Ypresian

In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between 56 and 47.8 Ma, is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian is consistent with the Lower Eocene (Early Eocene).

## Contents

* 1 Palaeoclimatology
* 2 Stratigraphic definition
* 3 Notable geological formations
* 4 References
* 4.1 Literature
* 5 External links

## Palaeoclimatology

See also: Cambay Shale Formation, pCO
2, and δ18O

The Ypresian Age begins during the throes of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The Fur Formation in Denmark, the Messel shales in Germany, the Oise amber of France and Cambay amber of India are of this age. The Eocene Okanagan Highlands are an uplands subtropical to temperate series of lakes from the Ypresian.[1][2][3]

The Ypresian is additionally marked by another warming event called the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). The EECO is the longest sustained warming event in the Cenozoic record, lasting about 2–3 million years between 53 and 50 Ma. The interval is characterized by low oxygen-18 isotopes,[4][5][6] high levels of atmospheric pCO
2,[7][8] and low meridional thermal gradients.[9] Biodiversity has been reported to have been significantly impacted by the conditions prevalent during the EECO. For instance, there were biotic turnovers among marine producers such as calcareous nannofossils among others etc.[10][11]

Southern China was incredibly arid during the Ypresian, owing to a strong subtropical anticyclone engendered by extremely warm temperatures and a rain–shadow effect resulting from coastal mountains.[12]

## Stratigraphic definition

See also: Earth:List of geochronologic names

The Ypresian Stage was introduced in scientific literature by Belgian geologist André Hubert Dumont in 1850. The Ypresian is named after the Flemish city of Ypres in Belgium (spelled Ieper in Dutch). The definitions of the original stage were totally different from the modern ones.[13] The Ypresian shares its name with the Belgian Ieper Group (French: Groupe d'Ypres), which has an Ypresian age.

The base of the Ypresian Stage is defined at a strong negative anomaly in δ13C values at the PETM. The official reference profile (GSSP) for the base of the Ypresian is the Dababiya profile near the Egyptian city of Luxor.[14] Its original type section was located in the vicinity of Ieper.

The top of the Ypresian (the base of the Lutetian) is identified by the first appearance of the foraminifera genus Hantkenina in the fossil record.

The Ypresian Stage overlaps the upper Neustrian and most of the Grauvian European Land Mammal Mega Zones (it spans the Mammal Paleogene zones 7 through 10.[15]), the Wasatchian and lower and middle Bridgerian North American Land Mammal Ages, the Casamayoran South American Land Mammal Age and the Bumbanian and most of the Arshantan Asian Land Mammal Ages. It is also coeval with the upper Wangerripian and lowest Johannian regional stages of Australia and the Bulitian, Penutian, and Ulatisian regional stages of California.

## Notable geological formations

Being a period of high sea levels, numerous geological formations worldwide were deposited during the Ypresian stage in both inland and marine habitats. The following fossiliferous geological formations are among those known from this time:[16]

North America

* Manasquan Formation, New Jersey
* Nanjemoy Formation, Virginia and Maryland
* Bashi Formation, Alabama
* Hatchetigbee Bluff and Sabinetown Bluff Formations, Southeastern United States
* Klondike Mountain Formation, Republic & Curlew Basin, Washington State
* Crescent Formation, Washington
* Allenby and Coldwater Beds Formations and Ootsa Lake and Kamloops Group, British Columbia
* Lookingglass and Umpqua Formations, Oregon
* Wasatch Formation, and Tatman, Willwood, Wind River, Pass Peak and Indian Meadows Formations, Wyoming
* Challis Volcanics Formation, Idaho
* Golden Valley Formation, North Dakota
* Claron Formation, Utah
* Green River Formation, western United States
* Coalmont, Cuchara and DeBeque Formations, Colorado
* Sheep Pass Formation, Nevada
* San Jose and Galisteo Formations, New Mexico
* Capay, Juncal, Llajas, Maniobra, Matilija, Meganos & Santa Susana Formations, California
* Margaret Formation, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada
* Mokka Fiord Formation, Remus Basin, Northern Territories
* Bateque and Las Tetas de Cabra Formations, Baja California
* Hannold Hill and Pendleton Ferry Formations, Gulf of Mexico
* Adjuntas and Indio Formations and Lechería Limestone, Mexico
* Descartes Formation, Costa Rica
* Stettin Formation, Jamaica
* Scotland Formation, Barbados
* Lizard Springs Formation, Trinidad and Tobago

South America

* Bogotá Formation, Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia
* Cerrejón Formation, Cesar-Ranchería Basin, Colombia
* Los Cuervos Formation, Catatumbo, Cesar-Ranchería and Llanos Basins, Colombia
* Caballas Formation, Pisco Basin, Peru
* Chacras and Negritos Formations, Peru
* Fonseca Formation, Brazil
* Itaboraí Formation, Itaboraí Basin, Brazil
* Lumbrera Formation, Salta Basin, Argentina
* Laguna del Hunco Formation, Cañadón Asfalto Basin, Argentina
* Huitrera Formation, Neuquén Basin, Argentina
* Sarmiento and Ventana Formations, Golfo San Jorge Basin, Argentina
* Las Flores Formation, Austral Basin, Argentina

Antarctica

* lower La Meseta Formation

Europe

* Kortrijk Clay, Bruxellian Formation and Dormaal Member of Tienen Formation, Belgium
* Sables de Pierrefonds, Calcares marins à alvéolines, Lignites de Soissonais, Marnes de Foncouverte, Argiles d'lignite du Soissonnais, Marnes de Gan and Carcassonne Group, France
* Fur Formation, Ølst Formation and southeastern North Sea Graben, Denmark
* Balder Formation, Faroe-Shetland Basin, North Sea
* London Clay, Bagshot Formation, London Basin, England
* Oldhaven Formation, England
* Roterzschicht Formation, Austria
* Lefkara Formation, Cyprus
* Silveirinha Formation, Portugal
* Armàncies, Corca and Roda Formations, Spain
* Pesciara Formation, Italy
* Monte Spilecco (it), Monte Bolca, Italy

Asia

* Çeltek, Kirkkavak and Yoncali Formations, Turkey
* Umm al-Rua'us Formation, Saudi Arabia
* Alai Beds, Kyrgyzstan
* Ghazij, Mami Khel, Shekhan Formation and Kuldana Formations, Pakistan
* Cambay Shale, Naredi and Subathu Formations, Sylhet Limestone and Upper Ranikot Group, India
* Dabu, Qimugen Formation and Ulunguhe Formations, Xinjiang, China
* Arshanto Formation, Inner Mongolia, China
* Yangxi Formation, Hubei, China
* Lingcha Formation, Hunan, China
* Wutu Formation, Shandong, China
* Tadushi Formation, Primorsky Krai, Russia
* Takaradayskaya Formation, Sakhalin, Russia
* Ommai Formation, Kamchatka, Russia
* Akasaki Formation, Japan

Africa

* Esna, El Rufuf Formation and Thebes Formations, Egypt
* Al Jir and Jdeir Formations, Libya
* Gafsa Phosphates Formation, Tunisia
* Ait Ouarhitane Formation, Morocco
* Tamaguélelt Formation, Mali
* Thies Formation, Senegal
* Auradu Formation, Somalia
* Landana Formation, Cabinda, Angola

Oceania

* Red Bluff Tuff Formation, Tutuiri Greensand and Tumaio and Te Whanga Limestones, New Zealand
* Macquarie Harbor Formation, Tasmania, Australia
* Dilwyn Formation, Victoria
* Redbank Plains Formation, Queensland
* Jubilee Member of Cardabia Formation, Western Australia

## References

1. ↑ Greenwood, D.R.; Archibald, S.B.; Mathewes, R.W; Moss, P.T. (2005). "Fossil biotas from the Okanagan Highlands, southern British Columbia and northeastern Washington State: climates and ecosystems across an Eocene landscape". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 (2): 167–185. doi:10.1139/e04-100. Bibcode: 2005CaJES..42..167G.
2. ↑ Archibald, S.; Greenwood, D.; Smith, R.; Mathewes, R.; Basinger, J. (2011). "Great Canadian Lagerstätten 1\. Early Eocene Lagerstätten of the Okanagan Highlands (British Columbia and Washington State)". Geoscience Canada 38 (4): 155–164.
3. ↑ Lowe, A. J.; Greenwood, D. R.; West, C. K.; Galloway, J. M.; Sudermann, M.; Reichgelt, T. (2018). "Plant community ecology and climate on an upland volcanic landscape during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum: McAbee Fossil Beds, British Columbia, Canada". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 511: 433–448. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.09.010. Bibcode: 2018PPP...511..433L.
4. ↑ Bijl, Peter K.; Schouten, Stefan; Sluijs, Appy; Reichart, Gert-Jan; Zachos, James C.; Brinkhuis, Henk (October 2009). "Early Palaeogene temperature evolution of the southwest Pacific Ocean" (in en). Nature 461 (7265): 776–779. doi:10.1038/nature08399. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 19812670. Bibcode: 2009Natur.461..776B. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08399.
5. ↑ Hollis, Christopher J.; Handley, Luke; Crouch, Erica M.; Morgans, Hugh E.G.; Baker, Joel A.; Creech, John; Collins, Katie S.; Gibbs, Samantha J. et al. (1 February 2009). "Tropical sea temperatures in the high-latitude South Pacific during the Eocene". Geology 37 (2): 99–102. doi:10.1130/g25200a.1. ISSN 1943-2682. Bibcode: 2009Geo....37...99H.
6. ↑ Zachos, James; Pagani, Mark; Sloan, Lisa; Thomas, Ellen; Billups, Katharina (2001-04-27). "Trends, Rhythms, and Aberrations in Global Climate 65 Ma to Present" (in en). Science 292 (5517): 686–693. doi:10.1126/science.1059412. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 11326091. Bibcode: 2001Sci...292..686Z. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1059412.
7. ↑ Beerling, David J.; Royer, Dana L. (July 2011). "Convergent Cenozoic CO2 history" (in en). Nature Geoscience 4 (7): 418–420. doi:10.1038/ngeo1186. ISSN 1752-0908. Bibcode: 2011NatGe...4..418B. https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo1186.
8. ↑ Zachos, James C.; Dickens, Gerald R.; Zeebe, Richard E. (January 2008). "An early Cenozoic perspective on greenhouse warming and carbon-cycle dynamics" (in en). Nature 451 (7176): 279–283. doi:10.1038/nature06588. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 18202643. Bibcode: 2008Natur.451..279Z.
9. ↑ Cramwinckel, Margot J.; Huber, Matthew; Kocken, Ilja J.; Agnini, Claudia; Bijl, Peter K.; Bohaty, Steven M.; Frieling, Joost; Goldner, Aaron et al. (July 2018). "Synchronous tropical and polar temperature evolution in the Eocene" (in en). Nature 559 (7714): 382–386. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0272-2. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 29967546. Bibcode: 2018Natur.559..382C. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0272-2.
10. ↑ Cappelli, C.; Bown, P. R.; Westerhold, T.; Bohaty, Stephen M.; Riu, M.; Lobba, V.; Yamamoto, Y.; Agnini, C. (December 2019). "The Early to Middle Eocene Transition: An Integrated Calcareous Nannofossil and Stable Isotope Record From the Northwest Atlantic Ocean (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1410)" (in en). Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology 34 (12): 1913–1930. doi:10.1029/2019PA003686. ISSN 2572-4517. Bibcode: 2019PaPa...34.1913C.
11. ↑ Schneider, Leah J.; Bralower, Timothy J.; Kump, Lee R. (October 2011). "Response of nannoplankton to early Eocene ocean destratification" (in en). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 310 (3–4): 152–162. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.06.018. Bibcode: 2011PPP...310..152S. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031018211003373.
12. ↑ Xie, Yulong; Wu, Fuli; Fang, Xiaomin; Zhang, Dawen; Zhang, Weilin (December 2020). "Early Eocene southern China dominated by desert: Evidence from a palynological record of the Hengyang Basin, Hunan Province" (in en). Global and Planetary Change 195. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2020.103320. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921818120302113. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
13. ↑ Steurbaut (2006)
14. ↑ The GSSP was established by Dupuis et al. (2003)
15. ↑ Alroy, John. "Mammal Paleogene zones". p. The Paleobiology Database. https://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=processViewScale&scale_no=125.
16. ↑ Fossilworks .org

### Literature

* Dumont, A. H.; 1850: Rapport sur la carte géologique du Royaume, Bulletins de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique 16 (2), pp. 351–373. (in French)
* Dupuis, C.; Aubry, M.; Steurbaut, É; Berggren, W. A.; Ouda, K.; Magioncalda, R.; Cramer, B. S.; Kent, D. V.; Speijer, R. P. & Heilmann-Clausen, C.; 2003: The Dababiya Quarry Section: Lithostratigraphy, clay mineralogy, geochemistry and paleontology, Micropaleontology 49 (1), pp. 41–59, ISSN 0026-2803.
* Gradstein, F. M.; Ogg, J. G. & Smith, A. G.; 2004: A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press.
* Steurbaut, É.; 2006: Ypresian , Geologica Belgica 9 (1–2), pp. 73–93.

## External links

* GeoWhen Database – Ypresian
* Paleogene timescale, at the website of the subcommission for stratigraphic information of the ICS
* Stratigraphic chart of the Paleogene, at the website of Norges Network of offshore records of geology and stratigraphy

Template:Paleogene Footer

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kya = thousands years ago. Mya = millions years ago. Gya = billions years ago.
See also: Geologic time scale

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