Eocene-Oligocene benthic foraminiferal distribution in the deep Bay of Biscay

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Auteur principal: Miller, Kenneth G
Format: Dataset Open Access
Langue:en
Publié: PANGAEA 1983
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_version_ 1867169496969510912
author Miller, Kenneth G
author_facet Miller, Kenneth G
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents A major change in benthic foraminiferal assemblages occurred in the deep Bay of Biscay (>3 km water; DSDP Sites 119, and Site 400A) between early middle Eocene and earliest Oligocene. Predominant Eocene deep-sea taxa (Nuttallides truempyi, Clinapertina spp., Abyssamina spp.) and associated rarer species became extinct in this interval. These extinctions were followed by an increase in abundance of bathymetrically wide-ranging and stratigraphically long-ranging taxa: Globocassidulina subglobosa, Oridorsalis spp., Gyroidinoides spp., and the Cibicidoides ungerianus plexus. The extinctions cannot be dated precisely from the stratigraphic record recovered to date in the Bay of Biscay; however, the replacement of the N. truempyi-dominated assemblage has been noted previously in the deep South Atlantic/Caribbean as occurring near the middle/late Eocene boundary. Other than the decrease in abundance and extinction of N. truempyi, no major abundance changes are noted within the Eocene at the shallower Site 401 (~2 km water) in the Bay of Biscay. During the Oligocene, Nuttallides umbonifera replaced the Eocene species N. truempyi as the predominant deep-sea benthic foraminifera, reaching peak abundance in the middle Oligocene at Sites 119 and Site 400A. In the modern oceans, the abundance of N. umbonifera is positively correlated with increased corrosiveness of bottom water, while at Site 119 the abundance of Nuttallides spp. is negatively correlated with delta13C values in benthic foraminifera. As lower delta13C values are often associated with older water masses, large numbers of Nuttallides spp. are thought to reflect older, and more corrosive bottom water. The faunal data and oxygen and carbon isotopic data are compared with a circulation model derived from North Atlantic seismic stratigraphic studies to show that old, warm, corrosive, and sluggish Eocene bottom water was replaced by younger, colder, less corrosive, more vigorously circulating bottom water of northern origin by the early Oligocene. Faunal and isotopic data suggest that bottom water became older and more corrosive again in the middle Oligocene, reflecting a reduction in circulation that can also be inferred from the seismic record in the nearby Rockall Plateau region.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_690371
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 1983
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle Eocene-Oligocene benthic foraminiferal distribution in the deep Bay of Biscay
Miller, Kenneth G
12-119; 48-400A; 48-401; Deep Sea Drilling Project; DRILL; Drilling/drill rig; DSDP; Glomar Challenger; Leg12; Leg48; North Atlantic/BASIN; North Atlantic/SEAMOUNT; North Atlantic/TERRACE
A major change in benthic foraminiferal assemblages occurred in the deep Bay of Biscay (>3 km water; DSDP Sites 119, and Site 400A) between early middle Eocene and earliest Oligocene. Predominant Eocene deep-sea taxa (Nuttallides truempyi, Clinapertina spp., Abyssamina spp.) and associated rarer species became extinct in this interval. These extinctions were followed by an increase in abundance of bathymetrically wide-ranging and stratigraphically long-ranging taxa: Globocassidulina subglobosa, Oridorsalis spp., Gyroidinoides spp., and the Cibicidoides ungerianus plexus. The extinctions cannot be dated precisely from the stratigraphic record recovered to date in the Bay of Biscay; however, the replacement of the N. truempyi-dominated assemblage has been noted previously in the deep South Atlantic/Caribbean as occurring near the middle/late Eocene boundary. Other than the decrease in abundance and extinction of N. truempyi, no major abundance changes are noted within the Eocene at the shallower Site 401 (~2 km water) in the Bay of Biscay. During the Oligocene, Nuttallides umbonifera replaced the Eocene species N. truempyi as the predominant deep-sea benthic foraminifera, reaching peak abundance in the middle Oligocene at Sites 119 and Site 400A. In the modern oceans, the abundance of N. umbonifera is positively correlated with increased corrosiveness of bottom water, while at Site 119 the abundance of Nuttallides spp. is negatively correlated with delta13C values in benthic foraminifera. As lower delta13C values are often associated with older water masses, large numbers of Nuttallides spp. are thought to reflect older, and more corrosive bottom water. The faunal data and oxygen and carbon isotopic data are compared with a circulation model derived from North Atlantic seismic stratigraphic studies to show that old, warm, corrosive, and sluggish Eocene bottom water was replaced by younger, colder, less corrosive, more vigorously circulating bottom water of northern origin by the early Oligocene. Faunal and isotopic data suggest that bottom water became older and more corrosive again in the middle Oligocene, reflecting a reduction in circulation that can also be inferred from the seismic record in the nearby Rockall Plateau region.
title Eocene-Oligocene benthic foraminiferal distribution in the deep Bay of Biscay
topic 12-119; 48-400A; 48-401; Deep Sea Drilling Project; DRILL; Drilling/drill rig; DSDP; Glomar Challenger; Leg12; Leg48; North Atlantic/BASIN; North Atlantic/SEAMOUNT; North Atlantic/TERRACE
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.690371