Foraminifera and Their Applications
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FORAMINIFERA AND THEIR APPLICATIONS The abundance and diversity of Foraminifera (‘forams’) make them uniquely useful in studies of modern marine environments and the ancient rock record, and for key applications in palaeoecology and biostratigraphy for the oil industry. In a one-stop resource, this book provides a state-of-the-art overview of all aspects of pure and applied foram studies. Building from introductory chapters on the history of foraminiferal research, and research methods, the book then takes the reader through biology, ecology, palaeoecology, biostratigraphy and sequence stratigraphy. This is followed by key chapters detailing practical applications of forams in petroleum geology, mineral geology, engineering geology, environmental science and archaeology. All applications are fully supported by numerous case studies selected from around the world, providing a wealth of real-world data. The book also combines lavish illustrations, including over 70 stunning original picture-diagrams of Foraminifera, with comprehensive references for further reading, and online data tables provid- ing additional information on hundreds of foram families and species. Accessible and practical, this is a vital resource for graduate students, academic micropalaeontologists, and professionals across all disciplines and industry set- tings that make use of foram studies. robert wynn jones has 30 years’ experience working as a foraminiferal micropalaeontologist and biostratigrapher in the oil industry, from gaining his Ph.D. in 1982, until his recent retirement from BG Group PLC. Throughout his career, he also maintained an active interest in academic research, producing over one hundred publications, which include seven books, among them Applied Palaeontology (Cambridge, 2006) and Applications in Palaeontology: Techniques and Case Studies (Cambridge, 2011). Dr Jones is also the author of a book on the history of London, and is an Honorary Scientific Associate of the Natural History Museum in London. FORAMINIFERA AND THEIR APPLICATIONS ROBERT WYNN JONES The Natural History Museum, London University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107036406 © Robert Wynn Jones 2014 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2014 Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ International Ltd. Padstow Cornwall A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data ISBN 978-1-107-03640-6 Hardback Additional resources for this publication at www.cambridge.org/foraminifera Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Dedicated to John Haynes and John Whittaker, and to the memory of Fred Banner Contents Preface page xi Acknowledgements xiii 1 Past, present and future foraminiferal research 1 1.1 Past research (retrospective) 1 1.2 Present research (perspective) 6 1.3 Future research (prospective) 7 2 Research methods 8 2.1 Work-flow 8 2.2 Sample acquisition and processing 8 2.3 Analytical data acquisition 11 2.4 Interpretation 12 2.5 Integration 12 3 Biology, morphology and classification 13 3.1 Biology 13 3.2 Morphology 15 3.3 Systematics 21 3.4 Further reading 71 4 Ecology 74 4.1 Ecology 74 4.2 Bathymetric distribution 77 4.3 Sedimentary environments 84 4.4 (Bio)geographic distribution 86 4.5 Oceanography 87 4.6 Environmental interpretation technologies 89 4.7 Further reading 91 vii viii Contents 5 Palaeobiology, palaeoecology (or palaeoenvironmental interpretation) 95 5.1 Palaeoenvironmental interpretation 95 5.2 Foraminifera in palaeoenvironmental interpretation 96 5.3 Palaeobathymetry 99 5.4 Sedimentary environments 103 5.5 Palaeo(bio)geography 106 5.6 Palaeoceanography 109 5.7 Palaeoclimatology 110 5.8 Biogeochemical proxies in palaeoenvironmental interpretation 111 5.9 Palaeoenvironmental interpretation and associated visualisation technologies 112 5.10 Further reading 114 6 Palaeobiological or evolutionary history of the Foraminifera 119 6.1 Evolutionary history of the Foraminifera 119 6.2 Further reading 122 7 Biostratigraphy 124 7.1 Biostratigraphy 124 7.2 Foraminifera in biostratigraphy 126 7.3 Palaeozoic 128 7.4 Mesozoic 128 7.5 Cenozoic 129 7.6 Biostratigraphic and associated visualisation technologies 133 7.7 Stratigraphic time-scales 137 7.8 Further reading 138 8 Sequence stratigraphy 140 8.1 Sequence stratigraphy 140 8.2 Foraminifera in sequence stratigraphy 144 8.3 Further reading 147 9 Applications and case studies in petroleum geology 148 9.1 Principles and practice of petroleum geology 149 9.2 Applications in petroleum exploration 163 9.3 Case studies of applications in petroleum exploration 164 9.4 Applications in reservoir exploitation 244 9.5 Case studies of applications in reservoir exploitation 245 9.6 Applications in well-site operations 251 9.7 Case studies of applications in well-site operations 252 9.8 Unconventional petroleum geology 255 Contents ix 9.9 Micropalaeontology and Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) issues in the petroleum industry 256 9.10 Further reading 257 10 Applications and case studies in mineral geology 262 10.1 Application and case study in mineral exploration 262 10.2 Applications and case studies in mineral exploitation 263 10.3 Further reading 264 11 Applications and case studies in engineering geology 265 11.1 Applications and case studies in site investigation 265 11.2 Applications and case studies in seismic hazard assessment 268 11.3 Further reading 269 12 Applications and case studies in environmental science 270 12.1 Application and case study in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 270 12.2 Applications and case studies in environmental monitoring 271 12.3 Applications and case studies in anthropogenically mediated global change (‘global warming’) 273 12.4 Further reading 274 13 Applications and case studies in archaeology 277 13.1 Applications 277 13.2 Case studies of applications 279 13.3 Further reading 292 References 294 Index 374 Preface What, if anything, are Foraminifera? This is a question that I am often asked. I tend to try to keep my answer simple, so as to be as comprehensible as possible to the layman. I say that they are single- celled organisms similar to Amoebae, but differing in possessing shells. Why should I care? This is another question that I am often asked in one form or another (such as ‘So what?’), usually immediately after I have given my answer to the previous one. I say: on account of their numerical importance in modern environments and in the ancient rock record; and of their practical importance to Science and to Human- kind, in developing an understanding of modern environments and of the ancient rock record. Importance of Foraminifera The number of nominal living species of Foraminifera, including synonyms, has been estimated to be at least 6000 (Jones, 1994, based on a count of those in the Ellis & Messina Catalogue), and could be considerably more (Pawlowski et al., 2003a; Murray, 2007; Lipps & Finger, 2010; Pawlowski et al., 2010; Pignatti et al., 2010). The total number of fossil and living species, again including synonyms, has been estimated to be at least 38 000. Foraminifera have been estimated to constitute approximately 2% of all the animals, or animal-like organ- isms, known from the Cambrian–Recent, and 38% of the animal-like protists or ‘protozoans’ (Boltovskoy & Wright, 1976). As individuals as opposed to species, Foraminifera are common in all modern and ancient marine environments, such that their study has been, and continues to xi xii Preface be, central to a number of branches of natural science, including biology, ecology, oceanography, geology and palaeontology. It is perhaps as fossils that they are best known, and that they have been, and continue to be, most useful to Science and to Humankind. Fossil Foraminifera are sufficiently common throughout the rock record as to have proved particularly invaluable in the science of stratigraphic palaeontology, or biostratigraphy, and in palaeoenvironmental interpretation, both in academia and in industry, for example in petroleum, mineral and engineering geology. Some, so-called larger benthic Foraminifera or LBFs, are sufficiently large as well as common in parts of the rock record as to be rock-forming, and even, locally, reservoir-forming! Books on Foraminifera There have been a large number of previous books on Foraminifera, including, for example, those of Loeblich & Tappan (1964), Murray (1973), Boltovskoy & Wright (1976), Haynes (1981), Bolli et al.(1985), van Morkhoven et al.(1986), Loeblich & Tappan (1987), Murray (1991), Sen Gupta (1999) and Murray (2006). These books each cover one or two of the key aspects of biology, morphology and classification; ecology; palaeobiology or palaeoecology; biostratigraphy;