Calcareous nannofossil abundance and datums of ODP Holes 171B-1051A and 171B-1052A

During Ocean Drilling Program Leg 171B, a thick sequence of lower to middle Eocene sediments was recovered from Sites 1051 and 1052 at Blake Nose in the North Atlantic Ocean. Calcareous nannofossils are moderately well preserved in the upper to middle Eocene sediments but are moderate to poorly preserved in the lower Eocene sediments. Calcareous nannofossils are diverse throughout the recovered sequence, which extends from nannofossil Zone CP8 to Subzone CP15a. The nannofossil biostratigraphy of these sites indicates the presence of a hiatus in Subzone CP12a in the middle Eocene, in which the major nannofossil assemblage changes dramatically from Toweius to reticulofenestrid; however, no major change in the nannoflora was observed across the Eocene/Paleocene boundary. Coccolith size evolution patterns were recognized. Coccolithus, Reticulofenestra, and Cribrocentrum specimens may suggest a trend of increasing size upward through the sedimentary sequence, but Dictyococcites does not show a similar simple trend. Most traditional zonal markers are present. The reworking of Discoaster sublodoensis and overgrowth of Tribrachiatus in the lower Eocene makes zonal subdivision of this part of the sequence difficult. For this reason, tentative nannofossil zonation is given for the lower Eocene.

Abundance of planktic foraminiferal species in sediments at DSDP Sites 10-95, 77-536, and 77-540

Over most of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean a hiatus is present between the lower upper Maastrichtian and lowermost Tertiary deposits; sedimentation resumed ~200 ka (upper zone Pla) after the K-T boundary. Current-bedded volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks at Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Sites 536 and 540, which were previously interpreted as impact-generated megawave deposits of K-T boundary age, are biostratigraphically of pre-K-T boundary age and probably represent turbidite or gravity-How deposits. The top 10 to 20 cm of this deposit at Site 536 contains very rare Micula prinsii, the uppermost Maastrichtian index taxon, as well as low values of Ir (0.6 pbb) and rare Ni-rich spinels. These indicate possible reworking of sediments of K-T boundary age at the hiatus. Absence of continuous sediment accumulation across the K-T boundary in the 16 Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean sections examined prevents their providing evidence of impact-generated megawave deposits in this region. Our study indicates that the most complete trans-K-T stratigraphic records may be found in onshore marine sections of Mexico, Cuba, and Haiti. The stratigraphic records of these areas should be investigated further for evidence of impact deposits.

(Table 1) Radiolarians in the Oligocene-Miocene at DSDP Hole 72-515B

The Neogene of the southwestern Atlantic is virtually barren of biogenic silica. Of the four sites drilled on Leg 72, only two contained identifiable radiolarian specimens. In the southwestern Brazil Basin (Site 515), radiolarians are present only from the upper Oligocene (Anomaly 8, about 28 Ma) to the middle Miocene (Zone NN8, about 11.5 Ma). On the Rio Grande Rise (Site 516), radiolarians are present only within a short interval of the lower Miocene (Zones N5-N6, about 18-20 Ma). The abrupt cessation of silica deposition in the upper middle Miocene is characteristic of many drill sites in the tropical and temperate Atlantic and implies that a major oceanographic "threshold" was exceeded at this time, allowing the Atlantic waters to become either less productive or relatively silica deficient. Siliceous microfossils are notably more abundant in Oligocene-Miocene sediments of deep regions where carbonate preservation is poor (Site 515) than in equivalent carbonate-rich strata nearby (Site 516). This discrepancy suggests that the presence of calcareous microfossils may act to enhance post-depositional dissolution of biogenic silica tests by elevating the pH of the surrounding pore waters. Carbonate-free clays, by contrast, may provide a more favorable chemical environment for silica preservation.

(Table 1) Radiolarians of ODP Hole 129-801B

Middle Jurassic radiolarians have been recovered from the western Pacific for the first time. The oldest faunas are assigned to the middle and upper Tricolocapsa conexa Zone, indicating a Bathonian/Callovian age. The faunas contain more than 30 species and are characterized by an abundance of small nassellarians with a constricted distal end. The faunas compare well with Tethyan faunas, and are especially similar to Japanese faunas.