Marine Isotope Stage 13 Explained

Marine Isotope Stage 13 or MIS 13 is a Marine isotope stage in the geologic temperature record, in Britain covering the Cromerian interglacial period between ~524,000 and 474,000 years ago. It is split into three substages, MIS 13a MIS 13b, and MIS 13c. Some records indicate that MIS 13a was an unstable warm peak with a cold split in the middle at MIS 13.12 - separating warm MIS 13.11 and 13.13.[1] This interglacial follows the relatively warm glacial period associated with Marine Isotope Stage 14,[2] and is followed by the relatively cold glacial period associated with MIS 12.

Sites

Britain

High Lodge, Suffolk

Waverley Wood, Warwickshire

Happisburgh 1, Norfolk

Boxgrove, West Sussex

Ecology

Flora

Early domination of birch, pine, and spruce. Mixed-oak forests follow (predominantly Alder, Oak, Hornbeam, and Hazel).

Fauna

Mammals

Binomial Common name Direction
Erinaceus sp. ?
Sorex minutus Pygmy shrew ?
Sorex runtonensis † ?
Sorex savini † ?
Neomys sp. Water shrew ?
Talpa europaea Common mole ?
Talpa minor † Pygmy mole ?
Homo sp. Hominid ?
Lepus timidus Mountain hare ?
Oryctolagus cuniculus Common European rabbit ?
Plecotus auritus Long-eared bat ?
Myotis mystacinus Whiskered bat ?
Myotis bechsteini Bechstein's bat ?
Scuirus sp. ?
Canis lupus ?
Ursus deningeri † ?
[3]

Notes and References

  1. Bassinot . Frank C. . Labeyrie . Laurent D. . Vincent . Edith . Quidelleur . Xavier . Shackleton . Nicholas J. . Lancelot . Yves . The astronomical theory of climate and the age of the Brunhes-Matuyama magnetic reversal . Earth and Planetary Science Letters . August 1994 . 126 . 1–3 . 91–108 . 10.1016/0012-821x(94)90244-5 . 1994E&PSL.126...91B .
  2. Hao . Qingzhen . Wang . Luo . Oldfield . Frank . Guo . Zhengtang . Extra-long interglacial in Northern Hemisphere during MISs 15-13 arising from limited extent of Arctic ice sheets in glacial MIS 14 . Scientific Reports . 10 July 2015 . 5 . 12103 . 10.1038/srep12103 . 26159304 . 4498323 . 2015NatSR...512103H .
  3. Book: Pettitt. Paul. White. Mark. The British Palaeolithic. 2012. Routledge. 978-0-415-67455-3. 65.