Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2013 Pliocene-Pleistocene Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy of IODP Hole 1396C Adjacent to Montserrat Island in the Lesser Antilles, Caribbean Sea, Plus Experimentally Induced Diagenesis Mohammed H. Aljahdali Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES PLIOCENE-PLEISTOCENE CALCAREOUS NANNOFOSSIL BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF IODP HOLE 1396C ADJACENT TO MONTSERRAT ISLAND IN THE LESSER ANTILLES, CARIBBEAN SEA, PLUS EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED DIAGENESIS By MOHAMMED H. ALJAHDALI A Thesis submitted to the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Degree Awarded: Spring Semester 2013 Mohammed H. Aljahdali defended this thesis on March 27, 2013. The members of the supervisory committee were: Sherwood W. Wise, Jr. Professor Directing Thesis Yang Wang Committee Member William Parker Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that this thesis has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii Dedicated To my family whose support has made this project possible. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all, I would like to thank and express my gratitude to my major advisor Professor Sherwood “Woody” Wise for his encouragement and suggestion that made this work valuable. Woody introduced me to the Nannofossil micropaleontology field back in 2010 when I was looking for an advisor to work within the foraminifera field. I took classes in his lab with almost no idea about what nannofossils were. A year later, I was invited to sail with the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) on Expedition 340 to the Lesser Antilles; as the only nannofossil specialist yet to complete his master‟s degree to date. I sailed for 7-weeks with 30-high class scientists from all over the world from who I earned the name “NANNO-MAN”, a name denoted to me from volcanologists that never believed nannofossils could precisely age-date sediment in less than 5 minutes! It was one of the happiest moments in my life to sail on the JOIDES RESOLUTION. I would also like to thank many my committee members, Drs. Yang Wang and William Parker. Dr. Wang helped me tremendously in understanding the geochemistry of stable isotopes in marine sediment. Bill Parker, on the other hand, greatly assisted me in the process of geostatistical analyses. Drs. Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem and Thomas Missimer from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) generously allowed me to use the latest scanning electron microscope at KAUST, “Free of charge”, for the summer. Drs. Ali Behzad and Zenon Batang of KAUST were always there to help me improve the resolution of the SEM, and offer a more detailed discussion of the mathematical equations I used for quantitative analysis. The Nannofossil Research Lab Group (NRLG) in our department has many people that I am proud to be working with. I am thankful to our NRLG group: Nick Myres, Tugba Sezen, and Aaron Avery. Nick and Dr. Eric Lochner, from Physics Department, helped me use the SEM of the Physics Department at Florida State University to complete the comparisons I needed. Tugba, with her great ability in using graphic design software, developed the sketch of the nannofossil biostratigraphy summary and correlation. Aaron, one of the smartest people I‟ve ever met, made good discussion about the simulation of artificial late diagenesis produced by elevated temperatures. iv Many thanks go to my colleagues who sailed with me on EXP 340, of the IODP. I had a wonderful time sharing ideas and meeting different cultures from all over the world. I would like to thank our Co-chief scientists Drs. Osamu Ishizuka and Anne Le Friant. Thanks go to my foraminifera specialists colleagues, Andrew Fraass, Michael Martinez-Colon and Debbie Palmer. In Saudi Arabia, I wish to express my regards to our chair professor Ali Basaham, a great marine geochemist and close friend of mine, who never hesitated to guide me and provide invaluable suggestions. I am thankful to all my colleagues in our department at King Abudlaziz University, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Department of Marine Geology. This work has been officially funded by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. The scholarship of the Master degree was provided from King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Marine Sciences. Last, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to my family who encouraged me to pursue my education. My parents, indeed, deserve this work to be dedicated to them. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... x ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. xii 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Calcareous Nannoplankton ................................................................................... 1 1.2. Classical Studies of Nannoplankton ...................................................................... 1 1.3. The Historical Development of Nannofossil Biostratigraphy ............................... 2 1.4. IODP Expedition 340 to the Lesser Antilles ......................................................... 3 1.5. Expedition 340, SITE 1396 ................................................................................... 4 1.6. The Geological Evolution of Montserrat Island .................................................... 5 1.7. SITE 1000, ODP LEG 165 in the Western Caribbean Sea ................................... 5 1.8. Objective ............................................................................................................... 6 2. STUDY AREA AND METHODS ......................................................................................... 12 2.1. Preparation Techniques ....................................................................................... 12 2.1.1. Smear Slides ..................................................................................... 12 2.1.2. Settling Technique ........................................................................... 12 2.1.3. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Technique ........................... 13 2.2. Nannofossil Zonation .......................................................................................... 13 vi 2.3. Counting Method................................................................................................. 13 3. RESULTS .............................................................................................................................. 15 3.1. Pleistocene ........................................................................................................... 16 3.1.1. Emiliania huxleyi Zone (0-0.29 Ma) ................................................ 16 3.1.2. Gephyrocapsa oceanica Zone (0.29 to 0.43 Ma) ............................. 16 3.1.3. Pseudoemiliania lacunosa Zone (0.43-1.24 Ma) ............................. 17 3.1.4. Helicosphaera sellii Zone (1.24-1.60 Ma) ....................................... 17 3.1.5. Calcidiscus macintyrei Zone (1.60-1.93 Ma) .................................. 18 3.2. Pliocene ............................................................................................................... 18 3.2.1. Discoaster brouweri Zone (CN12d C. macintyrei Subzone; 1.93-2.39 Ma) ................................................................................................... 18 3.2.2. Discoaster brouweri Zone (CN12c Discoaster pentaradiatus Subzone; 2.39-2.53 Ma) ................................................................... 18 3.2.3. Discoaster brouweri Zone (CN12b Discoaster surculus Subzone; 2.53-2.76 Ma) ................................................................................... 19 3.2.4. Discoaster brouweri Zone (CN12a Discoaster tamalis Subzone; 2.76-3.65 Ma) ................................................................................... 19 3.2.5. Reticulofenestra pseudoumbilica Zone (CN11; 3.61-4.37 Ma) ....... 20 3.3. Experiments on Diagenesis ................................................................................. 34 4. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................ 38 4.1. Nannofossil Correlation ....................................................................................... 38 vii 4.2. Age-Depth Plot .................................................................................................... 39 4.3. Abnormal Diagenesis .......................................................................................... 39 5. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 47 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................... 49 A. ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CALCAREOUS NANNOFOSSILS CONSIDERED IN THIS THESIS.....................................................................................................................................