Biology of Planktonic Foraminifera

1982 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 51-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan W.H. Bé
Keyword(s):  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Planktonic Foraminifera ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Major Portion ◽  
Utilitarian Value ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Biostratigraphic Correlation ◽  
Deep Sea Sediments ◽  
History Of

The history of investigations of planktonic foraminifera leading to their current, wide applications in biostratigraphic correlation of Mesozoic and Cenozoic marine sediments can be traced to the discovery by Owen (1867) of the floating habit of certain foraminifera, later confirmed by Brady (1884), and the recognition by Murray and Renard (1891) that their shells constitute a major portion of deep-sea sediments over large regions of the seafloor. The utilitarian value of planktonic foraminifera in paleoecological analysis is also widely accepted today. Fortunately for students of paleoecology, many species of planktonic foraminifera are still extant and live in large numbers in all oceanic regions. Their areal, vertical and seasonal occurrences have been resolved to such a degree that a global synthesis of their distribution patterns is now available (e.g. Bradshaw, 1959; Belyaeva, 1964; Be and Tolderlund, 1971).

Permeability of Marine Sediments and Tropical Volcanic Soils

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Horst G. Brandes
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Carbonate Content ◽  
Clayey Soils ◽  
Index Properties ◽  
Volcanic Soils ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Deep Sea Sediments ◽  
Tropical Volcanic Soils

Permeability values for a range of fine-grained deep-sea sediments are presented and evaluated in terms of index properties such as plasticity, grain size and carbonate content. It is found that whereas clay-rich sediments have similar permeabilities to those of equivalent land-based fine-grained soils, the presence of volcanic, carbonate and other non-clay fractions tends to increase permeability somewhat. Volcanic silty-clayey soils from Hawaii have comparable permeability values, although they can be slightly more permeable.

scholarly journals Global Change and the Biostratigraphy of North Atlantic Cainozoic deep water Ostracoda

1991 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin C. Whatley ◽  
Graham P. Coles
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Drake Passage ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Faunal Turnover ◽  
Extinction Rates ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Total Fauna

Abstract. The biostratigraphical distribution of deep-sea (>1000m) Palaeocene to Recent benthonic Ostracoda, based on nannofossil NP and NN zones is presented. By excluding very rare species and those represented by juveniles, 184 species are used in constructing range tables from a total fauna for the interval of 230 species. The vertical distribution of these specimens clearly allows of the recognition of all the major stratigraphical units within the Cainozoic and is also sufficiently precise to distinguish most of the nannofossil zones. The principal criteria employed are the first and last appearances of taxa. While eminently possible to create a series of ostracod zones, it is argued that they are best employed in the recognition of particular levels within the existing nannofossil scheme. The interpretation of the range tables is complicated in places by large numbers of Lazarus taxa and also by the fact that many of the ‘originations’ actually record the arrival of immigrants from the Indo-Pacific.Graphs of both simple and cumulative species diversity, and of origination and extinction rates, are used to demonstrate major faunal events such as the first arrival in the area, during the Middle Eocene, of cosmopolitan deep-sea species, or the very marked, but stepped, Palaeogene-Neogene faunal turnover. The distribution patterns of the Ostracoda record such global changes as the formation of the psychrosphere and the inception of a marked thermocline but they do not, as other authors have suggested, indicate a dramatic faunal turnover at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. The more vigorous circulation patterns of the Oligocene, related to the opening of the Drake Passage, are reflected in enhanced ostracod diversity at that time. Elevated late Oligocene extinction rates may be correlated with cooling consequent upon the growth of polar ice. Similarly, Lower Miocene low levels of diversity may be associated with the closure of the Iberian Portal and the effective isolation of the Tethys. The deep-sea ostracods do not, for the most part, record such events as the mid-Pliocene warming nor Quaternary climatic fluctuations.

Plankton Ecology and the Paleoceanographic–Climatic Record

1982 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Loubere
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Planktonic Foraminifera ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Biological Production ◽  
Globigerinoides Ruber ◽  
Neogloboquadrina Pachyderma ◽  
Fossil Material ◽  
Deep Sea Sediments ◽  
Climatic Record ◽  
Relative Abundances

AbstractThe paleoceanographic–climatic record represented by deep-sea microfossils reflects conditions for only certain times of the year. Also, the relative abundances of microfossil species in deep-sea sediments do not usually reflect only one paleoceanographic variable, such as temperature. Rather, species distributions represent the integration of many factors that control biological production in the oceans. This influences the information on past climates that can be extracted from fossil material. The seasonal limitation is due to the cyclic nature of biological production in the open ocean. Case studies of the sediment record in the Atlantic for two species of planktonic Foraminifera, left-coiling Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (Ehrenberg) and Globigerinoides ruber (d'Orbigny), illustrate seasonal bias in environmental data reported by the relative abundances of species in deep-sea sediments. In addition, the study of G. ruber illustrates the operation of two oceanographic parameters in controlling a species distribution. These examples demonstrate that the environmental signal in the sediments is the result of the interplay of the ecological tolerance of the plankton species with seasonally variable biological and physical properties of the upper ocean.

scholarly journals Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Deep-Sea Sediments from the Ultraslow-Spreading Southwest Indian Ridge: Implications for Hydrothermal Input and Igneous Host Rock

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 138
Author(s):  
Xian Chen ◽  
Xiaoming Sun ◽  
Zhongwei Wu ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Xiao Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Source Rock ◽  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Surface Sediment ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Host Rock ◽  
Southwest Indian Ridge ◽  
Sedimentary Environments ◽  
Sediment Types ◽  
Deep Sea Sediments ◽  
Indian Ridge

Detailed mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of typical surface sediments and hydrothermal deposits collected from the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) were studied by high-resolution XRD, SEM-EDS, XRF, and ICP-MS. The SWIR marine samples can be generally classified into two main categories: surface sediment (biogenic, volcanic) and hydrothermal-derived deposit; moreover, the surface sediment can be further classified into metalliferous and non-metalliferous based on the metalliferous sediment index (MSI). The chemical composition of biogenic sediment (mainly biogenic calcite) was characterized by elevated contents of Ca, Ba, Rb, Sr, Th, and light rare earth elements (LREE), while volcanic sediment (mainly volcanogenic debris) was relatively enriched in Mn, Mg, Al, Si, Ni, Cr, and high field strength elements (HFSEs). By contrast, the hydrothermal-derived deposit (mainly pyrite-marcasite, chalcopyrite-isocubanite, and low-temperature cherts) contained significantly higher contents of Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb, Mn, Co, Mo, Ag, and U. In addition, the metalliferous surface sediment contained a higher content of Cu, Mn, Fe, Co, Mo, Ba, and As. Compared with their different host (source) rock, the basalt-hosted marine sediments contained higher contents of Ti–Al–Zr–Sc–Hf and/or Mo–Ba–Ag; In contrast, the peridotite-hosted marine sediments were typically characterized by elevated concentrations of Mg–Cu–Ni–Cr and/or Co–Sn–Au. The differences in element enrichment and mineral composition between these sediment types were closely related to their sedimentary environments (e.g., near/far away from the vent sites) and inherited from their host (source) rock. Together with combinations of certain characteristic elements (such as Al–Fe–Mn and Si–Al–Mg), relict hydrothermal products, and diagnostic mineral tracers (e.g., nontronite, SiO2(bio), olivine, serpentine, talc, sepiolite, pyroxene, zeolite, etc.), it would be more effective to differentiate the host rock of deep-sea sediments and to detect a possible hydrothermal input.

Diversity of Planktonic Foraminifera in Deep-Sea Sediments

Science ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 168 (3937) ◽  
pp. 1345-1347 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. Berger ◽  
F. L. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Planktonic Foraminifera ◽  
Deep Sea Sediments
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