Middle Miocene to Quaternary diatom biostratigraphy of DSDP Site 90-594

A diatom biostratigraphy is presented for middle Miocene through Quaternary sediments recovered from the Chatham Rise east of New Zealand's South Island. The upper 590 m of the 639.5-m composite-section Site 594 represents approximately 16 m.y. and is characterized by moderately to very poorly preserved diatoms of antarctic to temperate affinity. Pliocene through Quaternary assemblages are poorly preserved and dominated by antarctic-subantarctic species which provide detailed biostratigraphic control. Recognized are 11 of 14 zones of the middle upper Miocene to Quaternary Neogene Southern Ocean diatom zonation (NSD 7-NSD 20) of Ciesielski (1983; this chapter). Four Neogene Southern Ocean diatom zones (NSD 3-NSD 6) are recognized in the lower middle Miocene to middle upper Miocene of Site 594. Assemblages of this interval have a mixed high-latitude and temperate affinity; however, poor preservation limits correlation to high- and temperate-latitude zonal schemes. Neogene North Pacific diatom zones and subzones of NNPD 3 through NNPD 5 (Barron, in press, b) are correlated to Neogene Southern Ocean diatom zones NSD 3 through NSD 7: the upper portions of the Actinocyclus ingens Zone (NNPD 3) is correlative to the upper Nitzschia maleinterpretaria Zone (NSD 3); the Denticulopsis lauta Zone (NNPD 4) and Subzones a and b are correlative to the lower Coscinodiscus lewisianus Zone (NSD 4); and the D. hustedtü-D. lauta Zone (NNPD 5) and its Subzones a through d encompass the upper C. lewisianus Zone (NSD 4), N. grossepunctata Zone (NSD 5), N. denticuloides Zone (NSD 6), and the lower D. hustedtii-D. lauta Zone (NSD 7). A major disconformity spans the late Gilbert to early Gauss Chron (3.9-2.8 Ma). A second disconformity brackets the Miocene/Pliocene boundary; the section missing covers late Chron 5 and the early Gilbert chron (5.5-4.6 Ma). The remainder of the siliceous-fossil-bearing Miocene sediments at Site 594 appear to be correlative to lower paleomagnetic Chronozone 5 through upper Chronozone 16. Uppermost lower Miocene or lowermost middle Miocene sediments in the basal 50 m of Hole 594A are barren of diatoms.

Late Quaternary carbonate and isotope stratigraphy of DSDP Site 90-594 east of South Island, New Zealand

The late Quaternary sequence off eastern South Island, New Zealand, consists of ~100 m of alternating bluish gray pelagic oozes and greenish gray hemipelagic oozes that extend uninterruptedly back to the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary (0.73 m.y.). A very high resolution (~2400 yr.) record of sediment texture, calcium carbonate content, and planktonic and benthic foraminiferal oxygen and carbon isotope composition demonstrates an in-phase cyclical fluctuation between the sedimentary parameters that closely correspond to the pelagic-hemipelagic sedimentation cycles and the isotope composition. Pelagic oozes, formed during interglacial periods of high eustatic sea level, are characterized by calcareous microfossils, relative enrichment in sand and clay sizes, high carbonate contents, reduced delta18O values, and increased delta13C values. Hemipelagic oozes, associated with glacial episodes and lowered eustatic sea level, include common terrigenous material and siliceous microfossils, are enriched in silt sizes, have low carbonate contents, high delta18O values, and low delta13C values. The history of alpine glaciations and associated erosion of the South Island of New Zealand, as expressed by the appearance of hemipelagic oozes, can be correlated directly with the major fluctuations of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets as expressed by the influence of eustatic sea-level changes on the oxygen isotope composition of both planktonic and benthic foraminifers. This high-accumulation-rate record contains conspicuous intervals of highfrequency, high-amplitude isotope variability including the presence of multiple glacial/interglacial intervals within single isotope stages, and offers one of the best sections cored to date for detailed study of the evolution and history of climate change over the last 0.75 m.y.

Fossil record of Mollusca from Neogene sediments in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Über die Verbreitung, Gliederung und Ausbildung des Jungtertiärs im westlichen Schleswig-Holstein war bisher nicht viel bekannt. Am besten bearbeitet sind die glazial gestauchten Schollen von Morsum/Sylt. Eine Aufzählung erbohrter Miozänvorkommen mit nicht immer überzeugender Begründung lieferte H.-L. HECK 1935. S. THIELE (1941) hat die ihm bekannten Vorkommen hauptsächlich nach faziellen und petrographischen Gesichtspunkten bearbeitet. Er erkannte richtig die Stellung der Braunkohlensande. Die angekündigte palaeontologische Bearbeitung ist nicht erschienen. Eine allgemeine Übersicht über die Entwicklung des Jungtertiärs bringen W. WOLFE und H.-L. HECK 1949. W. HINSCH lieferte wertvolle Beiträge zur Molluskenfauna und zur Gliederung des Miozäns (1952, 1955). Über neue Vorkommen von Braunkohlen-Sanden berichtete E. DITTMER(1 956), eine erste Übersicht über neue Vorkommen der Hemmoorer Stufe gab derselbe Verfasser 1957.

Data compilation on the biological response to ocean acidification: environmental and experimental context of data sets and related literature

The exponential growth of studies on the biological response to ocean acidification over the last few decades has generated a large amount of data. To facilitate data comparison, a data compilation hosted at the data publisher PANGAEA was initiated in 2008 and is updated on a regular basis (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.149999). By January 2015, a total of 581 data sets (over 4 000 000 data points) from 539 papers had been archived. Here we present the developments of this data compilation five years since its first description by Nisumaa et al. (2010). Most of study sites from which data archived are still in the Northern Hemisphere and the number of archived data from studies from the Southern Hemisphere and polar oceans are still relatively low. Data from 60 studies that investigated the response of a mix of organisms or natural communities were all added after 2010, indicating a welcomed shift from the study of individual organisms to communities and ecosystems. The initial imbalance of considerably more data archived on calcification and primary production than on other processes has improved. There is also a clear tendency towards more data archived from multifactorial studies after 2010. For easier and more effective access to ocean acidification data, the ocean acidification community is strongly encouraged to contribute to the data archiving effort, and help develop standard vocabularies describing the variables and define best practices for archiving ocean acidification data.