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Late Pliocene and Pleistocene Biostratigraphy of the Nordic Atlantic Region

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Late Pliocene and Pleistocene Biostratigraphy of the Nordic Atlantic Region Newsletters on Stratigraphy © Gebrüder Borntraeger 2008 Vol. 43/1: 33–48, June 2008 Late Pliocene and Pleistocene biostratigraphy of the Nordic Atlantic region Erik D. Anthonissen1 With 3 figures and 1 appendix Abstract. The lack of primary and secondary GSSP correlative markers in Plio-Pleistocene deposits of the North Sea, Nordic seas and northern North Atlantic creates a challenge for the biostratigrapher. This study highlights the closest biostratigraphic approximations in this region to the standard chronostratigraphic boundaries of the Gelasian Stage and Lower, Middle and Upper Pleistocene. Via correlations to key Ocean Drilling studies and unambiguous magnetostratigraphies in the region, the age of shallower deposits of the North Sea has been better constrained. The closest biostratigraphic approximations to these chronostrati- graphic boundaries in the region are presented, together with a framework of calibrated events according to sub-basin. The best approximating boundary events at any given location in this region depends upon both the paleoceanographic and paleobathymetric settings. In the Nordic Atlantic region only three GSSP correl- ative marker events have been identified in the 15 Ocean Drilling Program sites discussed. At lower neritic to bathyal water depths, the first common occurrence of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistrally-coiled morphotype) allows for direct correlation with the base Pleistocene GSSP in Italy. The occurrence of the ben- thic foraminifer Cibicides grossus appears to have been bathymetrically controlled, with a youngest strati- graphic occurrence at upper bathyal depths. At lower neritic depths in the central and northern North Sea the last occurrence of C. grossus coincides with the base of the Pleistocene. Diachroneity of a number of Nordic high-latitude bioevents may be primarily due to differences in surface water masses and paleobathymetry. Key words. North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Foraminifera, calibrations, Quaternary, Pliocene 1. Introduction relevant Upper Cenozoic chronostratigraphic units, i. e. Gelasian Stage, Pleistocene Series, Neogene and This study aims to improve the temporal resolution of Quaternary Systems follow Ogg et al. (in press); they the established Plio-Pleistocene biostratigraphy of the are also available from the website of the Internation- Nordic Atlantic region, through multi-fossil calibra- al Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) at www.strati- tions to the standard geologic time scale with its Glob- graphy.org. The orbitally tuned time scale is that of al boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) def- Lourens et al. (2004), which also re-calibrated the initions in the Mediterranean. The definitions of the Berggren et al. (1995) biochronology. Authorʼs address: 1 Erik D. Anthonissen (E-Mail: [email protected]), Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern, 0318 Oslo, Norway DOI: 10.1127/0078-0421/2008/0043-0033 0078-0421/08/0043-0001 $ 3.25 © 2008 Gebrüder Borntraeger, D-14129 Berlin · D-70176 Stuttgart 34 Erik D. Anthonissen 2. Regional setting or normal polarity/reversed polarity). This additional and biostratigraphy age control is often in the form of planktonic marker fossils that have been well-documented both spatially The “Nordic Atlantic region” is here defined as rough- and temporally (planktonic foraminifera, calcareous ly the area stretching from immediately south of the nannoplankton, dinoflagellate cysts and siliceous mi- Greenland-Scotland Ridge northwards, encompassing crofossils). Where integration of data sets from a range the North Sea and Nordic Seas (Norwegian Sea, of both abiotic and biotic proxies is possible (e. g. in Greenland Sea, Iceland Sea, West Barents Sea) to the deep-sea cores), well-constrain ed age models form the Arctic Ocean Gateway and the Yermak Plateau basis for a regional biostratigraphy. (Fig. 1). In this region, the Upper Cenozoic biostrati - High-resolution biostratigraphies have been con- graphy is based primarily upon foraminifers, calcare- structed from Upper Cenozoic depositional sequences ous nannoplankton and organic-walled dinoflagellate in Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) and Ocean cysts. Marine diatoms and continental pollen se- Drilling Program (ODP) coreholes from the Mediter- quences (van der Vlerk and Florschütz 1953, Zagwijn ranean to the high Arctic. For the Nordic Atlantic re- 1974) add paleontological age control across discrete gion, the following planktonic foraminiferal zonation time intervals. At these high latitudes, many of the studies have been most utilised: Weaver and Clement standard ‘global’markers present in the mid- to low- (1986) and Weaver (1987) in the northern North At- latitudes (including the Mediterranean region) are ab- lantic (DSDP Leg 94) and Spiegler and Jansen (1989) in sent; these include most of the primary and secondary the Norwegian Sea (ODP Leg 104). For the North Sea correlative events defining the relevant GSSPs. Basin, dominated by shallow neritic benthic fora mini - Various abiotic and biotic expressions of late Ceno- feral assemblages, the deterministic zonation by King zoic climatic change have been used for dating the onset (1983, 1989) and the probabilistic zonation by Grad- of the Quaternary and Pleistocene in the Nordic Atlantic stein and Bäckström (1996) are most widely used. Their region. Marine isotopic trends and magnetic polarity re- zonal boundaries are defined almost entirely upon last versals show near synchroneity across large geograph- occurrence events (LOs) due to downhole contami - ic regions. However, these dating methods often require nation in industrial exploration well samples. Both additional control to interpret an age, being inherently schemes are based primarily on poorly constrained limited to two outcomes (e. g. either glacial/interglacial ranges of benthic foraminifera, with age interpretations strongly dependent upon the biomagnetostratigraphy of DSDP Leg 94 in the northern North Atlantic. Calibration sites Arctic Ocean In response to high-frequency Quaternary climate A. Northern North Atlantic F. Yermak Plateau & Yermak Plateau & Labrador Sea Svalbard Margin 911 change, benthic communities would have been forced 80° DSDP Leg 94 (606-610); ODP Leg 151 (910, 911); 910 ODP Leg 105 (646, 647); ODP Leg 162 (986) ODP Leg 162 (980-984) to migrate repeatedly to more preferable environmen- G. North Sea B. Irminger Basin Statfjord C borehole; Svalbard Margin (East Greenland Margin) 34/8-1; 15/9-A-11; 2/4-C-11; tal conditions. Benthic foraminifera are sensitive to ODP Leg 152 (918, 919) BGS81/34; B10-3, 13-3, 986 B17-5, B17-6 C. Norwegian Sea & water mass and substrate properties and therefore they Iceland Plateau ODP Leg 151(907); Barents Sea ODP Leg 162 (985) Legend often exhibit sedimentary facies dependency (Mack- Greenland Sea D. Norwegian Sea ‘Nordic Atlantic region’ ensen et al. 1985). They are therefore often unreliable (Vøring Plateau) Warm ocean current 987 ODP Leg 104 (642-644) Cool ocean current Norwegian Sea Industrial well/borehole 907 markers, showing a high degree of diachroneity in their E. Greenland Sea ODP/DSDP Site 643 ODP Leg 162 (987) Greenland-ScotlandIceland RidgeSea 642 644 first and last appearances (Denne and Sen Gupta 1990). 985 Irminger Basin This is especially evident in the bathymetrically con- 918 984 Labrador Sea 919 34/8-1 trolled last occurrence of Cibicides grossus (C. lobatu- 60° 983 Statfjord C 646 15/9-A-11 Northern 982 2/4-C-11 lus var. grossa) in the North Sea (see Appendix 1). North Atlantic 981 BGS81/34 980 North Sea 647 Following ODP Leg 104, a number of new oceanic 611 610 B10-3,13-3,B-17-5/6 609 sites have been drilled as part of ODP Legs 151, 152 Pleistocene & Gelasian GSSP’s and 162 (Fig 1.). Calibration of the stratigraphy of 607 40° 606 898 90° 60° 30° 0° 30° these new sites to astronomical parameters has greatly increased Neogene temporal resolution (Lourens et al., Fig. 1. Map showing the location of calibration points used in this study, including Deep Sea Drilling Project Sites, 1996; Gradstein et al., 2004). These additional data Ocean Drilling Program Sites, and industrial wells/bore- points allow for a broader examination of the relation- holes. Locations are grouped according to region/basin and ship between the geographic distribution and the de- given a letter abbreviation. gree of synchroneity/diachroneity of important north- Late Pliocene and Pleistocene biostratigraphy of the Nordic Atlantic region 35 ern high-latitude bioevents. A better understanding and site coreholes. Where possible, the standard chronos- quantification of the time-transgressive nature of key tratigraphic boundaries of the Late Pliocene – Pleis- planktonic events from oceanic settings will help to tocene have been correlated between sites. This has fa- improve the accuracy of Quaternary biostratigraphy cilitated a biostratigraphic comparison of sites at both a and to better constrain benthic foraminiferal ranges in local level between sub-basins and at a more regional shallower shelf settings such as the North Sea. scale from temperate to polar latitudes. High-resolution integrated stratigraphic data sets are It is only via the high-resolution data sets provided rare in industrial exploration-well studies in the North through these deep-sea cores that reliable stratigraphic and Norwegian seas. Here both quality of material and relationships can be found between the Mediterranean economic constraints limit the availability of paleo- stages and the Nordic Atlantic biostratigraphy. The
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