A sedimentological, faunal, and isotopic record of the middle-to-late Pliocene transition at DSDP Hole 80-548 ...

• Main Authors: Loubere, Paul, Jakiel, Richard
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 1985
• Subjects: Drilling/drill rig; Leg80; Glomar Challenger; Deep Sea Drilling Project DSDP; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.807601; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.807601

Hydraulic piston coring at DSDP Site 548, on the upper continental slope southwest of Ireland, recovered a nearly complete Pliocene section spanning 103 m of sediment. The sediments are greenish gray carbonate-rich hemipelagites containing abundant nannofossils and foraminifers. Grain-size analysis demonstrates that the texture of the section is fairly constant, with most of the variation occurring in 63- to 32-µm and < 2-µm fractions. Previous research has shown that the middle-to-late Pliocene transition in the North Atlantic was marked by the appearance of the planktonic foraminiferal species Globorotalia inflata and by the first occurrence of significant quantities of ice-rafted sediment grains in deep-sea sediments. The latter is taken to represent the first important development of Northern Hemisphere glaciation. The first appearance of G. inflata is carefully documented for Site 548 and is demonstrated to be an evolutionary datum at this site, rather than an ecologically controlled first ... : Supplement to: Loubere, Paul; Jakiel, Richard (1985): A sedimentological, faunal, and isotopic record of the middle-to-late Pliocene transition in the northeastern Atlantic, Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 548. In: De Graciansky, PC; Poag, CW; et al. (eds.), Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, Washington (U.S. Gov. Printing Office), 80, 473-488 ...