From greenhouse to icehouse; organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts as paleoenvironmental indicators in the Paleogene

Because dinocysts notably exhibit high abundances in neritic settings, dinocyst-based environmental and paleoclimatic information is important and complementary to the data derived from typically more offshore groups as planktonic foraminifera, coccolithophorids, diatoms and radiolaria. By presenting case-studies from around the globe, this contribution provides a concise review of our present understanding of the paleoenvironmental significance of dinocysts in the Paleogene (65-25 Ma). Representing Earth's greenhouse-icehouse transition, this episode holds the key to the understanding of extreme transient climatic change. We discuss the potential of dinocysts for the reconstruction of Paleogene sea-surface productivity, temperature, salinity, stratification and paleo-oxygenation along with their application in sequence stratigraphy, oceanic circulation and general watermass reconstructions.