Indo-Pacific Biostratigraphy of the Oligocene-Miocene Transition

Nannofossil and planktic foraminiferal data from three marginal-marine sections in the Indo-Pacific region analyze the timing of key species appearances around the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. The study, published by the Australian Ocean Data Network, investigates discrepancies in biostratigraphic events between shallow and deep oceanic sediments. It proposes a combined planktic foraminiferal zone and a buffer zone to represent the boundary transition.

Use Cases

• Correlate stratigraphic sections using the lowest occurrence datum of Globigerinoides quadrilobatus primordius across different depositional depths.
• Define a buffer zone for the Oligocene-Miocene transition using the extinction datum of Sphenolithus ciperoensis and the base range datum of Sphenolithus belemnos.
• Analyze the co-occurrence of Globorotalia opima opima with G. quadrilobatus primordius to refine planktic foraminiferal zones N.3 and N.4.
• Investigate bathymetric controls on fossil records by comparing species assemblages in marginal-marine versus deep oceanic sediments.

Strengths

• Analysis based on three distinct marginal-marine sections within the Indo-Pacific region.
• Incorporates published literature data to validate and extend findings from the core sections.

Limitations

• Sample size is limited to three primary study sections.
• Data format is a published PDF/HTML study, not a structured, machine-readable table.
• Temporal precision for the Oligocene-Miocene boundary is described as tenuous within the study.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Biostratigraphic analysis of sediment samples from field sections, supplemented by literature review.

Time Range

Latest Oligocene to earliest Miocene.

Freshness

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Geography

Indo-Pacific region, specifically three marginal-marine sections.