Pollen record from Muggesfelder See and Plussee in Germany

A basaltic tephra layer consisting of brownish-olive glass shards. and about 0.2 mm thick. was found in cores from four lakes in northwest Germany. According to pollen analysis it was deposited during the early Boreal period (corresponding to about 8700 BP). The petrographic properties. the geochemical composition and the age agree with those of the Saksunarvatn tephra. which was first found on the Faroe Islands. The position of the tephra layer in the pollen stratigraphy and in the absolute time-scale is discussed. Procedures for locating the tephra in other cores are suggested.

Neogene silicoflaggelates in ODP Leg 104 holes

A quantative study was made of silicoflagellates recovered from Sites 642 (lower Miocene-upper Pliocene), 643 (lower Miocene-upper Miocene), and 644 (upper Pliocene-Quaternary) on the Voring Plateau. Although disconformities are present in these sequences, they represent a much more complete record of the Neogene than was recovered previously in the Norwegian Sea by DSDP Leg 38. Silicoflagellates are rare or absent for glacial sequences younger than 2.65 Ma, and generally sparse and poorly preserved in the lower upper Pliocene and upper Miocene. Lower and middle Miocene assemblages are diverse and generally well preserved. Temporal changes in the silicoflagellate assemblage are indicative of major paleoceanographic changes in the Norwegian Sea. A regional zonation for the Neogene of the Norwegian Sea is proposed, consisting of eleven zones: Naviculopsis lata Zone, N. quadrata Zone (emended), N. ponticula Zone (emended), Distephanus speculum hemisphaericus Zone (new), Caryocha ernestinae Zone (new), Bachmannocena circulus var. apiculata/Caryocha Zone (new), Distephanus crux scutulatus Zone (new), Bachmannocena diodon nodosa Zone (new), Distephanus boliviensis Zone (new), Ds. jimlingii Zone (elevated from subzonal to zonal status) with Subzones a and b (new), and Ds. speculum Zone (new). The ranges and abundances of over 100 species and morphotypes are tabulated.

(Table 1) Stratigraphic occurrence and fossil content of fossiliferous horizons in southern north Victoria Land

In contrast to the adjacent parts of the Transantarctic Mountains, the Mesozoic macrofossil record of north Victoria Land remains poorly documented. During the Ninth German Antarctic North Victoria Land Expedition (GANOVEX IX 2005/2006) twelve fossil sites in southern north Victoria Land were discovered and sampled. Fossils from the Triassic to Early Jurassic Section Peak Formation were collected from Archambault Ridge, Anderton Glacier, Skinner Ridge, Timber Peak, Vulcan Hills, Runaway Hills, Section Peak and Shafer Peak. These localities have yielded abundant fossil wood and compressions of horsetails, ferns, and seed ferns. In addition, several beetle elytra were found at Timber Peak. Fossil localities of the overlying Shafer Peak Formation and Exposure Hill-type deposits occur at Shafer Peak and in the Mount Carson area, and have yielded various trace fossils, permineralized wood, leaf compressions, and conchostracans. Two newly discovered fossil sites are associated with the late Early Jurassic Kirkpatrick lava flows. Upright-standing tree trunks have been recorded at Suture Bench, and highly fossiliferous sedimentary interbeds occur at the southwestern end of the Mesa Range. Of special interest is the exquisite fossil preservation at some of the sites. Compression fossils from Timber Peak and Shafer Peak contain well-preserved cuticles, which is very rare in the Antarctic. An Early Jurassic permineralized deposit at Mount Carson contains structurally preserved ferns. Furthermore, the arthropod fossils from sedimentary interbeds at the Mesa Range are preserved in minute detail, including antennae and limb spines of a blattid insect.

Late Pliocene dinoflagellate cyst and diatom analysis from a high resolution sequence in DSDP Site 594, Chatham Rise, south west Pacific

A high resolution mixed carbonate and siliciclastic sequence from DSDP Site 594 contains a detailed record of climate change in the late Pliocene. The sequence can be accurately dated by the LAD of Nitzschia weaveri, the LAD of Thalassiosira insigna, the LAD of T. vulnifica and the LAD of T. kolbei diatom datums. Carbonate content and delta18O signatures provide added resolution and place the sequence between isotope stage 100 and 92. The sequence contains well-preserved and diverse dinoflagellate cyst floras. Use of principal component (PCA) and canonical correspondence analyses (CCA) identifies changes in the assemblages that principally reflect warming and cooling trends. Species association with warmer climates included Impagidinium patulum, I. paradoxum and I. sp. cf. paradoxum while those from cooler climates include Invertecysta tabulata and I. velorum. CCA is shown to be a valuable method of determining the past environmental preferences of extinct species such as I. tabulata.

Biostratigraphical investigations of Lago d'Averno, near Naples

Remains of diatoms, molluscs, ostracods, foraminifera and pollen exines preserved in the sediments of Lago d'Averno, a volcanic lake in the Phlegrean Fields west of Naples, allowed us to reconstruct the changes in the ecological conditions of the lake and of the vegetation around it for the period from 800 BC to 800 AD. Lago d'Averno was at first a freshwater lake, temporarily influenced by volcanic springs. Salinity increased slowly during Greek times as a result of subsidence of the surrounding land. Saline conditions developed only after the lake was connected with the sea by a canal, when Portus Julius was built in 37 BC. The first post-Roman period of uplift ended with a short freshwater phase during the 7th century after Christ. Deciduous oakwoods around the lake was transformed into a forest of evergreen oaks in Greek times and thrived there - apparently almost uninfluenced by man - until it was felled, when the Avernus was incorporated into the new Roman harbour in 37 BC, to construct a shipyard and other military buildings there. Land-use was never more intense than during Roman times and weakest in Greek and Early Roman times, when the Avernus was considered a holy place, the entrance to the underworld.

Silicoflaggelates from ODP Leg 120 on the Kerguelen Plateau

The biostratigraphic distribution and abundance of Eocene to Pleistocene silicoflagellates is documented from Ocean Drilling Program Leg 120 Holes 747A, 748A, 748B, 749B, and 751A on the Central Kerguelen Plateau. Well-preserved silicoflagellates are reported here from the middle Eocene Dictyocha grandis Zone to the Pleistocene Distephanus speculum speculum Zone. Assemblage diversity and abundance is variable, with many intervals either barren of silicoflagellates or containing only limited numbers.

Planktonic foraminifera stratigraphy and datum events of ODP Leg 198 sites

During Leg 198 of the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP), Paleogene sediments were recovered form 10 holes at four sites along a bathymetric transect from the Southern High of Shatsky Rise. In terms of age, the Paleogene successions span from the Cretaceous/Paleocene boundary to the early Oligocene. Sediments are mainly composed of tan nannofossil ooze with scattered darker layers richer in clay. This data report concerns planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy from three holes, specifically Hole 1209A (water depth = 2387 m), Hole 1210A (water depth = 2573 m), and Hole 1211A (water depth = 2907 m). The thickness of Paleogene sediments is 105.90 m in Hole 1209A, 95.05 m in Hole 1210A, and 56.11 m in the deepest Hole 1211A. Preliminary investigations conducted on board revealed that at Site 1209 the succession was mostly complete, whereas the succession was more condensed at Site 1211.