Integrated stratigraphy of a continental Pliensbachian–Toarcian Boundary (Lower Jurassic) section at Taskomirsay, Leontiev Graben, southwest Kazakhstan

During the Early Jurassic, major palaeoclimatic changes, associated with large carboncycle perturbations, occurred at the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary. Although the detailed marine palaeoclimatic record of this time interval and its impact on the marine biota is well recorded, much less is known about the continental realm. The current study documents new palynological and high-resolution carbon isotope data measured on bulk organic matter from the continental Lower Jurassic section of Taskomirsay in Kazakhstan, Central Asia. Both datasets allow a transition zone between the Pliensbachian and Toarcian to be identified. In addition, the spore and pollen distribution suggests a warming trend from the Pliensbachian to the Toarcian, most probably associated with a shift in floristic associations from the Siberian to the Sino- European palaeofloristic provinces, as recorded elsewhere in Central Asia during the Early Jurassic. The Taskomirsay section is thus of primary interest for palaeoclimatic studies as it is one of the very few well-dated continental section worldwide that records the Pliensbachian-Toarcian palaeoclimatic changes.