Seasonality controls the vegetation of a late Middle Miocene forest in Europe

The Miocene was a past warm interval considered highly relevant to future climate projections. Whilst temperatures during the Miocene were constrained by multiple proxies, the hydrology of the Miocene is still largely unknown. Here we present a new palaeoclimatic analysis of the Middle Miocene (Serravallian) Kenslow Member of the Brassington Formation in the United Kingdom to elucidate the hydrology of this interval. Using fossil palynomorphs we perform a Bayesian palaeoclimate reconstruction, plant functional type analysis and cluster analysis. Our results show that summer and winter precipitation were important factors in the dynamics of Miocene forests, even in a climate zone with no pronounced dry season.