After the end Cretaceous Extinction, mammals could spread throughout terrestrial environments since dinosaurs were no longer a threat. Mammals rapidly diversifies in part due to the continued splitting of the continents during the Early Cenozoic (Paleogene period). The shift of continents during the Paleogene caused major climate change, most notably, cooling of the south pole due to the isolation of Antarctica (after Austrailia migrated away from it and the Drake Passage between South America and Antartica formed and deepened). The Mid-Atlantic Ridge continued to spread, eventually connecting the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, however, the Pacific ocean never connected with the Arctic as continental crust remained (and still remains) between these oceans. This Bering Land Bridge which connected Asia and Alaska allowed the migration of mammals to America.
Tectonically, subduction continued to flatten at the western margin of North America. Laramide orogenic uplifts were then leveled by erosion by the Oligocene before latter subduction of the Pacific Plate caused the mountain building that led to the modern Rockies & coastal ranges later in the Cenozoic. Rifting began in the region after the Laramide orogeny. One such rift system was the Rio Grande Rift, which is still spreading today. Non-hospot related Yellowstone volcanism & the extraterrestrial impact that formed the world's largest estuary, Chesapeake bay, also occured in the Paleogene.
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Oxygen by D. Canfield: [ Ссылка ]
Brief history of Earth by A. Knoll: [ Ссылка ]
Life on young planet by A. Knoll: [ Ссылка ]
Some assembly required by N. Shubin: [ Ссылка ]
Your inner fish by N. Shubin: [ Ссылка ]
Oxygen by N. Lane: [ Ссылка ]
Alien Oceans by K. Hand: [ Ссылка ]
Life's Engines: [ Ссылка ]
Tools I use as a geologist/teacher/student:
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0:00 What & when was the Paleogene?
0:59 Cretaceous continents
1:45 Paleogene continents
2:19 Continental shifts affected climate
3:39 Mid Atlantic Ridge development
4:57 Bering Land Bridge
5:32 Laramide Orogeny
9:44 Modern Subduction at Western N. America
10:23 Flat terrain following the Laramide?
12:27 Rio Grande Rift formation
14:11 Yellowstone volcanism in the Eocene
14:52 Chesapeake Bay asteroid impact
16:26 Related videos & references
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