Mesozoic Environmental Variations from Internal to External Forcing

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental upheavals in Mesozoic times led to biological crises and turnovers in the biosphere. These events are associated with severe climate fluctuations and perturbations of biogeochemical cycles and can arise during times of major paleogeographic changes, including the break-up of Pangea and the opening of several oceanic areas. Massive volcanic activity (CAMP, Karoo–Ferrar, Paraná–Etendeka) and global anoxic events (e.g. Toarcian OAE, OAE1a, and OAE2) also punctuate this extensive period. Establishing the relationships between internal and external geodynamical factors still remains a crucial problem for the community working on past environmental changes.

In this Special Issue, we will gather studies that tackle various aspects of internal (tectonic, volcanism) and external (orbital cycles, sea-level fluctuations) geodynamic processes affecting the Triassic, Jurassic, or Cretaceous environments. We welcome sedimentological, geochemical, climate modelling, and all integrated approaches, including paleogeographic and sea-level reconstructions, paleontological environment proxies, and stratigraphic methods for regional to global correlations.

The areas of major interest for this Special Issue include (but not limited to) the following:

• Characterization and correlations of geodynamical (external, internal) events;
• Sedimentological and geochemical features of Mesozoic deposits;
• Biogeochemical cycles and paleoceanography;
• Combined stratigraphical approaches in order to link internal and external processes (cyclostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and tephrostratigraphy);
• Paleontological and paleoecological proxies for environmental reconstructions;
• Climate and geochemical modellings of various time scales and geographical areas;
• Continental weathering linked to internal (paleorelief, volcanism, and orogeny) and external (climate, sea level fluctuations) geodynamic drivers.

This Special Issue of Geosciences seeks original and innovative research papers devoted to documenting events and paleoenvironmental evolutions through Mesozoic times and discussing their internal and external geodynamical origins.

Dr. Pierre Pellenard
Dr. Mathieu Martinez
Guest Editors

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• Paleoclimate
• Paleogeography
• Paleoceanography
• Geodynamical processes
• Mesozoic events
• Astronomical cycles
• Volcanism
• Paleoweathering
• Triassic
• Jurassic
• Cretaceous