Calcareous dinoflagellate cycst in the mid-Cenomanian Boreal realm

• Main Authors: Wendler, Jens E, Gräfe, Kai-Uwe, Willems, Helmut
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2002
• Subjects: 80-550B; Calais-Escalles; Deep Sea Drilling Project; DRILL; Drilling/drill rig; DSDP; GeoB; Geosciences; University of Bremen; Glomar Challenger; HAND; Leg80; North Atlantic/PLAIN; Oder Estuary; RCD; Rotary core drilling; Ruegen; Sampling by hand; Fennoscandia; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.735804; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.735804

A transect from the bathyal to proximal shelf facies of the Boreal Realm was investigated to compare spatial and temporal distribution changes of calcareous dinoflagellate cysts (c-dinocysts) throughout the mid-Cenomanian in order to gain information on the ecology of these organisms. Pithonelloideae dominated the cyst assemblages to more than 95% on the shelf, a prevalence that can be observed throughout most of the Upper Cretaceous. The affinity of this group with the dinoflagellates, which is still controversially discussed, can be confirmed, based on evidence from morphological features and distribution patterns. The consistent prevalence of Pithonella sphaerica and P. ovalis in c-dinocyst assemblages throughout the Upper Cretaceous indicates that they were produced more frequently than cysts of the other species and might, therefore, represent a vegetative dinoflagellate life stage. P. sphaerica and P. ovalis are interpreted as eutrophic species. P. sphaerica is the main species in a marginal-shelf upwelling area, offshore Fennoscandia. Here, sedimentary cyclicity appears to have been reduced to the strongest light/dark changes, while in the outer shelf sediments, light/dark cycles are well-developed and show pronounced temporal assemblage changes. Cyclic fluctuations in the P. sphaerica / P. ovalis ratio reflect shifts of the preferred facies zones and indicate changes in surface mixing patterns. During periods of enhanced surface mixing most parts of the shelf were well-ventilated, and nutrient-enriched surface waters led to high productivity and dominance of the Pithonelloideae. These conditions on the shelf contrasted with those in the open ocean, where more oligotrophic and probably stratified waters prevailed, and an assemblage with very few Pithonelloideae and dominance of Cubodinellum renei and Orthopithonella ? gustafsonii was characteristic. While orbitally-forced light/dark sedimentary cyclicity of the shelf sections was mainly related to surface-water carbonate productivity changes, no cyclic ...