Ecostratigraphic datums and sequence stratigraphy: Application to the marine Quaternary

Conference · Thu Feb 28 23:00:00 EST 1991 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:7259941

Martin, R E ^[1]; Neff, E ^[2]; Johnson, G W ^[3]; Krantz, D ^[4]

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1. Univ. of Delaware, Neward (United States)
2. Univ. of Rhode Island, Narragansett (United States)
3. Hart Environmental Management, Pennsauken, NJ (United States)
4. Univ. of Delaware, Lewes (United States)

The marine Quaternary is characterized by few evolutionary appearances and extinctions of planktonic foraminifera. Because climatic fluctuations are a fundamental characteristic of Pleistocene, however, better stratigraphic resolution of the marine Quaternary can be gained by the establishment of biozones based on climatically controlled foraminiferal assemblages. Utilizing relative abundances of the warm-water Globorotalia menardii complex and temperature-water G. inflata, supplemented by left- and right-coiling varieties of G. truncatulinoides, the authors have subdivided the prezone-W Pleistocene of the tropical Atlantic (Core V16-205), Caribbean Sea (DSDP Core 502B), and northeast Gulf of Mexico (ODP Core 625B, Eureka Core E67-135) into 17 subzones, each with an average duration of {approximately}100,000 yrs. The subzones appear to reflect water mass shifts and disjunct species distributions resulting from expansion and contraction of northern hemisphere ice sheets. Hence, subzonal boundaries should also reflect change in eustatic sea level and sequence boundaries. Indeed, graphic correlation of the subzones, along with biostratigraphic markers and paleomagnetic and oxygen isotope datums, reveals changes in sediment accumulation rate (especially on the continental slope) and missing section, as well as intervals of deformation (core breaks) that affect the occurrence of subzonal boundaries and biostratigraphic markers.

• OSTI ID: 7259941
• Report Number(s): CONF-910403--
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Journal Name: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States) Vol. 75:3; ISSN AABUD; ISSN 0149-1423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
AGE ESTIMATION
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ATLANTIC OCEAN
BIOLOGICAL MARKERS
CARIBBEAN SEA
CENOZOIC ERA
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
EVALUATION
FORAMINIFERA
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGY
GULF OF MEXICO
INVERTEBRATES
MICROORGANISMS
PALEONTOLOGY
PLANKTON
PROTOZOA
QUATERNARY PERIOD
ROCKS
SARCODINA
SEAS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
STRATIFICATION
STRATIGRAPHY
SURFACE WATERS