Calcareous nannofossils of the Boreal Lower Cretaceous: Applications in biostratigraphy and palaeoceanography

• Main Author: Rutledge, David Charles
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: UCL (University College London) 1994
• Subjects: Barents Sea; Bergen
• Online Access: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10108862/1/Calcareous_nannofossils_of_the.pdf; https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10108862/

The marine Lower Cretaceous sediments of northern, Boreal latitudes yield diverse and well-preserved calcareous nannofossil assemblages. The calcareous nannofloras of nine core and outcrop sections (of Ryazanian-Albian age) in England, Germany, the North Sea, and Barents Sea, are examined in detail (utilising 773 samples). Dense sampling of key outcrop sections (in particular, Speeton) enables calibration of the observed nannofossil events against ammonite zones. The Barents Sea sections, which are shown to be highly condensed, yield the northernmost Lower Cretaceous nannofossils to be described. The previously chaotic taxonomy of Lower Cretaceous nannofossils is revised, and a major rationalisation of genera proposed - this involves several generic emendations, and twenty five new combinations. Two new genera, Apertasphaera and Neoparhabdolithus, and nine new species are described - Apertasphaera jakubowskii, Calculites burnettiae, Clepsilithus maculosus, Cyclagelosphaera papilla, Nannoconus inornatus, Nannoconus pseudoseptentrionalis, Rucinolithus windleyae, Tegumentum bergeni and Tubodiscus parvus. In addition, one new subspecies - Rhagodiscus angustus parvus - is described, and a number of species are split into informal varieties, to avoid biostratigraphical ambiguity. Following these revisions, the suprageneric classification is reappraised, and a new family - Family Tubodiscaceae - is proposed. An updated nannofossil zonation scheme for the Ryazanian to Aptian of the Boreal area is presented; this comprises twenty two zones (labelled BCl to BC22, in ascending order), and a number of additional subzones. Biostratigraphical resolution in the Hauterivian- Barremian is comparable with current ammonite zonations, and enables detailed sequence stratigraphical interpretation. Following the publication of new data from Tethyan sections (Bergen, 1994), the potential for direct inter-regional correlation is investigated; the nannofossil datums utilised generally support traditional, ammonite-based correlations but ...