(Table 2) Distribution of phytoliths in selected samples from DSDP Site 90-591, supplement to: Locker, Sigurd; Martini, Erlend (1986): Phytoliths from the Southwest Pacific, Site 591. In: Kennett, JP; von der Borch, CC; et al. (eds.), Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, Washington (U.S. Govt. Printing Office), 90, 1079-184

• Main Authors: Locker, Sigurd, Martini, Erlend
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science 1986
• Subjects: Event label; Epoch; Nannofossil zone; Sample code/label; Phytoliths; Drilling/drill rig; DSDP/ODP/IODP sample designation; Leg90; Glomar Challenger; Deep Sea Drilling Project DSDP; Antarctic; Kennett; Pacific; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Ice cap
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.804035; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.804035

Phytoliths are described from deep sea sediments at Site 591 in the southwestern Pacific. Their regional distribution is related to the arid and semiarid regions of Australia, from where they were blown by westerly winds into the Tasman Sea area. The stratigraphic record ranges from the middle Miocene, at about 14.4 m.y., until the early Pleistocene. A distinct increase in frequencies observed during the Pliocene and a maximum at about 2.5 m.y. coincide with important trends in paleogeography and paleoclimatology: the development of the Antarctic ice cap, the northward drift of the Australian Plate, and the generation of arid conditions on the Australian continent. : Numbers indicate frequency of particular forms: 1 = 1 specimen, 2 = 2 to 5 specimens, 3 = 6 to 15 specimens, 4 = 16 to 50 specimens, 5 = > 50 specimens, counted in 4 rows (= 120 mm) across the slides.