Here the result of the Seaham Formation #paleostream, maybe the most relaxing formation stream we will ever have! This Carboniferous tundra wasn't chosen because of it's fossils, but because of its setting.
Seaham was deposited in the neighborhood of a glacier, with volcanoes near by. Such a visual is totally foreign to most people when they think about the Carboniferous, the time of the tropical coal swamps, and that's why this formation made it into our selection.
There is a number of different formations in New South Wales that preserve evidence of the Carboniferous glaciation The trails of these glaciers can be observed to this day in the local geology.
But Seaham not only shows the presence of glaciers but also preserves the soil that formed in it's vicinity. The paleosols recorded here are very similar to modern day tundra soils, with wetter and dryer types found throughout the formation. There is even evidence...
...of little ice domes forming under these cold conditions. These more hilly, dryer areas were mostly inhabited by the "seed fern" Botrychiopsis while the wetter parts were full of horsetails of the genus Dichophyllites. Only trace fossils hint at the presence of insects.
Hopefully future discoveries will add more to this image.
