15th INA Conference, Bohol, Philippines, 2015, abstracts © 2015 International Nannoplankton Association
ISSN 1210-8049 Printed in the Philippines

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INA15 Bohol, Philippines 2015
Organizing Committee & Staff

Alyssa M. Peleo-Alampay: Chair
Allan Gil S. Fernando: Program Committee Head
Laurel M. Bybell: Lead Editor
David K. Watkins & Jean M. Self-Trail: Assistant Editors
Dorothy Joyce (Doyce) D. Marquez: Logistics and Registration
Dianne Jules G. Rosario: Accommodations, Travel and Venue
Jaan Ruy Conrad (Jaan) P. Nogot: Website and Designs
Jose Dominick (Doms) S. Guballa: Field Trip Guide (Pre-Conference Fieldtrip A)
Abigael (Abi) L. Castro: Field Trip Guide (Pre-Conference Fieldtrip B)
John Warner (Warner) M. Carag: Field Trip Guide (Post-Conference Fieldtrip)
Kevin L. Garas: Field Trip Resource Person (Bohol)
Mario A. Aurelio: Field Trip Resource Person (Palawan)
Dyan Mabille E. Plata: Head of Manila Support Team
Support Team*UHWFKHQ &KHQ 3&DOOHMR5D\PXQG $GRQJ &)HUQDQGH]
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INA15 Bohol, Philippines 2015
Scientific Committee
Alyssa M. Peleo-Alampay

University of the Philippines
INA15 Organizer
Allan Gil S. Fernando

University of the Philippines
INA15 Program Committee Head
Jeremy Young

University College London
INA President
David K. Watkins

University of Nebraska
INA Past President and INA11 organizer
Michael Styzen

Noble Energy
INA Foundation Manager
Jean M. Self-Trail

U.S. Geological Survey
INA14 Organizer
Ric Jordan

Yamagata University
INA13 Organizer
Mario Cachao

University of Lisbon
INA10 Organizer
Kyoko Hagino

Kochi University
Alicia Kahn

Chevron Oil Company
Jackie Lees

University College London and ALS Ellington
Giuliana Villa

University of Parma
INA9 Organizer

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INA15 Program
Saturday 7th March
6:30 am – 6:30 pm
Pre-Conference Fieldtrip A (Bohol Countryside Tour)
Sunday 8th March
7:00 am – 1:00 pm
Pre-Conference Fieldtrip B (Balicasag Island
Snorkeling)
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Early Registration
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Ice Breaker Reception/Cocktails (Sponsored by Hon.
Edgar M. Chatto, Governor of Bohol Province)
Monday 9th March
7:00 am – 9:00 am
Registration Open
9:00 am – 9:30 am
Opening Ceremony
Welcome Address: Hon. Edgar M. Chatto Governor of
Bohol Province
9:30 am – 10:00 am
Morning Coffee BreakINA Group Photo Session 1
Session I: Micropaleontology and the IODP
Chair: Jose-Abel Flores
10:00 am
Kulhanek, D.K.
Micropaleontology and the International Ocean
Discovery Program: a primer
10:20 amYoung, J.R., Bown, P.R. and Lazarus, D.
Interrogating the Neptune database for nannofossil
occurrence data - species records and diversity estimates
Session II: Taxonomy and Evolution
Chairs: Jeremy Young and Richard Howe
10:40 am
Mattioli, E.
Environmentally driven evolutionary patterns in thesize of the calcareous nannofossil Schizosphaerellathrough the Jurassic

11:00 am
Newsam, C., Bown, P. and Dunkley Jones, T.
Calcareous nannoplankton evolution across the
Eocene-Oligocene transition
11:20 amŠupraha, L., Gerecht, A., Probert, I. and Henderiks, J.
Strain-specific ecophysiological traits define theresponse to phosphorus limitation in Helicosphaera
carteri
11:40 am
Hagino, K., Onuma, R., Takano, Y., Young,J., Tomioka, N. and Horiguchi, T.
Possibility of extracellular calcification of Braarudosphaera bigelowii deduced from cell-surface structureand elemental compositions of pentaliths by analyticalelectron microscopy
12:00 pm
Jafar, S.A.
The incredible Braarudosphaera bigelowii, a coccolithophore that displays exceptional mathematical
traits
12:20 am – 1:40 pm
LUNCH(Sponsored by Dr. Michael L. Tan, Chancellor of the
University of the Philippines – Diliman Campus)
Session III: Advances in Nannofossil
Biostratigraphy (Joint Industrial Academic
Session)
Chairs: Jackie Lees and David Watkins
1:40 pm
Hadavi, F., Moheghy, M.A. and Ghadamagahi, M.
Nannostratigraphy of the Dalichai Formation in theNaviya section of Kopet Dagh Mountain Range inIran
2:00 pm
Kadar, A.P., De Keyser, T., Neog, N. and Karam, K.A.
Middle to Upper Jurassic stratigraphy of Kuwait:
calcareous nannofossils and maximum flooding
surfaces
2:20 pm
Kita, Z.A. and Watkins, D.K.
Nannofossil biostratigraphy of the Late Cretaceous(Coniacian - Campanian) Niobrara Formation(Western Interior Seaway)
2:40 pm – 3:20 pm

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Keynote Talk by Claudia Agnini
A new biostratigraphic and biochronologic frameworkfor Paleogene calcareous nannofossils (Agnini, C.,
Forniaciari, E., Raffi, I., Catanzariti, R., Pälike, H.,
Backman, J. and Rio, D.)
3:20 pm – 3:50 pm
Afternoon Coffee Break
3:50 pm – 5:00 pm
POSTER SESSION 1
Tuesday 10th March
Session III: Advances in Nannofossil
Biostratigraphy (Joint Industrial-Academic
Session) – cont’d
Chairs: Denise Kulhanek and Emma Sheldon
9:00 am – 9:40 am
Keynote Talk by Isabella Raffi
Why an updated zonation of Neogene calcareous
nannofossils? (Raffi, I., Backman, J., Fornaciari, E.,
Pälike, H. and Rio, D.)
9:40 amBrace, B., Saavedra-Pellitero, M., Tada, R., Murray,
R.W., Alvarez Zarikian, C.A. and Expedition 346
Science Party
IODP Expedition 346 "Asian Monsoon": calcareous
nannofossil biostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental
synthesis
10:00 am – 10:30 am
Morning Coffee BreakSession III: Advances in Nannofossil
Biostratigraphy (Joint Industrial-Academic
Session) – cont’d
10:30 am – 11:10 am
Keynote Talk by Richard Denne
Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy in unconventional resource plays
11:10 amThiTham, N., Van Su, N. and Nio, D.
Early Miocene through Pleistocene calcareous nannofossils and the results of cyclostratigraphic analyses
of gamma ray logs – StratPacs from the Nam Con Son
Basin
11:30 pm – 1:00 pm
LUNCH

Session IV: Recent Nannoplankton/Coccolithophores: Biogeography and Ecology
Chairs: Karl-Heinz Baumann and Ric Jordan
1:00 pm
Cortés, M.Y., Rochin, H., SidónCeceña, K.,
UrcádizCázarez, F.J. and Bollmann, J.
Coccolithophorebiocoenosis, thanatocoenosis, andtaphocoenosis in a marginal basin in the Gulf ofCalifornia
1:20 pm
Hernández-Becerril, D.U., Ramírez-Robles, I.,
Salazar-Paredes, J., Lavín, M.F. and Godínez, V.M.
Abundance and distribution of coccolithophores andParmales (Tetraparmainsecta) in the Gulf of California during the summer (July-August, 2011), andtheir relationship to oceanographic conditions
1:40 pm
Rochín, H., Cortés, M.Y., Bollmann, J., UrcádizCázares, J., Silverberg, N. and Aguirre-Bahena, F.
Calcite export by sinking of coccoliths in the southern
Gulf of California - Gephyrocapsa oceanica is theprimary contributing species
2:00 pmÁlvarez, M.C., Temazatzi, A., Pérez-Cruz, L., OlivosOrtiz, A., Quijano-Scheggia, S., Díaz-Flores, M.A.
and Galicia-Pérez, M.A.
High-resolution assessment of coccolith assemblages
during the last 150 years, Carmen Basin, Gulf ofCalifornia
2:20 pm
Villarosa Garcia, M.
Biogeographic patterns of coccolithophore morphologic disparity
2:40 pm
Jordan, R.W., Kijima, A., Komuro, C., Tsutsui, H.,
Abe, K. and Konno, S.
Modern subtropical/tropical coastal coccolithophorid
assemblages
3:00 pm
Thomsen, H.A.
Baltic Sea coccolithophores – an overview of findings
from the last decades
3:20 pm
Guerreiro, C., de Stigter, H., Cachão, M., Cros, L.,
Sá, C., Oliveira, A. and Rodrigues, A.
Coccoliths from recent sediments of the central Portuguese margin: preservation of ecological signature ina dynamic sedimentary setting
3:40 pm – 4:00 pm
Afternoon Coffee Break

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4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
POSTER SESSION 2
Wednesday 11th March
Session V: Paleoclimate Studies
Chairs: Claudia Agnini and Jean Self-Trail
9:00 amMöller C., Mutterlose, J. and Heimhofer, U.
Calcareous nannofossil response to the ValanginianWeissert event in a Boreal epicontinental sea
9:20 am
Kulhanek, D.K., Hollis, C.J., Hines, B.R., Littler, K.,
Strong, C.P., Zachos, J.C. and Villasante-Marcos, V.
A new Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum record
from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 277 (Campbell Plateau): a window into calcareous nannofossil
response in the southern high latitudes
9:40 amSelf-Trail, J.M., Robinson, M.M. and Wandless, G.A.
Calcareous nannofossil and foraminiferal evidence fora PETM pre-onset excursion, Atlantic Coastal Plain,USA
10:00 amBordiga, M., Henderiks, J., Tori, F., Monechi, S.,
Fenero, R. and Thomas, E.
Eocene-Oligocene shifts in calcareous nannofossil
assemblages at ODP Site 1263 (Walvis Ridge,
Atlantic Ocean)
10:20 am – 10:40 am
Morning Coffee BreakSession V: Paleoclimate Studies – cont'd
Chairs: JorijntjeHenderiks and Mike Styzen
10:40 amSulaiman, N. and Dunkley Jones, T.
The Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) boundary at
Mossy Grove, Mississippi
11:00 am
Bartol, M. and Henderiks, J.
Nannofossil assemblage shifts in the aftermath of
the Miocene Climatic Optimum – a North Atlantic
latitudinal transect
11:20 am
Saavedra-Pellitero, M. and Baumann, K.-H.
Marine Isotope Stage 11 in the Southern Ocean

11:40 am
Barbarin, N. and Beaufort, L.
Insolation cycles as a major control on Coral Sea
primary production
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
LUNCH
1:30 pm –5:30 pm
WORKSHOPS“Biogeography and Ecology of Extant Coccolithophores: Floristic similarities/differences among
Oceans”
Organizers: Kyoko Hagino, Alicia Kahn, Karl-Heinz
Baumann and Jeremy Young
Cenozoic Biostratigraphy: Updates, improvements
and new zonations
Organizers: Isabella Raffi and Claudia Agninii
Mesozoic Biostratigraphy and Taxonomy
Organizers: Richard Denne, Emanuela Mattioli and
Jackie Lees
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
CONFERENCE DINNERINA Group Photo Session 2
Thursday 12th March
Session VI: Paleoceanography andPaleoenvironment Studies
Chairs: Emanuela Mattioli and Elisa Malinverno
9:00 amFaucher, G., Erba, E., Casellato, C.E. and Bottini, C.
Size variations in selected coccolith species throughMesozoic oceanic anoxic events: implications forpaleoceanographic reconstructions
9:20 amFerreira, J., Mattioli, E., Cachão, M. and Pittet, B.
Changes in calcareous nannofossils across the Toarcian and Early Aalenian from the Lusitanian Basin(Portugal)
9:40 am
Giraud, F., Mattioli, E., Lécuyer, C., Martineau, F.,
López-Otálvaro, G.-E.,Suchéras-Marx, B., Alméras,Y. and de Kænel, E.
Deciphering control processes on mid-Jurassic coccolith turnover
10:00 am – 10:30 am
Morning Coffee Break

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10:30 am
Sheldon, E., Bjerager, M., Morigi, C. and Lauridsen,
B.W.
Paleoecology of early Paleocene cold-water coral andbryozoan mounds in Denmark
10:50 amĆorić, S., Gebhard, H., Briguglio, A. and Linert, J.
Middle to late Eocene paleoenvironmental changes
from the northern Tethyan margin (Adelholzen,
Germany) traced by calcareous nannoplankton
11:10 amAusín, B., Flores, J.-A., Sierro, F.J., HernándezAlmeida, I., Grosjean, M., Francés, G. and Alonso, B.
Reconstructing sea surface salinity for the last 25 kyrin the western Mediterranean from a coccolithophorebased transfer function
11:30 amBaumann, K.-H. and Weiser, J.
Coccolithophores in late glacial to Holocene sediments of the Norwegian Sea and their paleoceanographic implications
11:50 pm – 1:00 pm
LUNCH
Session VII: Coccolith Morphometrics,
Imaging and other Techniques
Chairs: Mario Cachao and Luc Beaufort
1:00 pm – 1:40 pm
Keynote Talk by Luc Beaufort
Automated pattern recognition and biometry of
calcareous nannofossils: 20 years of SYRACO
development (Beaufort, L., Barbarin, N., Gally, Y. andProbert, I.)
1:40 pmCachão, M.
Replicates, why not?
2:00 pm – 2:40 pm
Keynote Talk by Jorijntje Henderiks
Coccolith morphometrics: why, how, and what’s next?
2:40 pm
Tsutsui, H., Jordan, R.W., Abe, K. and Nishiwaki, N.
Morphometric analysis of early Eocene Corbisemaskeletons (Silicoflagellata) from Mors, Denmark
3:00 pm
Young, J.R.
Semi-automated morphometrics on coccoliths using
ImageJ
3:20 pm – 4:00 pm
Afternoon Coffee Break

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
INA Business MeetingAwarding of Best Student Oral and Poster Presentations
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
DINNER(Sponsored by Dr. Michael L. Tan, Chancellor of the
University of the Philippines – Diliman Campus)

INA159KEYNOTE SPEAKER

A new biostratigraphic and biochronologic framework for
Paleogene calcareous nannofossils
Claudia Agnini

Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università degli Studi di Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy; claudia.agnini@unipd.it

Eliana Fornaciari

Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università degli Studi di Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy; eliana.fornaciari@unipd.it

Isabella Raffi

Dipartimento di Ingegneria e Geologia (InGeo) – CeRSGeo, Università degli Studi “G. dʼAnnunzio” Chieti-Pescara, 66013 Chieti-Pescara,
Italy; raffi@unich.it

Rita Catanzariti

Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, CNR-Pisa, 1– 56124 Pisa, Italy; r.catanzariti@igg.cnr.it

Heiko Pälike

Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM), Bremen University, Bremen, 28359, Germany; hpaelike@marum.de

Jan Backman

Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; backman@geo.su.se

Domenico Rio

Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università degli Studi di Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy; domenico.rio@unipd.itDepartment of Paleobiology,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013 USA

In 2014, we published a new calcareous nannofossil
biozonation for the Paleogene period (Agnini et al., 2014).
This scheme was conceived as the natural continuation of
the revision of Cenozoic calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and biochronology that started with the publication of a new Neogene biozonation (Backman et al.,2012). The new scheme still partly relies on the biozonations of Martini (1971) and Okada & Bukry (1980), so it
utilizes reliable biohorizons previously used by classicalbiozonal schemes, as well as new promising bioevents. To
describe the semiquantitative abundance pattern of eachbiostratigraphically useful calcareous nannofossil taxon,
we analyzed both DSDP/ODP sites and on-land sections
located in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and Tethyan
regions.
In our scheme, we use four different types of biohorizons (Base = B; Base common = Bc; T = Top; Top
common = Tc), which serve to define five different typesof biozones: Base Zone (BZ), Top Zone (TZ), Taxon
Range Zone (TRZ), Concurrent Range Zone (CRZ), andPartial Range Zone (PRZ). The biozone code system
consists of a code letter to identify the microfossil group(CN = calcareous nannofossils), a code letter for eachseries (P = Paleocene, E = Eocene, O = Oligocene), and a
progressive number.
The biozonation contains a total of thirty-eight Paleogene biozones:
11 Paleocene Biozones (CNP1 to CNP11)
21 Eocene Biozones (CNE1 to CNE21)
11 Oligocene Biozones (CNO1 to CNO6)
This new Paleogene biozonation has an average duration of 1.1 Myr per biozone, which average 0.9 Myr in

the Paleocene, 1.0 Myr in the Eocene, and 1.8 Myr in the
Oligocene. Age estimations for calcareous nannofossil
species events are also provided, and they are based on
both magnetostratigraphic and astronomically tuned
cyclostratigraphic data (Cande & Kent, 1995; Pälike etal., 2006).
References
Agnini, C., Fornaciari, E., Raffi, I., Catanzariti, R., Pälike,H., Backman, J. & Rio, D. 2014. Biozonation and biochronology of Paleogene calcareous nannofossils from
low and middle latitudes. Newsletters on Stratigraphy,
47(2): 131-181.
Backman, J., Raffi, I., Rio, D., Fornaciari, E. & Pälike,
H. 2012. Biozonation and biochronology of Miocene
through Pleistocene calcareous nannofossils from low
and middle latitudes. Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 45:
221-244.
Cande, S.C. & Kent, D.V. 1995. Revised calibration of
the geomagnetic polarity time scale for the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Journal of Geophysical Research,
100(B4): 6093-6096.
Martini, E. 1971. Standard Tertiary and Quaternary calcareous nannoplankton zonation. In: A. Farinacci (Ed.).
Proceedings 2nd International Conference Planktonic
Microfossils Roma: Rome, 2: 739-785.
Okada, H. & Bukry, D. 1980. Supplementary modification and introduction of code numbers to the low-latitude coccolith biostratigraphic zonation (Bukry, 1973;1975). Marine Micropaleontology, 5: 321-325.
Pälike, H., Norris, R.D., Herrle, J.O., Wilso, P.A., Coxall, H.K., Lear, C.H., Shackleton, N.J., Tripati, A.K.
& Wade, B.S. 2006. The heartbeat of the Oligocene
climate system. Science, 314: 1894-1898.

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Automated pattern recognition and biometry of
calcareous nannofossils: 20 years of SYRACO
development
Luc Beaufort

Université Aix Marseille, CNRS, CEREGE, Aix en Provence, France; beaufort@cerege.fr

Nicolas Barbarin

Université Aix Marseille, CNRS, CEREGE, Aix en Provence, France; barbarin@cerege.fr

Yves Gally

Université Aix Marseille, CNRS, CEREGE, Aix en Provence, France; gally@cerege.fr

Ian Probert

Université Paris 6, CNRS Station Biologique de Roscoff, Roscoff, France; probert@sb-roscoff.frBigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, E.
Boothbay, ME 04544 USA

Performing calcareous nannofossil identification and Referencesmorphometry studies can be tedious work, especially in Barbarin, N. 2014. La reconnaissance automatisée desnannofossiles calcaires du cénozoique. Ph.D. Universediments with low occurrences. Twenty years ago at
sité Aix-Marseille, 245 pp.
CEREGE, we began to develop an automatization process
Beaufort,
L. 2005. Weight estimates of coccoliths using
for these two tasks, which led to the development of thetheopticalproperties (birefringence) of calcite. MicroSYRACO tool. Originally, it was composed of an artificial
paleontology,
51(4): 289-298.
neural network (ANN), developed by Dollfus and trained
Beaufort,
L.,
Barbarin,
N. & Gally, Y. 2014, Optical meawith a back-propagation algorithm (Dollfus & Beaufort,
surements
todetermine
the thickness of calcite crystals1999). We implemented actions in the ANN and a suite of
and
the
mass
of
thin
carbonateparticles such as cocseveral ANN, working in pyramids (Beaufort & Dollfus,
coliths.
NatureProtocols,9(3):633-642.
2004). If the level of recognition were highly acceptable
Beaufort, L., Couapel, M.J.J., Buchet, N., Claustre, H.
(>96%), the number of false positives was also high (up& Goyet, C. 2008. Calcite production by Coccolithoto 50% for some morphological groups). Human correcphores in the South East Pacific Ocean. Biogeoscitions on the result-files were necessary (e.g., Beaufort etences, 5: 1101-1117.
al., 2001). Automated morphometry was used to diminish Beaufort, L., de Garidel Thoron , T., Mix, A.C. & Pisias,
the number of false positives (Beaufort et al., 2008).
N.G. 2001, ENSO-like forcing on Oceanic PrimaryMorphometry was performed, not only on size measureProduction during the late Pleistocene. Science,ments, but also on thickness and mass (Beaufort, 2005;
293(5539): 2440-2444.
Beaufort et al., 2014). Morphometry was then incorpo- Beaufort, L. & Dollfus, D. 2004. Automatic recognition
rated into SYRACO with statistical pattern recognitionof coccolith by dynamical neural network. Marine
tools (SPRT) such as Adaboost or SVM. The parallel use
Micropaleontology, 51(1-2): 57-73.
of ANN on images and SPRT on morphometry allowed Beaufort, L., Probert, I., de Garidel-Thoron, T., Bendif,a large generalization for recognition (>90%) with a low
E.M., Ruiz-Pino, D., Metzl, N., Goyet, C., Buchet, N.,level of false positives (<5%) (Barbarin, 2014). The recent
Coupel, P., Grelaud, M., Rost, B., Rickaby, R.E.M. &de Vargas, C. 2011. Sensitivity of coccolithophores totechnological developments on microscopes, cameras, andcarbonate chemistry and ocean acidification. Nature,computers also allowed an important increase in the level476(1): 80-84.
of coccolithophore automated recognition. SYRACO is
Dollfus,D. & Beaufort, L. 1999. Fat neural network for
now able to detect all calcareous nannofossils from the last
recognitionof position-normalised objects. Neural
40 Myrs. We illustrate the use of SYRACO by showing
Networks,
12:553-560.
intraspecific morphometric variability in the genera Emiliania and Gephyrocapsa in natural (Beaufort et al., 2011)
and artificial environments. However, the high plasticityof these placoliths in term of size and thickness should beconsidered before using these parameters for taxonomic
purposes.

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy in unconventional
resource plays
Richard A. Denne

Marathon Oil Corporation, Houston, TX, 77056, USA; radenne@marathonoil.com

Prior to the technological developments that enabledhydrocarbon production from shales, nannofossil biostratigraphy within industry was often focused on expanded
sections. To be useful for reservoir correlations, these
expanded sections required zonations at much higher resolutions than standard zonal schemes. Cenozoic sections
benefit from the numerous extinctions and assemblage
changes produced by rapid regional paleoceanographic
shifts, so there are a number of high-resolution industry
zonations, particularly in the Neogene.
Unconventional resource plays, however, usually resultin hydrocarbon production from condensed, organic-richshales and limestones deposited within epeiric seas during
the Cretaceous and Jurassic (excluding the Paleozoic
shales deposited prior to the evolution of nannoplankton).
One recent example involves the Berriasian to Kimmeridgian Bossier/Haynesville Shales of northeastern Texas
and northwestern Louisiana, where a zonation originallydeveloped using DSDP and European outcrop sections
was applied (Bergen et al., 2013).
The organic-rich marls of the Eagle Ford Formation were deposited in Texas during the Cenomanian toTuronian. Previous correlations of Eagle Ford outcrops
relied on macrofossils, with only cursory use of microfossil data. Biostratigraphic correlation of subsurface sections, however, requires the use of microfossil
data. Although several nannofossil datums occur near
the Cenomanian-Turonian Boundary (i.e., OAE2), theremainder of the Cenomanian is poorly resolved, whichis unfortunate because the majority of the organic-richmarls were deposited prior to OAE2. A correlation has
now been made between the Eagle Ford outcrop belt andits subsurface equivalents in the south and east Texas, but
further work on early-middle Cenomanian nannofossils
and their integration with other biostratigraphic disciplines is needed to expand their utility.
References
Bergen, J.A., Boesiger, T.M. & Pospichal, J.J. 2013. Lowlatitude Oxfordian to Early Berriasian nannofossil biostratigraphy and its application to the subsurface ofeastern Texas. In: U. Hammes & J. Gale (Eds.), Geology of the Haynesville Gas Shale in East Texas andWest Louisiana, U.S.A. AAPG Memoir 105: 69-102.

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Coccolith morphometrics: why, how, and what’s next?
Jorijntje Henderiks

Department of Earth Sciences, Paleobiology Program, Uppsala University, SE-752-36, Uppsala, Sweden; jorijntje.henderiks@geo.uu.se

Morphometric data, which are inherent to nannoplankton tories dedicate their research time to coccolith morphotaxonomy and nannofossil biostratigraphy, have become metrics. Technical advances during the 21st Century haveincreasingly prominent in evolutionary, (paleo) ecological greatly improved and facilitated data collection, resulting
and (paleo) climate research since the late 1990’s. The in numerous detailed time series and biogeographic
reasons why we “measure coccoliths” have become more databases. In this talk, I will review some of the key
diverse, and in some cases more urgent in light of global approaches and major insights gained to date and reflect
climate change and adaptation. Arguably, anyone looking on what scientific questions our community may be able
through a microscope makes morphometric assessments of to tackle in years to come. Hopefully, this will kick-start
the assemblages they study, but still relatively few labora- discussions in the workshop that is dedicated to this topic.

INA1513

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Why an updated zonation of Neogene calcareous
nannofossils?
Isabella Raffi

Dipartimento di Ingegneria e Geologia (InGeo) – CeRSGeo, Università degli Studi “G. dʼAnnunzio” Chieti-Pescara, 66013 Chieti-Pescara,
Italy; raffi@unich.it

Jan Backman

Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; backman@geo.su.se

Eliana Fornaciari

Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università degli Studi di Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy; eliana.fornaciari@unipd.it

Heiko Pälike

Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM), Bremen University, Bremen, 28359, Germany; hpaelike@marum.deDomenico Rio

Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università degli Studi di Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy; domenico.rio@unipd.it

Two new calcareous nannofossil biozonations were
published in 2012 and 2014, one for the Neogene andone for the Paleogene (Backman et al., 2012; Agnini
et al., 2014). These zonations incorporated updated
biostratigraphic data and methodologies within the
known biostratigraphic framework of Martini and Bukry(Martini, 1971; Bukry, 1973, 1978; Okada & Bukry,
1980). Because Martini’s and Okada and Bukry’s zonations have been used for almost 40 years, there was a needfor an update. The revised biozonations represent low andmiddle latitude biostratigraphic data that we have generated over the past three decades. The aim was to pursue
a detailed calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy throughthe use of semi-quantitative methods in combination withshort sample intervals. A “detailed” biostratigraphy, in
our practice, does not mean the overuse of biohorizons
for the highest biostratigraphic resolution attainable, atthe expense of their reproducibility. It is rather aimed at
finding a balance between accuracy and applicability, withthe use of a limited set of selected biohorizons that resultin a relatively coarsely resolved biozonation. This represents a guarantee of ease of communication and viability
in practical geologic work. Each biozone boundary isdefined with a single biohorizon. Subzones and auxiliary markers are avoided, in order to maintain stability
within the new biozonation. For the Neogene biozonation, we used a new code system that was subsequently
applied to the Paleogene. Code letters for each series anda number for each of the 31 biozones were used: calcareous nannofossil Miocene (CNM) biozones 1 to 20 andcalcareous nannofossil Plio-Pleistocene (CNPL) biozones
1 to 11. Additional biohorizons were considered, mainly

when they unequivocally characterized the assemblage
composition within a biozone. We assigned updated age
estimates to all biozone boundary markers and to several
additional biohorizons that were derived from astronomically tuned cyclostratigraphies.
References
Agnini, C., Fornaciari, E., Raffi, I., Catanzariti, R., Pälike,
Backman, J. & Rio, D. 2014. Biozonation and biochronology of Paleogene calcareous nannofossils from low
and middle latitudes. Newsletters on Stratigraphy,
47(2): 131-181.
Backman, J., Raffi, I., Rio, D., Fornaciari, E. & Pälike,H., 2012. Biozonation and biochronology of Miocene
through Pleistocene calcareous nannofossils from low
and middle latitudes. Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 45:
221-244.
Bukry, D. 1973. Low–latitude coccolith biostratigraphic
zonation. In: N.T. Edgar, J.B. Saunders et al., Initial
Reports Deep Sea Drilling Project 15, Washington(U.S. Government Printing Office), 685-703.
Bukry, D. 1978. Biostratigraphy of Cenozoic marine sediments by calcareous nannofossils. Micropaleontology,
24: 44–60.
Martini, E. 1971. Standard Tertiary and Quaternary calcareous nannoplankton zonation. In: A. Farinacci(Ed.). Proceedings 2nd International Conference
Planktonic Microfossils Roma: Rome (Ed. Tecnoscienza), 2: 739−785.
Okada, H. & Bukry, D. 1980. Supplementary modification and introduction of code numbers to the low–latitude coccolith biostratigraphic zonation (Bukry, 1973;1975). Marine Micropaleontology, 5: 321−325.

15

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Nannobiostratigraphy of Jaddala Formation(type section), Sinjar anticline, NW Iraq
Omar Ahmed Al-Badrani

Department of Geology, Science College, Mosul University, Mosul, Iraq; omarbadrani@yahoo.com

Aala Sabah Al-Zubaidi

Department of Geology, Science College, Mosul University, Mosul, Iraq

The study area lies in the foothill region of the unstable
shelf of the Nubio-Arabian platform at the Sinjar Anticline, which is about 20 km west of the city of Mosul innorthwestern Iraq near the Iraqi-Syrian border. There aremany formations that crop out in this area, and they range
from Cretaceous to Tertiary in age (Buday & Jassim,
1987). The samples for this study were collected fromthe type section of the Jaddala Formation, which was firstdescribed by Henson (1940, in Bellen et al., 1959) near
Jaddala village at the southern limb of the Sinjar Anticline in NW Iraq. The outcrop is about 342 m thick andconsists of marly limestone, chalky limestone, and marlstone (Bellen et al., 1959). The Jaddala Formation has an
unconformable contact (with glauconite present) with theunderlying formation, the Sinjar Formation. The overlying unit is the Ibrahim Formation (Serikagni Formation of Bellen et al., 1959). The upper part of the Jaddala
Formation, which interfingers laterally with the shallower
water Avanah Formation, was investigated for calcareous nannofossils. Two hundred calcareous nannofossil
species were recorded, and based on the assemblages,

four biozones were identified. These biozones are listed
below, from oldest to youngest:
1 Tribrachiatus orthostylus Interval (Biozone CP10)(part)
2 Discoaster lodoensis Interval (Biozone CP11)

3 Discoaster sublodoensis Interval (Biozone CP12)

4 Nannotetrina quadrata Interval (Biozone CP13)(part)
Correlation of these four biozones with other calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphic data in the region indicates that the section is early to middle Eocene in age.
References
Bellen, R.C. van, Dunnington, H.V., Wetzel, R. & Morton, D.M. 1959. Lexique Stratigraphic International,
V.III: Asie, Fasc. 10 a, Iraq: 333pp.
Buday, R.T. & Jassim, S.Z. 1987. The regional geologyof Iraq: tectonism, magmatism and metamorphism. II,
Baghdad: 352pp

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High-resolution assessment of coccolith assemblages
during the last 150 years, Carmen Basin, Gulf ofCalifornia
M. Carmen Álvarez

Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Oceanológicas (CEUNIVO), Universidad de Colima, Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico; carmen.alvagar@
gmail.com

Arely Temazatzi

Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Oceanológicas (CEUNIVO), Universidad de Colima, Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico; arelytegu@gmail.
com

Ligia Pérez-Cruz

Instituto de Geofísica, UNAM, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Mexico D.F., Mexico; perezcruz@geofisica.unam.mx

Aramis Olivos-Ortiz

Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Oceanológicas (CEUNIVO), Universidad de Colima, Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico; aolivos@ucol.mx

Sonia Quijano-Scheggia

Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Oceanológicas (CEUNIVO), Universidad de Colima, Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico; quijano@ucol.mx

Miguel A. Díaz-Flores

Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, UNAM, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 México D.F., Mexico; angelmigueld@gmail.com

Marco A. Galicia-Pérez

Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Oceanológicas (CEUNIVO), Universidad de Colima, Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico; galicia@ucol.mx

One hundred and thirteen samples from the Carmen
Basin, Gulf of California, were studied in order to evaluate the abundance variations in coccolith assemblages
during the last 150 years. The box core DIPAL IV-C53B(25°53.311'N, 110°52.267'W) was recovered from a
670-m water depth by the R/V El Puma, which is ownedby the National University of Mexico. Core C53B (34cm) was sampled every 3 mm, and an age model was
determined based on 210Pb, indicating a sedimentation rateof 1.7 mm/year.
In the Carmen Basin, the high-resolution study of thecoccolith assemblage revealed a change in variability
every 28 years. Variability was established by applying
spectral analysis to the abundance data. Using the varia-

tions in total abundance and relative abundance that wereobserved for the different species, it was possible todevelop a paleoceanographic characterization. Between
1913 and 1942, there was a very noticeable interval that
had peaks in the abundances of all the taxa, especially
Gephyrocapsa (>3 µm), Gephyrocapsa (<3 µm), andEmiliania huxleyi, and from these data we concluded
that the most eutrophic water masses of the whole study
occurred during this interval. The younger part of the core
showed the lowest species abundances and decreased
paleoproductivity, which was determined by the ratio
between the inhabitants of the upper photic zone andlower photic zone.

INA1517

Coccolithophore productivity and surface water dynamics
in the Alboran Sea during the last 25 kyr
Blanca Ausín

Department of Geology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; b_ausin@usal.es

José-A. Flores

Department of Geology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; flores@usal.es

Francisco J. Sierro

Department of Geology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; sierro@usal.es

Maria A. Bárcena

Department of Geology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; mbarcena@usal.es

Guillermo FrancésDepartment of Marine Geosciences, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain; gfrances@uvigo.es

Esther Gutiérrez-Arnillas

Department of Marine Geosciences, University of Vigo, Spain; esgutierrez@uvigo.esBelén Martrat

Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Barcelona, Spain; belen.martrat@idaea.
csic.esJoan-O. Grimalt

Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Barcelona, Spain; jgoqam@cid.csic.es

Isabel Cacho

Department of Stratigraphy, Paleontology and Marine Geosciences, University of Barcelona, Spain; icacho@ub.eduDepartment of Geology,
Science College, Mosul University, Mosul, Iraq

Coccolithophore productivity and surface water dynamics
were deduced for the last 25 kyr from two cores in the
Alboran Sea (western Mediterranean), using high-resolution coccolithophore records, oxygen isotopes, andpaleotemperature profiles. Combining these proxies withdeep-water ventilation proxies, it was possible to determine water column conditions. The distinctive locationsof the cores CEUTA10PC08 and HER-GC-T1 allowed us
to describe the properties (in terms of nutrient content,salinity, and SST) of the inflowing Atlantic Water (AW),which proved to be a primary control on productivity
in the nearby areas of the Strait of Gibraltar. In addition, local factors, such as fluvial discharge and windand eddy-induced upwelling, were proven to influence
productivity in even more distant areas where the properties of the incoming AW are more diluted. During thestadials associated with Heinrich events 2 and 1, the watercolumn was stratified due to the inflowing cold and lesssaline AW, thus preventing primary productivity. This
stratification also affected the phases “Termination Ia”

and “Termination Ib” of the deglaciation that was theresult of gradual sea-level rise. Nevertheless, this did nothamper local wind-induced upwelling. An organic-richlayer, recorded during the Bølling-Allerød interstadial,
was likely the partial result of a trend towards increasing
coccolithophore productivity. During the Younger Dryas
stadial, a colder and drier first phase was recognized,
followed by a warmer and wetter second phase. Productivity during these two phases differed from one location to another, depending upon the amount of eastward
dilution of the AW and other local factors, such as fluvial
discharge. During the Holocene, coccolithophore productivity attained its maximum values, and at the same time
experienced large fluctuations. From the onset of modern
oceanographic conditions in the Alboran Sea at 7.7 ka cal.
BP, the local hydrography, as influenced by the configuration of the Western Anticyclonic Gyre, played an important role in determining coccolithophore productivity andits variability in the study area.

18

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Reconstructing sea surface salinity for the last 25 kyr in
the western Mediterranean from a coccolithophore-basedtransfer function
Blanca Ausín

Department of Geology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; b_ausin@usal.es

José-A. Flores

Department of Geology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; flores@usal.es

Francisco J. Sierro

Department of Geology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; sierro@usal.es

Ivan Hernández-Almeida

Institute of Geography & Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; ivan.hernandez@giub.unibe.
chMartin Grosjean

Institute of Geography & Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; martin.grosjean@oeschger.
unibe.ch

Guillermo FrancésDepartment of Marine Geosciences, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain; gfrances@uvigo.esBelén Alonso

Department of Marine Geosciences, Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain; belen@icm.csic.es

In order to quantify the relationship between modern
coccolithophore species assemblages in the western
Mediterranean Sea and environmental conditions, a newdataset of 89 surface sediment samples and related environmental variables (temperature, salinity, chlorophylla, oxygen, etc.) was created. Multivariate statisticalanalyses revealed that the sampling sites were primarily
distributed along the sea surface salinity (SSS) gradient,and that this variable explains an independent proportion of variance in the coccolithophore data. A quantitative transfer function was then developed to estimate
salinity from modern coccolithophore assemblages, using
the Modern Analogue Technique (MAT) and weightedaveraging partial least square regression (WA-PLS).
The bootstrapped regression coefficient (Boot_R2) was
0.89MAT and 0.81WA-PLS, with a root mean square error of
prediction (RMSEP) of 0.26MAT and 0.29WA-PLS (‰). To
date, no coccolithophore-based transfer function had been
implemented for the Mediterranean Sea. This new infor-

mation on coccolithophore species salinity preferences
provides a useful tool for quantitatively reconstructing
SSS changes over time. The resulting transfer function
was applied to fossil coccolithophore assemblages froma sediment core in the Alboran Sea (CEUTA10PC08,36°1′22ʺN, 4°52′3″W) in order to reconstruct SSS forthe last 25 kyr. The reliability of the reconstruction was
evaluated through comparison with other published SSS
records from nearby cores. Decreased salinity during thestadials correlated with Heinrich Events 2 and 1, whichwere related to melt-water pulses from the North Atlantic.
The SSS increased during the last glacial maximum,
likely due to a restricted Atlantic-Mediterranean connection, although lower SSS values suggest wetter conditions
from 21 to 18.5 ka. Increased rainfall was deduced for the
Bølling-Allerød, while a transition from more to less SSS
was seen for the Younger Dryas. During the Holocene, a
SSS decreasing trend was linked to increasing sea level
and/or to the African Humid Period (11-5.5 ka).

INA1519

Insolation cycles as a major control on Coral Sea primary
production
Nicolas Barbarin

TOTAL, Centre Scientifique et Technique Jean Féger, Avenue Larribau, 64018 Pau Cedex, France; barbarin@cerege.fr

Luc Beaufort

CNRS-CEREGE, UMR 6635, BP 80, Europôle de l’Arbois, 13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex 04, France; beaufort@cerege.fr

The automated system SYRACO was used to analyze thepercentage of Florisphaera profunda in the continuous
sedimentary record of the core MD052930 in the Gulf ofPapua (MD148/PECTEN, IMAGES XIII campaign). The
results indicate that strong primary production fluctuations occurred in the Coral Sea during the past 700,000
years. The record of primary production shows a dominance of 38 kyr and 23-19.4 kyr cycles that are related
to precession and obliquity cycles. This mechanism isdirectly related to insolation and is independent of global
ice volume variations. Similar results have been observed
elsewhere (e.g., Beaufort et al., 1997) and appear to
be diagnostic of synchronized tropical wind patterns.
Moreover, a significant 30 kyr spectral signal, which iscommon in the tropical Indo-Paciﬁc Ocean productivity

records, is also present in the Antarctic atmospheric CO2
record. These similar signals in the primary productivity
could suggest an important role for equatorial biologicalproductivity in modifying atmospheric CO2, as proposedby Beaufort et al. (2001).
References
Beaufort, L., Lancelot, Y., Camberlin, P., Cayre, O., Vincent, E., Bassinot, F. & Labeyrie, L. 1997. Insolation
cycles as a major control equatorial Indian Ocean primary production. Science, 27: 1451-1454.
Beaufort, L., de Garidel-Thoron, T., Mix, A.C. & Pisias,
N.G. 2001. ENSO-like forcing on oceanic primary
production during the Late Pleistocene. Science, 293:
2440-2444.

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Nannofossil assemblage shifts in the aftermath of the
Miocene Climatic Optimum – a North Atlantic latitudinaltransect
Miloš Bartol

Department of Earth Sciences, Paleobiology, Uppsala University, SE-752-36, Uppsala, Sweden; milos.bartol@geo.uu.se

Jorijntje Henderiks

Department of Earth Sciences, Paleobiology, Uppsala University, SE-752-36, Uppsala, Sweden; jorijntje.henderiks@geo.uu.se

According to marine and terrestrial sedimentary records,
the Miocene Climatic Optimum ended between the startof the expansion of the Antarctic ice sheet at 14.5 Ma(e.g., Zachos et al., 2008) and large scale climatic changes
recorded in terrestrial records at 13.5 Ma (e.g., Böhme,2003). We studied nannofossil assemblages in an interval
between 16 and 11 Ma in three North Atlantic sites alonga meridional transect from equatorial to high latitudes (4°,42°, and 58°N). Sampling at 100-ky resolution provided
insights into successive and evolutionary changes that
affected nannoplankton communities during times ofglobal climate change.
There was no detectible decrease in total species
diversity that corresponded to the presumed steepeningof environmental gradients between the poles and theequator (You et al., 2009 and references therein). Instead,significant long-term shifts occurred in assemblage
composition. The most prominent change, between 14.5
and 13.5 Ma, involved the dominant groups, and werecorded a rise in absolute coccolith abundance for Reticulofenestra spp. This rise coincided in the two northernsites with a decrease in Coccolithus pelagicus abundancesand resulted in a crossover of dominance. The pattern ofabundance fluctuations for these two dominant groups
could indicate that these entities shared the same basic
ecological preferences. However, distinct abundance fluctuation patterns, which characterize different sizes within
the groups, reveal a significant difference in ecologicalbehaviour within each group. For the Reticulofenestra
genus, these patterns were unique for each of the threesites, while for C. pelagicus, a very similar pattern wasrecognized in both northern sites.
References
Böhme, M. 2003. The Miocene climatic optimum: evidence from ectothermic vertebrates of Central Europe.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology,
195: 389-401.
You, Y., Huber, M., Müller, R.D., Poulsen, C.J. & Ribbe,
J. 2009. Simulation of the middle Miocene climate
optimum. Geophysical Research Letters, 36: 1-5.
Zachos, J.C., Dickens, G.R. & Zeebe, R.E. 2008. An early
Cenozoic perspective on greenhouse warming and carbon-cycle dynamics. Nature, 451: 279-283.

INA1521

Coccolithophores in late glacial to Holocene sedimentsof the Norwegian Sea and their paleoceanographic
implications
Karl-Heinz Baumann

FB Geosciences, University of Bremen, D-28334 Bremen, Germany; baumann@uni-bremen.deJens Weiser

FB Geosciences, University of Bremen, D-28334 Bremen, Germany; jweiser@uni-bremen.de

A coccolith-based investigation of sediment core GIK
23312, recovered from a 977-m water depth off western
Norway (66°56'N, 7°44'E), was conducted in order todocument the pattern and timing of changes in surface
ocean conditions. The recorded variations in coccolith
numbers and species assemblages indicate that the study
region was subjected to drastic changes in surface water
masses during the late Glacial to Holocene.
In general, the coccolith assemblage was of low diversity and was dominated by Emiliania huxleyi with otherspecies, such as Coccolithus pelagicus, Gephyrocapsa
muellerae, and Calcidiscus leptoporus, forming significant parts of the assemblage. Absolute total coccolith
numbers were relatively low before about 10.8 kyr, indicating relatively harsh environmental conditions withan influence of melt water and a rather small inflow ofAtlantic surface water. However, maxima of G. muellerae,
G. ericsonii, and C. leptoporus suggest that an increased
influence of Atlantic surface water was already present
during the Bølling-Allerød at around 14 kyr. After a short

return to more pronounced cool conditions, an early Holocene increase in coccolith productivity, due primarily toelevated numbers of E. huxleyi, illustrates another step in
the inflow of relatively warm Atlantic water. However,coccolithophore productivity did not increase significantly before the middle Holocene at about 5.8 ka at thestudied site. This is later than previously observed elsewhere and may be attributed to the fact that the main coreof the Atlantic water intrusion was located further to thewest and, thus, may not have drastically influenced thestudied site at the upper continental margin. Following theobserved coccolithophore production maximum between
4.2 and 2.5 kyr, indicated by changes in the numbers andrelative abundances of the dominant coccolith species,
cooling of the surface waters took place after 2.5 kyr.
Furthermore, observed changes in the evolution of E.
huxleyi morphotypes and calcification stages may explainchanges in coccolith weight that were observed for thelate Holocene in the study area.

22

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Late Oligocene – early Miocene calcareous nannofossils
from the basal Pisco Formation, Pisco Basin, Peru
Emilia R. Belia

Department of Earth and Biological Sciences, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA; ebelia@llu.edu

Kevin Nick

Department of Earth and Biological Sciences, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA; knick@llu.edu

Erika Bedoya Agudelo

CADIC- Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CP9419, Ushuaia, Tierradel Fuego, Argentina; erikal.bedoya@gmail.com

Andrea Concheyro

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina; andrea@gl.fcen.uba.ar

The East Pisco Basin, located along the central coast ofPeru, is dominated by volcaniclastic and diatomaceous
sedimentary rocks. It also contains an important Eocene to
Pliocene vertebrate fauna (Bianucci et al., 2010; Lambert
et al., 2010). Regional stratigraphic work has establishedfive formations based on general lithologies and biozones.
Sequence-based research is just beginning in the basin(DeVries, 1998). High-resolution chronostratigraphy inthe basin is currently lacking, particularly for the base of
the Pisco Formation (Miocene) and the top of the Chilcatay Formation (referenced as Miocene or Oligocene).
Stratigraphic studies, based on lithology, diatoms, andmollusks, have suggested a different chronostratigraphic
position for these formations (Dunbar et al., 1990; Leónet al., 2008). The presence of nannoflora in a unit between
the Pisco and Chilcatay that lacks macrofossils has
produced the highest resolution biostratigraphic age so
far for this boundary. On the eastern side of Cerro Yeserade Amara, we sampled a 25-m-thick section, which
consists of very fine sandstones, calcareous mudstones,
and dolomite cemented mudstones. We also have a single
Ar-Ar date (17.70±0.24 Ma) from biotite in a tuff about
20 m above the unit. Twenty-four samples of calcareous
shale were examined following standard techniques, andtwenty-two samples were productive. Nannofossil assemblages were moderately rich (38 species) with rare toabundant species occurrences in each productive sample.
Nannofossils were concentrated in the middle and upper
part of the section. Preservation was poor, showing strong
dissolution and/or overgrowth in almost all samples.
Cyclicargolithus abisectus, Cyclicargolithus floridanus,
Discoaster deflandrei, Discoaster adamanteus, Sphenolithus moriformis, Sphenolithus conicus, Reticulofenestra

lockeri, Reticulofenestra bisecta, Helicosphaera granulata, Helicosphaera carteri, Helicosphaera euphratis,
and Coccolithus pelagicus were the dominant taxa recovered. Considering the co-occurrence of C. abisectus,
Sphenolithus dissimilis, S. conicus, and R. bisecta, an ageof latest Oligocene to earliest Miocene, Zone NP25 toNN1 (Martini, 1971) is proposed.
References
Bianucci, G., Lambert, O. & Post, K. 2010. High concentration of long-snouted beaked whales (Genus Messapicetus) from the Miocene of Peru. Palaeontology,
53: 1077-1098.
DeVries, T.J. 1998. Oligocene deposition and Cenozoic
sequence boundaries in the Pisco Basin (Perú). Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 11(3): 217-231.
Dunbar, R.B., Marty, R.C. & Baker., P.A. 1990. Cenozoic
marine sedimentation in the Sechura and Pisco basins,
Perú. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 77: 235-261.
Lambert, O., Bianucci, G., Post, K., Muizon, C. de, SalasGismondi, R., Urbina, M. & Reumer, J. 2010. The
giant bite of a new raptorial sperm whale from the
Miocene epoch of Peru. Nature, 466: 105-108.
León, W., Aleman, A., Rosell, W., Torres, V. & De La
Cruz, O. 2008. Estratigrafía, sedimentología y evolución tectónica de la Cuenca Pisco Oriental. Volumen
Estudios Regionales, INGEMMET, Perú, Boletín No.
27, Serie D, 154 pp.
Martini, E. 1971. Standard Tertiary calcareous nannoplankton zonation. In: A. Farinacci (Ed.). Proceedingsof the II Planktonic Conference, Roma. Rome, 739785.

INA1523

Another drop in the ocean … how to determine absolute
coccolith abundance?
Manuela Bordiga

Department of Earth Sciences, Paleobiology, Uppsala University, SE-752-36, Uppsala, Sweden; manuela.bordiga@geo.uu.se

Miloš Bartol

Department of Earth Sciences, Paleobiology, Uppsala University, SE-752-36, Uppsala, Sweden; milos.bartol@geo.uu.se

Jorijntje Henderiks

Department of Earth Sciences, Paleobiology, Uppsala University, SE-752-36, Uppsala, Sweden; jorijntje.henderiks@geo.uu.se

Absolute coccolith abundances (number per gram ofsediment) can be calculated by (a) using the number ofparticles per field of view, with known concentration andtotal area of distribution (e.g., Andruleit, 1996; Geisen
et al., 1999; Koch & Young, 2007) or by (b) spiking thesediment sample with a known amount of microbeads
and then using the ratio between a known and unknown
concentration (e.g., Bollman et al., 1999). Existing
sample preparation techniques use (1) filtration (Andruleit, 1996), (2) random settling (Geisen et al., 1999), and(3) dilution (Koch & Young, 2007). We modified the dilution technique to the “drop technique” by preparing thenannofossil suspension directly and skipping the dilution
step. Coccolith abundances were calculated independently on the basis of the observed area and ratio between
coccoliths and added microbeads, as well as without
microbeads. We determined the reproducibility and accuracy of the drop technique, and we compared it to otherestablished techniques
In general, absolute abundance values that were calculated with the use of microbeads were much less variable
among the different preparation techniques (average 10%s.d.) than those calculated using the number of particles
per field of view (average 41% s.d.), so we consider theformer to be closer to “real values”. The range in values
obtained with the different methods was less with the dropand settling techniques than for the filtration technique.
The filtration technique appears to consistently underestimate “real values”. The reproducibility within each
preparation technique and calculation method, however,was comparable for each method (± 10% s.d.).
We conclude that the results obtained with different
preparation techniques can only be directly comparedwhen samples are spiked with microbeads. Abundance
results obtained using the different methods should,
however, allow the detection of the same trends. The drop
technique yields results comparable to the random settlingtechnique, and both seem more reliable than the filtration
technique for samples not spiked with beads. In comparison to the other established techniques, the drop method
is very fast and cheap.
References
Andruleit, H. 1996. A filtration technique for quantitative
studies of coccoliths. Micropaleontology, 42(4): 403406.
Bollmann, J., Brabec, B., Cortes, M. & Geisen, M. 1999.
Determination of absolute coccolith abundances indeep-sea sediments by spiking with microbeads andspraying (SMS method). Marine Micropaleontology,
38: 29-38.
Geisen, M., Bollmann, J., Herrle, J.O., Mutterlose, J. &Young, J.R. 1999. Calibration of the random settlingtechnique for calculation of absolute abundances ofcalcareous nannoplankton. Micropaleontology, 45:
437-442.
Koch, C. & Young, J.R. 2007. A simple weighing anddilution technique for determining absolute abundances of coccoliths from sediment samples. Journalof Nannoplankton Research, 29: 67-69.

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Eocene-Oligocene shifts in calcareous nannofossil
assemblages at ODP Site 1263 (Walvis Ridge,
Atlantic Ocean)
Manuela Bordiga

Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden; manuela.bordiga@geo.uu.se

Jorijntje Henderiks

Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden; jorijntje.henderiks@geo.uu.se

Flavia Tori

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Florence University, 50121, Florence, Italy; ‎flavia.tori@hotmail.com

Simonetta Monechi

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Florence University, 50121, Florence, Italy; simonetta.monechi@unifi.it

Raquel Fenero

Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra and Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales de Aragón, Universidad Zaragoza,
E−50009, Zaragoza, Spain; rakelfenero@yahoo.es

Ellen Thomas

Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences,Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06459, USA; ellen.thomas@yale.edu

During the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT), the worldchanged from a high- pCO2 warm Eocene world to a cool,lower pCO2 Oligocene world, and oceanic phytoplankton
was affected in various ways (Persico & Villa, 2004;
Dunkley Jones et al., 2008; Henderiks & Pagani, 2008).
To unravel the relations between changes in climate andcalcareous nannofossil assemblages, we studied a highresolution succession spanning the EOT (32.7-34.3Ma) at
ODP Site 1263. Our analysis revealed a distinct decreasein both nannoplankton absolute abundance (N/g) andmean coccolith size across the Eocene-Oligocene (E-O)
boundary (34 Ma). The absolute abundance of small- to
medium-sized Cyclicargolithus did not vary much inthe studied interval, but large-sized Reticulofenestra
and Dictyococcites decreased abruptly across the E-O
boundary. This is confirmed by principal component analysis, with PC1 (36% of variance) loaded negatively bysmall- to medium-sized species and positively by large
species.
Thus, the most prominent ecological response patterns
appear to be related to variations in species with different
sizes of coccoliths. Mean cell sizes, expressed in mean
volume to surface area ratio (V:SA of Henderiks &Pagani, 2008), decreased across the E-O boundary.
Henderiks & Pagani (2008) and Pagani et al. (2011)
documented similar decreases in reticulofenestrid size
across the E-O boundary that corresponded to a marked
decrease in alkenone-based pCO2 estimates. They hypothesized that, during the late Eocene, large-celled coccolithophores were well adapted to high pCO2 and CO2 (aq)conditions, whereas during the early Oligocene, small
species became more competitive at a lower pCO2. Our
study documents this size response in greater detail acrossthe E-O boundary. It took ~43kyr for large-celled species
to develop a competitive disadvantage in the early Oligocene “icehouse” oceans, which is linked both to pCO2 andtemperature decreases. The loss in large reticulofenestrids
was not compensated for with an increase in abundanceof other taxa, and total coccolith abundance decreased
following the EOT.
References
Dunkely Jones, T., Bown, P.R., Pearson, P.N., Wade, B.S.,
Coxall, H.K. & Lear, C.H. 2008. Major shift in calcareous phytoplankton assemblages through the EoceneOligocene transition of Tanzania and their implications
for low-latitude primary production. Paleoceanography, 23: PA4204, doi:10.1029/2008PA001640.
Henderiks, J. & Pagani, M. 2008. Coccolithophore cellsize and Paleogene decline in atmospheric CO2. Earthand Planetary Science Letters, 269: 576-584.
Pagani, M., Huber, M., Liu, Z., Bohaty, S.M., Henderiks,J., Sijp, W., Krishnan, S. & DeConto, R.M. 2011. The
role of carbon dioxide during the onset of Antarctic
glaciation. Science, 334: 1261-1264.
Persico, D. & Villa, G. 2004. Eocene-Oligocene calcareous nannofossils from Maud Rise and Kerguelen
Plateau (Antarctica): paleoecological and paleoceanographic implications. Marine Micropaleontology, 52:
153-179.

INA1525

IODP Expedition 346 "Asian Monsoon": calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental synthesis
Bobbi Brace

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA; bobbibrace@gmail.com

Mariem Saavedra-Pellitero

Department of Geosciences, FB5, University of Bremen, D-28359 Bremen, Germany; msaavedr@uni-bremen.de

Ryuji Tada

Earth and Planetary Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; bxn00464@nifty.com

Richard W. Murray

Department of Earth Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA; rickm@bu.edu

Carlos A. Alvarez Zarikian

International Ocean Discovery Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845-9547, USA; zarikian@iodp.tamu.edu

Expedition 346 Science Party

International Ocean Discovery Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845-9547, USA

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition
346 (July 29-September 27, 2013) from Valdez, Alaska
to Busan, South Korea, drilled seven sites in the Japan,
Yamato, and Ulleung Basins in the mid-latitude northwest Pacific Ocean, and two additional sites in the East
China Sea. The expedition recovered 6135.3 m of sediment core, which is a new record for core recovery for
IODP expeditions. The nine sites covered a wide rangeof latitudes (~32° to ~44° N) and water depths (330 to3429 m below sea level (mbsl)), and recorded deposition
that was influenced by a variety of oceanic currents. All
nine sites were investigated for calcareous nannofossils,
and a total of 632 samples were taken on board ship fromthe core catcher and split cores. Although all documented
assemblages lacked typical warm-water taxa, such as
discoasters, it was still possible to generate consistent

age models with the use of shipboard biostratigraphy andmagnetostratigraphy.
Post-expedition research plans include a detailed,multi-approach reconstruction of Tsushima Warm Current
variations in order to assess changes in the response of
the marginal sea among the Japanese Islands, the Korean
Peninsula, and the Eurasian continent to external climaterelated forcing during the late Pleistocene. Therefore, Site
U1427, located at 35°57.92'N, 134°26.06′E at approximately 330 mbsl in the Yamato Basin, was selected for our
future studies. Its unique setting, high sedimentation rates(36 cm/ky), and good preservation of carbonate observed
during Expedition 346 provide exceptional opportunities for high-resolution analyses of shifts in nannofossil
assemblages through critical intervals of Pleistocene
climate change, such as the mid-Pleistocene transition.

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A high-resolution record of monsoonal dynamics in theeastern Arabian Sea
Eloy Cabarcos

Department of Geology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, 37008, Spain; eloycabarcos@usal.es

José-A. Flores

Department of Geology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, 37008, Spain; flores@usal.es

Arun D. Singh

Department of Geology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, 221 005, India; arundeosingh@yahoo.com

Francisco J. Sierro

Department of Geology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, 37008, Spain; sierro@usal.es

This study presents a high-resolution primary productivity record for the last 30 ka in the eastern Arabian Sea(EAS), based on coccolithophore assemblages in the
SK 17 core from the continental slope off Goa, India.
Coccolithophores were proposed as indicators of primary
productivity and nutricline position, and the results wereused to reconstruct monsoonal dynamics, the main factor
controlling productivity changes in the EAS. Both winterand summer monsoon seasons exert a strong control overthe primary productivity in the Arabian Sea. Increased
productivity was recorded during the late glacial period
in the EAS, contrasting with records obtained in thewestern and northern Arabian Sea. This enhanced productivity was related to strengthened winter monsoon winds.
Planktonic foraminiferal data suggest a weakened wintermixing during the last deglaciation, which would reduce

productivity in the area. However, our coccolithophore
data reveal a high primary productivity during the deglaciation, probably maintained by the nutrient supply fromcontinental runoff due to the presence of an enhanced
summer monsoon. With regard to the Holocene, surface
waters have been highly stratified since 10.5 ka. Our data
were compared with ice core isotopic records from highlatitudes of both hemispheres, which allowed us to observea good correlation between the stratification of the EAS
and the climate variability over high latitude regions in
the northern hemisphere. However, there has been someinconsistency between our coccolithophore data andplanktonic foraminiferal records, particularly during theshort time intervals that correspond to the Heinrich cold
events described in the North Atlantic region.

INA1527

Replicates, why not?
Mario Cachão,Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal; mcachao@fc.ul.pt

Laboratory procedures in geology traditionally do not
involve making replicates. This is because sometimes
samples are unique, or there is limited material, or justbecause we are not used to the idea of replicating samples.
Yes, at the beginning of our careers, we all methodologically checked and double-checked laboratory procedures. However, we rarely replicated samples or duplicated entire laboratory procedures unless slides ended up
broken or ruined.
Why should we replicate samples for paleoceanographic/paleoecological analysis? After all, it can substantially increase time needed for sample preparation andmicroscope observation, at least by a factor of three. The
easiest answer is because we can! Due to the tiny amountof raw material routinely needed, we can easily replicate
our samples, even from cores. No other micropaleonto-

logical or palynological working group can easily do this.
Replication may increase the robustness of our interpretations, as those with more biological and chemical backgrounds are well aware. Most of the sedimentary facies
that I have been studying are from water too shallow
to normally have calcareous nannofossils, so lateralreplicates are routinely collected to increase the probability of finding any specimens at all. Recently, whileworking with colleagues with biological and chemical
backgrounds, I noticed that their standard procedure is to
replicate all lab experiments. So, replicating samples is anaccepted procedure. I am now in the process of proposing/convincing young researchers to start replicating theirsamples in order to see what the balance is between theadvantages and disadvantages of this procedure.

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Coccolithophore assemblages in the northern Sulu Sea
John Warner M. Carag

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines;
johnwcarag@gmail.com

Allan Gil S. Fernando

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines;
agsfernando@yahoo.com

Coccolithophore assemblages and their distribution in thenorthern Sulu Sea, a marginal sea in the Philippines, were
investigated in this study. The northern Sulu Sea receives
warm, less saline water from the South China Sea (SCS)
via the Mindoro Strait (Qu & Song, 2009). From the
Sibuyan Sea, warmer and saltier intermediate waters
enter the Sulu Sea through the Tablas and Panay Straits(Sprintall et al., 2012). The mixing of these waters inthis part of the study area contributes to the strong southward currents along the western borders of Mindoro andPanay Islands. During the 2007 Joint Cruise of the Philippine Strait Dynamics Experiment (PhilEx) onboard R/VMelville, water samples were collected from the Sibuyan
and Sulu Seas at different depths (10 m, deep chlorophyllmaximum [dcm], 200 m), and were filtered using 0.45µm Millipore filters. Using polarizing light and scanningelectron microscopy, initial investigations yielded 47
coccolithophore species, with the assemblage dominatedby Gephyrocapsa oceanica and Umbellosphaera irregularis. These two taxa show negative correlation with eachother along the transect that runs parallel to the easternborder of the northern Sulu Sea. A detailed analysis of the
distribution of coccolithophores in the surface waters of
the northern Sulu Sea was conducted, and microphotographs and morphological descriptions for all taxa were
documented, which contribute to baseline data on coccolithophore assemblages in low-latitude tropical settings,
including the Philippine inland seas.
References
Qu, T. & Y. T. Song. 2009. Mindoro Strait and Sibutu Passage transports estimated from satellite data. Geophysical Research Letters, 36: L09601.
Sprintall, J., Gordon, A.L., Flament, P. & Villanoy, C.L.
2012. Observations of exchange between the South
China Sea and the Sulu Sea. Journal of GeophysicalResearch, 117: C05036.

INA15

29

Revisiting Catanduanes Island: calcareous nannofossil
biostratigraphy of its Cenozoic formations
Abigael L. Castro

Allan Gil S. Fernando

Dorothy Joyce D. Marquez

Alyssa M. Peleo-Alampay

abigael.castro@gmail.com

doycemarquez@nigs.upd.edu.phagsfernando@yahoo.com
ampanigs@yahoo.com

Dianne Jules G. Rosario
yannrosario@nigs.upd.edu.phAll; Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines.

Paleontological studies have been important for stratigraphic correlation and determining the ages of lithologic
units in Catanduanes Island, Philippines. The sedimentary rocks have been dated using foraminifera (Tan, 1986;
Fernandez et al., 1994; Militante-Matias, 1995; MGB,
2008), ammonites (Tumanda, 1985; Matsukawa et al.,2012), and, most recently, calcareous nannofossils for the
Cretaceous formations (Fernando et al., 2014; Magtoto etal., 2014). Despite the number of studies conducted on
the island, the age of most Cenozoic formations remains
unclear. The present study, therefore, uses calcareous
nannofossils in an attempt to confirm and establish theage of the following lithologic units: Bote Limestone (lateOligocene-early Miocene), Santo Domingo Limestone(middle-late Miocene) and Viga Conglomerate (PliocenePleistocene).
Preliminary results revealed the occurrence of rare
to few, poor to moderately preserved calcareous nannofossils. The species observed in the samples, although
long ranging, generally support the previously publishedages of the formations. The Bote Limestone samples
revealed a low diversity assemblage, consisting mostlyof Cyclicargolithus floridanus and Reticulofenestra haqii,
assigning the limestone to Zones NN2-NN7 (early-middle
Miocene). Based on the occurrence of the large benthic
foraminifera Lepidocyclina formosa, the limestone has
also been dated as middle Oligocene to early Miocene.
Similar to the Bote Limestone, the nannofossils observedin the Santo Domingo Limestone are long-ranging: Sphenolithus abies, Reticulofenestra haqii, and R. minuta.
Based on these taxa, the limestone can be assigned toZones NN7-NN15 (middle Miocene-early Pliocene). Theage assignment of the Viga Conglomerate has always
been a problem due to the absence of fossils. The age ofthe formation, therefore, was based on its “poorly-indurated” character. An attempt to date the formation was
not successful, as the fine sandstone/mudstone lenses, aswell as the matrix, were found to be barren of calcareous
nannofossils.
This study’s attempt to date the Cenozoic formations
in Catanduanes Island shows that nannofossil biostratigraphy is a promising tool for refining the stratigraphy of theisland and is an important contribution to understanding
the geologic evolution and history of Catanduanes.
References
Fernandez, M., Revilla, A. & David, S. 1994. Notes on
the Cretaceous Carbonates in Catanduanes Island andCaramoan Peninsula, Philippines. Republic of thePhilippines, Department of Environment and Natural
Resources, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, 1-25.
Fernando, A.G.S., Magtoto, C.Y., Guballa, J.D.S, Marquez-Ardiente, D.J., Nogot, J.R.C.P. & Uy, M.A.C.
2014. Updates on Philippine Cretaceous System:
Recent Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphic Studies on Selected Cretaceous Localities in the Philippines. Paper Presented at the 2nd International Symposium of International Geoscience Programme (IGCP)
Project 608 "Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their
Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia andWestern Pacific”, Waseda, Japan: 35.
Magtoto, C.Y., Guballa, J.D.S., Peleo-Alampay, A.M. &Fernando, A.G.S. 2014. Age Refinement of Cretaceousunits in Catanduanes Island (Eastern Philippines)
based on calcareous nannofossils.*what journal?*
Matsukawa M., Sendon S.V., Mateer, F.T., Sato, T. &Obata, I. 2012. Early Cretaceous ammonite fauna of
Catanduanes Island, Philippines. Cretaceous Research,
37: 261-271.
Militante-Matias, P.J. 1995. Orbitolina-bearing rocksof Philippines. In: Proceedings of 15th International
Symposium of Kyungpook National University, 257264.
Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 2008. Chapter 2:
Stratigraphy and Petrology. In: Geology and Mineral
Resources of the Philippines. Quezon City: 159-163.
Tan, M.N. 1986. Distribution of Cretaceous Foraminifera
in the Philippines. Republic of the Philippines, Ministry of Natural Resources, Bureau of Mines and GeoSciences: 1-15.
Tumanda, F.P. 1985. Preliminary Report on the Fossil
Findings in Comagaygay River, Alibuag, San Andres(Calolbon), Catanduanes. Bureau of Mines and Geosciences: 1-7.

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Middle to late Eocene paleoenvironmental changes fromthe northern Tethyan margin (Adelholzen, Germany)
traced by calcareous nannoplankton
Stjepan Ćorić

Geological Survey of Austria, 1030 Vienna, Austria; Stjepan.coric@geologie.ac.at

Holger Gebhard

Geological Survey of Austria, 1030 Vienna, Austria; holger.gebhardt@geologie.ac.at

Antonino Briguglio

Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Faculty of Science, Department of Petroleum Geoscience, Brunei; antonino.briguglio@ubd.edu.bn

Julia Linert

Geological Survey of Austria, 1030 Vienna, Austria; valin@tuwien.ac

The northern Tethyan margin is a key region for determining environmental changes associated with the collision of continental and oceanic tectonic plates during the
Alpine orogeny. We investigated middle to upper Eocene
sediments of neritic to bathyal origin that were deposited
during an interval of unstable climatic conditions. The
section at Adelholzen covers an almost complete LutetianStage (calcareous nannofossil Zones NP15a-16, planktic
foraminiferal Zones E8-11, and shallow benthic Zones
SBZ13-15) and large parts of the Priabonian Stage (Zones
NP18-20 and E14/15), while the intermediate Bartonian
Stage (Zone NP17) is completely missing. All investigated samples contain very well preserved and abundant
autochthonous calcareous nannoplankton assemblages
and only very low percentages of reworked nannoplankton. The succession of assemblages reflects the transition from the relatively stable shallow-water conditions
with low nutrient availability (high relative abundances of

Cyclicargolithus floridanus) during the deposition of thelower and middle Adelholzen Beds (early Lutetian) to thehighly variable conditions of the upper Adelholzen Beds
(late Lutetian).
This was followed by a period of relatively stableconditions that show a change from high paleotemperatures with probable increased nutrient availability andsubsequent increased paleo-primary productivity in theuppermost Adelholzen Beds to open-ocean conditions
and reduced paleo-primary productivity in the Stockletten
Formation (latest Lutetian, Priabonian). Higher proportions of eutrophy and cold-water favoring Coccolithus
pelagicus in the middle Adelholzen Beds and a stepwise
increase in the Stockletten point to phases of increased
surface-water nutrient availability, whereas low numbersof C. pelagicus in the upper Adelholzen Beds point towarming during this interval and even more oligotrophic
conditions.

INA1531

Middle Miocene calcareous nannoplankton from thesouthern Pannonian Basin (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Stjepan Ćorić

Geological Survey of Austria, 1030 Vienna, Austria; Stjepan.coric@geologie.ac.atĐurdjica Pezelj

Department of Geology and Paleontology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; djurdjica.pezelj@geol.pmf.hr

Oleg Mandic

Department of Geology and Paleontology, Natural History Museum Vienna, 1010 Wien, Austria; oleg.mandic@nhm-wien.ac.at

Sejfudin Vrabac

Faculty of Mining, Geology and Civil Engineering, Univerzitetska 2, 75000 Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina; jvrabac@yahoo.com

Paleoenvironmental analyses based on calcareous nannoplankton and foraminiferal distribution were carried out
on samples from a locality at the village of Bogutovo near
Ugljevik. During the middle Miocene, the region was
positioned on the southern margin of the Pannonian Basinand the Central Paratethys Sea. The studied section is asedimentary succession that is dominated by marine marlswith a single limestone package near the middle. Samples
from borehole UI568 were also studied. All assemblages
are dominated by small reticulofenestrids, with lesser
numbers of Coccolithus pelagicus, Helicosphaera carteri,
H. walbersdorfensis, Holodiscolithus macroporus, Reticulofenestra gelida, R. pseudoumbilicus, Sphenolithus
moriformis, and Umbilicosphaera jafari. Braarudosphaera bigelowii, Calcidiscus leptoporus, Coronocyclus
nitescens, Coronosphaera mediterranea, Cyclicargolithus floridanus, Geminilithella rotula, Pontosphaera

multipora, Rhabdosphaera sicca, and Syracosphaera
pulchra are rare but continuous in occurrence.
Above the nonmarine Oligocene sediments fromthe borehole are sediments that contain some unidentified nannoplankton taxa. Continuous occurrences of thecalcareous nannoplankton zonal marker Sphenolithus
heteromorphus and the absence of Helicosphaera ampliaperta in the middle and the upper part of the section allow
placement in Zone NN5. The last occurrence of S. heteromorphus indicates that the Zone NN5/NN6 boundary canbe placed in the top portion of the studied interval.
Using the standard Central Paratethys ecozones
for benthic foraminifera, the analyzed time interval
includes two zones: the early Badenian (Moravian) upper
Lagenidae Zone and the middle Badenian (Wielician)Spirorutilus carinatus Zone.

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Lowermost Miocene calcareous nannoplankton andforaminifers from the Austrian part of the AlpineCarpathian Foredeep (paleoecology and biostratigraphy)of Upper Austria
Stjepan Ćorić

Geological Survey of Austria, 1030 Vienna, Austria; Stjepan.coric@geologie.ac.at

Christian Rupp

Geological Survey of Austria, 1030 Vienna, Austria; Christian.rupp@geologie.ac.at

Lower Miocene sediments of core UE50 drilled nearEbelsberg (Upper Austria) were examined for calcareous
nannoplankton and planktonic and benthic foraminifers.
Quantitative analyses were performed to define the stratigraphic position of the Ebelsberg Formation and to investigate paleo-conditions during the lowermost Miocene in
the Alpine-Carpathian Foredeep.
All samples contain high percentages of Coccolithus
pelagicus and reticulofenestrids (Reticulofenestra bisecta,
R. daviesii, R. lockeri, R. cf. foveolata, R. gelida, R. haqii,
R. minuta, and R. pseudoumbilicus). Less common but
regularly occurring species are Cyclicargolithus floridanus, Helicosphaera carteri, H. euphratis, H. scissura,
H. stalis, and Pontosphaera multipora. Sphenoliths arepresent as rare specimens of Sphenolithus capricornutus,
S. dissimilis, and S. moriformis. High numbers of Braarudosphaera bigelowii occur in the lower part of the section.
Pontosphaera ebelsbergi, first described from the UE50

core material, was subsequently observed in other lower
Miocene sections from the Austrian part of the AlpineCarpathian Foredeep.
Stratigraphic analysis of the foraminiferal faunas, represented by common Gaudryinopsis austriacus, Tenuitella
minutissima, and Tenuitellinata pseudoedita, suggests alate Egerian (early Aquitanian) age that is restricted toZone NN1 on the basis of calcareous nannofossils. Paleoecological analyses of microfaunas and nannofloras indicate deposition in an outer neritic to bathyal realm withcold deep water and cool surface water. Increasing eutrophication, the result of upwelling and short-term, fresh
water influx, is documented by blooms of B. bigelowii.
High organic production in the water column resulted in
an ongoing accumulation of organic material on the sea
floor, which ultimately led to oxygen deficiency, and thus
a drastic change in benthic foraminiferal faunas in theuppermost part of the core.

INA1533

Coccolithophore biocoenosis, thanatocoenosis, and taphocoenosis in a marginal basin in the Gulf of California
Mara Y. Cortés
Departamento de Geología Marina, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, C.P. 23080, La Paz, B.C.S.,
México. mycortes@uabcs.mx
Heriberto Rochin
Departamento de Oceanografía, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, IPN. C.P. 23096, La Paz, B.C.S.,
México; rochin_h11@hotmail.com
Karla Sidón Ceceña
Departamento de Oceanografía Biológica, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada. C.P. 23860, Ensenada, B.C., México; ksidon@cicese.edu.mx
Francisco Javier Urcádiz Cázarez
Departamento de Geología Marina, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, C.P. 23080, La Paz, B.C.S.,
México; urcadiz@me.com
Jörg Bollmann
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B1, Canada; bollmann@geology.
utoronto.ca
Since 2002, we have been monitoring the coccolithophore plankton assemblages, associated carbonate flux,
and accumulation of coccoliths in surface sediments ina pristine marginal basin located close to a productive
upwelling area in the Gulf of California. During the study
period, cell density varied from less than 1 x 103 cells l-1
to 125 x 103 cells l-1 in the upper photic zone, and from 0.5
x 103 cells l-1 to 31 x 103 cells l-1 in the lower photic zone,
respectively. In general, the highest cell density occurred
during late winter-early spring. The total flux of coccoliths in the trap showed minimum fluxes (2 x 106 coccoliths m-2 d-1) in spring-summer and maximum fluxes inautumn-winter (13 x 109 coccoliths m-2 d-1). A total of 85
species from 44 genera were identified. Species richness
varied from 57 species in plankton samples (dominatedby Emiliania huxleyi in winter-spring and Gephyrocapsa
oceanica in summer-autumn) to 55 species in sediment
trap samples (dominated by G. oceanica and E. huxleyi)
and 8 species in surface sediment samples (dominated byG. oceanica). Our data clearly show that species richness
is significantly reduced in sediment assemblages because,on an average, only 10% of the plankton species arepreserved in sediments.

34

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Size variations in selected coccolith species throughMesozoic oceanic anoxic events: implications forpaleoceanographic reconstructions
Giulia Faucher

Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italia; giulia.faucher@unimi.it

Elisabetta Erba

Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italia; elisabetta.erba@unimi.it

Cristina E. Casellato

Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italia; cristina.casellato@unimi.it

Cinzia Bottini

Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italia; cinzia.bottini@unimi.it

Biometric analyses were performed on the coccolith
species Biscutum constans and Watznaueria barnesiae
across the Cenomanian–Turonian time interval. For eachspecies, length and width of coccoliths were measured on
digitally captured images. A total of 30 specimens of B.
constans and 50 of W. barnesiae were analyzed in eachsample, which resulted in a total of 4,870 measurementsof B. constans and 7,500 measurements of W. barnesiae.
In addition, the coccolith ellipticity and surface area were
calculated. This study was carried out on samples comingfrom five sections situated at different paleolatitudes:
Eastbourne, Clot de Chevalier, Novara di Sicilia, Pueblo,
and Cuba.
The purpose of the study was to identify possible
changes in coccolith size/shape in response to paleoenvironmental perturbations associated with Oceanic Anoxic
Event 2 (OAE 2). A decrease in size or “dwarfism” ofB. constans was observed in all sections during OAE
2, which is interpreted to be due to excess CO2 thatmight have induced species-specific dwarfism. On theother hand, no changes in the size of W. barnesiae weredetected, suggesting that this taxon was less sensitive tostressed environmental conditions.
The morphometric data collected for OAE 2 werecompared with similar data available for B. constans andW. barnesiae across the early Aptian OAE 1a and the late
Albian OAE 1d. Although absolute values differed, very
similar trends were observed. In particular, B. constansdecreased in size in the core at the OAE 1a perturbation,
becoming a dwarf. For the Toarcian OAE, morphometricanalyses were conducted on Biscutum and Lotharingius,both showing dwarfism in the anoxic interval.
We speculate that, even if different degrees (and maybe
types) of paleoenvironmental perturbations were acting
during the T-OAE, OAE1a, and OAE2, biocalcificationof specific coccoliths reacted analogously with dwarfism
when threshold conditions of excess CO2 and warming
were reached.

INA1535

Paleoceanographic history of the Bohol Sea from
calcareous nannofossils during the Quaternary
Adrian Raymund C. Fernandez

National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines; adong.fernandez@gmail.com

Allan Gil S. Fernando

National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines; agsfernando@yahoo.com

The Bohol Sea, one of the least studied inland bodies ofwater in the Philippines, is located in the central Philippines between the Visayan Island Group and the island of
Mindanao. It is connected to the Philippine Sea (Pacific
Ocean) and Sulu Sea in the east and west, respectively,
via various straits and channels. Strong westward currents
in the Bohol Sea are believed to carry western Pacificsurface waters into the Sulu Sea, while dense water overflows from the Sulu Sea into the depths of the Bohol Sea.
At present, several rivers drain towards the southern partof the Bohol Sea, influencing both the nature of the sediments and productivity levels in the area.
Calcareous nannofossil analyses were conducted on
three multicore and three gravity cores collected fromthe eastern, central, and western portions of the Bohol
Sea. Variations in the calcareous nannofossil assemblage
among the stations suggest that they are influenced bywater influx from the Sulu Sea and the Philippine Sea(Pacific Ocean), as well as by intrinsic water circulation.
Downcore variations in productivity proxies from computations of calcareous nannofossils and assemblages were
attributed for the late Pleistocene to Holocene interval,
which are usually recorded in high-latitude sedimentary
records. Moreover, anti-correlations between the coolwater vs. warm water species and open-ocean water vs.
neritic species were observed. Some of the events thatare coeval with nannofossil fluctuations are the Holocene
Bond events (i.e., 600-150 years before present (yBP),
1200–1000 yBP, 3500-2500 yBP, 4200-3800 yBP, and
6000-5000 yBP), as well as the Holocene-Pleistocene
boundary, the Younger Dryas cold spell (12,900-11,500
yBP), the Bølling-Allerød interstadial (15,000–12,700
yBP), the Older Dryas cold spell (14,050-13,900 yBP),
the Heinrich events during ~16,800 yBP and ~24,000
yBP, the Late Glacial Maximum (13,000-10,000 yBP),
and the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000-13,000 yBP).

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Changes in calcareous nannofossils across the Toarcian
and Early Aalenian from the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal)
Jorge Ferreira

UMR CNRS 5276 LGL-TPE, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, Campus de la DOUA, Bâtiment Géode, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France;
zygodiscus@gmail.com

Emanuela Mattioli

UMR CNRS 5276 LGL-TPE, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Campus de la DOUA, Bâtiment Géode, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France;emanuela.mattioli@univ-lyon1.fr

Mário Cachão

Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Ed. C6, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal;

Bernard Pittet

UMR CNRS 5276 LGL-TPE, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, Campus de la DOUA, Bâtiment Géode, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France;
bernard.pittet@univ-lyon1.fr

This study provides a comprehensive and detailed accountof calcareous nannoplankton assemblage changes acrossthe Toarcian and early Aalenian in the strategically locatedLusitanian Basin in Portugal. During the Toarcian, thisbasin was a seaway connecting the NW Tethys and Mediterranean water masses, so the nannoplankton community
in the seaway would be expected to respond to influencesfrom both water bodies. Accurate biostratigraphic control
from two ammonite-calibrated and continuous sections(Rabaçal and Cabo Mondego) were merged with an intermediate section (Brenha). This resulted in a complete
286-m-thick composite section of Toarcian and lower
Aalenian sediments. Qualitative and quantitative analysesof calcareous nannofossil assemblages were performed,
along with factor analysis and stable carbon and oxygenisotopes analyses from brachiopods shells. Three factors
were extracted from the factor analysis, and they provide
good illustrations of temperature, NW European watermass incursions, and primary productivity. Three major
ecological events also were recognized from this work.
During the early Toarcian, a hot and humid transgressive period where calcareous nannoplankton thrived, thenannofossil assemblages document water mixing between
NW European and Mediterranean water masses. Acrossthe middle and part of the late Toarcian, as climatic conditions stabilized, water masses became more stratified, andprimary productivity decreased, as testified by δ13C data
and total nannofossil abundances. From part of the lateToarcian ammonite speciosum Zone upwards, the environment again became meso-eutrophic as the connection
between northern and southern water masses decreased,
and high fertility taxa such as Schizosphaerella thrived
within the shallow photic zone. Moreover, perturbations
in water paleotemperatures seem to be linked to Lotharingius and Watznaueria radiation in the middle Toarcian
and early Aalenian.

INA1537

Deciphering control processes on mid-Jurassic coccolith
turnover
Fabienne Giraud

Université Grenoble Alpes, F-38041 Grenoble, France; Fabienne.Giraud-Guillot@ujf-grenoble.fr

Emanuela Mattioli

UMR CNRS 5276 LGL-TPE, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole Normale Supérieure Lyon, Campus de la DOUA, Bâtiment Géode,69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France; emanuela.mattioli@univ-lyon1.fr

Christophe Lécuyer

UMR CNRS 5276 LGL-TPE, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole Normale Supérieure Lyon, Campus de la DOUA, Bâtiment Géode,69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France; christophe.lecuyer@univ-lyon1.fr

François Martineau

UMR CNRS 5276 LGL-TPE, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole Normale Supérieure Lyon, Campus de la DOUA, Bâtiment Géode,69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France; francois.martineau@univ-lyon1.fr

Gatsby-Emperatriz López-Otálvaro

Department of Geology, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain; gatsbyemperatriz@usal.es

Baptiste Suchéras-Marx

Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, CEREGE, 13545 Aix en Provence, France; baptiste.sucheras@gmail.com

Yves Alméras

29 Impasse des Mésanges, 01700 Beynost, France; yves.almeras0827@orange.fr

Eric de Kænel

DeKaenel Paleo Research (DPR), Matile 51, 2000 Neuchatel, Switzerland; edekaenel@bluewin.ch

The Middle Jurassic is characterized by major changes
within the calcareous nannoplankton with a transition
from Lotharingius-dominated assemblages to Watznaueria-dominated assemblages (Erba, 1990; Cobianchi
et al., 1992; Mattioli & Erba, 1999; Tiraboschi & Erba,
2010), which was concomitant with a large increase inpelagic carbonate production (Suchéras-Marx et al.,2012, 2014). The mechanisms that triggered this replacement within the nannoplankton community remain poorly
understood. We investigated possible triggers such asplate tectonics, temperature, primary productivity, andevolution that could lead to nannoplankton turnover. We
acquired new stable carbon and oxygen isotope data frombrachiopod shell calcite. We integrated these data withalready published data to estimate changes in both marine
primary production and temperature. For the first time,
a compilation of the abundance changes of Lotharingius
and Watznaueria through time was made. Major environmental changes occurred at the Aalenian-Bajocian transition. The negative δ13C excursion in the latest Aalenian
occurred during a cooling stage, whereas the early Bajocian positive δ 13C excursion took place during a warming
stage. The replacement of Lotharingius by Watznaueria
occurred through several steps. First, Watznaueria witha cross in the central area proliferated during the latest
Aalenian, a very unstable period, with turnovers in many
marine groups. From the early Bajocian to the end of the
Bathonian, two other Watznaueria groups successively
dominated the coccolith assemblages: first forms witha bridge and later those without structure in the central
area. In addition, the early Bajocian radiation event thatis documented by Watznaueria is also recorded in othermarine groups. Increased mid-ocean ridge activity since
the early Bajocian, combined with oceanographic andclimatic changes, may have been responsible for increased
fertilization of the ocean that ultimately triggered marineorganism radiations. We propose that the nannoplankton
community changes were forced more by abiotic mechanisms rather than stochastic evolutionary processes.
References
Cobianchi, M., Erba, E. & Pirini-Radrizzani, C. 1992.
Evolutionary trends of calcareous nannofossil genera Lotharingius and Watznaueria during the Earlyand Middle Jurassic. Memorie di Scienze Geologiche,
Padova, 43: 19-25.
Erba, E. 1990. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphyof some Bajocian sections from the Digne area (SEFrance). Memorie Descrittive della Carta Geologica
d'Italia. XL: 237-256.
Mattioli, E. & Erba, E. 1999. Synthesis of calcareous nannofossil events in Tethyan Lower and Middle Jurassic
successions. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigraphia, 105: 343-376.
Suchéras-Marx, B., Giraud, F., Mattioli, E., Gally, Y., Barbarin, N. & Beaufort, L. 2014. Middle Jurassic coccolith fluxes: a novel approach by automated quantification. Marine Micropaleontology, 111: 15-25.
Suchéras-Marx, B., Guihou, A., Giraud, F., Lécuyer, C.,
Allemand, P., Pittet, B. & Mattioli, E. 2012. Impactof the Middle Jurassic diversification of Watznaueria(coccolith-bearing algae) on the carbon cycle and13
C of bulk marine carbonates. Global and Planetary
Change, 86-87: 92-100.
Tiraboschi, D. & Erba, E. 2010. Calcareous nannofossil
biostratigraphy (Upper Bajocian-Lower Bathonian)of the Ravin du Bès section (Bas Auran, Subalpine
Basin, SE France): Evolutionary trends of Watznaueria barnesiae and new findings of "Rucinolithus"
morphotypes. Geobios, 43: 59-76.

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The significance of coccolithophore assemblages as
indicators of marine influx in Miocene deposits of theEastern Paratethys
Larisa Golovina

Geological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; golovinal@mail.ru

Nannofloral assemblages were investigated to identify
biostratigraphic events and paleoenvironmental changes
during the Miocene from key sections in the Eastern Paratethys (southern Russia). The latest Oligocene to basal
Miocene interval (upper part of Zone NP25 and base ofZone NN1) is characterized by scarce nannofloral assemblages and consists principally of cosmopolitan taxa
(North Caucasus and North Ossetia).
The Tarkhanian assemblages (Zones NN4-NN5) reflecta distinct marine influx and consist primarily of Sphenolithus and Helicosphaera species that indicate shallowwater environmental conditions (North Caucasus, Taman
Peninsula, Dagestan, and Azerbaijan). The Konkian
assemblages (Zones NN6-NN7) are not diverse andreflect the fluctuating character of the ecologic conditions.
The coccolith limestone deposits (latest Konkian to basal
Sarmatian interval) contain a Reticulofenestra pseudoumbilicus bloom (Taman Peninsula, North Caucasus, andMangishlak).
The lower Sarmatian deposits are characterized by thedevelopment of a monospecific assemblage of Syracosphaera sp. that contains extremely small coccoliths. In
the lower Maeotian (Taman Peninsula), nannoplankton

were encountered only at those levels with the mostmarine conditions. The upper Maeotian and the lower
part of the lower Pontian are composed of thick clayey
beds that are interbedded with laminated diatomite strata
that have been named “transitional strata” (Radionova &Golovina, 2011).
Thus, the Miocene nannofloral assemblages are indicative of environments in the Eastern Paratethys that fluctuated between open-sea and shallow-water conditions,especially during transitional intervals with inconstantenvironments (Radionova et al., 2012).
References
Radionova E. & Golovina L. 2011. Upper Maeotian–
Lower Pontian “Transitional Strata” in the Taman
Peninsula: Stratigraphic Position and Paleogeographic
Interpretation. Geologica Carpathica, 62(1): 77-90.
Radionova, E., Golovina, L., Filippova, N., Trubikhin, V.,
Popov, S., Goncharova, I., Vernigorova, Y &, Pinchuk,T. 2012. Middle–Upper Miocene stratigraphy of theTaman Peninsula, Eastern Paratethys. Central European Journal of Geosciences, 4(1): 188-204.

INA1539

Biostratigraphic analysis of the upper member of theKlondyke Formation using calcareous nannofossils
Jose Dominick S. Guballa

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines;
dominick_guballa@yahoo.com

Allan Gil S. Fernando

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines;
agsfernando@yahoo.com

This study provides a preliminary age estimate for an
outcrop located along the Pugo River in the Philippines,
using calcareous nannofossil assemblages. De Leon et al.
(1991; 1998) performed detailed biostratigraphic analyses on material from parts of the Central Luzon Basinand Marcos Highway in La Union and Benguet. Theseprevious studies constrained the age of the Klondyke
Formation to the middle Miocene. Nannofossil examination reveals a moderately to well-preserved assemblage
that is dominated by discoasters and sphenoliths, dissolution-resistant forms that are the most common species
throughout the sequence. Coccolithus, Reticulofenestra,
Pontosphaera, and Scyphosphaera also occur in rare
numbers. The presence of Discoaster berggrenii in the
Pugo River outcrop restricts it to calcareous nannofossil
Zone NN11A (8.6 to 7.3 Ma), or the late Tortonian of
the middle late Miocene. Biostratigraphic and lithologic
correlations suggest that the Pugo River outcrop is partof the upper member of the Klondyke Formation, which
consists of turbiditic sandstones and shales. A shelfal
marine environment is proposed based on lithologic andpaleontologic evidence.
References
De Leon, M.M., Militante-Matias, P.J., & Tamesis E.V.
1998. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of thesubmarine fan sequence of the Klondyke and Amlang
Formations in Benguet and La Union Provinces, Philippines. Journal of the Geological Society of the Philippines, 53(3-4): 89-141.
De Leon, M.M., Tamesis, E.V. & Militante-Matias, P.J.
1991. Calcareous nannofossil study of the Klondyke
Formation section along kilometer posts 278-251,
Marcos Highway, Baguio City-Pugo, La Union Province. Journal of the Geological Society of the Philippines, 46(3-4): 35-49.

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Coccoliths from recent sediments of the central Portuguese margin: preservation of ecological signature in a
dynamic sedimentary setting
Catarina Guerreiro

Geosciences Dep., University of Bremen, Germany; Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), University of Lisbon, Portugal; caguerreiro@fc.ul.pt

Henko de Stigter

Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, The Netherlands; Henko.de.Stigter@nioz.nl

Mario Cachão

Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), University of Lisbon, Portugal; mcachao@fc.ul.pt

Lluisa Cros

Institut de Ciencies del Mar (CSIC), 37-49. E-08003 Barcelona, Spain; lluisa@icm.csic.es

Carolina Sá

Oceanography Centre, Faculty of Sciences of University of Lisbon, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal; cgsa@fc.ul.pt

Anabela Oliveira

Portuguese Hydrographic Institute (IH), Portugal; anabela.oliveira@hidrografico.pt

Aurora Rodrigues

Portuguese Hydrographic Institute (IH), Portugal; aurora.bizarro@hidrografico.pt

Recent coccolith assemblages were studied from surface
sediments collected along five transects that cut across thecentral Portuguese continental margin. By investigating
variation in coccolith concentrations and relative abundances along north-south and onshore-offshore gradientsand between submarine canyons and open-shelf and slope
areas, and by correlation with sediment characteristics(sediment accumulation rate, sediment bulk composition,
particle-size, and Corg/Ntot), we assessed to what extent(paleo) ecological information can be distinguished from
taphonomic effects.
Despite the vigorous current dynamics and active sediment transport on the shelf and in the canyons, we foundthat the original distribution patterns reported for living
coccolithophores from Portuguese margin surface waters(Guerreiro et al., 2013; 2014) are reflected by patterns inrelative abundances of coccoliths in the underlying sediment (Guerreiro et al., in press). As found in the surface
water assemblages, Gephyrocapsa oceanica, Coronosphaera mediterranea, Helicosphaera carteri, andCoccolithus pelagicus are more prevalent on the continental shelf and upper canyon reaches, whereas Gephyrocapsa muellerae, Calcidiscus leptoporus, and the group
comprising Umbilicosphaera sibogae, Umbellosphaera
irregularis, and Rhabdosphaera spp. have higher relative
abundances on the open slope. The higher abundancesin the coastal assemblages in the upper Nazaré Canyon
appear to be associated with persistent high productivity
that is driven by an amplification of coastal upwelling andinternal tidal pumping at the canyon head and the adjacentsouthern shelf.
We propose a taphonomy-driven scenario to explain

how the primary ecological signal can be preserved in
an environment known for its dynamic sedimentary
processes. In this scenario, coccolith preservation isfavored by rapid incorporation in the sediment near theirarea of origin, while coccoliths reworked by currents andtransported away from their area of origin are subject tonon-selective destructive processes, including dissolution and mechanical abrasion. While demonstrating theimportance of taphonomic processes on the preservationof coccoliths in the sedimentary record, this study also
underlines the enormous potential of coccoliths in paleoapplications, even in dynamic coastal settings.
References
Guerreiro, C., De Stigter, H., Cachão, M., Oliveira, A. &Rodrigues, A. in press. Coccoliths from recent sediments of the Central Portuguese Margin: taphonomicaland ecological inferences. Marine Micropaleontology.
doi:10.1016/j.marmicro.2014.11.001
Guerreiro, C., Sá, C., De Stigter, H., Oliveira, A., Cachão,M., Borges, C., Cros, L., Quaresma, L., Santos, A.I.,
Fortuño, J.M. & Rodrigues, A. 2014. Influence of
the Nazaré Canyon, central Portuguese margin, on
late winter coccolithophore assemblages. Deep Sea
Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography,
104, 335-358. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.09.011
Guerreiro, C., Oliveira, A., De Stigter, H., Cachão, M., Sá,C., Borges, C., Cros, L., Quaresma, L., Santos, A.I.,
Fortuño, J.M. & Rodrigues, A. 2013. Late winter coccolithophore bloom off central Portugal in response
to river discharge and upwelling. Continental Shelf
Research, 59, 65-83. doi:10.1016/j.csr.2013.04.016

INA15

41

Cretaceous nannostratigraphy of the Kopet Dagh
Mountain Range (northeast Iran)
Fatema Hadavi

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran; fhadavi@ferdowsi.um.ac.ir

Lida Khodadadi

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran; lid_kh5@yahoo.com

Mohammad Anvar Moheghy

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran; moheghy.mo@stu.um.ac.ir

Marziyeh Notghi Moghaddam

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran; ma_no87@stu-mail.um.ac.ir

The Kopet-Dagh Mountain Range, which stretches nearly
650 km in a WNW-ESE direction east of the CaspianSea from the former Soviet Union through Iran and into
Afghanistan, is composed of a succession of gently foldedrock. The base of this succession is only exposed in theeastern part of this mountain range in Iranian territory.
The most complete Cretaceous sedimentary succession ineastern Iran is found in the Kopet Dagh Mountain Rangeand is comprised of marine shales, marls, and limestones
and a subordinate amount of sandstone. This sequenceappears to represent all major stages of the Cretaceous(Stocklin, 1968). These deposits are exposed throughout
most of the Kopet Dagh Range with few exceptions.
For the first time, calcareous nannofossils were used todetermine the age of these sedimentary beds. The distribution and relative abundances of Cretaceous calcareous
nannofossil taxa were recorded from the lower and upperboundaries of all formations (e.g., Mozduran, Shurijeh,
Sarcheshmeh, Sanganeh, Aitamir, Abderaz, Abtalkh,
Nizar, and Kalat) in both the eastern and western part of
the Kopet Dagh.
For this study, samples were collected about 5 m
above and below the lithological boundaries of the formations in 4-6 sections (Lower-Upper Cretaceous). Thesesamples were prepared with a smear slide technique andphotographed with a light microscope. Based on nannoplankton biostratigraphic results, a correlation chart for
the Cretaceous sediments of Kopet Dagh range was made.
Results show that the ages of the studied formations were
almost the same from east to west, except for the AitamirAbderaz, Abderaz-Abtalkh,  Abtalkh-Nizar, and NizarKalat formational boundaries in the west. The Abtalkh
and Nizar Formations are absent in the west, as evidenced
by the absence of Zones CC21-CC25.
A discontinuous sedimentary pattern between the
Abderaz and Kalat Formations is suggested. The variability of species abundances in the studied section is
likely related to paleoenvironmental conditions. Quantitative studies of species suggest that the Cretaceous
formations were deposited in a shallow-marine basin that
increased in depth from east to west. The results matchstudies from adjacent areas.
References
Stocklin, J. 1968. Structural history and tectonics of Iran:a review. Bulletin of the American Association ofPetroleum Geologists, 52: 58-129.

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Nannostratigraphy of the Dalichai Formation in the Naviya section of Kopet Dagh Mountain Range in Iran
Fatemeh Hadavi

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran; fhadavi@ferdowsi.um.ac.ir

Mohammad Anvar Moheghy

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran; moheghy.mo@stu.um.ac.ir

Maryam Ghadamagahi

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran; m_ghadamgahi_mm@yahoo.com

For the first time, the calcareous nannofossils of the Dalichai Formation have been studied. The Dalichai Formation, which contains oil and gas reserves, is a well-bedded
greenish-gray, tarry (bituminous), pyritic, marly shalewith thin layers of limestone (Afshar-Harb, 1979). The
Dalichai Formation is overlain by the Lar Formation andis underlain by the Kashaf Rud Formation. A total of 110
samples were examined, and nannofossil species were
well preserved. In this study, 37 species belonging to 23
genera and 11 families were recorded. Using ammonites,
previous workers assigned an Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian
age to this formation. Using the first and last occurrencesof calcareous nannofossils, the age of the Dalichai Formation is lower Bajocian-Tithonian/Berriasian in the Naviya
section, which corresponds to Zones Nj9-Nj18/CC1 of
Bown (1998).
References
Afshar-Harb, A. 1979. The stratigraphy-tectonics-petroleum geology of the Kopet-Dogh region northern
Iran. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of London:
1-316.
Bown, P.R. 1998. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy. Klower Academic Publication, 34-86.

INA1543

Possibility of extracellular calcification of Braarudosphaera bigelowii deduced from cell-surface structure andelemental compositions of pentaliths by analyticalelectron microscopy
Kyoko Hagino

Research and Education Faculty, Natural Sciences Cluster, Sciences Unit, Kochi University, Kochi, 780-8520 Japan; hagino@kochi-u.ac.jp

Ryo Onuma

Department of Natural History Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, N10W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan;
ocimum8@mail.sci.hokudai.ac.jp

Yoshihito Takano

National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Fisheries Research Agency, Kanazawa, Yokohama, 236-8648 Japan; ytakano@affrc.go.jp

Jeremy R. Young

Dept. of Earth Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT UK; jeremy.young@ucl.ac.uk

Naotaka Tomioka

Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research, Kochi, 783-8502 Japan; tomioka@jamstec.go.jp

Takeo Horiguchi

Department of Natural History Sciences, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, N10W8, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan; horig@mail.sci.hokudai.ac.jp

Braarudosphaera bigelowii is a nannolith-bearing coccolithophore, which is characterized by pentagonal calcareous scales called pentaliths. Pentaliths of B. bigelowii
consist of five trapezoidal segments with a laminar structure. The calcifying stage of B. bigelowii has never beensuccessfully grown in culture, despite repeated attempts,
and so the mechanism of calcification of pentaliths is still
unknown.
We have studied the fine morphology of the membranous structure of B. bigelowii with scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM), and the elemental composition of pentaliths of B.

bigelowii, using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS).
Braarudosphaera bigelowii has a characteristic membranous structure, which closely underlies the proximal
surface of the pentaliths and extends between the sidesof the individual pentaliths. The EDS analyses revealed
that pentaliths of B. bigelowii have a relatively high-Mg
content compared to that of heterococcoliths. Our observations suggest that the calcification mechanism of pentaliths of B. bigelowii differs from that of the low-Mg
content of heterococcoliths, which are produced intracellularly, and that the membranous structure appears to act
as a template for shaping the pentaliths of B. bigelowii.

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Abundance and distribution of coccolithophores andParmales (Tetraparma insecta) in the Gulf of California
during the summer (July-August, 2011), and theirrelationship to oceanographic conditions
David U. Hernández-Becerril

Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Apdo. postal 70-305, México, D.F. 04510
México; dhernand@cmarl.unam.mx

Ivan Ramírez-Robles

Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Apdo. postal 70-305, México, D.F. 04510
México; ivanramrob@gmail.com

Jessica Salazar-Paredes

Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Apdo. postal 70-305, México, D.F. 04510
México; salazarparedes.jessica@gmail.com

M.F. Lavín

Departamento de Oceanografía Física, CICESE, Carretera Ensenada-Tijuana 3918, Zona Playitas, Ensenada, Baja California, 22860, México

Victor M. Godínez

Departamento de Oceanografía Física, CICESE, Carretera Ensenada-Tijuana 3918, Zona Playitas, Ensenada, Baja California, 22860, México;
mxcali@cicese.mx

Recent studies have shown particular oceanographic conditions in the Gulf of California, such as the presence ofeddies. The influence of these eddies on the phytoplankton
is not well known. The structure of the phytoplankton
community, especially the coccolithophores and Parmales(Chrysophyceae), was studied along a transect parallel tothe main axis, where evidence of two eddies was noted
during one oceanographic cruise in the Gulf of California(July-August, 2011). Environmental variables, such astemperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen, as well as
fluorescence were measured in situ. Samples for nutrientand phytoplankton (filtered material) analyses were also
taken. Thirty-one species of coccolithophores and one
species of Parmales (Tetraparma insecta) were identified and counted, using both light and scanning elec-tron microscopy. Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa
oceanica were the most frequent and abundant species.
The highest cell densities found for coccolithophores andT. insecta were 6.7 X 104 cells L-1 and 1.3 X 104 cells
L-1, respectively. The vertical distribution of coccolithophores was heterogeneous, usually with a subsurface peak
(between 18 and 35 m) in most stations, whereas Parmales
showed a preference for slightly deeper waters (always
below 20 m). Abundances of T. insecta were comparablewith those of Parmales species in more temperate waters.
The distribution of both groups showed a striking similarity with the distribution of temperature and chlorophylla, thus indicating a strong influence by the oceanographic
eddies for that period in the Gulf.

INA1545

The incredible Braarudosphaera bigelowii, a coccolithophore that displays exceptional mathematical traits
Syed A. Jafar

Consultant, National Center for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa, India; syeda_jafar@yahoo.com

Complete tests of Braarudosphaera bigelowii (Late
Cretaceous-Recent), representing a regular pentagonal
dodecahedron with either flat (Euclidean) or slightly
convex (elliptic) pentagonal plates, are rarely found as
fossils. However, recent plankton specimens commonly
exhibit slightly concave (hyperbolic) pentagonal plates interms of mathematical terminology. Compared to hypothetical coccosphere models of other members of Braarudosphaeraceae (i.e., Pemma and Micrantholithus),
B. bigelowii opts for a more stable architecture. Eachpentagonal plate is invariably traversed by five dextrally
oriented (chiral) radial sutures, so that the radial sutures of
the adjoining plate meets it at an offset position, thereby
imparting architectural strength (Jafar, 1998). The intercept of the radial suture on the pentagonal line createssmall and larger line segments, usually in the ratio of 1:2,
but occasionally the golden ratio: Ø = 1+ / 2 = 1.618…
is achieved even on the same test. Thus, radial sutures
carve out tiles of five golden trapeziums, altogether 60
in the entire test. A golden trapezium by definition is an
isosceles trapezium having two legs of identical lengthand a larger base, and the base angles are: 108○ – 108○
- 72○ – 72○. An intercept of a smaller base made on anyof the larger and equal line segment again results in the
golden ratio. Such tiles of golden trapezium could be radially arranged to generate extraordinary tiling, expanding
to infinity and retaining a regular pentagonal outline ateach generation with pseudo-five-fold chiral-rotational
symmetry of a twinned periodic crystal (Levine & Stein-

hardt, 1984). Braarudosphaera bigelowii also represents
a perfect platonic body of the ancient mathematicianswith its unique combination of periodic calcite latticeenveloping a quasiperiodic frame of a regular pentagonal
dodecahedron. The hollow tests of B. bigelowii, like thoseof other nannoplankton, remain cryptic and invisible tothe unaided human eye. However, larger and solid regularpentagonal dodecahedra (ca. 1mm), which are visible tohuman eye, were recently produced artificially in certain
metallic alloys that display a quasiperiodic diffraction
pattern (Schechtman et al., 1984; Ohashi & Spaepen,1987).
References
Jafar, S.A. 1998. Architecture of Braarudosphaera bigelowii (coccolithophorid): A Marine Planktonic
Alga Holding Clues to Quasicrystalline Symmetry.
(Extended Abstract), Seventh International Nannoplankton Association Conference, La Parguera, Puerto
Rico.
Levine, D. & Steinhardt, P.J. 1984. Quasicrystals: a newclass of ordered structures. Physical Review Letters,
53: 2477-2480.
Ohashi, W. & Spaepen, F. 1987. Stable Ga-Mg-Zn quasiperiodic crystal with pentagonal dodecahedral solidification morphology. Nature, 330: 555-556.
Schechtman, D., Blech, I., Gratias, D. and Cahn, J.W.
1984. Metallic phase with long range orientational
order and no translational symmetry. Physical Review
Letters, 53: 1951-1953.

46

INA15

Modern subtropical/tropical coastal coccolithophorid
assemblages
Richard W. Jordan

Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata 990-8560,
Japan; sh081@kdw.kj.yamagata-u.ac.jp

Atsuko Kijima

Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata 990-8560,
Japan; ftkms115@ybb.ne.jp

Chika Komuro

Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata 990-8560,
Japan; koki-718@taupe.plala.or.jp

Hideto Tsutsui

Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata 990-8560,
Japan; blacksand@mail.goo.ne.jp

Kenta Abe

Graduate School of Science & Engineering, Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata 990-8560, Japan; s14e101d@
st.yamagata-u.ac.jp

Susumu Konno

Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Graduate School of Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Higashi-ku, Hakozaki, Fukuoka 8128581, Japan; konno.susumu.382@m.kyushu-u.ac.jp

In order to determine diagnostic coccolithophorid assemblages for shallow waters, lagoonal and/or coastal water
samples were collected and examined around various
subtropical (Shikoku, Okinawa, Ogasawara Islands, andGuam) and tropical (Puerto Rico and Palau) islands. The
species diversity at each location was then compared inorder to identify regional differences and cosmopolitan
species. Generally, the water samples were filtered andobserved with a scanning electron microscope, but somelive material was also examined with a light microscope.
All localities contained Emiliania huxleyi var. huxleyi(= morphotype A) and Gephyrocapsa oceanica, while
Umbellosphaera spp., Umbilicosphaera hulburtiana,
and Helicosphaera carteri were often present. Cruciplacolithus neohelis (which lives on the sand surface inshallow waters), Reticulofenestra maceria, and Gephyrocapsa ericsonii (often linked with upwelling) have now
been found at a number of localities. Holococcolithophorids occurred in just two sets of samples (off Guamand Palau), suggesting that seasonal differences (e.g., dry

vs. wet seasons) may control their distribution. This highlights the need for taking samples at different times of theyear. Surprisingly, middle and lower photic zone species(Algirosphaera robusta, Calciopappus rigidus, Calciosolenia spp., Reticulofenestra sessilis, and Syracosphaera
anthos) have occasionally appeared in our shallow coastal
waters, a phenomenon now being reported elsewhere byother workers.
In general, the species diversity of coastal communities
is low, compared with offshore records (e.g., for Puerto
Rico, 17 taxa in the lagoons vs. >100 taxa offshore), but
this may be just a matter of undersampling and low abundances. In addition, we have a dilemma: are all or someof these species part of the tychoplankton (merely transported into the lagoons from offshore) or are they bonafide members of local populations (i.e., growing in-situ)?
To answer this will require extensive fieldwork anddetailed culture experiments. Clearly, we still have a lot
to learn about coccolithophorid ecology and distribution.

INA1547

Middle to Upper Jurassic stratigraphy of Kuwait:
calcareous nannofossils and maximum flooding surfaces
Adi P. Kadar

Kuwait Oil Company, Exploration Studies Team, Kuwait; AKadar@kockw.com

Thomas De Keyser

Technically Write Consulting, LLC, Denver, Colorado, USA; dekeyser@wispertel.net

Nilotpaul Neog

Kuwait Oil Company, Gas Development Group, Kuwait; NNEOG@kockw.com

Khalaf A. Karam

Kuwait Oil Company, Exploration Studies Team, Kuwait; KKaram@kockw.com

Calcareous nannofossils were studied in detail from 11
cores that represent a complete Middle to Upper Jurassic
stratigraphic succession of onshore Kuwait, and involve
samples from the Dhruma Formation, Sargelu Formation,
Najmah Shale, Najmah Limestone, and Jubaila Formation. The age interpretation, using the Jurassic Tethyan
nannofossil zones of Mattioli & Erba (1999) and Casellato (Channell et al., 2010) is that the well section ranges
in age from early Bajocian to Kimmeridgian in age. The
Dhruma Formation is early-late Bajocian in age, Subzone
NJT 10a. The Sargelu-Dhruma transition unit is late Bajocian in age, Subzone NJT 10b. The Sargelu Formation
is mainly barren, but its stratigraphic position indicatesa Bathonian to Callovian age within Zone NJT 11. The
Najmah Shale is Callovian to middle Oxfordian in age,
Zone NJT 12 to basal Sub-zone NJT 13b, and the Najmah
Limestone is late Oxfordian, Subzone NJT 13b. The
Jubaila Formation is Kimmeridgian in age, Zone NJT 14.
A more precise location for the regional maximum
flooding surfaces (MFS) of Sharland et al. (2001) was
identified. MFS J20 is located in the lower Dhruma
Formation. MFS J30 is placed in the Sargelu Formation,right above the top of the Sargelu-Dhruma transition.
MFS J40 is picked just above the top of the lower Najmah

Shale, and MFS J50 is in a condensed zone just below the
top of the upper Najmah Shale. MFS J60 coincides withthe post-Najmah unconformity, separating the Najmah
Limestone from the Jubaila Formation. The hiatus that
separates the Jubaila Formation from the overlying Gotnia
Formation coincides with MFS J70 and may also include
MFS J80 and J90, where the third and fourth Salt, as wellas the third and fourth Anhydrite, are absent.
References
Channell, J.E.T., Casellato, C.E., Muttoni, G. & Erba, E.
2010. Magnetostratigraphy, nannofossil stratigraphy
and apparent polar wander for Andria–Africa in theJurassic – Cretaceous boundary interval. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 293: 51-75.
Mattioli, E. and Erba, E. 1999. Synthesis of calcareous
nannofossil events in Tethyan Lower and Middle
Jurassic successions. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia
e Startigrafia 105(3): 343-376.
Sharland, P.R., Archer, R., Casey, D.M., Davies, R.B.,
Hall, S.H., Heward, A.P., Horbury, A.D. & Simmons,
M.D. 2001. Arabian Plate Sequence Stratigraphy.
GeoArabia, Special Publication 2. Gulf PetroLink,
Bahrain, 371 pp., with 3 charts.

48

INA15

Vertical and horizontal distribution of modern
coccolithophore species across the HV Melville
Biological and Hydroacoustic Cruise transect,
southern Indian Ocean
Alicia Kahn

Chevron Energy Technology Company, 1500 Louisiana Street, Houston, Texas, 77002, USA; kahn@chevron.com

The species distribution of coccolithophores generally
follows latitude, with diversity decreasing with increasing
latitude. This distribution also broadly depends on depth
in temperate and tropical regions where the deeper part(~150-200 m) of the photic zone is inhabited by a characteristic community of coccolithophores that includes
Florisphaera profunda, Gladiolithus flabellatus, Oolithotus antillarum, and Algirosphaera robusta (Okada&Honjo, 1973), plus recently described Solisphaera
spp. (Aubry & Kahn, 2006; Bollmann et al., 2006) and
Navilithus altivelum (Young & Andruleit, 2006). Fiftyfive water samples were taken at 13 sites along a SW-NE
transect from Cape Town, South Africa (35ºS 20ºE) to
Port Hedland, Australia (17ºS 117ºE) by the HV Melville
Hydroacoustic and Biological Sampling Cruise. Samples
were taken between May and June 2003, ranging in depth
from 0 to 201 m.
Diverse coccolithophore communities with generally
narrow depth distributions were observed. By studying
extant coccolithophore communities with dominant
species, it is possible to quantify species size from large
numbers of coccospheres, thus expanding the databasefor modern intraspecific variability. Recent morphological studies on extant coccolithophores have investigatedsize range as a possible indicator of speciation or seasonalchange (e.g., Renaud & Klaas, 2001; Renaud et al., 2002),
and also to show the distribution and known size rangeof observed species (e.g., Reid, 1980; Cros & Fortuño,
2002; Young et al., 2003). All new species were definedby size, as well as by the structure of their coccospheres
and coccoliths (e.g., Quinn et al., 2005; Bollmann et al.,2006). Measurements were taken from coccospheres
along the HV Melville transect, and they significantly
increase the known size variability of extant coccoliths and coccospheres (Kahn & Aubry, 2006). Here, I
provide a record of the species observed along the HV
Melville transect in order to document further their known
geographic ranges.

References
Aubry, M.-P. & Kahn, A. 2006. Coccolithophores fromthe deep photic zone of the Indian Ocean: a case formorphological convergence as a forcing mechanism in
the evolution of the calcareous nannoplankton. Micropaleontology, 52(5): 411-431.
Bollmann, J., Cortés, M.Y., Kleijne, A., Østergaard, J. &Young, J. 2006. Solisphaera gen. nov. (Prymnesiophyceae), a new coccolithophore genus from the lower
photic zone. Phycologia, 45(4): 465-477.
Cros, L. & Fortuño, J. 2002. Atlas of northwestern Mediterranean coccolithophores. Scientia Marina, 66(1):7-182.
Kahn, A. & Aubry, M.-P. 2006. Intraspecific morphotypicvariability in the Family Rhabdosphaeraceae. Micropaleontology, 52(4): 317-342.
Okada, H. & Honjo, S. 1973. The distribution of oceanic
coccolithophorids in the Pacific. Deep Sea Research,
20: 355-374.
Quinn, P.S., Cortés, M.Y. & Bollmann, J. 2005. Morphological variation in the deep dwelling coccolithophore
Florisphaera profunda (Haptophyta). European Journal of Phycology, 40(1): 123-133.
Reid, F. 1980. Coccolithophorids of the North PacificCentral Gyre with notes on their vertical and seasonal
distribution. Micropaleontology, 26: 151-176.
Renaud, S. & Klaas, C. 2001. Seasonal variations in themorphology of the coccolithophore Calcidiscus leptoporus off Bermuda (N. Atlantic). Journal of Plankton
Research, 23(8): 779-795.
Renaud, S., Ziveri, P. & Broerse, A.T.C. 2002. Seasonal
differences in morphology and dynamics of the coccolithophore Calcidiscus leptoporus. Marine Micropaleontology, 46: 363-385.
Young, J.R. & Andruleit, H. 2006. Navilithus altivelum: aremarkable new genus and species of deep photic coccolithophores. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 25(2):141-152.
Young, J.R., Geisen, M., Cros, L., Kleijne, A., Sprengel,
C., Probert, I. & Østergaard, J. 2003. A guide to extant
coccolithophore taxonomy. Journal of Nannoplankton
Research, Special Issue 1: 1-125.

INA1549

Quantifying rates of plankton evolution immediately
following the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction
event (IODP Site U1405, NE Atlantic)
Hojung Kim

Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, UK; hojung.kim.09@ucl.ac.uk

Paul Bown

Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, UK; p.bown@ucl.ac.uk

Samantha Gibbs

Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK; samantha.Gibbs@noc.soton.ac.uk

Celli Hull

Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; pincelli.hull@yale.edu

The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) mass extinction event,the most significant geological event to have affectedcalcareous nannoplankton, caused extinction of over 90%
of species and was followed by the rapid diversificationof new groups that form the core of modern coccolithophore diversity. In this study, we aim to quantify therates of evolution in calcareous nannoplankton immediately following the mass extinction event (Danian). Our
initial data come from a recently recovered K/Pg section(IODP Site U1403) drilled on the J-Anomaly Ridge in
the northeast Atlantic Ocean during IODP Expedition

342. The succession includes an intact spherule layer
and well-preserved nannofossils. We focus on a variety
of morphometric traits, including coccolith length andwidth, and cellular traits, including cell geometry (cellsize and number of coccoliths per cell). We will provide
information on the evolution rates in the newly evolved
lineages (i.e., Prinsius, Coccolithus, and Cruciplacolithus) and also survivor lineages (i.e., Cyclagelosphaera
and Markalius) as a comparison. These data provide us
with a better insight into the post mass extinction recoveryof the marine ecosystem.

50

INA15

Nannofossil biostratigraphy of the Late Cretaceous(Coniacian - Campanian) Niobrara Formation(Western Interior Seaway)
Zachary A. Kita

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0340, USA; zachary.kita@gmail.com

David K. Watkins

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0340, USA; dwatkins1@unl.edu

Two localities (western Kansas and Miner County, SD)from the upper Coniacian to lower Campanian Niobrara
Formation were investigated to assess the utility of traditional calcareous nannofossil zonation schemes in theWestern Interior Seaway (WIS). The Niobrara Formationis comprised of alternating chalks and marls depositedin the WIS during the late Turonian to early Campanian(~89-82 Ma). Cretaceous sediments are often assigned
relative ages according to generally cosmopolitan zonation schemes that are based on calcareous nannofossil
extinction and origination events. Several diagnostic taxa
commonly used in these schemes, such as holococcoliths,
are absent, extremely rare, or diachronous with respect toopen-ocean biostratigraphic events, thereby limiting theutility of traditional zonation schemes for the WIS.

An enhanced, high-resolution biostratigraphic analysisof the Niobrara Formation from the Smoky Hill typesection in western Kansas is presented. The Smoky Hill
type section is an expanded section of the Niobrara Formation with very good to excellent calcareous nannofossil
preservation, making it ideal for high-resolution biostratigraphic analyses. The biostratigraphic framework of the
Smoky Hill section is correlated to the Miner County, SD
core to enable regional comparisons. Previously undocumented taxa that are present in both Kansas and South
Dakota are shown to have biostratigraphic utility in the
WIS. The resultant biostratigraphic framework will serve
as a template for the assignment of geochronologic ages
to bioevents in the WIS.

INA1551

Micropaleontology and the International Ocean Discovery
Program: a primer
Denise K. Kulhanek

International Ocean Discovery Program, Texas A&M University, 1000 Discovery Drive, College Station, TX 77845, USA; kulhanek@iodp.
tamu.edu

The new International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP)
continues a long history of scientific ocean drilling,
beginning with the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) in
1968. Two-month long expeditions on the drilling vessel
JOIDES Resolution target scientific objectives withinfour themes of IODP: climate and ocean change, deep
biosphere, planetary dynamics, and geohazards. A typical
expedition includes a diverse group of ~30 scientists fromthe various IODP member counties led by two co-chief
scientists. During the expedition, the science party characterizes the collected cores through visual description(sedimentology, petrology, and structural geology), age
determination (micropaleontology and paleomagnetism),
physical properties, geochemistry, and microbiology.
Most expeditions also include downhole logging to relate
recovered core to in-situ borehole properties. Micropa-

leontology is an integral part of most expeditions, with
two to eight scientists sailing as part of that laboratory.
Micropaleontologists are the first scientists to receive aphysical portion of the retrieved core, as they collect partof the core catcher sample as soon as the core arrives on
deck. The core catcher is processed for analysis of various
microfossils, including calcareous nannofossils, foraminifers, radiolarians, diatoms, and sometimes palynomorphs.
The micropaleontologists provide age constraints forthe recovered core, and also provide valuable information about depositional environment, paleoceanographic
conditions, etc. This primer will provide an introduction
to sailing as a micropaleontologist on an IODP expedition, including the application process, and what to expect
before, during, and after an expedition.

52

INA15

A new Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum record from
Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 277 (Campbell Plateau):a window into calcareous nannofossil response in thesouthern high latitudes
Denise K. Kulhanek

International Ocean Discovery Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA; kulhanek@iodp.tamu.edu

Christopher J. Hollis

GNS Science, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand; c.hollis@gns.cri.nz

Ben R. Hines

School of Geography, Environment & Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; Ben.Hines@vuw.ac.nz

Kate Littler

Earth & Planetary Sciences, University of California – Santa Cruz, California, 95060 USA; Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter,
Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK; K.Littler@exeter.ac.uk

C. Percy Strong

GNS Science, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand; p.strong@gns.cri.nz

James C. Zachos

Earth & Planetary Sciences, University of California – Santa Cruz, California, 95060 USA; jzachos@ucsc.edu

Victor Villasante-Marcos

Observatorio Geofisico Central, Instituto Geográfico Nacional, Madrid 28014, Spain; vicvilla@fis.ucm.es

We recently discovered an intact Paleocene-Eocene
boundary and record of the initial onset of the PaleoceneEocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) in a 34-cm-thickinterval of Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Site 277(Hollis et al., submitted). This site was drilled on thewestern margin of the Campbell Plateau in the southwest
Pacific Ocean (paleolatitude ~65ºS), and together with
Ocean Drilling Program Site 1172 (Tasman Plateau), it
represents the southernmost record of the PETM in the
Pacific Ocean. We conducted high-resolution geochemicaland paleontological studies to characterize this interval,
which show that the PETM is truncated, with some or
all of the main phase missing due to either a hiatus or
drilling disturbance. Diagenesis at this site affects thestable isotope records; however, laser ablation Mg/Ca
measurements on foraminifers show that sea-surface andintermediate water temperatures rose by ~6ºC at the onsetof the PETM and then remained relatively stable before
declining abruptly across the hiatus.
Late Paleocene to early Eocene calcareous nannofossil assemblages are moderately preserved at Site 277.
The PETM is characterized by increased abundancesof Coccolithus spp., Sphenolithus spp., and Zygrhablithus bijugatus, whereas the abundance of Chiasmolithus spp. decreases. The absence of excursion taxa, suchas members of the Rhomboaster lineage or Discoasteraraneus and D. anartios, may be due to paleobiogeo-

graphic restriction or to truncation of the record. Although
the discoasters typical of the excursion are not found at
this locality, deformed discoasters, many resembling
Discoaster nobilis, characterize the interval. In addition,
Bomolithus supremus is restricted to the carbon isotope
excursion. The genus Ellipsolithus also reaches maximum
abundance over the PETM interval, which is striking as
this taxon has a significantly delayed first appearance
in the southwest Pacific region (Edwards, 1971). This,
together with increased abundances of other warm-watertaxa (e.g., Sphenolithus spp. and Z. bijugatus), suggeststhat a significant incursion of temperate to subtropicalwaters to the southern high latitudes occurred at this time.
References

Edwards, A.R. 1971. A calcareous nannoplankton
zonation of the New Zealand Paleogene. In: A.
Farinacci (Ed.). Proceedings of the Second Planktonic Conference Roma 1970. Edizioni Tecnoscienza, Rome, 2: 381–419.
Hollis, C.J., Hines, B.R., Littler, K., Villasante-Marcos, V., Strong, C.P., Kulhanek, D.K., Zachos,J.C., Eggins, S.M., Northcote, L. & Phillips, A.
submitted. Onset of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum in the southern Pacific Ocean(DSDP Site 277, Campbell Plateau). Climates of
the Past.

INA1553

Coccolith calcite Sr/Ca ratios: investigating a potential
proxy for Late Cretaceous nannofossil paleoecology
Christian Linnert

Institute of Geology, Mineralogy and Geophysics, Ruhr-University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany; Christian.Linnert@ruhr-uni-bochum.deJacqueline A. Lees

Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK; j.lees@ucl.ac.uk

Tom Dunkley Jones

School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK; t.dunkleyjones@bham.ac.uk

Paul R. Bown

Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK; p.bown@ucl.ac.uk

Stuart Robinson

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3AN, UK; stuart.robinson@ucl.ac.uk

Jeremy R. Young

Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK; jeremy.young@ucl.ac.uk

Calcite Sr/Ca ratios for modern coccolithophores aremainly dependent on calcification and cellular growth
rates, which are further dependent on the rate of primary
productivity. In fossil material, Sr/Ca ratios likely represent preserved original values, although values can bebiased by calcite overgrowth and adhering clay particles.
We have measured calcite Sr/Ca ratios on hundreds ofLate Cretaceous coccolith specimens in order to test theconsistency of species-specific values and to investigate
whether Sr/Ca can be developed as a proxy for Mesozoic
paleoproductivity.
The calcareous nannofossils used for this study comefrom six Campanian to Maastrichtian samples fromthe Shuqualak borehole (Mississippi, USA), a section
containing sediments lithologically well disposed tofine-fraction filtering, which is one of the techniques
required for secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS)
on single coccoliths. A total of 497 measurements weremade of three element ratios: Sr/Ca (productivity?), Mg/
Ca (diagenesis?), and Al/Ca (clay contamination?) on 430
specimens, representing 33 taxa.
The Cretaceous taxa show a wider spread of Sr/Ca
ratios than either late Eocene-early Oligocene fossil taxa
or modern cultured species (Coccolithus, Reticulofenestraof Prentice et al., 2014), which tend to cluster between
approximately 2 to 4 mmol mol-1 Sr/Ca. However, there
is consistency in the species-specific Cretaceous values.
Some of the measured Cretaceous taxa show similarvalues to younger taxa, such as Cribrosphaerella (1.32 –4.32 mmol mol-1 Sr/Ca; mean 2.29) and Prediscosphaera(0.65 – 4.70 mmol mol-1 Sr/Ca; mean 3.27), whereas
Watznaueria has lower values (0.38 – 3.84 mmol mol-1
Sr/Ca; mean 1.03). Braarudosphaera has values usually
lower than 2 mmol mol-1 Sr/Ca, similar to the nannolith, Micula. Holococcolith (Lucianorhabdus) values
are generally greater than 4 mmol mol-1 Sr/Ca. We are
currently refiltering and refining our data to remove thosevalues that were likely affected by diagenesis (indicatedby drifting of the 20 cycles of values and by high Mg/Ca
ratios; see Prentice et al., 2014) and will present our mostrecent findings at INA15.
References
Prentice, K., Dunkley Jones, T., Lees, J., Young, J., Bown,
P., Langer, G., Fearn, S. & EIMF. 2014. Trace metal(Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca) analysis of single coccoliths by
Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry. Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta, 146: 90-106.

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Age refinement of Cretaceous units on Catanduanes
Island (eastern Philippines) based on calcareous
nannofossils
Clarence Y. Magtoto

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines;
renz_y_magtoto@yahoo.com

Jose Dominick S. Guballa

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines;
dominick_guballa@yahoo.com

Alyssa M. Peleo-Alampay

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines;
ampanigs@yahoo.com

Allan Gil S. Fernando

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines;
agsfernando@yahoo.com

Validation and refinement of the age of the Yop andCodon Formations were performed using calcareous
nannofossil biostratigraphy. Previous studies, based on
stratigraphic and structural relationships, as well as paleontological analysis, suggest a late Early to Late Cretaceous age for the Yop Formation and late Late Cretaceous(Maastrichtian) for the Codon Formation. The age of theCodon Formation, however, was determined primarily
from exposures of the formation in the southwestern partof the island (i.e., Codon Point) and does not include
the exposures in the southeastern part of the island (i.e.,
Nagumbuaya Point) where the olistostromic nature of theformation is best exposed.
Analysis of shale, mudstone, and limestone samples
that were collected from exposures of the Yop and Codon
Formations during a recent fieldwork revealed poorly tomoderately preserved, rare to few calcareous nannofossils. Based on the occurrences of Quadrum intermedium
and Eiffellithus eximius in the shale samples from the Yop
Formation, nannofossil Zones UC8a – UC9b were recog-

nized, suggesting a Turonian age. Two distinct nannofossil zones were recognized for the Codon Formation.
Based on the occurrence of Eprolithus moratus, Eprolithus rarus, and Micula staurophora at Nagumbuaya Point(SE Catanduanes), the UC10-UC12 Zones (Coniacian toSantonian) were recognized. At Codon and Bonagbonag
Points (SW Catanduanes), the UC20b Zone (late Maastrichtian) was recognized based on the occurrence ofMicula spp. (M. cubiformis, M. murus, M. praemurus, M.
staurophora, and M. swastica).
This study represents the first report of calcareous
nannofossils from the SE part of Catanduanes that also
recognized that the Codon Formation includes limestones
older than the Maastrichtian. This necessitates the revision of the age of the formation (revised as Coniacian to
Maastrichtian). The results also suggest that there wereat least two episodes of mass wasting/slumping events
that involved limestone units with different ages, which
is important for understanding the geologic evolution of
Catanduanes Island.

INA1555

Calcareous nannofossil assemblages at the CretaceousPaleogene transition at Lali section, SW Iran
Azam Mahanipour

Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran; a_mahanipour@us.ac.ir

Mohammad Parandavar

Department of Geological and Geochemical Studies and Research, Exploration Directorate, Vanak, Tehran, Iran; parandavar.m@gmail.com

Calcareous nannofossil assemblages were investigated at
the Lali section in the Zagros Basin in Iran. The studiedinterval is one of the best outcrops where the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary can be investigated.
The K/Pg lies at the upper part of the Gurpi Formation(Darvishzadeh et al., 2007). The studied interval extends
from Zones CC25b/UC20aTP to NP3/NTp5A. Latest
Maastrichtian assemblages are abundant and diverse,
and no decrease was observed towards the boundary.
Dominant species of the Maastrichtian were Watznaueria
barnesiae, Micula decussata, Micula murus, Cribrosphaerella ehrenbergii, Cyclagelosphaera reinhardtii,
Prediscosphaera cretacea, Lithraphidites spp., andRetecapsa spp. At the K/Pg boundary, a decrease in theabundance of Cretaceous species and an increase in theabundance of Thoracosphaera operculata were recorded,along with the appearance of Paleocene species. The relative abundance of T. operculata is approximately 48% at
the K/Pg boundary, which is reduced to 7% towards the
top of the studied interval. A high abundance of T. operculata at the K/Pg boundary interval has been reported
from other parts of the world (Tantawy, 2003; Bernaola &Monechi, 2007). Above the K/Pg boundary in the Daniansediments, Cretaceous species were observed along with
the new Paleocene species. It must be mentioned that therelative abundance of the Cretaceous species decreased

from the K/Pg boundary upward: A. cymbiformis (from2% to 0%), Eiffellithus spp. (from 2% to 0%), W. barnesiae (from 11% to 1%), Retecapsa spp. (from 6% to 1%),
M. decussata (from 7% to 0%), C. ehrenbergii (from 5%
to 1%), and P. cretacea (from 4% to 1%).
The Cretaceous species that are recorded continuously
and with good preservation in the Danian sediments canbe considered as true survivors, while the ones that are
not observed continuously in the Danian sediments can beconsidered as reworked.
References
Bernaola, G. & Monechi, S. 2007. Calcareous nannofossil extinction and survivorship across the CretaceousPaleogene boundary at Walvis Ridge (ODP Hole
1262C, South Atlantic Ocean). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 255: 132-156.
Darvishzadeh, B., Ghasemi-Nejad, E., Ghourchaei, S. &Keller, G. 2007. Planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy and faunal turnover across the Cretaceous-Tertiaryboundary in southwestern Iran. Journal of Sciences,
Islamic Republic of Iran, 18(2): 139-149.
Tantawy, A.A. 2003. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and paleoecology of the Cretaceous-Tertiary transition in the central eastern desert of Egypt. Marine
Micropaleontology, 47: 323-356.

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Coccolithophore contribution to sea-surface PIC along alatitudinal transect in the W Pacific sector of the Southern
Ocean under non-bloom conditions
Elisa Malinverno

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy; elisa.malinverno@unimib.it

Sara Rivero-Calle

Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; sara.rivero@jhu.edu

Margarita D. Dimiza

University of Athens, Faculty of Geology & Geoenvironment, Department of Historical Geology and Palaeontology, Athens, Greece; mdimiza@geol.uoa.gr

Maria V. Triantaphyllou

University of Athens, Faculty of Geology & Geoenvironment, Department of Historical Geology and Palaeontology, Athens, Greece; mtriant@geol.uoa.gr

Coccolithophores are important particulate inorganiccarbon (PIC) producers. Their blooms can be detectedfrom satellites as areas of high backscattering (Holligan
et al., 1983; Balch et al., 1991). The “Great Calcite Belt”(Balch et al, 2011) is a region of high reflectance during
the austral summer between 30° and 60° S that is related tohigh concentrations of Emiliania huxleyi. We calculated
the contribution of E. huxleyi to sea-surface PIC alonga latitudinal transect in the Southern Ocean that crosses
different fronts of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current(ACC). Coccosphere/coccolith concentrations were below
130x103/6x106 L-1 (Malinverno et al., submitted), representing non-bloom to outer bloom conditions. Speciesspecific coccolith PIC was obtained from morphometricanalyses of free coccoliths on SEM images from water
samples (volume calculation following Young & Ziveri,
2000). Satellite-derived PIC was estimated from eightday composites from MODIS and SeaWiFS sensors.
Our results show that:a) E. huxleyi morphotypes A and C show little latitudinal variation in size and degree of calcification along thetransect. The coccolith PIC contribution in surface waters
is mainly controlled by the dominant morphotype.
b) In situ and satellite-derived PIC show good agreement in the region between 45-62° S, an area characterized by intermediate coccolithophore concentration andlimited contribution from other biogenic particles.
c) The strong peak in satellite-derived PIC southwardof 62.5°S is not related to a coccolithophore bloom. The
shift in the source of backscattering corresponds to thelocation of the southern ACC front, which separates
carbonate-dominated waters to the north from opal-dominated waters to the south. Although opal particles have amuch lower refractive index than calcite (Balch & Utgof,

2009), abundant fragments of diatom frustules, setae, andsilicoflagellates can produce a similar high-reflectancesignal.
Satellite products are an invaluable tool to estimate
global PIC, but these should be combined with fieldsampling and ecological knowledge whenever possible.
References
Balch, W.M., Drapeau, D.T., Bowler, B.C., Lyczskowski,
E., Booth, E.S. & Alley, D., 2011. The contribution of
coccolithophores to the optical and inorganic carbon
budgets during the Southern Ocean Gas Exchange
Experiment: new evidence in support of the “Great
Calcite Belt” hypothesis. Journal of GeophysicalResearch, 116, C00F06.
Balch, W.M., Holligan, P., Ackleson, S. & Voss, K. 1991.
Biological and optical properties of mesoscale coccolithophore blooms in the Gulf of Maine. Limnology
and Oceanography, 36: 629-643.
Balch, W.M. & Utgoff, P.E. 2009. Potential interactions
among ocean acidification, coccolithophores and theoptical properties of seawater. Oceanography, 22(4):146-158.
Holligan, P.M., Viollier, M., Harbout, D.S., Camus,
P. & Champagne-Philippe, M. 1983. Satellite andship studies of coccolithophore production along acontinental shelf edge. Nature, 304: 339–342.
Malinverno, E., Triantaphyllou, M.V. & Dimiza, M.D. –Latitudinal distribution of surface coccolithophores in
the W-Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. Submitted
to Micropaleontology.
Young, J.R. & Ziveri, P. 2000. Calculation of coccolithvolume and its use in calibration of carbonate flux estimates. Deep-Sea Research II, 47: 1679-1700.

INA1557

Calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of sedimentary units in Pangasinan, Philippines
Dorothy Joyce Marquez

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines;
doycemarquez@nigs.upd.edu.ph

Jaan Ruy Conrad Nogot

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines;
jrcnogot@gmail.com

Dianne Jules Rosario

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines;
yannrosario@nigs.upd.edu.phAllan Gil Fernando

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines;
agsfernando@yahoo.com

Alyssa Peleo-Alampay

Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines;
ampanigs@yahoo.com

The sedimentary units exposed in Bani and Bolinao(Pangasinan Province) have been assigned to various
formations and ages in previous studies by De Ocampo(1983), Janssen (2007), and Wani et al. (2008). They havebeen dated Pliocene (Shuto, 1986; Janssen, 2007) andPleistocene (Fierstine & Welton, 1983; Wani et al., 2008)
through the use of planktonic foraminifera, holoplanktonic molluscs, and calcareous nannofossils. Recently,
the Mines and Geosciences Bureau included these deepwater sedimentary units within the uppermost Miocene
Sta. Cruz Formation, which is overlain by the coralline/
reefal Pliocene-Pleistocene Bolinao Limestone. The Sta.
Cruz Formation plays an important role in Cenozoic
nautiloid taphonomy because it has yielded the first andoldest fossil record of Nautilus pompilius (Wani et al.,2008). Based on the same study of Wani et al. (2008),
however, the formation was dated as early Pleistocene.
Thus, in order to resolve the age assignment of the Sta.
Cruz Formation, and to refine the stratigraphy of Bani and
Bolinao, samples were collected from several sections forreinvestigation using calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminifera biostratigraphy.
Analysis of the samples suggests an early Pliocene age
for the sections exposed in Tiep, Zaragoza, and Anda. The
planktonic foraminifera Zone N19 was recognized using
the last occurrence (LO) of Globorotalia merotumida andthe first occurrence (FO) of Sphaerodinella dehiscens.
The calcareous nannofossil NN15 Zone was recognizedusing the LOs of Sphenolithus abies, Reticulofenestra

pseudoumbilicus, and R. haqii, and the FOs of small
Gephyrocapsa and Pseudoemiliania lacunosa. The age of
the Sta. Cruz Formation that was obtained in the present
study, therefore, supports the study of Janssen (2007).
This necessitates the revision of the age of the Sta. Cruz
Formation, which will have implications for the ages of
the Nautilus fossil and the overlying Bolinao Limestone.
References
De Ocampo, R.S.P. 1983. Plio–Pleistocene geology of
Bolinao, Pangasinan and vicinities. Report No. 2,
National Museum, Manila, Philippines, 1–26.
Fierstine, H.L. & Welton, B.J. 1983. A black marlin, Makaira indica, from the early Pleistocene of the Philippines and the zoogeography of istiophorid billfishes.
Bulletin of Marine Science, 33: 718-728.
Janssen, A.W. 2007. Holoplanktonic Mollusca (Gastropoda: Pterotracheoidea, Janthinoidea, Thecosomata
and Gymnosomata) from the Pliocene of Pangasinan(Luzon, Philippines). Scripta Geologica, 135: 29-177.
Shuto, T. 1986. Origin and development of the Kagegawa
fauna. Palaeontological Society of Japan, Special
Papers, 29: 199-210.
Wani, R., De Ocampo, R.S.P., Aguilar, Y.M., Zepeda,
M.A., Kurihara, Y., Hagino, K., Hayashi, H. & Kase,
A. 2008. First discovery of fossil Nautilus pompilius
Linnaeus, 1758 (Nautilidae, Cephalopoda) from Pangasinan, northwestern Philippines. PaleontologicalResearch, 12: 89-95.

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Environmentally driven evolutionary patterns in the sizeof the calcareous nannofossil Schizosphaerella throughthe Jurassic
Emanuela Mattioli

Université Lyon 1, Laboratoire de Géologie, Lyon, France; emanuela.mattioli@univ-lyon1.fr

The size structure of marine phytoplankton communities
greatly affects food web structure and organic/inorganiccarbon export into the ocean interior. This last mechanism plays a fundamental role in the transfer of carbon
from the surface oceanic reservoir to carbonate sediments
and thus to the lithospheric reservoir. Yet, evolutionary
patterns through time for the size structure of calcareous
nannoplankton have been poorly investigated, especiallyin the Jurassic.
We present the size-structure evolution of Schizosphaerella (a probable calcareous dinoflagellate) in the intervallate Sinemurian to Bajocian (~192 to 170 Ma, EarlyMiddle Jurassic). Schizosphaerella was the main pelagic
carbonate producer during this time interval, and it dominated the calcareous nannoplankton community both inquantity and in size. Long-term size evolution patterns of
Schizosphaerella were explored in samples coming fromthe Jurassic Lusitanian basin (Portugal).
In spite of generally opposite trends between Schizos-

phaerella absolute abundances and calcium carbonate
contents of rock, Schizosphaerella sizes fluctuate between
average values of 8-15µm, but are higher in carbonaterich samples. This pattern is verified both on short- (~200kyr) and long-term intervals. For long-term intervals,
Schizosphaerella sizes also display an inverse correlation with marine temperatures that are inferred from theδ18Ocarbonate of brachiopods. Size changes seem also to
be related to δ13C positive and negative shifts, although
the relationships between these two parameters are notstraightforward.
Through the Jurassic, climatically induced changes inoceanic mixing may have altered nutrient availability inthe euphotic zone and driven evolutionary shifts in thesize of calcareous nannoplankton. Evolutionary patterns
in the size distribution of calcareous nannoplankton canthus be a useful proxy to improve the interpretation of theeffects of climatic change on marine ecosystems.

INA1559

New data on the structure of early fasciculiths from a
combined LM and SEM study
Francesco Miniati

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, 1-50121 Firenze, Italy; miniati.geo@gmail.com

Carlotta Cappelli

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, 1-50121 Firenze, Italy; carlotta.cappelli@gmail.com

Simonetta Monechi

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, 1-50121 Firenze, Italy; simonetta.monechi@unifi.it

With the appearance of several new genera of calcareous
nannofossils in the early to late Paleocene, this is a timeinterval where we see new nannofossil morphologicalstructures. Due to their rapid diversification, fasciculiths
have considerable biostratigraphic relevance for this timeinterval. Recently, GSSP studies on the base of Selandian
renewed interest in the fasciculiths with detailed studies
on taxonomy, biostratigraphy, and evolution. The second
radiation of Fasciculithus has been used to approximate
the Danian-Selandian boundary in the low-middle latitudes (Bernaola et al., 2009). Several studies have been
performed on the earlier forms with identification of new
species and taxonomic reviews (Bernaola et al., 2009;
Aubry et al., 2011, 2012; Monechi et al., 2013a, b). The
genus Fasciculithus was emended by Aubry et al. (2011),
and three new genera, Gomphiolithus, Diantholitha, andLithoptychius, were identified based on to their structuralfeatures (column, collaret, calyptra, and central body).
However, doubts concerning identification of the newtaxonomy have been expressed by Agnini et al. (2014),
reporting a scarcity of data for a systematic emendationof this group.
We present new results obtained by the analysis ofnannofossil assemblages of several successions spanning
the Danian-Selandian transition in different paleogeographic settings. ODP Site 1209 (Shatsky Rise, Pacific
Ocean), Site 1262 (Walvis Ridge, Atlantic Ocean), andthe Bottaccione, Contessa (Italy), and Qreiya (Egypt) land
sections have been investigated. The specimens belonging
to Gomphiolithus, Diantholitha, Lithoptychius, andFasciculithus have been analyzed both with the light andscanning electron microscope (SEM) in order to enhance

the structural characters of the genera as defined by Aubryet al. (2011). The new data provide better descriptions of
the previous genera and allow the introduction of a new
genus and the recognition of seven new species.
References
Agnini, C., Fornaciari, E., Raffi, I., Catanzariti, R., Pälike,H., Backman, J. &Rio, D. 2014. Biozonation and biochronology of Paleogene calcareous nannofossils from
low and middle latitudes. Newsletters on Stratigraphy,
47(2): 131-181.
Aubry, M.-P., Bord, D. & Rodriguez, O. 2011. New taxaof the Order Discoasterales Hay 1977. Micropaleontology, 57: 269-287.
Aubry M.-P., Rodriguez, O., Bord, D., Godfrey, L.,
Schmitz, B. and Knox, R.W. O’B. 2012. The first radiation of fasciculiths: morphologic adaptations of thecoccolithophores to oligotrophy. Austrian Journal of
Earth Sciences, 105: 29-38.
Bernaola, G., Martin-Rubio, M. & Baceta, J.I. 2009. New
high resolution calcareous nannofossil analysis acrossthe D/S transition at the Zumaia section: comparison
with South Tethys and Danish sections. Geologica
Acta, 7: 79-92.
Monechi, S., Reale, V., Bernaola, G., Balestra, B. 2013a.
Taxonomic review of early Paleocene fasciculiths.
Micropaleontology, 58 (4): 351-365.
Monechi, S., Reale, V., Bernaola, G., Balestra, B. 2013b.
The Danian/Selandian boundary at Site 1262 (South
Atlantic) and in the Tethyan region: Biomagnetostratigraphy, evolutionary trends in fasciculiths andenvironmental effects of the Latest Danian Event.
Marine Micropaleontology, 98:28-40.

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Calcareous nannofossil response to the Valanginian Weissert event in a Boreal epicontinental sea
Carla Möller

Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany; carla.moeller@rub.de

Jörg Mutterlose

Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany; joerg.mutterlose@rub.de

Ulrich Heimhofer

Leibniz Universität Hannover, Hannover, Germany; heimhofer@geowi.uni-hannover.de

During most of the Cretaceous, northern Germany wascovered by a relatively shallow epicontinental sea. In
the earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian; 145 – 139.4 myr),however, a phase of widespread regression caused
nonmarine conditions to prevail in this area. The onsetof the early Valanginian transgression re-establishedmarine conditions in the Lower Saxony Basin (northwest
Germany). Coccolithophores appeared in the basin in thelate Berriasian and became abundant and diverse only inthe late Valanginian (139.4 – 133.9 myr).
Worldwide, the Valanginian records a prominent positive carbon isotope excursion (CIE), the Weissert event.
The causes for this disturbance of the global carbon
cycle are still under debate. Potential causes suggested
for the Weissert event are increased terrigenous input
into the oceans and/or high oceanic crust production
rates. Both factors can explain the increase of nutrientsand biolimiting metals that were necessary to stimulate
primary production. Just preceding the positive CIE, amarked decrease in the abundance of nannoconids, large

and heavily calcified incertae sedis nannoliths, has beenreported from several low latitudinal settings. Decreasing
sizes of certain nannoconid species also have been
observed to coincide with this decline.
For a better understanding of the abundance and diversity patterns during the Valanginian, calcareous nannofossils were studied from a recently drilled core. Quantitative analyses provided an interpretation of temperature,nutrient content, and light penetration. The calcareous
nannofossils show a gradual diversification and an increasein abundance throughout the Valanginian. Palynofacies
data from the same core suggest an overall transgressive
trend during the Valanginian. The project further aims at
examining calcareous nannofossil assemblage patterns
specifically across the CIE. A potential nutrification
event, associated with the CIE, should be reflected in thecomposition of calcareous nannofossil assemblages. Our
first data suggest that the nannoconids disappear at thebase of the CIE and return after its climax.

INA1561

Operational biostratigraphy of KBB gas field, offshore
deep-water Sabah, Malaysia: the use of nannoplankton in
optimizing operational decisions in the oil and gas
industry
Christly Naih

Sarawak Shell Berhad, Sarawak, Malaysia; Christly-Tony.Naih@shell.com, criezz@yahoo.com.sg

Carl Curtis

Kebabangan Petroleum Operation Company, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; curticm@kpoc.com.my

Saiful Bahri Zainal

Kebabangan Petroleum Operation Company, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; saiful.bahri@kpoc.com.my

Kebabangan Petroleum Operation Company Sdn Bhd(KPOC) is a joint operating company, comprised of
PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd, ConocoPhillips Sabah
Gas Limited, and Shell Energy Asia Limited, that acts as
operator for the Kebabangan Cluster production sharing
contract, to develop a large Kebabangan (“KBB”) gas
field located in the South China Sea offshore of Sabah,
Malaysia. The KBB gas field is a folded structure,
which is the result of compressional faulting that subsequently underwent uplift and erosion. Based on detailed
biostratigraphic analyses of upper Miocene sediments infour legacy wells, the stratigraphic relationship between
reservoir and seals is now well understood. The top of
the hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir sands is marked byan intra-Tortonian (upper Miocene) regional erosional
unconformity. The stratigraphic hiatus of this unconformity, which occurs at the crest of the structure, has been
identified by biostratigraphic analyses. Above the hiatus
is nannoplankton Zone NN11A (Discoaster berggrenii)
and below are nannoplankton Zones NN9A (Catinastercoalitus) and NN9B (Discoaster hamatus), while Zone
NN10 (Discoaster bollii) is missing. In terms of geologic
time, the duration of the hiatus at the crest is estimatedto be approximately 1.8 Ma. On the flanks, Zone NN9B
(D. hamatus) underlies the unconformity, and the stratigraphic hiatus is estimated to be approximately 0.9 Ma.
During 2013-2014, KPOC completed a Phase 1 drilling

campaign comprised of six gas wells. The objective of
Phase 1 was to set a 9 5/8” casing within the first 5 metersof the Zone NN9A/B reservoir. On the flanks of the structure, seismic imaging was very good, so there was little
uncertainty about the depth of the reservoir. However,for wells located nearer to the crest, seismic imaging wasseverely degraded due to an overlying gas chimney, andit was determined that biostratigraphic analyses might benecessary in order to set casing within the Zone NN9A/B
reservoirs.
The Phase 1 drilling campaign consisted of two batcheswith three wells in each batch. While drilling the second
well of batch 1, the gas-bearing interval was penetrated
120 m deeper than expected. This 120-m interval wascomposed of shale, and it was unknown at the time ofdrilling whether it was in Zone NN11A or NN9A/B,
which would directly impact the location for the casing
for the four remaining wells. Representative drill cutting
samples for this interval were sent to Shell’s biostratigraphy laboratory for a “quick-look” age interpretation.
Results of nannoplankton analyses indicated that the 120
m of shale were in Zone NN11A and that the unconformity
was much deeper than previously interpreted. Because of
the rapid response time, KPOC was able to successfully
set casings for the four remaining wells of Phase 1 andmodify well locations for Phase 2.

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Quantitative analysis of Late Campanian calcareous
nannofossils in the Gurpi section (SW Iran)Amineh Najafpour

Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran; a.najafpur@yahoo.com

Azam Mahanipour

Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran; a_mahanipour@uk.ac.ir

Mohammad Dastanpour

Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran; dastanpour@uk.ac.ir

The Late Cretaceous was a period of long-term climatic
cooling that occurred after the extreme warmth of the
mid-Cretaceous greenhouse world (Jenkyns et al., 1994;
Huber et al., 2002). A global cooling trend commenced
during the late Campanian and continued into the Maastrichtian (Huber et al., 1995; Clarke & Jenkyns, 1999).
The highest provincialism in the calcareous nannofossil
assemblages was recognized during this time interval(Burnett, 1998). This study focused on the paleoclimate
and paleoceanography of the late Campanian by analyzing
the calcareous nannofossil assemblages at the Gurpi
section in the Zagros Basin. The studied interval ranges
from UC15eTP to the first part of UC17. The calcareous
nannofossils are well preserved, highly abundant, anddiverse. The assemblages are dominated by Watznaueria barnesiae (22%), Prediscosphaera sp. (11%), Retecapsa sp. (10%), Cribrosphaerella ehrenbergii (10%),Micula swastica (9%), Micula decussata (8%), Arkhangelskiella cymbiformis (8%), Microrhabdulus decoratus(8%), and Placozygus fibuliformis (7%). The abundanceof cold-water taxa (Ahmuellerella octoradiata, Gartnerago segmentatum, and Kamptnerius magnificus) is
less than 0.5%. Other taxa that are considered as coolwater species, such as Tranolithus orionatus, Biscutum
constans, Zeugrhabdotus spp., A. cymbiformis, M. decussata, Prediscosphaera cretacea, and Eiffellithus turriseiffelii, are present are abundant. Warm-water taxa, such as
W. barnesiae, Ceratolithoides spp., Uniplanarius trifidus,

and Aspidolithus spp., are also present. The number ofwarm-water species is higher than cool-water forms.
Although cool- and warm-water species were observed
together, an opposite trend was observed between them.
The relative abundance of warm-water species decreased
toward the top of the Campanian, while the relative abundance of cool-water species increased, which is indicativeof climate cooling at this time interval.
References
Burnett, J.A. 1998. Upper Cretaceous. In: Brown, P.R.
(Ed.), Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy. Chapman and Hall, Cambridge, 132-199.
Clarke, L.J. & Jenkyns, H.C. 1999. New oxygen isotope
evidence for long-term Cretaceous climatic change in
the Southern Hemisphere. Geology, 27: 699–702.
Huber, B.T., Hodell, D.A. & Hamilton, C.P. 1995. Middle–Late Cretaceous climate of the southern high latitudes: Stable isotopic evidence for minimal equatorpole thermal gradients. Geological Survey of America
Bulletin, 107: 1164–1191.
Huber, B.T., Norris, R.D. & MacLeod, K.G. 2002. Deepsea paleotemperature record of extreme warmth during the Cretaceous. Geology, 30: 123–126.
Jenkyns, H.C., Gale, A.S., Corfield, R.M., 1994. Carbonand oxygen isotope stratigraphy of the English chalkand Italian Scaglia and its paleoclimatic significance.
Geological Magazine 131: 1–34.

INA1563

Calcareous nannoplankton evolution across the
Eocene-Oligocene transition
Cherry Newsam

Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, UK; cherry.newsam.11@ucl.ac.uk

Paul Bown

Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, UK; p.bown@ucl.ac.uk

Tom Dunkley Jones

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; t.dunkleyjones@bham.ac.uk

Calcareous nannoplankton were the dominant phytoplankton group in the early Paleogene, yet during the
dynamic long-term climatic change of the ‘greenhouse to
icehouse’ transition, they underwent significant turnoverand diversity loss from which they have arguably neverfully recovered. The ‘greenhouse to icehouse’ transition
culminated at the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT), a
rapid cooling event when continental ice sheets formed on
Antarctica, marking the initiation of the Cenozoic icehouse
world. The EOT saw significant disruptions to physical,
chemical, and biological parameters in the marine realm.
Marine biota were significantly affected, with plankton
groups suffering elevated rates of extinction and turnover,and the extinction of the planktonic foraminifera group
Hantkeninidae marks the Eocene-Oligocene boundary.
The calcareous nannoplankton underwent significant shifts
within their population assemblage structure at this time.
Here we will report on the EOT calcareous nanno-

plankton response through use of the recently drilled
succession at IODP Site 1411, which has high sedimentation rates and exceptionally well-preserved calcareous nannofossils. Semi-quantitative data and relative
abundance counts highlight diversity changes, species
bioevents, and major shifts in abundance patterns. These
data reveal that a striking reorganization within the dominant reticulofenestrid group was a particular feature of theinterval. Determining the precise timing of these events
allows us to examine the relationship between plankton
evolution and the strongly shifting paleoceanographic
conditions in the North Atlantic.
To place these observations into a wider context, wehave compiled calcareous nannofossil data from a rangeof global sites that vary in latitude, ocean basin, andoceanographic setting, and have assessed the overall
global population response to this extreme climaticchange transition.

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Evidence of coccolithophore dissolution in the southern
Philippine Sea
Jaan Ruy Conrad P. Nogot

National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines; jrcnogot@gmail.com

Alyssa M. Peleo-Alampay

National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines; ampanigs@yahoo.com

Yuji Kashino

Research Institute for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and technology (JAMSTEC), Kanagawa, Japan; kashinoy@
jamstec.go.jp

Marilou Martin

Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines; marilou.martin@gmail.com

Rhett Simon Tabbada

Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Quezon City, Philippines; rsdtabbada@pnri.dost.gov.ph

Surface and subsurface (deep chlorophyll maximumDCM) water samples were collected in the southern Philippine Sea, in the West Philippine Basin-Southern subbasin (WPB-SSB) during the MR 13-01 Cruise of R/VMirai on March 12-17, 2013. The survey included two
transects: (1) perpendicular to the coast of Davao Oriental,
Philippines along 7°N, and (2) north of Halmahera Sea
along 130°E, where they intersect at the cold-ring Mindanao Eddy. The distribution of living coccolithophores inthis region was previously identified (Nogot et al., 2013).
Scanning electron microscopic analysis of the coccolithophores both from the surface and subsurface waters
showed varying degrees of dissolution. Surface-dwellers,such as Umbellosphaera irregularis, and the deep-photic
species Oolithotus antillarum exhibited definite signs of

dissolution. Calcite removal, however, was most prominent in the dominant taxon, Gephyrocapsa oceanica,
which was also observed to have generally smaller coccoliths. This study suggests that G. oceanica is sensitive todissolution, although the factors responsible for the dissolution have not been isolated. This study did recognizethat depth does not appear to be the main driver for dissolution because substantial dissolution was also present incoccoliths collected from surface waters.
References
Nogot, J.R.C.P., Peleo-Alampay, A.M., Kashino, Y., Martin, M. & Tabbada, R.S. 2013. Living coccolithophores
in the Western Pacific Warm Pool. Journal of Nannoplankton Research Special Issue, 33: 92.

INA15

65

Xenospheres (coccolithophores) from plankton samplesof the southern Indian Ocean
Shramik M. Patil

National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Headland Sada, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa-403804, India; shramikpatil@gmail.com

Rahul Mohan

National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Headland Sada, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa-403804, India; rahulmohan@ncaor.gov.in

Sahina Gazi

National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Headland Sada, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa-403804, India; sahina2gazi@gmail.com

Syed A. Jafar

National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Headland Sada, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa-403804, India; Flat Number 5-B, Whispering Meadows, Haralur Road, Bangalore- 560 102, India; syeda_jafar@yahoo.com

The scanning electron microscope was used to document
new xenospheres (coccospheres that contain two or morecoccolithophore species) from Indian sector sites in theSouthern Ocean. These associations include: (1) different
Emiliania huxleyi morphotypes, (2) Emiliania huxleyi andSyracosphaera sp., (3) Calcidiscus leptoporus and Syracosphaera nodosa Type A XCs, (4) Calcidiscus leptoporus and Emiliania huxleyi, and (5) fused Calcidiscus
leptoporus coccospheres. A possible tintinnid-agglutinating aragonitic Polycrater sp. was also documented.

Combination coccospheres generally represent a natural
two-phase life cycle of a coccolithophore species. In
contrast, the xenospheres denote abnormal coccospheresthat primarily are the result of accidental inclusion of
strange coccoliths but potentially can be the result of
rarely occurring biologic processes. Hybridization andfecal pellet occurrences are considered to be unrelated toxenosphere formation. The most likely method for xenosphere formation is discussed.

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Petasaria heterolepis (Prymnesiaceae) from the southern
Indian Ocean
Shramik M. Patil

National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Vasco-da-Gama, Goa-403804, India; shramikpatil@gmail.com

Rahul Mohan

National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Vasco-da-Gama, Goa-403804, India; rahulmohan@ncaor.gov.in

Sahina Gazi

National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Vasco-da-Gama, Goa-403804, India; sahina2gazi@gmail.com

Suhas Shetye

National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Vasco-da-Gama, Goa-403804, India; suhasshetye@gmail.com

Syed A. Jafar

National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Vasco-da-Gama, Goa-403804, India; syeda_jafar@yahoo.com

Sea-surface (0-110 m) water samples, which werecollected from the southern Indian Ocean between 39°S
and 65°S (along ~48°E and 57.3°E) during the australsummer of 2010, yielded Petasaria heterolepis. Of thetwo known P. heterolepis forms, the scales with a brim
were observed with a size range (short and long axes
length) of 1.68×1.80 µm and 2.17×2.27 µm. There wereminute pores on the scales, except on the brim, which was
poreless. An elemental analysis of the scales revealed thatsilica (Si) was the major constituent, together with a small
amount of calcium (Ca). Petasaria heterolepis was neither

recognizable in the fossil record nor in the bottom sediments. This species has an affinity with the extant haptophyte Prymnesium neolepis, which has been recorded
from off the Japan coast and in the southern Indian
Ocean. The present study highlights the occurrence of P.
heterolepis in open-ocean regions of the Southern Ocean,stressing its ability to grow under diverse oceanographic
conditions. The phylogenetic-molecular aspects need to
be investigated, which could reveal a better understandingof the rare and combined Si and Ca accumulation amongsiliceous haptophyte algae.

INA1567

A 700 km and 145 million year ride: Mesozoic calcareous
nannofossils in Holocene to recent sediments at the Bahía
Blanca Estuary, Argentina
Juan P. Pérez Panera

YPF-Tecnología S.A. Biostratigraphy lab. Baradero s/n, 1925, Ensenada, Buenos Aires, Argentina; juan.p.panera@ypftecnologia.com;
CONICET – División Paleozoología Invertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, La Plata, Argentina; perezpanera@gmail.com

Calcareous nannoplankton analysis of Holocene to recent
sediments in the Bahía Blanca Estuary revealed a highabundance of reworked Mesozoic taxa. The samples camefrom an outcrop along the Napostá Stream and were dated
as Holocene, 5610 +/- 40 years BP (c. 5960 cal yr BP,
shells-197 cm) at the base, 5170 +/- 40 years BP (5680cal. BP, organic matter-124 cm), and 4090 +/- 40 yr BP(4330 cal yr BP, organic matter-76 cm) in the middle
section (Calvo-Marcilese et al., 2013). The autochthonous calcareous nannoplankton taxa were Emiliania
huxleyi, Gephyrocapsa oceanica, Coccolithus pelagicus,
and Calcidiscus leptoporus, among other less abundant
Holocene species. Within the Mesozoic reworked taxa, it
was possible to identify some marker species of the Late
Jurassic-Early Cretaceous and of the Late Cretaceousfrom the outcropping Mesozoic marine sediments of the
Neuquen Basin, west-central Argentina, ~700 km west of
the Bahía Blanca Estuary. These allochthonous elements
are thought to have been transported by the western winds,
which eroded the outcropping rocks and discharged theuplifted particles near the Buenos Aires coast. The establishment of arid conditions in west-central Argentina isbelieved to be associated with the establishment of thewestern winds in the late Pleistocene (Tonni et al., 1999).
The recognition of this reworked fraction in Quaternary
sediments in the area might be used as a complementary
proxy for estimating arid and wet conditions and for local
stratigraphic correlation. A brief analysis of modern andPleistocene –Holocene sediments from several places inthe estuary (Almirante Brown, Maldonado stream, Isla
Verde, and offshore Core 1) also showed a reworked
Mesozoic fraction.
References
Calvo-Marcilese, L., Pérez Panera, J.P., Cusminsky, G.
& Gómez, E.A. 2013. Micropaleontological record of
Holocene estuarine stages in the Bahía Blanca estuary,
Argentina. Journal of South American Earth Sciences,45: 147-159.
Tonni, E., Cione, A.L. & Figini, A.J. 1999. Predominanceof arid climates indicated by mammals in the pampas
of Argentina during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 147: 257-281.

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Pliensbachian-Toarcian calcareous nannofossil events in
the Los Molles Formation, Neuquen Basin, Argentina
Juan P. Pérez Panera

YPF-Tecnología S.A. Biostratigraphy lab. Baradero s/n, 1925, Ensenada, Buenos Aires, Argentina; juan.p.panera@ypftecnologia.com; CONICET – División Paleozoología Invertebrados, Museo de La Plata, B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina; perezpanera@gmail.com

Gladys N. Angelozzi

YPF-Tecnología S.A. Biostratigraphy lab. Baradero s/n, 1925, Ensenada, Buenos Aires, Argentina; gladys.angelozzi@ypftecnologia.co;
GEMA SRL, Servicios Bioestratigráficos, Florencio Varela, Argentina; gemamicro@gmail.com

Calcareous nannofossil investigations of Arroyo Lapa,
Arroyo Lapa Norte, Chacay Melehue, and Arroyo Picún
Leufú outcrops, southern Huincul high, Neuquen Basin,
led to the recognition of a series of nannofossil events that
could be correlated to the ammonite zones of west-central
Argentina. These local nannofossil events were also
compared to those of the Boreal and Tethys realms. In thelate Pliensbachian Fanninoceras fannini ammonite Zone,
the first occurrence (FO) of Biscutum finchii was documented. In the Fanninoceras disciforme ammonite Zone,
the FO of Lotharingius hauffii and Lotharingius barozii
occurred. In the early Toarcian Tenuicostatum ammonite
Zone, the FO of Calyculus spp. and Lotharingius sigillatus, and last occurrence (LO) of Crucirhabdus primulus
and Parhabdolithus liasicus were documented.
These nannofossil events fall within the NJ5 calcareous nannofossil Zone of Bown et al. (1988). In the
Dactyloceras hoelderi ammonite Zone, the FO of Carinolithus superbus and the LO of Orthogonoides hamiltoniae
were documented. These nannofossil events can be correlated to Zone NJ6. The identification of these nannofossil
events is the first step in establishing a local biostratigraphic scheme for the Early Jurassic of the Neuquen
Basin based on calcareous nannofossils. Both the recov-

ered assemblages and the nannofossil events found in thestudied area show more affinities with the Tethyan Realm(Morocco and Italy/ France: de Kaenel & Bergen, 1993;de Kaenel et al., 1996; Mattioli & Erba, 1999) than the
Boreal Realm (Bown et al., 1988).
References
Bown, P.R., Cooper, M.K.E. & Lord, A.R. 1988. A calcareous nannofossil biozonation scheme for the early
to mid Mesozoic. Newsletter on Stratigraphy, 20:
91-114.
de Kaenel, E. and Bergen, J.A. 1993. New Early andMiddle Jurassic coccolith taxa and biostratigraphy
from the eastern proto-Atlantic (Morocco, Portugal
and DSDP Site 547B). Ecoglae Geologicae Helvetiae,
86: 861-907.
de Kaenel, E., Bergen, J.A. and von Salis Perch-Nielsen,
K. 1996. Jurassic calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of western Europe. Compilation of recent studies
and calibration of bioevents. Bulletin de la Société
Géologique de France, 1996: 15-28.
Mattioli, E. and Erba, E. 1999. Biostratigraphic synthesisof calcareous nannofossil events in the Tethyan Jurassic. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia,
105: 343-376.

INA1569

Mussels as biological filters of coastal calcareous nannoplankton: a case study from the western coast of Portugal
Gonçalo A. Prista

Instituto Dom Luiz, University of Lisbon, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal; Laboratório de Paleontologia e Paleoecologia da Sociedade de História Natural, Torres Vedras, Portugal; gaprista@fc.ul.pt

Mário A. Cachão

Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal; mcachao@fc.ul.pt

Modern coccolithophore studies usually involve cruises
and filtration of large amounts of water. With the objective of reducing costs and simplifying the sampling
method, we tested Mytilus galloprovincialis, a common,
local rocky shore filter mollusk, as a potential coccolithophore biogenic sampler.
A small device was developed, named musseldrome,to harvest the mussel’s abundant pellet filaments. Mussel
pellets were collected every week for seven weeks
between May and July, 2014. Coccoliths, which wereabundant, were dominated by Gephyrocapsa oceanica

and Emiliania huxleyi, followed by Coccolithus pelagicus
and Coronosphaera mediterranea. Coccospheres werealso present, and they were dominated by G. oceanica,
which was frequently present in agglomerates, showingthat the filter process undertaken by mussels has little
effect on coccospheres themselves or their clusters.
Preliminary results show that mussels can be used as
samplers for calcareous nannoplankton species and forcommunity structure studies, since the estimated concentration for each species found is in agreement with resultsfrom water column of coccolithophores off west Portugal.

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Calcite export by sinking of coccoliths in the southern
Gulf of California - Gephyrocapsa oceanica is the primarycontributing species
Heriberto Rochín

Department of Oceanography, Center for Marine Sciences, National Polytechnic Institute, C.P. 23096, La Paz, México; rochin_h11@hotmail.
com

Mara Y. Cortés

Departamento de Geología Marina, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, C.P. 23080, La Paz, México; mycortes@uabcs.mx

Jörg Bollmann

University of Toronto, Department of Earth Sciences, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B1, Canada;.bollmann@geology.utoronto.ca

Javier Urcádiz-Cázares

Departamento de Geología Marina, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, C.P. 23080, La Paz México; urcadiz@me.com

Norman Silverberg

Department of Oceanography, Center for Marine Sciences, National Polytechnic Institute, C.P. 23096, La Paz, México; 1942norman@gmail.
com

Fernando Aguirre-Bahena

Department of Oceanography, Center for Marine Sciences, National Polytechnic Institute, C.P. 23096, La Paz, México;
faguirrebahena@gmail.com

Coccoliths are a major component of marine sediments
and have an important role within the biogeochemical carbon cycle. The goal of the research project wasto calculate calcite export by sinking of coccoliths anddetermine the main species contributor to the coccolithcarbonate flux. Sinking material was collected with aTechnicap sediment trap (model PPS-3/3 with an openingof 0.125 m2, 6 to 30 days opening interval) at a 310 or 360
m depth in the Alfonso Basin, southern Gulf of California.
A total of 116 sediment trap coccolithophore samples werecollected during January 2002-October 2003, September
2006-February 2008, and September 2011-September
2012.
The total flux of coccoliths varied considerably andshowed a clear seasonal pattern with minimum fluxes(2x106 coccoliths m-2 d-1) in spring-summer and maximum
fluxes in autumn-winter (13x109 coccoliths m-2 d-1),

which is in the hurricane season and has significant wind
gusts (>4 m s-1). Calcite exported by sinking of coccoliths showed minimum fluxes (1 mg m-2 d-1) in summer
and maximum fluxes (130 mg m-2 d-1) in autumn, which
represents an average of 18% of the total CaCO3 that wasexported at the sediment trap. Gephyrocapsa oceanica(equatorial and larger morphotypes) was present in all thesamples and presented maximum fluxes (102 mg m-2 d-1)
of CaCO3 in autumn and minimum fluxes (0.01 mg m-2 d-1)
in spring-summer. The highest fluxes of CaCO3 by coccoliths in the three sampling periods were associated withhurricane conditions and high sea-surface temperatures.
The main contributor to the coccolithophore carbonate
fluxes was G. oceanica, which accounted for 47% of thetotal CaCO3 that was exported by coccoliths. This species
is probably the largest contributor of CaCO3 in the entire
Gulf of California.

INA1571

A new species of Late Triassic nannofossil, Botulus
triassicus, and observations on Triassic assemblages
from the NW Shelf of Australia
David C. Rutledge

PetroStrat Ltd, Tan-y-Graig, Conwy, LL32 8FA, UK; david.rutledge@petrostrat.com

Simon Cole

PetroStrat Ltd, Tan-y-Graig, Conwy, LL32 8FA, UK; simon.cole@petrostrat.com

Tamsin Lawrence

PetroStrat Ltd, Tan-y-Graig, Conwy, LL32 8FA, UK; tamsin.lawrence@petrostrat.com

Gunilla Gard

BHP Billiton Petroleum, Houston, TX 77056, USA; Gunilla.Gard@bhpbilliton.com

A new genus of calcareous nannofossil, Botulus, isdescribed from the Upper Triassic of the North West
Shelf of Australia. The type species, Botulus triassicus,
is distinctive, occurs commonly/abundantly, and isbiostratigraphically useful due to its short range that isprobably restricted to the Rhaetian stage. It has a welldefined extinction level that has already proven useful in
subdividing the Triassic succession encountered in a BHP
Billiton well from the Exmouth sub-basin.
Botulus triassicus has an unusual/unique morphologythat is comprised of a curved, sausage-shaped body witha distinct outer wall surrounding a calcite in-filled core.
The biological affinities of this new form are uncertain. It
might be related to the calcispheres (probable calcareous
dinoflagellates) Orthopithonella and Obiquipithonella,
which are conspicuous within Upper Triassic nannofossil
assemblages. Alternatively, we can speculate that it might
possibly represent the earliest holococcolith, or a holococcolith-like structure produced by an early coccolithophorid.
The Late Triassic Subzone NT2b (= Eoconusphaera
zlambachensis Subzone) sensu Bralower et al. (1991)
can be readily subdivided on the North West Shelf basedupon:
A distinct switchover in dominance between Prinsiosphaera triassica and Eoconusphaera zlambachensis, thelatter dominating the upper part of NT2b.
The extinction of Botulus triassicus n.sp., which
occurs within the lower part of the NT2b.

We document Late Triassic Rhaetian records of
Schizosphaerella punctulata from sidewall core samples.
The evolutionary appearance of Schizosphaerella punctulata has previously been used to approximate the Jurassic/
Triassic boundary (e.g., Bown et. al., 1988; Bown &Cooper 1998). However, Hamilton (1982) observed S.
punctulata in Rhaetian samples from the UK, and subsequent academic studies may not have had access tocomplete Jurassic/Triassic transition sections.
In addition, we illustrate the distinctive, but often overlooked, species Thoracosphaera wombatensis, whichis frequent in the studied Australian well material. We
also illustrate an overlooked variant of Prinsiosphaera
triassica, P. triassica crenulata, which appears to have a
distinct acme within the NW Shelf.
References
Bown, P.R., Cooper, M.K.E. & Lord, A.R. 1988. A calcareous nannofossil biozonation scheme for the early
to mid-Mesozoic. Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 20:
91-114.
Bown, P.R. & Cooper, M.K.E. 1998. Jurassic. In: P.R.
Bown (Ed.). Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy.
British Micropalaeontological Society Publication
Series. Chapman & Hall: 34-85.
Hamilton, G.B. 1982. Triassic and Jurassic calcareous
nannofossils. In: A.R. Lord (Ed.). A StratigraphicalIndex of Calcareous Nannofossils. British Micropalaeontological Society Series, Ellis Horwood, Chichester:
17-39.

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Marine Isotope Stage 11 in the Southern Ocean
Mariem Saavedra-Pellitero

Department of Geosciences, Universität Bremen, 28334 Bremen, Germany; msaavedr@uni-bremen.de

Karl-Heinz Baumann

Department of Geosciences, Universität Bremen, 28334 Bremen, Germany; baumann@uni-bremen.de

This work provides new insights into the late Pleistocene interglacial Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11) in the
Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. MIS 11, between
ca. 424 and 374 kyr, is a unique, exceptionally long interglacial period that often is regarded as an analogue forwhat the Holocene would be without any anthropogenic
interference. Thick white sedimentary layers with highcarbonate content were observed at high southern latitudes
during this time interval. We generated a multi-parameterrecord of coccolithophore data on MIS 11 sediments fromcore PS75/059-2, which was retrieved west of the East
Pacific Rise crest at 54°12.90'S and 125°25.53'W (3613m water depth) during R/V Polarstern ANT XXVI/2
expedition in the polar South Pacific. In order to characterize the coccolithophore paleoproductivity during MIS
11, two independent proxies were chosen: the numberof coccoliths per gram of sediment and the coccolith Sr/

Ca ratio measured in the <20µm coccolith size fraction.
Coccolithophore assemblage counts that were performed
under a scanning electron microscope indicated that in thefine coccolith fraction almost all the carbonate came from
Gephyrocapsa caribbeanica. Coccolith Sr/Ca results varyfrom 1.58 to 2.47 mmol/mol during the interval selected
for this study, which extends from MIS 12 to the onset
of MIS 10 (i.e., ~469.3 to ~364.7 kyr). The number ofcoccoliths per gram of sediment and the Sr/Ca ratio
show a steep increase in productivity during MIS 11,
with values always above 2.12 mmol/mol. This patternremains the same even after applying a correction for thetemperature effect. All the information retrieved, together
with the ongoing research, allows us to determine whether
the coccolithophores modified the equilibrium of the inorganic carbon system during MIS 11 in the Pacific sector of
the Southern Ocean.

INA1573

Calcareous nannofossil and foraminiferal evidence for a
PETM pre-onset excursion, Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA
Jean M. Self-Trail

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USA; jstrail@usgs.gov

Marci M. Robinson

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USA; mmrobinson@usgs.gov

Greg A. Wandless

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USA; gwandless@usgs.gov

The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM)
in coastal plain sediments of Maryland is marked by acarbon isotope excursion (CIE) of approximately -5 per
mil in normal marine sediments, and as much as a -23
per mil shift in marine sediments with a large terrestrial input (Self-Trail et al., 2014). Carbon and oxygenisotope analyses of the South Dover Bridge (SDB) andMattawoman Creek Billingsley Road (MCBR) cores in
Maryland revealed the presence of a PETM pre-onset
excursion (POE) in both cores in the Aquia Formation(Robinson et al., 2014). The POE in the SDB core began~2m below the CIE, is 0.9 m thick, and was characterized by a -2 per mil shift in carbon isotopes. The POE
in MCBR began ~1.13m below the CIE, is 0.88m thick,
and was characterized by a ~4 per mil shift. Preliminary
analyses of calcareous nannofossils from SDB document
assemblage changes across the POE. Overall species
richness declined during the POE, and the percent abundances of Discoaster spp., Semihololithus biscayae, andHornibrookina spp. decreased significantly. At the sametime, there was a corresponding increase in the percent
abundance of Calsiosolenia aperta and Prinsius bisulcus.
Several species (i.e., Chiasmolithus bidens and Fasciculithus involutus) began a slow decline in abundance during
the POE, which continued to the base of the CIE, and two
species, C. aperta and Prinsius bisulcus, began a decline
immediately following the POE that ultimately resulted
in their extinction at the P/E boundary. Foraminiferal
response to the POE included a decrease in both abundance and species richness of planktic foraminifers andan increase in specimens showing visible signs of dissolution, which is similar to the dissolution zone response at
the CIE onset but less severe. Foraminifers in both the CIE
onset and POE were fully recrystallized due to diagenetic
alteration. However, the POE also was characterized bypartially dissolved foraminifers that lacked any evidenceof surface texture and commonly had collapsed chambers. In addition to changes in foraminiferal and nannofossil assemblages, the sediments of the Aquia Formation
became more clayey across the POE, decreasing from abaseline weight percent of ~60% sand prior to the event,to 40% during the event, before rebounding to 80% after
the event.
References
Robinson, M.M., Self-Trail, J.M., Wandless, G.A. & Willard, D.A. 2014. A Paleocene pre-onset carbon isotope
excursion recorded in the shallow marine environment of southern Maryland (USA) In: G.R. Dickens& V. Luciani (Eds). Climatic and Biotic Events of the
Paleogene 2014, Rendiconti Online, Societe Geologica Italiana, 31:185-186.
Self-Trail, J.M., Robinson, M.M., Willard, D.A.,
Bralower, T.J., Edwards, L.E., Powars, D.S., Wandless, G.A., Freeman, K.H. & Denis, E. 2014. Comparison between two middle to outer neritic PETM sections: South Dover Bridge and Mattawoman Creek
Billingsley Road cores, Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain,
USA, In: G.R. Dickens & V. Luciani (Eds). Climaticand Biotic Events of the Paleogene 2014, Rendiconti
Online, Societe Geologica Italiana, 31:195-196.

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Preliminary biostratigraphic and morphometriccomparisons between a new species of Tribrachiatus
and T. orthostylus
Jean M. Self-Trail

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USA; jstrail@usgs.gov

Ellen L. Seefelt

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USA; eseefelt@usgs.gov

Claire L. Shepherd

GNS Science, Lower Hutt 5040, NZ; C.Shepherd@gns.cri.nz

Victoria A. Martin

Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, VA 22003, USA; vmartin0012@email.vccs.edu

Detailed biostratigraphic analyses of lower Eocene sediments from the South Dover Bridge (SDB) core, Maryland (USA), and preliminary analyses of outcropping
sediments along the Waipara River in New Zealand, haverevealed the presence of a new species of Tribrachiatusthat has a distinctly different morphology and biostratigraphic range from T. orthostylus. Tribrachiatus orthostylus consists of triangular-shaped specimens that exhibit
low birefringence under polarized light, and have three
relatively flat arms of equal length, often showing bifurcations at the ends. The first occurrence (FO) of T. orthostylus is in upper Zone NP10, and is commonly used todelineate the base of Zone NP11 in truncated sections. In
comparison, Tribrachiatus sp. consists of crescent-shaped
specimens that exhibit a higher order of birefringence
under polarized light, have two arms of similar length thatare strongly curved, and a third, shorter arm that extends
upward and is perpendicular to the curved arms. In the
SDB core, the first occurrence of T. orthostylus is at thebase of Zone NP11 (187.1 m); NP10 is truncated becauseof erosion at this site. The first occurrence of Tribrachiatus sp. is at 184.8 m, after the FO of Discoaster kuepperi and just before the FO of D. lodoensis at 184.0 m.
The last occurrence of both species occurs at the top ofZone NP12, after the FO’s of Ericsonia formosa, Helicosphaera seminulum, and Reticulofenestra spp. Comparison of the percent abundances of both T. orthostylus
and Tribrachiatus sp. to the bulk d13C curve of the SDB
core suggests that both of these species were sensitive tochanging paleoclimate conditions during early Eocene
hyperthermal events.

INA1575

Paleoecology of early Paleocene cold-water coral andbryozoan mounds in Denmark
Emma Sheldon

Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Copenhagen, Denmark; es@geus.dk

Morten Bjerager

Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Copenhagen, Denmark; mbj@geus.dk

Caterina Morigi

University of Piza, Piza, Italy; caterina.morigi@unipi.it

Bodil W. Lauridsen

Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Copenhagen, Denmark; bwl@geus.dk

During the middle Danian (early Paleocene), cold-watercoral reefs and bryozoan mounds developed along submarine highs in the ‘boreal’ epicontinental sea that covered
the Danish Basin. The intercalating reefs and mounds,
which formed complexes up to 40 m high and several km
long, are exposed in the Faxe Quarry, southeast Denmark.
Reconstruction of the depositional environment of theco-existing reefs and mounds is based upon sedimentary
facies analysis, invertebrate and nannofossil paleoecology,
and mound architecture (Bjerager & Surlyk, 2007).
High velocity, nutrient-rich bottom currents are thought
to have been ideal for the extensive colonization of scleractinian corals, e.g., the frame-building Dendrophyllia
and Faksephyllia with patchy Oculina. Nannofossil
assemblages include Chiasmolithus danicus, Coccolithus pelagicus, Biscutum harrisonii, Prinsius tenuiculus,
and Prinsius dimorphosus, which place the complex inZone NNTp2G-3 (‘mid’ middle Danian). ‘Survivor’ andreworked species from the Cretaceous are present. Assemblages are dominated by high-latitude forms, e.g., Chias-

molithus spp. and Prinsius spp. (Wei & Pospichal, 1991),
which verifies that cold-water environments prevailed.
Coccolithus pelagicus (associated with warmer water in
the Tertiary) increases in abundance from the base to the
top of the reef/mound complex.
Foraminiferal assemblages include Parasubbotina
pseudobulloides and Globigerina triloculinoides, whichplace the complex in Zone P1b-3a (middle Danian toearly Selandian).
References
Bjerager, M. & Surlyk, F. 2007. Palaeoecology of Danian
deep-water bryozoan mounds in the Danish Basin.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
250: 184–215.
Wei, W. & Pospichal, J.J. 1991. Danian calcareous nannofossil succession at Site 738 in the Southern Indian
Ocean. In: J. Barron, B. Larsen, et al. (Eds.). Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program. Scientific Results,
119: 495–512.

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Early Eocene nannofossil responses to climate change,
Canterbury Basin, New ZealandClaire L. Shepherd

SGEES, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand; GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand; C.Shepherd@gns.cri.nz

Denise K. Kulhanek

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA; kulhanek@iodp.tamu.edu

Christopher J. Hollis

GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand; c.hollis@gns.cri.nz

In order to have a better prediction of the response of
calcareous nannoplankton to future climate change, wemust study periods in the geological past that were warmwith high CO2. Similar conditions occurred during theearly Eocene climatic optimum (EECO, ~52-50 Ma), a
warming event where global temperatures reached their
Cenozoic peak and atmospheric CO2 exceeded 1000 ppm.
Our study examined calcareous nannofossil assemblages
from two Canterbury Basin, New Zealand sections thatspan the lower to middle Eocene and include the EECO.
The mid-Waipara River (northern Canterbury Basin) andHampden Beach (southern Canterbury Basin) sections
represent important records of Paleogene climatic change(Hollis et al., 2012). In this study, we investigatedchanges in calcareous nannofossil assemblages across the
EECO and compared these changes to paleoceanographic
parameters, such as sea-surface temperature (SST), togain a better understanding of nannofossil responses tochanges in environment.
Better preservation of nannofossils at mid-Waipara
generally correlates with warmer TEX86- and δ18Oderived SST (Hollis et al., 2012), with the best preservation recorded in the EECO, followed by a marked
decrease in preservation in the upper lower to middle
Eocene section. This decrease in preservation may result
from early diagenesis due to cooler and more corrosive

bottom waters, as evidenced by a reduction in the δ18O
planktic-benthic gradient during the early-middle Eocene.
The genus-level Shannon H diversity index shows aclose correlation with the TEX86 temperature record,
and there is an increase at the onset of the EECO that isfollowed by a gradual decline into the middle Eocene.
Despite some questions regarding the usefulness of the
Discoaster/Chiasmolithus ratio, this index appears towork well in the New Zealand region and shows good
agreement with the temperature trends at mid-Waipara,with higher values recorded during the EECO, followed
by a significant decline thereafter. These initial results
support the utility of nannofossil assemblages as recordersof paleoceanographic conditions that are associated withchanging climate during the mid-Paleogene in the New
Zealand region.
References
Hollis, C.J., Taylor, K.W.R., Handley, L., Pancost, R.D.,
Huber, M., Creech, J.B., Hines, B.R., Crouch, E.M.,
Morgans, H.E.G., Crampton, J.S., Gibbs, S., Pearson,
P.N. & Zachos, J.C. 2012. Early Paleogene temperature history of the Southwest Pacific Ocean: Reconciling proxies and models. Earth and Planetary Science
Letters, 349-350: 53-66.

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77

Nannofossil occurrences across the Paleocene-Eocene
boundary in Bulgaria, SE Europe: state of the art
Kristalina Stoykova

Geology Institute Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria; stoykova@geology.bas.bg

Stoykova & Ivanov (2005) published the first biostratigraphic data that identified a continuous succession
across the Paleocene-Eocene (P/E) boundary in Bulgaria(SE Europe) and the related it to the Paleocene-Eocene
thermal maximum (PETM). Since this pioneering work,a significant amount of new data has been accumulated,
including the discovery of new onshore and offshore locations of the PETM.
We conducted a detailed study of calcareous nannofossil occurrences from three land sections (Kladorub,
Riben, and Bozhuritsa), which are located in North
Bulgaria. These sections have been re-investigated quantitatively in order to document abundance fluctuationsof selected nannofossil taxa during the PETM and toprovide insight into the biotic response of nannoplankton
communities to the extreme global warming at that time.
An industrial quantitative technique (Blaj et al., 2013),
involving counting of 60 FOV or 10 mm at x 1000
magnification, was applied. High-resolution cm-scale
sampling, at approximately every 20 cm, was performed
throughout the entire PETM interval. The sedimentologyof the studied successions suggests that deposition likely
took place in two different settings: deep water bathyal(Kladorub section) and middle to outer shelf (Riben andBozhuritsa sections). It is noteworthy that in both shelflocations, two carbon dissolution intervals are recorded:
one in the top of Zone NP9a and one at the Zone NP9bNP10 boundary (i.e., P/E boundary). The P/E boundary inthis area is marked by the first occurrence of the represen-tatives of Rhomboaster (Rhomboaster spp., R. bramlettei,
and R. cuspis).
Bulgarian PETM data show an overall similarity withother records from the low-mid latitude sites: Italy (Agnini
et al., 2007) and the eastern shore of Maryland (Self-Trailet al., 2012), but there are some specific differences innannoplankton response to the PETM event in Bulgaria.
References
Agnini, C., Fornaciari, E., Rio, D., Tateo, F., Backman,
J. & Guisberti, L. 2007. Responses of calcareous nannofossil assemblages, mineralogy and geochemistry to
the environmental perturbations across the Paleocene/
Eocene boundary in the Venetian Pre-Alps. Marine
Micropaleontology, 63: 19-38.
Blaj, T., Cole, S., Hardas, P., Joachim, C., Lawrence, T.,
Rutledge, D. & Toms, L. 2013. An industrial revolution: a comparison of industry and research nannofossil quantitative counting techniques. International
Nannoplankton Association 14 Abstracts, Reston, Virginia: p. 25.
Self-Trail, J.M., Powars, D.S., Watkins, D.K. & Wandless, G.A. 2012. Calcareous nannofossil assemblage
changes across the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: evidence from a shelf setting. Marine Micropaleontology, 92-93: 61-80.
Stoykova, K. & Ivanov, M. 2005. First data on the presence of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum in
Bulgaria. Comptes Rendu de l’Academie Bulgare desSciences, 58/3: 297-302.

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The calcareous nannofossil record in the CretaceousPaleogene boundary interval of the Mudurnu-Goynuk
Basin, NW Turkey: implications for intercalibration andreliability of nannofossil biohorizons
Kristalina Stoykova

Geology Institute Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria; stoykova@geology.bas.bg

Jaume Dinarès-Turell

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, I-00143 Rome, Italy; jaume.dinares@ingv.it

Ismail O. Yilmaz

Middle East Technical University, Department of Geological Engineering, Ankara, Turkey; ioyilmaz@metu.edu.tr

We present the first high-resolution nannofossil record
across the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary interval
for three sections (Okcular, Hacimahmut, and Goynuk
North) that were recently discovered and characterized
by Acikalin et al. (2015) in the Mudurnu-Goynuk Basin,
NW Turkey. All the sections display the same expanded
hemipelagic succession: alternation of mudstones/siltstones intercalated by thin sandstone beds in the topmost
Maastrichtian and rhythmic alternation of mudstone andlimestone beds in the basal Danian.
The cyclo-magnetostratigraphic framework was
constructed by means of a 5-15 cm sampling resolution,
starting at the uppermost Maastrichtian Zone C29r, spanning the K/T boundary, and extending up into the early
Danian Zone C29n. This includes a total of 15 m in the
Okcular section (0.5 m in the Maastrichtian and 14.5 m
in the early Danian, Zones UC 20dTP to CNP2), which
provides an accurate age calibration for the main nannofossil bioevents. The calcareous nannofossil biozonation
for the upper Maastrichtian interval is based on the lowlatitude UC "TP"scheme of Burnett (1998), whereas the
newly produced scheme of Agnini et al. (2014) was used
for the lower Danian sediments. The primary nannofossil
biohorizons include: (1) first occurrence (FO) of Cyclagelosphaera alta, (2) FO of Cruciplacolithus primus, (3)FO of Futyania petalosa, (4) FO of Coccolithus pelagicus, (5) FO of Cruciplacolithus intermedius, and (6)FO of the Praeprinsius dimorphosus group. The succes-

sion of nannofossil datums is generally comparable withother records from the low-mid latitude sites, but does
not match in the fine details. In conclusion, we consider
that the FOs of C. alta, Cr. primus, C. pelagicus, and Cr.
intermedius are reliable biohorizons for global correlation in the lowermost Danian. The mid-latitude MudurnuGoynuk lower Paleocene succession, which was studied
at an unprecedented resolution, represents a key area totackle fundamental issues for global paleoclimatic andbiotic reconstructions for the early Paleogene.
References
Acikalin, S., Wellekoop, J., Ocakoglu, F., Omer Yilmaz,
I., Smit, J., Altiner, S., Goderis, S., Vonhof, H., Speijer,
R., Woelders, L., Fornaciari, E. & Brinkhuis, H. 2015.
Geochemical and palaeontological characterizationof a new K-Pg Boundary locality from the Northernbranch of the Neo-Tethys: Mudurnu - Goynuk Basin,
NW Turkey. Cretaceous Research, 52: 251-267.
Agnini, C., Fornaciari, E., Raffi, I., Catanzariti, R., Palike,H., Backman, J. & Rio, D. 2014. Biozonation and biochronology of Paleogene calcareous nannofossils from
low and middle latitudes. Newsletters on Stratigraphy,
47/ 2: 131-181.
Burnett, J.A. 1998. Upper Cretaceous. In: P.R. Bown,(Ed.). Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy. British Micropalaeontological Society Publication Series.
Chapman and Hall/Kluwer Acad. Publish., London:132-199.

INA1579

The Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) boundary at
Mossy Grove, Mississippi
Nursufiah Sulaiman

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science, University of Birmingham, UK; nxs251@bham.ac.uk

Tom Dunkley Jones

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science, University of Birmingham, UK; t.dunkleyjones@bham.ac.uk

Events surrounding the Eocene-Oligocene boundary are
considered to be the most recent transition from greenhouse to icehouse conditions. The significance of global
cooling, associated with the onset of Antarctic glaciation across the E/O transition, was first documented by
Kennett et al. (1975) and is now recognized as one of
the largest climate transitions in the Cenozoic (Zachos etal., 2008). Here, we present new calcareous nannofossil
assemblage data from the Mossy Grove core, Mississippi, which contains the Eocene-Oligocene transition(EOT). The study shows that calcareous nannofossils in
the Mossy Grove core are very well preserved and abundant. Assigning an exact position to the E/O boundary is
difficult, due to the rare occurrence of the planktic foraminiferal marker Hantkenina. The consistent presence of
Coccolithus formosus up to a major lithological change at
the top of the Yazoo Clay indicates that all of this section
is within nannofossil Zone NP21 or older. The tops ofboth Discoaster saipanensis and Discoaster barbadiensis

at 164’ indicates that the EOT occurs between 164’ and55’. Nannofossil abundance patterns are also consistent
with the EOT in this interval, which has a sudden dropin the abundance of several species. Pilot TEX86 andplanktic foraminiferal isotope data demonstrate the links
that exist between surface ocean temperature changes andcalcareous nannofossil assemblages.
References
Kennett, J.P., Houtz, R.E., Andrews, P.B., Edwards, A.E.,
Gostin, V.A., Hajos, M., Hampton, M., Jenkins, D.G.,
Margolis, S.V., Ovenshine, A.T. & Perch-Nielsen, K.
1975. Cenozoic paleoceanography in the southwest
Pacific Ocean, Antarctic glaciation, and the development of the circum-Antarctic Current. In: J.P. Kennett,
R.E. Houtz et al. (Eds), Initial Reports of the Deep Sea
Drilling Project, 29:1155–1169.
Zachos, J.C., Dickens, G.R. & Zeebe, R.E. 2008. An early
Cenozoic perspective on greenhouse warming and carbon-cycle dynamics. Nature, 451:279-283.

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Strain-specific ecophysiological traits define the responseto phosphorus limitation in Helicosphaera carteri
Luka Šupraha

Paleobiology, Department of Earth Sciences, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden; luka.supraha@geo.uu.se

Andrea Gerecht

CEES, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway; a.c.gerecht@ibv.uio.no

Ian Probert

UPMC, CNRS, Biological Station Roscoff, 29680 Roscoff, France; probert@sb-roscoff.fr

Jorijntje Henderiks

Paleobiology, Department of Earth Sciences, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden; CEES, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo,
Norway‎; jorijntje.henderiks@geo.uu.se

The scale of the impact of coccolithophores on the environment, and vice versa, is largely defined by the physiological traits of coccolithophore cells. Climate models
predict an increase in ocean temperature in the near
future, accompanied by decreased nutrient availability
in the photic zone (Sarmiento et al., 2004). Changes innutrient availability will affect the biogeography, community composition, and physiology of coccolithophores,
ultimately affecting the biogeochemical carbon cycle.
In order to predict the response of coccolithophores tochanges in nutrient availability, it is essential to understand their nutrient-related adaptive traits.
We investigated the physiology of two strains of Helicosphaera carteri under various phosphorus (P) concentrations using batch cultures. Strains were isolated fromcontrasting environments. The Atlantic strain was isolated
from the nutrient-rich southern Benguela upwelling area,
and the Mediterranean strain was isolated from the oligotrophic western Mediterranean (Villefranche-sur-Mer Bay).
Strains were grown in modified K/2 medium (Gerecht etal., 2014) that was enriched with 10 µM of phosphorus inorder to detect intrinsic strain-specific traits. Additionally,strains were exposed to the same level of phosphorus limitation (1 µM P) to test their response patterns.
The two strains exhibited significantly different
physiology under both P-replete and P-limited growth.

The larger Mediterranean strain had lower phosphorus
requirements, lower growth rates, and lower production
rates of particular inorganic carbon (PIC) compared to
the Atlantic strain. When grown in the low-P medium,the Mediterranean strain reached 89% times higher cellconcentrations and kept growing exponentially for 10
days longer than the Atlantic strain. The observed physiological and morphological traits reflect an adaptation to
the local phosphorus availability in the respective isolation regions. Under a future low-nutrient scenario, H.
carteri will likely reduce its phosphorus requirements,
resulting in slower growth rate, larger cell size, anddecreased production rate of particulate inorganic carbon.
References
Gerecht, A., Šupraha, L., Edvardsen, B., Probert, I. &Henderiks, J. 2014. High temperature decreases the
PIC/POC ratio and increases phosphorus requirements
in Coccolithus pelagicus (Haptophyta). Biogeosciences, 11(13): 3531-3545.
Sarmiento, J.L., Slater, R., Barber, R., Bopp, L., Doney,
S.C., Hirst, A., Kleypas, J., Matear, R., Mikolajewicz,
U. & Monfray, P. 2004. Response of ocean ecosystems
to climate warming. Global Biogeochemical Cycles,
18(3).

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81

Combination coccospheres from the eastern Adriatic coast(Mediterranean Sea)
Luka Šupraha

Department of Earth Sciences, Paleobiology Program, Uppsala University, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden; luka.supraha@geo.uu.se

Zrinka Ljubešić

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia; zrinka.ljubesic@biol.pmf.hr

Jorijntje Henderiks

Department of Earth Sciences, Paleobiology Program, Uppsala University, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden; CEES, Department of Biosciences,
University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway; jorijntje.henderiks@geo.uu.se

Coccolithophores commonly exhibit a heteromorphic
life cycle, alternating between morphologically distinct
heterococcolith (diploid) and holococcolith (haploid)
phases (Young et al., 2005). Transition between thetwo phases is occasionally observed in field samples in
the form of combination coccospheres containing bothheterococcoliths and holococcoliths. Such coccospheres
have great taxonomic importance as they link previously
unrelated morphospecies to a common life cycle (Cros etal., 2000). Here, we present combination coccospheresthat were observed in a survey of coccolithophore distribution and diversity along the Krka River estuary (eastern
Adriatic Sea). Samples were collected at six stations
along a coastal-to-estuarine transect during winter andsummer 2013. Water samples from four to six different
depths were obtained, using a series of 5L Niskin water
samplers. Seawater was filtered in a pre-determinedvolume onto a polycarbonate filter (0.8 µm pore size),rinsed with bottled fresh water, and oven dried at 50°C.
Samples were sputter-coated with gold and studied undera Zeiss Supra35-VP scanning electron microscope.
Of the 11 combinations that were detected, four werepreviously described: Coronosphaera mediterranea* Calyptolithina wettsteinii, Coronosphaera mediterranea*- Zygosphaera hellenica, Syracosphaera bannockii* –Corisphaera sp. type A, and Syracosphaera pulchra*– Calyptrosphaera oblonga. Combination coccospheresof Acanthoica quattrospina* – Sphaerocalyptra sp. 1,
Syracosphaera didyma – Homozygosphaera arethusae*,
and Syracosphaera marginaporata* – Anthosphaera
sp. type B were verified. A new life cycle association
was observed between Syracosphaera hirsuta and Corisphaera strigilis*, as well as Alisphaera unicornis* and anannolith-producing Polycrater galapagensis. A possible
association between Rhabdosphaera xiphos* and an
undescribed holococcolithophore needs to be verified infuture investigations. Following the taxonomic principle
of priority, species names marked with (*) should be used
for both the heterococcolith and the holococcolith phase.
References
Cros, L., Kleijne, A., Zeltner, A., Billard, C. & Young, J.R.
2000. New examples of holococcolith–heterococcolith
combination coccospheres and their implications forcoccolithophorid biology. Marine Micropaleontology,
39(1–4): 1-34.
Young, J.R., Geisen, M. & Probert, I. 2005. A review
of selected aspects of coccolithophore biology with
implications for paleobiodiversity estimation. Micropaleontology, 51(4): 267-288.

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Response of coccolithophores to paleoproductivity
changes in the western tropical Indian Ocean(off Tanzania, East Africa) for the past 25 kyrs
Deborah Tangunan

FB5 Geowissenschaften, University of Bremen, D-28334 Bremen, Germany; dntangunan@gmail.com

Karl-Heinz Baumann

FB5 Geowissenschaften, University of Bremen, D-28334 Bremen, Germany; baumann@uni-bremen.de

Relative to other parts of the western tropical Indian
Ocean, the study area off the coast of Tanzania (05º29.28′
S, 40º56.01′ E) has a characteristically unique environment. Studies of the modern day oceanographic conditions on this side of the Indian Ocean suggest that the area
has stratified waters year round, a steady thermocline, andrelatively low surface-water productivity. In general, thesurface waters of the western Indian Ocean are governedby seasonally reversing monsoon winds that lead to
upwelling and downwelling in the ocean, which in turnaffect the nutrient availability and surface-water productivity. Coccolithophores are the most common primary
producers of the world’s oceans and are found to responddirectly to variations in temperature, salinity, and nutrient
availability.
The upper part of sediment core GeoB12613, encompassing the last 25 kyrs, was analyzed for coccolithophore downcore abundance and assemblage composition in order to reconstruct the past productivity of thewestern tropical Indian Ocean. The core was collected off
Tanzania, East Africa at a 2292 m water depth during the2008 R/V Meteor Expedition. Results show that coccolithophores off the coast of Tanzania are influenced invarious ways by the productivity variations in the study
area through time. Total coccolithophore abundances
increased during the last glacial maximum and declined
during the Holocene. The assemblages in the study area
are primarily dominated by the low productivity indicator species Florisphaera profunda, which comprises
up to 70% of the total assemblage. This is followed by
the high-productivity indicator species Emiliania huxleyi,
which has relative abundances between 10 to 22%, andby Gephyrocapsa oceanica and G. ericsonii, which haveup to 12% relative abundances. Species that favor oligotrophic waters, such as Umbellosphaera irregularis, U.
tenuis, and Discosphaera tubifera, were also present.
Other significant contributors to the assemblages are
Calsiosolenia brasiliensis, C. murrayi, Ceratolithus cristatus, Oolitothus antillarum, O. fragilis, U. foliosa, and U.
hulburtiana, which comprise up to 5% of the assemblage.
The syracosphaerids and helicosphaerids also contributed
to the total assemblage.

INA1583

Early Miocene through Pleistocene calcareous
nannofossils and the results of cyclostratigraphic
analyses of gamma ray logs – StratPacs from the
Nam Con Son Basin
Nguyen Thi Tham

G1, Thanh Da Hotel, Ward 27, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh Ciy, Vietnam; thamnt@vpi.pvn.vn

Nguyen Van Su

G1, Thanh Da Hotel, Ward 27, Binh Thanh Disrict, Ho Chi Minh Ciy, Vietnam; sunv@vpi.pvn.vn

Djin Nio

G1, Thanh Da Hotel, Ward 27, Binh Thanh Disrict, Ho Chi Minh Ciy, Vietnam; djin.nio@enresinternational.com

Nannofossils are always a good indicator of the relative
geological age in sedimentary basins that have a marine
origin. More recently, however, by combining data fromnannofossil zones (NN Zones of Martini or CN Zones
of Bukry), foraminiferal zones (N Zones of Blow), andthe cyclostratigraphic analysis of gamma ray logs on
CycloLog software (StratPacs), it is possible to obtain
more precision for stratigraphic boundaries. An important
aspect of the cyclostratigraphic analysis of gamma logs
is the log transform routine called INPEFA Log Trans-

form. The INPEFA Log Transform is able to predict stratigraphic discontinuities downhole using well logs.
The study of nannofossil zones and StratPacs in thepost rift stage in the Nam Con Son Basin (early Miocene
to Pleistocene) has proved that this combination method
for biostratigraphic research works well for obtaining ahigh-resolution biostratigraphy. The nannofossil zones
found in the Nam Con Son Basin are from Zones NN2
to NN19, which are equivalent to M1000 to PS2000 in
INPEFA StratPacs. (After Enres International).

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Baltic Sea coccolithophores – an overview of findings
from the last decades
Helge Abildhauge Thomsen

Technical University of Denmark, National Institute of Aquatic Resources (DTU Aqua), DK-2920 Charlottenlund, Denmark; hat@aqua.dtu.dk

It is an established fact that coccolithophores are oflittle importance in the Baltic proper. The likely biogeochemical and environmental reasons for this have been
critically analyzed and reviewed by Tyrell et al. (2008),
and their main conclusion is that calcium carbonate saturation in the Baltic Sea is the primary controlling factor
for coccolithophores and in particular an undersaturation
during wintertime remains the critical impediment forcoccolithophore development in the Baltic proper. While
there is no reason to question these observations, it is still
relevant to record the actual occurrences of coccolithophores from the Baltic proper. Repeated examinations of
Baltic Sea material from Bothnian Bay and the Gulf ofFinland by means of transmission electron microscopy
has revealed a consistent presence of a small community of lightly calcified coccolithophores (i.e., Balaniger

virgulosa HOL and HET, Turrisphaera sp., and Papposphaera sp.). If material examined from the Danish transitional waters that connect the North Sea and the Baltic
proper is also considered, it is possible not only to definea demarcation line for Emiliania huxleyi, which runs into
the Arkona Basin east of the island of Bornholm, butalso to document the presence in the western Baltic, theSounds, and the Kattegat of a small contingent of coccolithophores that appear to be persistently present within
the area.
References
Tyrell, T., Schneider, B., Charalampopoulou, A. & Riebesell, U. 2008. Coccolithophores and calcite saturation
state in the Baltic and Black Sea. Biogeosciences, 5:
485-494.

INA1585

Morphometric analysis of early Eocene Corbisema
skeletons (Silicoflagellata) from Mors, Denmark
Hideto Tsutsui

Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata 990-8560,
Japan; blacksand@mail.goo.ne.jp

Richard W. Jordan

Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata 990-8560,
Japan; sh081@kdw.kj.yamagata-u.ac.jp

Kenta Abe

Graduate School of Science & Engineering, Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata 990-8560, Japan; s14e101d@
st.yamagata-u.ac.jp

Niichi Nishiwaki

Department of Sociology, Nara University, 1500 Misasagi-cho, Nara:631-8502; Japan; niichi@daibutsu.nara-u.ac.jp

Silicoflagellates are present in the modern ocean, butthey first appeared in the Cretaceous. Their siliceous
skeletons consist of radial spines, a basal ring, struts, anapical ring or bar, and pikes. Tsutsui & Takahashi (2009)used a species-specific biometric program to take skeletal
measurements of the species Distephanus medianoctisol
in order to document its morphological variation. Theirresults showed that the radial spine length changed,
depending on environmental conditions.
In this study, we present the biometric results for the
genus Corbisema using a new biometric program thatruns on Windows®. The program creates two datasets:
coordinate data and direct measurement results. If necessary, the coordinate data can be remeasured with anotherprogram. The Corbisema specimens are from an early
Eocene diatomite sample collected from Mors, Denmark.
Three morphological characteristics were revealed bythis study: 1) like modern Distephanus, the radial spine
length of all Corbisema taxa is variable, 2) Corbisema
triacantha specimens either had no pikes (small basal
ring type) or two different pikes (large basal ring type),

one of which is short, and the other is long with a tiny
Y- or T-shaped tip, and 3) there are two pike positions,
one located near the strut and the other at the basal ring/
strut junction. Pikes are associated with double skeleton
formation and cell division (McCartney et al., 2014),
so variations in pike position and length may represent
successful or unsuccessful evolutionary strategies.
References
McCartney, K., Witkowski, J., Jordan, R.W., Daugbjerg,N., Malinverno, E., van Wezel, R., Kano, H., Abe,K., Scott, F., Schweizer, M., Young, J.R., Hallegraeff,
G.M. and Shiozawa, A. 2014. Fine structure of silicoflagellate double skeletons. Marine Micropaleontology, 113: 10-19.
Tsutsui, H. & Takahashi, K. 2009. Biometry of Distephanus medianoctisol (Silicoflagellata) in the sea-ice covered environment of the central Arctic Ocean, summer 2004. Memoirs of the Faculty of Science, Kyushu
University, Series D., Earth and Planetary Sciences,32(2): 57-68.

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A semi-automated identification and semi-manual tally
system for calcareous nannoplankton using lightmicroscope images
Hideto Tsutsui

Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata 990-8560,
Japan; blacksand@mail.goo.ne.jp

Richard W. Jordan

Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata 990-8560,
Japan;. sh081@kdw.kj.yamagata-u.ac.jp

Kozo Takahashi

School of Social Welfare, Undergraduate school, Hokusei Gakuen University, 3-1, 2cho-me, Ooyachi-nishi, Atsubetsu-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
004-8631, Japan (Earth and Planetary Science, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University); kozotaka@hokusei.ac.jp

Niichi Nishiwaki

Department of Sociology, Nara University, 1500 Misasagi-cho, Nara: 631-8502; Japan; niichi@daibutsu.nara-u.ac.jp

Coccolith identification is a labor-intensive process, but
the recent application of image recognition technology
has reduced the time needed for this task. Beaufort &Dollfus (2004) introduced a real-time coccolith recognition system called the Système de Reconnaissance
Automatique de Coccolithes (SYRACO). However,these recognition programs often miss broken or tilted
coccoliths, which otherwise would have been correctly
identified during a manual tally. Therefore, a system thatcombines both computer-aided and semi-manual tallies
may be more beneficial.
This study has two aims: 1) to develop a semi-automatic identification program for a speedy tally, and 2) tocalculate the coccolith fluxes of two sediment trap sites
with this new program. This computer application runs on
Windows® with identification algorithms that use patternmatching. The pattern relies on an external database file,which includes the species name and morphologicalinformation. The main program size is approximately 50
kb. The count and identification errors can be correctedmanually.

The coccoliths and coccospheres were counted at two
sediment trap sites, Station AB located in the Bering Sea(53.5°N, 177°W; water depth 3,788 m, trap depth 3,198m), and Station SA in the subarctic Pacific Ocean (49°N,
174°W; water depth 5,406 m, trap depth 4,812 m). The
sediment traps were moored from 1990 to 2009. The
main results include: 1) the coccosphere fluxes of Emiliania huxleyi at Station SA responded to the positive modeof the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), while those of
Coccolithus pelagicus responded to the negative mode of
the PDO, 2) the coccosphere fluxes increased at Stations
AB and SA during 1990 to 2009, and 3) the coccosphere
fluxes increased suddenly from June 2008 to early 2009,
following an iron-fertilization event by volcanic ash.
References
Beaufort, L. & Dollfus, D. 2004. Automatic recognitionof coccoliths by dynamical neural networks. Marine
Micropaleontology, 51(4): 57-73.

INA1587

Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and temporalvariation of the flora near the Neogene-Quaternaryboundary, Pacific side of central Japan
Masayuki Utsunomiya

Institute of Geology and Geoinformation, Geological Survey of Japan, AIST; m.utsunomiya@aist.go.jp

Yuichiro Tanaka

Institute of Geology and Geoinformation, Geological Survey of Japan, AIST; y-tanaka@aist.go.jp

Chie Kusu

Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University; kusu-chie-sf@ynu.jp

Ayako Nakamura

Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan; sunny.satanic.459piyo@docomo.ne.jp

Ryuichi Majima

Faculty of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan; majima@ynu.ac.jp

Makoto Okada

Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Ibaraki University; okada@mx.ibaraki.ac.jp

We present calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy forand the temporal variation of the flora found up throughthe Gauss into the lowermost Matuyama Chronozone inforearc basin fills that are exposed on the Miura Peninsula(35°18′ N, 139°36′ E) on the Pacific side of central Japan.
The upper Ikego Formation consists mainly of sandy
mudstone, and the overlying Urago Formation consists
mainly of sandstone and muddy sandstone, both of which
would have been deposited at water depths of 400 to 2000
m (Eto et al., 1987; Utsunomiya & Majima, 2012). In thecontinuous section through the upper Ikego and Urago
Formations, we recognized the following stratigraphic
markers in ascending order: last occurrence datum (LO)of Reticulofenestra pseudoumbilicus, LO of Sphenolithus spp., LO of Discoaster tamalis, top of the Gauss
Chronozone, key tuff bed assigned to 2.5 Ma, and LO
of Discoaster pentaradiatus. Four species of Reticulofenestra (R. minuta, R. minutula, R. haqii, and R. producta)
dominated the studied horizons (totaling more than 60%of the assemblages). Coccolithus pelagicus showed aslight increase of up to 16% in the interval above the LOof D. tamalis (2.78–2.76 Ma), but generally remained at
2–10% throughout the studied horizons, in contrast to
higher-latitude Pacific regions and the Sea of Japan where
C. pelagicus abruptly increased, while reticulofenestrids
decreased at 2.75 Ma (Sato et al., 2002). Our results
suggest that the warm Kuroshio Current had a significant impact not only on the Miyazaki region (32°07′ N,

131°30′ E) (Chiyonobu et al., 2012), but as far north as
the current study area.
References
Chiyonobu, S., Morimoto, J., Torii, M. and Oda, M. 2012.
Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary and paleoceanographic
significance of the upper Miyazaki Group, southern
Kyushu, southwest Japan, based on calcareous nannofossil and planktic foraminiferal assemblages. Journal of Geological Society of Japan, 118: 143−156 (inJapanese with English abstract).
Eto, T., Oda, M., Hasegawa, S., Honda, N. and Funayama,
M. 1987. Geologic age and paleoenvironment based
upon microfossils of the Cenozoic sequence in the
middle and northern part of the Miura Peninsula. Science Report of Yokohama National University, Sec. II,
34: 41−57 (in Japanese with English abstract).
Sato, T., Saito, T., Yuguchi, S., Nakagawa, H., Kameo,
K. and Takayama, T. 2002. Late Pliocene calcareous
nannofossil paleobiogeography of the Pacific Ocean:evidence for glaciation at 2.75 Ma. Revista Mexicanade Ciencias Geológica, 19: 175–189.
Utsunomiya, M. & Majima, R. 2012. Paleobathymetriesof the Plio-Pleistocene Urago and Nojima Formations, Kazusa Group, Miura Peninsula, central Japan:
Revision on the basis of molluscan fossils from new
localities. Fossils, 91: 5−14 (in Japanese with English
abstract).

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Miocene Andean uplift and its impact on planktonic
communities in eastern equatorial Pacific basins
Felipe Vallejo

Universidad de Caldas-Instituto de Investigaciones en Estratigrafía (IIES). Manizales, Colombia; diego.vallejo@caldas.edu.co

Sergio Restrepo

Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Departamento de Geociencias y Medio Ambiente, Colombia; sergiorm@ufl.edu.

Andrés Pardo

Universidad de Caldas-Instituto de Investigaciones en Estratigrafía (IIES). Manizales, Colombia; andres.pardo@ucaldas.edu.co.

Raúl Trejos

Universidad de Caldas-Instituto de Investigaciones en Estratigrafía (IIES). Manizales, Colombia; raulandrestt@gmail.com.

José-A. Flores

Universidad de Salamanca, Department of Geology. Salamanca, Spain; flores@usal.es

Angelo Plata

Instituto de Investigaciones en Estratigrafía (IIES). Manizales, Colombia; angeloplata_36@yahoo.es

Kyle Min

University of Florida, Department of Geological Sciences, Gainesville, FL, USA; kmin@ufl.edu.

David A. Foster

University of Florida, Department of Geological Sciences, Gainesville, FL, USA; dafoster@ufl.edu

Sergio A. López

Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos-ANH, Bogotá, Colombia; sergio.lopez@anh.gov.co

An interaction between morphotectonic/climatic processes
in the northern Andes (uplift, erosional exhumation, andorographic barrier development) and ocean circulation
dynamics in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) was interpreted for the Miocene development of orogenic systems
and forearc basins of western Colombia. Following adetailed biostratigraphic and biochronological study, adetailed analysis of oceanic microfossil assemblages(calcareous nannofossils, planktonic foraminifers, anddiatoms) was compared with continental proxies (thermochronology and pollen), revealing patterns that are indicative of coupling among morphotectonic, climatic, andoceanic dynamic systems. Marked shifts in sedimentation
rates for EEP basins, such as the Guatemala, Colombian,and Panamá Basins, in conjunction with uplift/exhuma-

tion-driven cooling events of cordilleran massifs of thewestern Cordillera, are associated with discrete pulses ofAndean topographic build-up between 18 and 10 Ma. As
a consequence of these morphotectonic events, significant changes in rainfall intensity/distribution (enhanced
orographic effects) and erosional efficiency of thedrainage network resulted in increased input of terrigenous materials into EEP basins. In addition, we identified
an increase in the oceanic productivity after ~12 Ma thatis linked to the reorganization of oceanic circulation and/or variation in the continental input of biolimiting nutrients. This new information that was obtained from theforearc basins of Colombia provides a complex signal ofcontinental, oceanic, and climatic factors that influenced
the EEP evolution during the Miocene.

INA1589

Biogeographic patterns of coccolithophore morphologic
disparity
Marites Villarosa Garcia

The University of Chicago, Department of the Geophysical Sciences, Chicago, Illinois, USA; marites@uchicago.edu

The pelagic realm is spatially heterogeneous, and thisvariety of environments plays a role in structuring planktonic communities. Observations of extant coccolithophores demonstrate that different regions harbor different
assemblages of species and that the total number of species
varies by region and latitude. But what about the morphologic diversity of the taxa in a region? Are there spatial
patterns of disparity? I investigated whether different
biogeographic provinces, latitudes, and biomes differ intheir average regional morphological diversity. I based
my pelagic province scheme on Spalding et al. (2012),
wherein a province is a large area defined by spatially andtemporally stable (or seasonally recurrent) oceanographic
conditions that host a distinct assemblage of species. I
tabulated presence/absence of a species in a given province based on observations from the published literatureand the Nannotax3 database. I analyzed 68 discrete,binary, morphological characters of body coccoliths
from over 100 extant species, using SEM images available through the Nannotax3 database and other literaturesources. I calculated disparity as the mean dissimilarity
between species, using the Gower distance, and generated a coccolith morphospace portrayed via principal
coordinates. Taken at the coarsest level of locality resolu-

tion, i.e., observations known from a region, e.g., West
Indian Ocean,, my analyses showed very similar values of
average provincial disparity. However this average varies
notably when I used the finest level of locality resolution,i.e., observations know from a province or smaller area,
increasing in some provinces and decreasing in others.
There is also more overlap between biomes in morphospace at the coarsest level of resolution because biomes
are represented by fewer provinces at the finest level ofresolution. Unlike diversity metrics based on species
richness, disparity values of a region and its position andbreadth in morphospace depend on which species are
sampled. This results in a more complex but complementary picture of taxonomic diversity.
References
Young, J.R., Bown P.R. & Lees J.A. (Eds). Nannotax3
website. International Nannoplankton Association.
Nov 2013- Dec 2014. URL: http://http://ina.tmsoc.org/
Nannotax3
Spalding, M.D., Agostini, V.N., Rice, J., Grant, S.M. 2012.
Pelagic provinces of the world: A biogeographic classification of the world's surface pelagic waters. Ocean& Coastal Management, 60: 19-30.

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Paleoenvironmental changes in the North Atlantic(ODP Site 984) during Marine Isotope Stage 5 asdeduced from coccolith reconstruction
Nele M. Vollmar

Department of Geosciences, University of Bremen, 28334 Bremen, Germany; nvollmar@uni-bremen.de

Karl-Heinz Baumann

Department of Geosciences, University of Bremen, 28334 Bremen, Germany; baumann@uni-bremen.de

Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 984, located on the
North Atlantic Bjørn sediment drift close to the modern
locations of the Arctic and Polar hydrographic fronts,
provides high-resolution records for the late Pleistocene. The last interglacial, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5,
was the last extended warm period before the Holocene
and gives insight into natural climate variability during
interglacials. In order to reconstruct regional changes in
productivity and hydrography of the North Atlantic during
MIS 5, coccolith assemblages in ODP Site 984 sediments
were investigated. For this purpose, changes in coccolithabundances, coccolith accumulation rates, assemblage
composition, and diversity, as well as morphotypes andcalcification stages of Emiliania huxleyi, were analyzed.
Using coccolith data, progressive southward advancesof the Arctic and Polar fronts into the subpolar North
Atlantic Ocean were documented. The observed coccolith assemblages were generally dominated by Gephyrocapsa muellerae and are characterized by an average of
only six species. Limited coccolith numbers and lowered
species diversity point to the influence of progressive
cold-water mass expansions into subpolar latitudes, inparticular during the last glacial and stadial stages (MIS
stages/stadials 6, 5d, 5b, and 4). Three intervals (MISinterstadials 5e, 5c, and 5a) of warm surface-water expansion were identified by increased coccolith numbers andelevated diversities. Differences in the composition of thecoccolith assemblages also indicate that the main northward expansions of the warm surface currents occurred
during MIS 5e and 5a, with highest coccolith production

observed in stage 5a, which is contrary to observations atother locations in the North Atlantic (Stolz & Baumann,
2010).
An unexpected finding is the occurrence of Emiliania
huxleyi >4 μm in sediments influenced by expanded warm
surface water. This morphotype is often used as an indicator of cold surface waters, as suggested by ColmeneroHidalgo et al. (2002). In this study, however, both E.
huxleyi >4 μm and E. huxleyi <4 μm show up in higher
numbers during warm intervals. This questions the usageof this morphotype as a cold-water indicator, at least for
the MIS 5 and previous intervals. It seems more likelythat E. huxleyi has undergone various evolutionary adaptations during MIS 5, which may also lead to an evolutionary step in the exchange of dominance between E.
huxleyi and G. muellerae.
References
Colmenero-Hidalgo, E., Flores, J.A. & Sierro, F.J. 2002.
Biometry of Emiliania huxleyi and its biostratigraphic
significance in the Eastern North Atlantic Ocean andWestern Mediterranean Sea in the last 20,000 years.
Marine Micropaleontology, 46: 247–263.
Stolz, K. & Baumann, K.-H. 2010. Changes in palaeoceanography and palaeoecology during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 in the eastern North Atlantic (ODP
Site 980) deduced from calcareous nannoplankton
observations. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,
Palaeoecology, 292(1–2): 295–305.

INA1591

Late Holocene climate variability off southwestern Africa
as inferred from coccolithophore assemblages andsediment elemental composition
Jens Weiser

Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, D-28334 Bremen, Germany; jweiser@uni-bremen.de

Karl-Heinz Baumann

Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, D-28334 Bremen, Germany; baumann@uni-bremen.de

Matthias Zabel

MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, D-28359 Bremen, Germany; mzabel@marum.de

Given the latest scenarios by the IPCC (2013), there aremajor concerns regarding water availability in southeastern Africa and the drastic consequences for the resident population and economies that are to be expected.
Consequently, a better understanding of climate dynamics
in this region is crucial. Nannofossil analyses, as well as
X-ray fluorescence measurements, were performed on amarine sediment core (GeoB 8323-2) that was retrieved
from a 93-m water depth off the Olifants River, South
Africa, in order to reconstruct paleoceanographic changes
in the southern Benguela upwelling system, as well as
variations in continental hydrology. These draw a consistent picture for late Holocene environmental change
during the last three millennia.
The generally low diversity of the coccolithophorecommunities indicates phases of surface-water warmingfrom 2.75 – 2.25 ka BP, around 1 ka BP, and during thelast 250 years, whereas increasing abundances of Coccolithus pelagicus reveal colder SSTs in between those warm
spells. Warming in the southern Benguela is accompanied
by drier conditions on the continent, and cooling generally coincides with greater moisture availability in thesummer rainfall zone of South Africa.
Coccolithophore productivity appears to be directly

linked to sea surface temperature (SST), and thus, toupwelling intensity, while an overall increase in total
coccolith numbers after 1.5 ka BP is superimposed on thisgeneral relation.
Remarkably, the current study found pronounced
warming and aridity during the Medieval Climate
Anomaly, which contrasts with many earlier studies andimplies a greater zonal asymmetry for this period thanpreviously thought. Synchronous changes in the extent of
Antarctic sea ice give credence to the conceptual modelof latitudinal migration of the westerly wind belt andits interaction with the southeasterly trade winds as animportant driver for Ekman-induced upwelling and continental moisture availability.
References
IPCC: Stocker, T., Qin, D., Plattner, G.-K., Tignor, M.,
Allen, S., Boschung, J., Nauels, A., Xia, Y., Bex, V.
& Midgley, P. (Eds). 2013. Climate Change 2013:
The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working
Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom
and New York, NY, USA, 1535 pp.

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Semi-automated morphometrics on coccoliths
using ImageJ
Jeremy R. Young

Dept. of Earth Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT UK; jeremy.young@ucl.ac.uk

The use of morphometrics has the potential to improvesignificantly our knowledge of shape and size variationin coccolithophore taxa and so our ability to define taxa
and describe their evolutionary history and response to
ecological change. A great advantage of working withcoccoliths is that the numbers of specimens are virtually
infinite, but a compensating disadvantage is that morphologies are typically rather simple and that there are few
independently variable parameters that can be measured.
In practice, this means that typical studies involvemeasuring a few parameters on a very large number of
specimens and that a prime constraint is time available
for specimen imaging and measuring. This further meansthat developing an efficient workflow is critical for thedelivery of an effective study. For the measurement phaseof studies, efficiency can be greatly improved by development of semi-automated routines that minimize the time
taken to make standardized measurements. ImageJ and its

derivative FiJi are powerful public domain image analysis
programs with flexible abilities to write macro routinesand plug-in modules. I have applied these in a range ofstudies on living and fossil coccoliths using light and electron microscopy that includes recent work on Emiliania
huxleyi (Young et al., 2014). This talk provides an introduction to the use of ImageJ with coccoliths and guidancein the design of measurement routines. It will also include
discussion of some interesting recent research and priorities for future research.
References
Young, J.R., Poulton, A.J. & Tyrrell, T. 2014. Morphology of Emiliania huxleyi coccoliths on the North West
European shelf – is there an influence of carbonate
chemistry? Biogeosciences Discussions, 11: 45314561.

INA1593

Interrogating the Neptune database for nannofossil
occurrence data - species records and diversity estimates
Jeremy R. Young,

Dept. of Earth Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT UK; jeremy.young@ucl.ac.uk

Paul R. Bown

Dept. of Earth Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT UK;

David Lazarus

Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, 10115 Berlin, Germany; david.lazarus@mfn-berlin.de

Deep sea drilling within the DSDP, ODP, and IODP
programs has provided an enormous volume of publicallyaccessible data on the occurrence of planktonic microfossils in deep-sea sediments. In an attempt to synthesize
this data, the Neptune database was compiled by David
Lazarus, Katharina von Salis, and co-workers at ETHZurich in the 1990s (Lazarus 1994; Spencer-Cervato
1999; current version is at www.nsb-mfn-berlin.de). They
compiled data from the published reports on radiolaria,
diatoms, planktonic foraminifera, and nannofossils. Key
aspects of the compilation included integrated age models
for each site and synonymies created by taxonomic
experts. Both aspects significantly improve the quality
and consistency of the data, although it is, inevitably, still
far from perfect. The database has subsequently been used
in a number of studies, including Hannisdal et al. (2012)and Lloyd et al. (2012). David Lazarus has now received
funding to add additional more recent data from key ODP
legs, and the synonymies have been improved through theuse of integrated name lists produced for the ODP. For
calcareous nannofossils, the name lists were produced by
Paul Bown, Jackie Lees, and Jeremy Young in collaboration with Woody Wise.
We have investigated the use of the database as a sourceof data on the stratigraphic distribution of individual
species for the Nannotax database. To do this, the database was queried to produce a table of number of records
per taxon per 2 Ma bin. This raw data is strongly skewed
by the variable number of records per time bin (ranging
from 1800 records for the 0-2 Ma bin to <20 from some
Cretaceous bins). However, if raw counts of records are
divided by total number of records per bin, to obtain afrequency of records, then a much more meaningful
dataset can be obtained. As will be shown, this provides
an objective record of taxon occurrence, which closely
matches subjective models of taxon abundance. The data
are now being incorporated into Nannotax species pages.
In addition, the frequencies per time bin can be summed
to give a measure of the average number of taxa recorded
per time bin. This is a relatively simple measure of biodiversity change, but the shape of the curve closely resembles the biodiversity estimates produced by summation of
known ranges (e.g., Bown et al., 2004).
References
Bown, P.R., Lees, J.A. & Young, J.R. 2004. Calcareous
nannoplankton evolution and diversity through time.
In: H.R. Thierstein & and J.R. Young (Eds). Coccolithophores - from molecular processes to global
impact. Springer.
Hannisdal, B., Henderiks, J. & Liow, L. 2012. Long-term
evolutionary and ecological responses of calcifying
phytoplankton to changes in atmospheric CO2. Global
Change Biology, 18(12): 3504-3516.
Lazarus, D.B. 1994. The Neptune Project - a marine
micropaleontology database. Mathematical Geology,
7: 817-832.
Lloyd, G.T., Young, J.R. & Smith, A.B. 2012. Comparative quality and fidelity of deep-sea and land-based
nannofossil records. Geology, 40: 155-158.
Spencer-Cervato, C. 1999. The Cenozoic Deep Sea
Microfossil Record: Explorations of the DSDP/ODP
Sample Set Using the Neptune Database. Palaeontologia Electronica, 2(2, art.4): 1-268.

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POSTERS
Advances in Nannofossil Biostratigraphy
Al-Badrani, O.A. and Al-Zubaidi, A.S.
Nannobiostratigraphy of Jaddala Formation (typesection), Sinjar anticline, NW Iraq
Belia, E.R., Nick, K., Agudelo, E.B. and Concheyro, A.
Late Oligocene – early Miocene calcareous nannofossils from the basal Pisco Formation, Pisco Basin, Peru
Castro, A.L., Marquez, D.J.D., Rosario, D.J.G.,
Fernando, A.G.S. and Peleo-Alampay, A.M.
Revisiting Catanduanes Island: calcareous nannofossil
biostratigraphy of its Cenozoic formationsĆorić, S., Pezelj, Đ., Mandic, O. and Vrabac, S.
Middle Miocene calcareous nannoplankton from thesouthern Pannonian Basin (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Guballa, J.D.S. and Fernando, A.G.S.
Biostratigraphic analysis of the upper member of theKlondyke Formation using calcareous nannofossils
Hadavi, F., Khodadadi, L., Moheghy, M.A. andMoghaddam, M.N.
Cretaceous nannostratigraphy of the Kopet Dagh
Mountain Range (northeast Iran)Magtoto, C.Y., Guballa, J.D.S., Peleo-Alampay, A.M.
and Fernando, A.G.S.
Age refinement of Cretaceous units on Catanduanes
Island (eastern Philippines) based on calcareous
nannofossils
Mahanipour, A. and Parandavar, M.
Calcareous nannofossil assemblages at the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition at Lali section, SW IranMarquez, D.J., Nogot, J.R.C., Rosario, D.J.,
Fernando, A.G. and Peleo-Alampay, A.
Calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal
biostratigraphy of sedimentary units in Pangasinan,
Philippines
Naih, C., Curtis, C. and Zainal, S.B.
Operational biostratigraphy of KBB gas field, offshore
deep-water Sabah, Malaysia: the use of nannoplankton in optimizing operational decisions in the oiland gas industry
Pérez Panera, J.P. and Angelozzi, G.N.
Pliensbachian-Toarcian calcareous nannofossil eventsin the Los Molles Formation, Neuquen Basin, Argentina
Stoykova, K., Dinarès-Turell, J. and Yilmaz, I.O.
The calcareous nannofossil record in the CretaceousPaleogene boundary interval of the Mudurnu-Goynuk
Basin, NW Turkey: implications for intercalibration
and reliability of nannofossil biohorizons

Utsunomiya, M., Tanaka, Y., Kusu, C., Nakamura, A.,
Majima, R. and Okada, M.
Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and temporalvariation of the flora near the Neogene-Quaternaryboundary, Pacific side of central Japan
Recent Nannoplankton/Coccolithophores: Biogeography and Ecology
Carag, J.W.M. and Fernando, A.G.S.
Coccolithophore assemblages in the northern Sulu Sea
Kahn, A.
Vertical and horizontal distribution of modern coccolithophore species across the HV Melville Biologicaland Hydroacoustic Cruise transect, southern Indian
Ocean
Malinverno, E., Rivero-Calle, S., Dimiza, M.D. andTriantaphyllou, M.V.
Coccolithophore contribution to sea-surface PIC
along a latitudinal transect in the W Pacific sector of
the Southern Ocean under non-bloom conditions
Nogot, J.R.C.P., Peleo-Alampay, A.M., Kashino, Y.,
Martin, M. and Tabbada, R.S.
Evidence of coccolithophore dissolution in thesouthern Philippine Sea
Patil, S.M., Mohan, R., Gazi, S. and Jafar, S.A.
Xenospheres (coccolithophores) from plankton
samples of the southern Indian Ocean
Patil, S.M., Mohan, R., Gazi, S., Shetye, S. and Jafar,
S.A.
Petasariaheterolepis(Prymnesiaceae) from thesouthern Indian Ocean
Prista, G.A. and Cachão, M.A.
Mussels as biological filters of coastal calcareous
nannoplankton: a case study from the western coast of
Portugal
Paleoclimate Studies
Cabarcos, E., Flores, J.-A., Singh, A.D. and Sierro,
F.J.
A high-resolution record of monsoonal dynamics inthe eastern Arabian Sea
Najafpour, A., Mahanipour, A. and Dastanpour, M.
Quantitative analysis of Late Campanian calcareous
nannofossils in the Gurpi section (SW Iran)
Pérez Panera, J.P.
A 700 km and 145 million year ride: Mesozoic calcareous nannofossils in Holocene to recent sediments at
the Bahía Blanca Estuary, Argentina

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Shepherd, C.L., Kulhanek, D.K. and Hollis, C.J.
Early Eocene nannofossil responses to climatechange, Canterbury Basin, New Zealand
Stoykova, K.
Nannofossil occurrences across the Paleocene-Eocene
boundary in Bulgaria, SE Europe: state of the art

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Coccolith Morphometrics, Imaging andother Techniques
Bordiga, M., Bartol, M. and Henderiks, J.
Another drop in the ocean … how to determine absolute coccolith abundance?

Weiser, J., Baumann, K.-H. and Zabel, M.
Late Holocene climate variability off southwestern
Africa as inferred from coccolithophore assemblages
and sediment elemental composition

Tsutsui, H., Jordan, R.W., Takahashi, K. and Nishiwaki, N.
A semi-automated identification and semi-manual
tally system for calcareous nannoplankton using lightmicroscope images

Paleoceanography and Paleoenvironment Studies

Taxonomy and Evolution

Ausín, B., Flores, J.-A., Sierro, F.J., Bárcena, M.A.,
Francés, G., Gutiérrez-Arnillas, E., Martrat, B.,
Grimalt, J.-O. and Cacho, I.
Coccolithophore productivity and surface water
dynamics in the Alboran Sea during the last 25 kyrĆorić, S. and Rupp, C.
Lowermost Miocene calcareous nannoplankton andforaminifers from the Austrian part of the AlpineCarpathian Foredeep (paleoecology and biostratigraphy) of Upper Austria
Fernandez, A.R.C. and Fernando, A.G.S.
Paleoceanographic history of the Bohol Sea from
calcareous nannofossils during the Quaternary
Linnert, C., Lees, J.A., Dunkley Jones, T., Bown, P.R.,
Robinson, S. and Young, J.R.
Coccolith calcite Sr/Ca ratios: investigating a potential proxy for Late Cretaceous nannofossil paleoecology
Golovina, L.
The significance of coccolithophore assemblages as
indicators of marine influx in Miocene deposits of theEastern Paratethys
Tangunan, D. and Baumann, K.-H.
Response of coccolithophores to paleoproductivity
changes in the western tropical Indian Ocean (offTanzania, East Africa) for the past 25 kyrs
Vallejo, F., Restrepo, S., Pardo, A., Trejos, R., Flores,
J.-A., Plata, A., Min, K., Foster, D.A. and López, S.A.
Miocene Andean uplift and its impact on planktonic
communities in eastern equatorial Pacific basins
Vollmar, N.M. and Baumann, K.-H.
Paleoenvironmental changes in the North Atlantic(ODP Site 984) during Marine Isotope Stage 5 asdeduced from coccolith reconstruction

Kim, H., Bown, P., Gibbs, S. and Hull, C.
Quantifying rates of plankton evolution immediately
following the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction
event (IODP Site U1405, NE Atlantic)
Miniati, F., Cappelli, C. and Monechi, S.
New data on the structure of early fasciculiths from a
combined LM and SEM study
Rutledge, D.C., Cole, S., Lawrence, T. and Gard, G.
A new species of Late Triassic nannofossil, Botulustriassicus, and observations on Triassic assemblages
from the NW Shelf of Australia
Self-Trail, J.M., Seefelt, E.L., Shepherd, C.L. andMartin, V.A.
Preliminary biostratigraphic and morphometriccomparisons between a new species of Tribrachiatus
and T. orthostylusŠupraha, L., Ljubešić, Z. and Henderiks, J.
Combination coccospheres from the eastern Adriat

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