Environmental shifts in the lower miocene neuhofen formation linked to global sea level and climate change

Hofmayer F., Boggiani B. H. , SomanR. , Andrade K.D., Ćorić S., Reichenbacher B. (2023). An integrative palaeoenvironmental and chronostratigraphic study of the Lower Miocene in the North Alpine Foreland Basin – Are global climate signals detectable? Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology,
Volume 627,111719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111719.

This study from southeast Germany shows that global climate changes nearly 18 million years ago left clear traces in ancient marine sediments of the North Alpine Foreland Basin. By analyzing fossils and chemical signatures in rock layers, researchers identified environmental shifts that match known global sea level and climate events. These findings challenge earlier interpretations and offer a more precise timeline for sediment deposits in the region. One key discovery links a shift from deep, nutrient-rich waters to shallower, less nutrient-rich conditions with a global cooling phase. The results confirm that even shallow inland seas responded to global climate cycles in the early Miocene period.