ABSTRACT MITRA, MADHUMI. Paleopalynology of the Tar Heel Formation of Atlantic Coastal Plain of North Carolina, United States (Under the direction of James Earl Mickle.) Sediments from the Late Cretaceous Tar Heel Formation in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of North Carolina were investigated for occurrence and distribution of palynomorphs. Exposures along rivers at Elizabethtown, Goldsboro, Ivanhoe, Lock, Willis Creek and Tar River in North Carolina were systematically collected. One hundred and three sediment samples were macerated by standard techniques modified by eliminating treatments with nitric acid and potassium hydroxide, and analyzed for palynomorphs. Eighty species of palynomorphs were distributed in 4 form genera of freshwater algae, 3 of dinoflagellates, 9 of fungi, 15 of pteridophytes, 11 of gymnosperms and 24 of angiosperms. Angiosperms were the dominant components in assemblages at all localities. Representatives of the Normapolles pollen group (characteristic angiosperm pollen group of middle and high northern latitudes of eastern North America and Europe) occur throughout the Tar Heel Formation and collectively comprise 29%-54% of the angiosperm assemblages. Palynological age assessment is in concordance with earlier dating determined by other workers based on invertebrate faunas. Minimum variance clustering with squared Euclidean distances in the Q-mode (clustering of samples) indicates that stratigraphically older layers of Ivanhoe, Lock and Willis Creek are similar in palynofloral composition, and one section of the Goldsboro locality is compositionally equivalent to the Tar River locality. Minimum variance cluster analysis in the R-mode (clustering of taxa) indicates the association of Campanian taxa in the same cluster. This reconfirms that localities of the Tar Heel Formation are of Early Campanian age. Informal biostratigraphic zones of Campanian (CA2-CA4) known from other Atlantic Coastal Plain deposits do not occur in the Tar Heel Formation. Quantitative analysis is consistent with the long-standing hypothesis of diversification and dominance of angiosperm pollen groups during the Campanian. The palynological record of the Tar Heel Formation, based on some indicator taxa with modern equivalents, suggests that subtropical to warm, moist temperate conditions prevailed in the southeastern region of North America during Campanian time. PALEOPALYNOLOGY OF THE TAR HEEL FORMATION OF ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES by MADHUMI MITRA A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy BOTANY Raleigh 2002 APPROVED BY ___________________________ _____________________________ Chair of Advisory Committee ___________________________ _____________________________ ___________________________ BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Madhumi Mitra was born in Calcutta, India. She is the only child of Amarendranath Mitra and Aloka Paul Mitra. Madhumi completed her baccalaureate degree with first class honors in Botany from Presidency College, Calcutta, India. She obtained a masters of science degree in Botany with specialization in Phycology from the University of Calcutta, India in December 1989. After four years of absence from academics, Madhumi enrolled in a Ph.D program in Paleobotany at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, in August 1993 under the supervision of Dr. James E. Mickle. She took a leave of absence for two years and moved to Puerto Rico in June 1995 to be with her family. During her stay in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Madhumi worked as a research assistant in the Department of Biology at University of Puerto Rico. She also taught AP (Advanced Placement) Biology at Baldwin School of Puerto Rico from 1996-1997. Madhumi returned to North Carolina State University in August 1997 and continued her doctoral work in Paleopalynology. Madhumi has supervised and taught laboratories in Biology and Botany at North Carolina State University. She is currently employed as a full-time Lecturer and Teacher Educator (Biology Education) in the Department of Natural Sciences at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, Maryland. She teaches courses in Biology, Botany, Geology and Environmental Sciences and supervises undergraduate and graduate interns in the Biology Education program. Madhumi received the Conant travel award to attend the XVI International Botanical Congress in St. Louis, Missouri in August 1999. She received an International ii Travel Award from the Botanical Society of America to attend the Sixth International Paleobotanical Congress in Qinhuangdao, China in July 2000. She is the recipient of a Chrysalis Award from AWG (Association for Women Geoscientists) in 2000. She also received a Service Learning award from the Institute of Service Learning at Salisbury University in 1999. In 2001, she received a Faculty Development Grant to develop an online laboratory manual in Botany. Madhumi has presented her research at various professional meetings both nationally and internationally. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my parents for their constant encouragement, understanding and unfailing support in this endeavor. I express my heartfelt thanks to my supervising professor, Dr. James. E. Mickle, for his encouragement, support and guidance during my years of study at North Carolina State University. He has been my friend, philosopher and guide, in the truest sense. I wish to thank Dr. Thomas Wentworth of Department of Botany at North Carolina State University for providing an extremely supportive role as the Co-chairman of my advisory committee and helping me to remain focused in this project. I would like to thank Dr. Patricia Gensel of Department of Biology at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, for honing my background in palynology and providing insight on paleofloristics. I am thankful to Dr. Elisabeth Wheeler of Department of Wood and Paper Science at North Carolina State University, a distinguished member of my dissertation committee, for her constant support and enthusiasm. I always received sound advice from her whenever I approached her with situations that I had difficulty in dealing with. I am glad to have Dr. Marianne Feaver on my dissertation advisory committee. I am thankful for her comments and suggestions. Special thanks go to Dr. Jenny Xiang of Department of Botany at North Carolina State University for her helpful comments on my dissertation and agreeing to serve on the advisory committee during Dr. Gensel’s absence. I am indebted to Dr. Debra Willard of United States Geological Survey for training me on the palynological techniques for processing clastic rocks. I am extremely iv grateful to Drs. Lucy Edwards, Greg Gohn, Norm Frederiksen of United States Geological Survey, Dr. Raymond Christopher of Clemson University, Drs David Batten, William Elsik, Michael Farabee, Robert Ravn, Michael Zavada for helping me identify palynomorphs, providing me with useful references and other valuable suggestions. I am greatly indebted to Dr. Don Engelhardt who was an excellent technical resource with regard to morphology, taxonomy and literature of palynomorphs from the Late Cretaceous Coastal Plain sediments. Special thanks go to my husband, Dr. Abhijit Nagchaudhuri who constantly motivated me besides helping me with collection of samples from sites and assisting me with data analysis. I am thankful to have a wonderful daughter, Auromita, who was a source of inspiration for me to move on despite many obstacles in my life. I am very thankful to Professor Charles Elzinga of Mathematics and Computer Science at University of Maryland Eastern Shore for his valuable assistance with statistical data analysis. Special appreciation goes to my friend, Arindam Sengupta for assisting me with Adobe Photoshop, figures generated by Autocad and helping me with translations from German to English. Many thanks are due to Dr. Gerald Van Dyke, Dr. Nina Allen, Ms. Donna Wright, Ms. Irena Brglez, Ms. Sue Vitello, Ms. Linda Jenkins, Ms. Joyce Bruffey of the Department of Botany at North Carolina State University for providing help and support all the time. I sincerely thank, Dr. Joseph Okoh of Department of Natural Sciences at University of Maryland Eastern Shore for understanding and encouraging me while I was working on writing my dissertation. I wish to thank Ms. Hedricks, GIS Coordinator of v University of Maryland Eastern Shore, for teaching me GIS that was helpful in creating maps for this project. Research for this dissertation was supported by grants from the Geographical Society of America. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………………………………… viii LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………………………………….. ix 1. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………….. 1 1.1 Importance of the Research ………………………………………………………….. 1 1.2 Objectives ……………………………………………………………………………. 5 1.3 Background Information …………………………………………………………….. 5 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS ……………………………………………………….. 13 2.1 History, Geology and Distribution of the Tar Heel Formation …………………….. 13 2.2 Description of the Collecting Sites ………………………………………………… 14 2.3 Materials and Techniques for Collection ………………………………………….. 17 2.4 Identification of Taxa ……………………………………………………………….. 21 3. SYSTEMATIC PALEOPALYNOLOGY …………………………………………….. 24 3.1 Distribution of Palynomorphs …………………………………………………….. 25 3.2 Classification of Palynomorphs …………………………………………………… 25 3.3 Description of Palynomorphs ……………………………………………………..