Species of the acritarch genus palaeostomocystis deflandre 1937: Potential indicators of neritic subpolar to polar environments in antarctica during the cenozoic

A palynological analysis was undertaken on 16 samples from seven piston cores collected along two offshore transects near Seymour and James Ross Islands. Diverse assemblages of reworked marine microplankton (including organicâ€walled dinoflagellate cysts, cymatiosphaerids, leiospheres, and other acr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Palynology
Main Author: Warny, Sophie
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: LSU Scholarly Repository 2009
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Online Access:https://repository.lsu.edu/geo_pubs/1064
https://doi.org/10.1080/01916122.2009.9989682
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Summary:A palynological analysis was undertaken on 16 samples from seven piston cores collected along two offshore transects near Seymour and James Ross Islands. Diverse assemblages of reworked marine microplankton (including organicâ€walled dinoflagellate cysts, cymatiosphaerids, leiospheres, and other acritarchs) and terrestrial palynomorphs (including pollen and spores) were recovered from glacioâ€marine sediments of late Pleistocene age. Among the reworked taxa, four species belonging to the acritarch genus Palaeostomocystis Deflandre 1937 comprise up to 17% of all palynomorphs. Highest abundances were recorded from sites close to the coast. The potential use of Palaeostomocystis as a proxy for early iceâ€sheet development on the Antarctic margins is evaluated in light of earlier studies. This evaluation suggests that the high abundances of Palaeostomocystis on the Antarctic Peninsula reflect neriticâ€type environments (shallow waters, bayâ€like areas, or marginal seas) and subâ€polar to polar conditions as exist in the Bering Sea, Greenland margins, and other subarctic to arctic areas today. © 2009 by AASP Foundation.