Lepidothamnus and Halocarpus). Among these genera, only Lepidothamnus has a living representative in South America, the Chilean L. fonkii, whose leaf macro- and micromorphological characters are described in detail for comparison. Overall, the Patagonian fossil species is most similar to the extant and extinct members of Lagarostrobos in its cuticular micromorphology; however, macromorphological characters, such as the leaf size, apex curvature and mode of flattening, clearly differentiate it from all four genera of Dacrydium group C. We include Kirketapel salamanquensis in a combined molecular and morphological phylogenetic analysis conducted under the maximum parsimony criterion. The new, early Paleocene fossil taxon is confidently recovered as part of the scale-leaved clade as defined herein, which also includes Halocarpus, Phyllocladus, Lepidothamnus, Parasitaxus, Lagarostrobos and Manoao, and it constitutes the oldest record known for the group by at least 17 million years as well as its first fossil occurrence outside Australasia, establishing a widespread Gondwanan history. Furthermore, based on its oldest locality of occurrence, K. salamanquensis shows that the divergence of the total group of the scale-leaved podocarps occurred by at least 65 million years ago, adding to the growing systematic knowledge of earliest Cenozoic macrofloras in the Southern Hemisphere. Fil: Andruchow Colombo, Ana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio; Argentina Fil: Escapa, Ignacio Hernán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio; Argentina Fil: Carpenter, Raymond J.. University of Tasmania; Australia Fil: Hill, Robert S.. University of Adelaide; Australia Fil: Iglesias, Ari. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina Fil: Abarzua, Ana M.. Universidad Austral de Chile; Chile Fil: Wilf, Peter. State University of Pennsylvania; Estados Unidos

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Although leaves of Myrtaceae are easily identified to family level, very few studies have convincingly identified fossil Myrtaceae leaves to living genera. We used a broadly comparative approach with a large data set of extant taxa to confidently assign the mummified remains of myrtaceous leaves from early Miocene sediments at Kiandra (New South Wales, Australia) to a living genus. METHODS Fossils were identified using a nearest living relative approach, against a database of 232 extant broadleaf rainforest species of Myrtaceae. Leaf cuticles were prepared from 106 species, sourced from herbarium specimens as well as some living individuals, and a further 127 records were assembled from the literature. A set of simple but phylogenetically informative cuticular characters were observed, described, and recorded under both scanning electron microscopy and standard light microscopy. KEY RESULTS A new fossil species of Syzygium Gaertn. is described from mummified remains found in early Miocene (21.5-21.7 Ma) sediments. The fossil taxon is here named Syzygium christophelii sp. nov., in honor of the late Australian paleobotanist David Christophel. CONCLUSIONS These fossils represent some of the most confidently described Myrtaceae leaf fossils published to date and are the first and oldest described fossil record of Syzygium from Australia. While several fossil parataxa have been illustrated from New Zealand, and several fossil species of Syzygium have previously been proposed in the literature, many of these fossils lack characters for a confident diagnosis.

Premise of the Study: The capsular-fruited genus Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) is one of the most widely distributed flowering plant genera in the Pacific but is extinct in Australia today. The center of geographic origin for the genus and the reason for and timing of its extinction in Australia remain uncertain. We identify fossil Metrosideros fruits from the newly discovered Golden Fleece fossil flora in the Oligo-Miocene of Tasmania, Australia, shedding further light on these problems. Methods: Standard paleopalynological techniques were used to date the fossil-bearing sediments. Scanning electron microscopy and an auto-montage camera system were used to take high-resolution images of fossil and extant fruits taken from herbarium specimens. Fossils are identified using a nearestliving-relative approach. Key Results: The fossil-bearing sediments are palynostratigraphically dated as being Proteacidites tuberculatus Zone Equivalent (ca. 33-16 Ma) in age and provide a confident Oligo Miocene age for the macrofossils. Two new fossil species of Metrosideros are described and are here named Metrosideros dawsonii sp. nov. and Metrosideros wrightii sp. nov. Conclusions: These newly described fossil species of Metrosideros provide a second record of the genus in the Cenozoic of Australia, placing them in the late Early Oligocene to late Early Miocene. It is now apparent not only that Metrosideros was present in Australia, where the genus is now extinct, but that at least several Metrosideros species were present during the Cenozoic. These fossils further strengthen the case for an Australian origin of the genus.

Wilf et al . (Research Articles, 7 June 2019, eaaw5139) claim that Castanopsis evolved in the Southern Hemisphere from where it spread to its modern distribution in Southeast Asia. However, extensive paleobotanical records of Antarctica and Australia lack evidence of any Fagaceae, and molecular patterns indicate shared biogeographic histories of Castanopsis , Castanea , Lithocarpus , and Quercus subgenus Cerris , making the southern route unlikely.

The Southern Hemisphere family Casuarinaceae has a long fossil record, both macrofossils and pollen, none of which provides any evidence about the morphology of the precursor to the family. However, it has long been considered, from both molecular phylogenies and morphological data, that the extant genus Gymnostoma retains key ancestral states and the highly reduced leaf area is a result of a scleromorphic response to low soil nutrients. Gymnostoma has by far the earliest, most extensive and best preserved macrofossil record, beginning in the Late Paleocene. Modification of the stomatal location from superficial in Gymnostoma to encrypted in furrows in the other genera assisted in water conservation as species evolved. We conclude that the morphology of the living and fossil vegetative branchlets provides evidence that low soil nutrients (especially phosphorus) and high water availability in a relatively light limited environment were the original drivers for evolution in the Casuarinaceae. Reducing water availability (xeromorphy) in progressively higher light environments were the major drivers of post-Eocene evolution in this unique plant family.

Early Paleogene southern Australia, which comprises the north shore of the Australo-Antarctic Gulf, was covered in the equivalent of extant wet-tropical lowland vegetation at 60–65°S, most richly during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum. Cooling at ~50 Ma triggered the spread of Nothofagus warm-temperate rainforests. Cooling reversed at the Khirthar transgression at ~42 Ma with extensive neritic carbonate seas, diverse rainforest biomes and massive coals on the continental margins. Coals and limestones are strongly associated in time, from the late Paleogene at ~42–40 Ma (the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum) to the early Neogene at~16–14 Ma (the Miocene Climatic Optimum). Photosymbiotic foraminifera from north of Australia ingressed into the neritic biomes on the Leeuwin Current, signalling warm pulses. Terrestrial floras were still wet-temperate at the continental margins, but during the Oligocene various plants, already coping with low nutrients from extensive deep weathering in the Paleogene, had to cop...

List of contributors 1. The Australian fossil plant record: an introduction R. S. Hill 2. Maps of late Mesozoic-Cenozoic Gondwana break-up: some palaeographical implications G. E. Wilford and P. J. Brown 3. The background: 144 million years of Australian palaeoclimate and palaeogeography P. G. Quilty 4. Palaeobotanical evidence for Tertiary climates D. R. Greenwood 5. Landscapes of Australia: their nature and evolution G. Taylor 6. Patterns in the history of Australia's mammals and inferences about palaeohabitats M. Archer, S. J. Hand and H. Godthelp 7. Australian Tertiary phytogeography: evidence from palynology H. A. Martin 8. Cretaceous vegetation: the microfossil record M. E. Dettmann 9. Cretaceous vegetation: the macrofossil record J. G. Douglas 10. Early Tertiary vegetation: evidence from spores and pollen M. K. Macphail, N. F. Alley, E. M. Truswell and I. R. K. Sluiter 11. The early Tertiary macrofloras of continental Australia D. C. Christophel 12. Cenozoic vegetation in Tasmania: macrofossil evidence R. J. Carpenter, R. S. Hill and G. J. Jordan 13. The Neogene: a period of transition A. P. Kershaw, H. A. Martin and J. R. C. McEwen Mason 14. The Oligo-Miocene coal floras of south-eastern Australia D. T. Blackburn and I. R. K. Sluiter 15. Quaternary vegetation G. S. Hope 16. The history of selected Australian taxa R. S. Hill Taxonomic index General index.

Stomatal traits have been shown to vary in predictable ways in response to environmental change in many plant species. As a consequence, stomatal traits in fossil leaves are sometimes used as proxies for past CO2 and climate. Here we investigate the influence of temperature, rainfall and CO2 on stomatal traits in plant cuticle fine details of Melaleuca quinquenervia. We use both modern and fossil leaves deposited over the last c. 7500 years to evaluate the effect of CO2, and modern leaves for climate variables. We found a significant negative relationship between stomatal size and density across both modern and fossil leaves of M. quinquenervia. However, we were unable to find any relationship between stomatal traits and CO2 across a range from 260 to 380 ppm. We were unable to find any robust relationships between stomatal traits and either evaporation or temperature using the modern dataset. Apogeotropic roots account for the lack of stomatal anatomy response to evaporation in sites that experiences inundation. We conclude that stomatal size is a highly plastic trait in this species and changes do not necessarily reflect functional changes in the leaves.

A capacity to foresee the shift in species' range and the demographic response to future climate change is inte- gral to effective conservation planning. Here we model the future climate-driven range shift, and compare it with past range shift, along a latitudinal gradient in two population groups of a late-successional rainforest conifer (Podocarpus ela- tus), genetically differentiated over the Clarence River Corridor biogeographic barrier (Northern NSW, East Australian Rainforests). Climate envelope modelling of the past-current-future distributions of the two groups and a coalescent-based isolation-with-migration model investigated divergence times and effective population sizes among the current genetic disjunctions in the species. This suggests differential range shift (i.e. expansion in the north and contraction in the south) will continue in the future, with a southern range shift also occurring in both climatic models. The origin of the Clarence River Corridor dividing the two population groups was inferred by molecular analysis to be prior to the last glacial maxi- mum (LGM). Another divergence in the south (19 ka) is indicative of slow consistent habitat contractions since the LGM (21 ka). We recommend the southern and Macleay Overlap Zone (far-eastern Australia) populations as priority areas for protection based upon intraspecific diversity and past-current-future habitat suitability. The integrated approach shows that this widely distributed species is more at risk than expected from current climate change and other anthropogenic ef- fects.

(Abridged) A simple six-parameter LCDM model provides a successful fit to WMAP data, both when the data are analyzed alone and in combination with other cosmological data. Even so, it is appropriate to search for any hints of deviations from the now standard model of cosmology, which includes inflation, dark energy, dark matter, baryons, and neutrinos. The cosmological community has subjected the WMAP data to extensive and varied analyses. While there is widespread agreement as to the overall success of the six-parameter LCDM model, various "anomalies" have been reported relative to that model. In this paper we examine potential anomalies and present analyses and assessments of their significance. In most cases we find that claimed anomalies depend on posterior selection of some aspect or subset of the data. Compared with sky simulations based on the best fit model, one can select for low probability features of the WMAP data. Low probability features are expected, but it is not usually straightforward to determine whether any particular low probability feature is the result of the a posteriori selection or of non-standard cosmology. We examine in detail the properties of the power spectrum with respect to the LCDM model. We examine several potential or previously claimed anomalies in the sky maps and power spectra, including cold spots, low quadrupole power, quadropole-octupole alignment, hemispherical or dipole power asymmetry, and quadrupole power asymmetry. We conclude that there is no compelling evidence for deviations from the LCDM model, which is generally an acceptable statistical fit to WMAP and other cosmological data., 19 pages, 17 figures, also available with higher-res figures on http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov; accepted by ApJS; (v2) text as accepted

(Abridged) The WMAP 5-year data strongly limit deviations from the minimal LCDM model. We constrain the physics of inflation via Gaussianity, adiabaticity, the power spectrum shape, gravitational waves, and spatial curvature. We also constrain the properties of dark energy, parity-violation, and neutrinos. We detect no convincing deviations from the minimal model. The parameters of the LCDM model, derived from WMAP combined with the distance measurements from the Type Ia supernovae (SN) and the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO), are: Omega_b=0.0456+-0.0015, Omega_c=0.228+-0.013, Omega_Lambda=0.726+-0.015, H_0=70.5+-1.3 km/s/Mpc, n_s=0.960+-0.013, tau=0.084+-0.016, and sigma_8=0.812+-0.026. With WMAP+BAO+SN, we find the tensor-to-scalar ratio r1 is disfavored regardless of r. We obtain tight, simultaneous limits on the (constant) equation of state of dark energy and curvature. We provide a set of "WMAP distance priors," to test a variety of dark energy models. We test a time-dependent w with a present value constrained as -0.33, Comment: 52 pages, 21 figures, accepted for publication in ApJS. (v2) References added. Cosmological parameters updated with the latest union supernova compilation (Kowalski et al. arXiv:0804.4142)

(Abridged) We present the angular power spectra derived from the 7-year maps and discuss the cosmological conclusions that can be inferred from WMAP data alone. The third acoustic peak in the TT spectrum is now well measured by WMAP. In the context of a flat LambdaCDM model, this improvement allows us to place tighter constraints on the matter density from WMAP data alone, and on the epoch of matter-radiation equality, The temperature-polarization (TE) spectrum is detected in the 7-year data with a significance of 20 sigma, compared to 13 sigma with the 5-year data. The low-l EE spectrum, a measure of the optical depth due to reionization, is detected at 5.5 sigma significance when averaged over l = 2-7. The BB spectrum, an important probe of gravitational waves from inflation, remains consistent with zero. The upper limit on tensor modes from polarization data alone is a factor of 2 lower with the 7-year data than it was using the 5-year data (Komatsu et al. 2010). We test the parameter recovery process for bias and find that the scalar spectral index, ns, is biased high, but only by 0.09 sigma, while the remaining parameters are biased by < 0.15 sigma. The improvement in the third peak measurement leads to tighter lower limits from WMAP on the number of relativistic degrees of freedom (e.g., neutrinos) in the early universe: Neff > 2.7 (95% CL). Also, using WMAP data alone, the primordial helium mass fraction is found to be YHe = 0.28+0.14-0.15, and with data from higher-resolution CMB experiments included, we now establish the existence of pre-stellar helium at > 3 sigma (Komatsu et al. 2010)., 22 pages, 14 figures, version accepted to Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, added high-l EE detection, consolidated parameter recovery simulations

Measuring the B-mode polarization of the CMB radiation requires a detailed understanding of the projection of the detector onto the sky. We show how the combination of scan strategy and processing generates a cylindrical beam for the spectrum measurement. Both the instrumental design and the scan strategy reduce the cross coupling between the temperature variations and the B-modes. As with other polarization measurements some post processing may be required to eliminate residual errors.

Astro-H (Hitomi) is an X-ray/Gamma-ray mission led by Japan with international participation, launched on February 17, 2016. The payload consists of four different instruments (SXS, SXI, HXI and SGD) that operate simultaneously to cover the energy range from 0.3 keV up to 600 keV. This paper presents the analysis software and the data processing pipeline created to calibrate and analyze the Hitomi science data along with the plan for the archive and user support. These activities have been a collaborative effort shared between scientists and software engineers working in several institutes in Japan and USA.

Aim We examine the range expansion/contraction dynamics during the last glacial cycle of the late-successional tropical rain forest conifer Podocarpus elatus using a combination of modelling and molecular marker analyses. Specifically, we test whether distributional changes predicted by environmental niche modelling are in agreement with (1) the glacial maximum contractions inferred from the southern fossil record, and (2) population genetic-based estimates of range disjunctions and demographic dynamics. In addition, we test whether northern and southern ranges are likely to have experienced similar expansion/contraction dynamics. Location Eastern Australian tropical and subtropical rain forests. Methods Environmental niche modelling was completed for three time periods during the last glacial cycle and was interpreted in light of the known palynology. We collected 109 samples from 32 populations across the entire range of P. elatus. Six microsatellite loci and Bayesian coalescence analysis were used to infer population expansion/contraction dynamics, and five sequenced loci (one plastid and four nuclear) were used to quantify genetic structure/diversity. Results Environmental niche modelling suggested that the northern and southern ranges of P. elatus experienced different expansion/contraction dynamics. In the northern range, the habitat suitable for P. elatus persisted in a small refugial area during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka) and then expanded during the post-glacial period. Conversely, in the south suitable habitat was widespread during the LGM but subsequently contracted. These differential dynamics were supported by Bayesian analyses of the population genetic data (northern dispersal) and are consistent with the greater genetic diversity in the south compared with the north. A contact zone between the two genetically divergent groups (corresponding to the Macleay Overlap Zone) was supported by environmental niche modelling and molecular analyses. Main conclusions The climatic fluctuations of the Quaternary have differentially impacted the northern and southern ranges of a broadly distributed rain forest tree in Australia. Recurrent contraction/expansion cycles contributed to the genetic distinction between northern and southern distributions of P. elatus. By combining molecular and environmental niche modelling evidence, this unique study undermines the general assumption that broadly distributed species respond in a uniform way to climate change.

A worldwide greenhouse warm climate prevailed in the Early Eocene, and nowhere was warming more dramatic than at high latitudes. Sea-surface temperatures of ∼34 °C have been estimated for a site at paleolatitude 65°S on the East Tasman Plateau of the southwest Pacific Ocean, but these estimates require independent validation, including from terrestrial proxies. Here we determine a near-tropical terrestrial mean annual temperature estimate of ∼24 °C at sea level for an Early Eocene site in Tasmania, Australia, using three proxies based on well-dated estuarine plant fossils. This estimate is lower than the nearby sea estimates to the east, but similarly suggests that, as in the southwest Pacific, Early Eocene climates in the eastern Australo-Antarctic region were warmer than inferred elsewhere at high latitudes, including on the Antarctic Peninsula. Such data are essential for improving our understanding of climatic and biotic evolution in the Southern Hemisphere.

The angiosperm radiation has been linked to sharp declines in gymnosperm diversity and the virtual elimination of conifers from the tropics. The conifer family Podocarpaceae stands as an exception with highest species diversity in wet equatorial forests. It has been hypothesized that efficient light harvesting by the highly flattened leaves of several podocarp genera facilitates persistence with canopy-forming angiosperms, and the angiosperm ecological radiation may have preferentially favoured the diversification of these lineages. To test these ideas, we develop a molecular phylogeny for Podocarpaceae using Bayesian-relaxed clock methods incorporating fossil time constraints. We find several independent origins of flattened foliage types, and that these lineages have diversified predominantly through the Cenozoic and therefore among canopy-forming angiosperms. The onset of sustained foliage flattening podocarp diversification is coincident with a declining diversification rate of scale/needle-leaved lineages and also with ecological and climatic transformations linked to angiosperm foliar evolution. We demonstrate that climatic range evolution is contingent on the underlying state for leaf morphology. Taken together, our findings imply that as angiosperms came to dominate most terrestrial ecosystems, competitive interactions at the foliar level have profoundly shaped podocarp geography and as a consequence, rates of lineage diversification.

We describe the tools and the underlying methods and principles for generating the spectral response functions for the four imaging instruments that were flown on the Hitomi x-ray astronomy satellite [Soft X-ray Spectrometer, or SXS; Soft X-ray Imager, or SXI, and two Hard X-ray Imagers, or HXI]. In essence, the spectral response function is a temporally and spatially averaged effective area and line-spread-function. For model-fitting x-ray spectra from an instrument, the spectral response function encapsulates the end-to-end physics of the entire system from telescope to detector, and also includes satellite attitude drift, exposure corrections, and in the case of the HXIs, drift in the telescope/detector alignment system. Accuracy in the construction of the spectral response functions is, therefore, critical to maximize the science return from the data.

We present an introduction to the heasim multimission observation and skyback background, high-energy pseudo Monte Carlo astrophysical simulation tools. Heasim may be used to accurately and efficiently construct flexible image transport system (FITS) event files for simple or composite sources with a wide range of standard and user-defined spatial, spectral, and temporal characteristics. Skyback is designed to enable users to assess the impact of background discrete and diffuse emission on prospective observations, and skyback output may be directly input into heasim. We present a brief overview of heasim and skyback input, algorithms, usage, and output. We also introduce the sxsbranch tool that computes Hitomi soft X-ray spectrometer resolution grade branching ratios, emphasizing its application to simulations. We include several examples of particular relevance to the Hitomi mission.

This paper documents Early Oligocene fossilized foliage and ovulate cones from Lea River, Tasmania and identifies them as belonging to two extant southern hemisphere Cupressaceae genera, Callitris and Fitzroya. Most importantly, it sheds some light on evolutionary trends within Callitris, a genus with numerous extant Australian species and two extant New Caledonian species. Callitris has a very poor fossil record and, because of the present absence of a molecular data set that includes all species, its phylogeny remains somewhat ambiguous. Although Fitzroya foliage has previously been described from a number of Tasmanian sites, this is the first recording of fertile material. The ovulate cones of the Callitris and Fitzroya macrofossils are characterized by bract-scale complexes in two whorls of three and are subtended by scale-like leaves in whorls of three. The fossilized foliage specimens consist of scale-like leaves in whorls of three. These morphological characteristics are only exhibited by three extant southern hemisphere cupressaceous genera, Callitris, Actinostrobus, and Fitzroya. The assignment of the fossils to extinct Callitris and Fitzroya species is made by comparisons with species from these three extant genera. Although much of the Lea River flora are wet rainforest taxa, the Callitris fossils have characteristics of both wet- and dry-adapted extant species.