Distribution of Foraminifera Off Mangalore-Cochin Sector, West Coast of India
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DISTRIBUTION OF FORAMINIFERA OFF MANGALORE-COCHIN SECTOR, WEST COAST OF INDIA thesis submitted for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in MARINE SCIENCE to the GOA UNIVERSITY By DEEPAK N. MAYENKAR, M Sc. 7,1 • ct2 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY CONA PAULA, GOA 403 004, INDIA DLS 4T-7 1994 STATEMENT As required under the University ordinance 19.8 (ii), I state that the present thesis entitled "DISTRIBUTION OF FORAMINIFERA OFF MANGALORE-COCHIN SECTOR, WEST COAST OF INDIA" is my original contribution and that the same has not been submitted on any previous occasion to the best of my knowledge, the present study is* the first comprehensive study of its kind from the area mentioned. The literature concerning the problem investigated has been cited. Due acknowledgements have been made wherever facilities have been availlaof. (DR. RAJIV WIGAN) (DEEPAR N. MAYENKAR) Guide, r,A Candidate Geological Oceanography Division, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa - 403 004 INDIA. To my parents CONTENTS PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT xv CHAPTER 1 . INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 2 1.3 PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE PRESENT STUDY 3 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5 2.1 INTRODUCTION 5 2.2 FORAMINIFERAL STUDIES FROM THE ARABIAN SEA 6 2.3 FORAMINIFERAL STUDIES FROM THE BAY OF BENGAL 17 2.4 FORAMINIFERAL STUDIES FROM THE INDIAN OCEAN 30 CHAPTER 3 PHYSIOGRAPHIC SETTING OF THE AREA 37 3.1 INTRODUCTION 37 3.2 GEOLOGY OF THE HINTERLAND 37 3.3 CLIMATE 38 3.4 BATHYMETRY 39 3.5 SEDIMENT TEXTURE 39 3.6 HYDROGRAPHY 41 3.6.1 Dissolved Oxygen 41 3.6.2 Temperature 41 3.6.3 Salinity 43 3.7 ORGANIC CARBON 43 3.8 GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE SEDIMENTS 44 CHAPTER 4 MATERIALS AND METHODS 45 4.1 INTRODUCTION 45 4.2 FLOW CHART 45 4.3 FIELD METHOD 45 4.4 LABORATORY METHODS 47 4.4.1 General Processing 47 4.4.2 Morphological Studies 48 4.4.2.1 Morphological groups of benthic foraminifera 48 4.4.3 Statistical Analyses 49 4.4.3.1 Cluster analyses 49 CHAPTER 5 SYSTEMATIC TAXONOMY 50 5.1 CLASSIFICATION 50 5.2 REPOSITORY OF THE TYPE MATERIAL 51 5.3 SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTIONS 51 5.3.1 Family HORMOSINIDAE 51 5.3.2 Family DISCAMMINIDAE 52 5.3.3 Family SPIROPLECTAMMINIDAE 52 5.3.4 Family TROCHAMMINIDAE 53 5.3.5 Family VERNEUILINIDAE 54 5.3.6 Family TEXTULARIIDAE 55 5.3.7 Family OPTHALMIDIIDAE 56 5.3.8 Family SPIROLOCULINIDAE 58 5.3.9 Family HAUERINIDAE 61 5.3.10 Family ALVEOLINIDAE 76 5.3.11 Family NODOSARIIDAE 77 5.3.12 Family VAGINULINIDAE 82 5.3.13 Family LAGENIDAE 87 5.3.14 Family ELLIPSOLAGENIDAE 91 5.3.15 Family CERATOBULIMINIDAE 93 5.3.16 Family ROBERTINIDAE 94 5.3.17 Family GUEMBELITRIIDAE 95 5.3.18 Family GLOBOROTALIIDAE 95 5.3.19 Family PULLENIATINIDAE 98 5.3.20 Family CANDEINIDAE 99 5.3.21 Family CATAPSYDRACIDAE 100 5.3.22 Family GLOBIGERINIDAE 100 5.3.23 Family BOLIVINIDAE 110 5.3.24 Family BOLIVINELLIDAE 117 5.3.25 Family BOLIVINITIDAE 117 5.3.26 Family CASSIDLTLINIDAE 118 5.3.27 Family STAINFORTHIIDAE 122 5.3.28 Family SIPHOGENERINOIDEDAE 123 5.3.29 Family BULIMINIDAE 125 5.3.30 Family UVIGERINIDAE 129 5.3.31 Family REUSSELLIDAE 134 5.3.32 Family FURSENKOINIDAE 135 5.3.33 Family VIRGULINELLIDAE 136 5.3.34 Family BAGGINIDAE 137 5.3.35 Family EPONIDIDAE 139 ii 5.3.36 Family ROSALINIDAE 142 5.3.37 Family PSEUDOPARRELLIDAE 143 5.3.38 Family DISCORBINELLIDAE 143 5.3.39 Family PLANULINIDAE, 144 5.3.40 Family CIBICIDIDAE 145 5.3.41 Family EPISTOMARIIDAE 147 5.3.42 Family AMPHISTEGINIDAE 148 5.3.43 Family NONIONIDAE 148 5.3.44 Family CHILOSTOMELLIDAE 156 5.3.45 Family GAVELINELLIDAE 157 5.3.46 Family ROTALIIDAE 158 5.3.47 Family ELPHIDIIDAE 163 5.3.48 Family NUMMULITIDAE 167 CHAPTER 6 DISTRIBUTION OF FORAMINIFERA 168 6.1 INTRODUCTION 168 6.2 FORAMINIFERAL DIVERSITY 176 6.3 SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF FORAMINIFERA 176 6.3.1 Benthic Foraminifera 176 6.3.2 Planktonic Foraminifera 179 CHAPTER 7 ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE OF FORAMINIFERA 181 7.1 INTRODUCTION 181 7.2 PLANKTONIC FORAMINIFERA: INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT WATER MASSES ON COMPOSITION 182 7.2.1 Significance and Paleoclimatic Implications 184 7.3 BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA: INFLUENCE OF BATHYMETRY ON DIFFERENT MORPHO-GROUPS 186 7.3.1 Depth and Morpho-groups 186 7.3.2 Oxygen Content and Morpho-groups 188 7.3.3 Organic Carbon and Morpho-groups 189 7.3.4 Significance and Paleoclimatic Implications 189 CHAPTER 8 INFLUENCE OF BATHYMETRY ON BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA: A STATISTICAL APPROACH 192 8.1 INTRODUCTION 192 8.2 THE DATA BASE 192 8.3 CLUSTER ANALYSES 192 8.3.1 Q-Mode Cluster Analysis 192 8.3.2 R-Mode Cluster Analysis 194 iii CHAPTER 9 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 197 9.1 CONCLUSIONS 197 9.2 IMPLICATIONS 198 REFERENCES 199 EXPLANATION TO PLATES 235 APPENDIX 1 257 APPENDIX 2 259 APPENDIX 3 266 iv LIST OF TABLES Table la Work carried out on west coast beaches of India (Arabian Sea) 6 Table lb Work carried out on western nearshore and offshore region of India (Arabian Sea) 8 Table 2a Work carried out on east coast beaches of India (Bay of Bengal) 18 Table 2a Work carried out on eastern nearshore and offshore regions of India (Bay of Bengal) 19 Table 3 Work carried out in Indian Ocean 31 Table 4 Geology of the Hinterland 38 Table 5 Discharge of major rivers of Mangalore-Cochin sector into the Arabian Sea (after Rao, 1979) 39 Table 6 Geographical location of surface sediment samples 45 Table 7 Representative forms of two different morpho-groups (after Nigam et al., 1992b) 49 Table 8 Composition of Suborders of Foraminifera 169 Table 9 Composition of Superfamilies of Foraminifera 169 Table 10 Composition of Major Families of Foraminifera 170 Table 11 List of species (order as per Treatise) identified in surface sediments off Mangalore-Cochin 172 Table 12 Generic variations in the surficial sediments off Mangalore-Cochin . 177 Table 13 Species variation in surficial sediments off Mangalore-Cochin 179 V • LIST OF FIGURES Facing Page Figure 1 : Areas for which foraminiferal studies have been summarised (a) Arabian Sea, (b) Bay of Bengal and (c) Indian Ocean 5 Figure 2 : Pie diagram showing published papers related to Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean 35 Figure 3 Geology of coastal area between Mangalore and Cochin, west coast of India. 37 Figure 4 : Textural distribution of surface sediment (after Nair and Hashimi, 1980; Hashimi, 1990) 39 Figure 5 : Dissolved oxygen in bottom waters (after Stackelberg,1972) 41 Figure 6 : Vertical time section of dissolved Oxygen (a) Off Mangalore (b) Off Cochin (after Sharma, 1968) 41 Figure 7 : Average temperature variation in E.E.Z of Arabian Sea (a) at surface (b) at subsurface (200 m depth) (after Sarupria et al., 1988). 42 Figure 8 : Annual mean sea surface salinity (°/„,,,) in the Arabian Sea. Contoured using 1°x 1° digital data from Levitus (1982). 43 Figure 9 : Seasonal salinity variations (a) off Malabar and (b) off Goa (Ansari, personal communication). Section off Malabar shows two troughs coinciding with south-west and north-east monsoons. 43 Figure 10 : Distribution of organic carbon in Arabian Sea (after Paropkari et al., 1992) 44 Figure 11 : Flow chart of work planned for the present study. 45 Figure 12 : Location of surface sediment samples 46 Figure 13 a : Pie diagram showing percentage composition of Suborders 168 Figure 13 b : Bar diagram showing number of Superfamilies, Families, Genera and Species in each Suborder 168 v i Figure 14 : Pie diagram showing percentage composition of Superfamilies. The number corresponds to names of the Superfamilies as listed in Table 9. 169 Figure 15 : Distribution of (a) Bolivina group, (b) Bulimina, (c) Trifarina and (d) Nonionella in surface sediments (Mangalore-Cochin sector) 177 Figure 16 : Distribution of (a) Nonion group, (b) Eponides, (c) Cancris and (d) Cibicides in surface sediments (Mangalore-Cochin sector) 177 Figure 17 : Distribution of (a) Ammonia, (b) Cassidulina, (c) Uvigerina and (d) Lernella in surface sediments (Mangalore-Cochin sector) 178 Figure 18 : Distribution of (a) Rotalidium, (b) Globobulimina, (c) Amphistegina and (d) Textularia in surface sediments (Mangalore-Cochin sector) 178 Figure 19 : Distribution of (a) Quinqueloculina, (b) Asterorotalia, (c) Agglutinated and (d) Miliolids in surface sediments (Mangalore-Cochin sector) 178 Figure 20 : Distribution of (a) B/P ratio (b) Globigerinoides ruber, (c) Globoturborotalita tenella and (d) Globigerinoides sacculifer in surface sediments (Mangalore-Cochin sector) 179 Figure 21 : Distribution of (a) Globigerinella aequilateralis, (b) Globigerina bulloides, (c) Globigerina falconensis and (d) Globoturborotalita rubescens in surface sediments (Mangalore-Cochin sector) 179 Figure 22 : Distribution of (a) Turborotalita humilis, (b) Turborotalita quinqueloba, (c) Neogloboquadrina pabhyderma and (d) Neogloboquadrina dutertrei in surface sediments (Mangalore-Cochin sector) 180 vii Figure 23 : Distribution of (a) Globoquadrina conglomerata, (b) Neogloboquadrina hexagona, (c) Candeina nitida and (d) Tinophodella ambitacrena in surface sediments (Mangalore-Cochin sector) 180 Figure 24 : Distribution of (a) Globorotalia menardii and (b) Gallitellia vivans in surface sediments (Mangalore-Cochin sector) 180 Figure 25 : Location map of additional samples (collected north of study area) for which data is procured. 182 Figure 26 : Distribution of (a) Globoturborotalita rubescens, (b) Globigerina calida, (c) Tinophodella ambitacrena and (d) Globigerinoides ruber in surface sediments (Vengurla-Cochin sector) 183 Figure 27 : Distribution of (a) Globoquadrina conglomerate, (b) Globoturborotalita tenella, (c) Gallitellia vivans and (d) Globigerina falconensis surface sediments (Vengurla-Cochin sector) 183 Figure 28 : Distribution of (a) Globigerinella aequilateralis, (b) Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, (c) Globigerina bulloides and (d) Neogloboquadrina hexagona in surface sediments (Vengurla-Cochin sector) 183 Figure 29 : Distribution of (a) Turborotalita quinqueloba, (b) Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, (c) Globorotalia menardii and (d) Orbulina universa in surface sediments (Vengurla-Cochin sector) 183 Figure 30 : Distribution of Globigerinoides sacculifer in surface sediments (Vengurla-Cochin sector).