Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Reconstructing Surface Water Carbonate Ion Concentration Changes In The Eastern Equatorial Pacific Across Glacial Transitions, Lenzie Gail Ward

OES Theses and Dissertations

Today, the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) plays a critical role in the global CO₂ budget as a major source of CO₂ to the atmosphere, but recent studies suggest the region may shift to a sink for atmospheric CO₂ under different climate states. Here, I focus on two transitional periods, the last deglaciation (25 kyr to present) and last glaciation (the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5a-4 transition, 96 to 60 kyr), to investigate how the carbon system in the EEP responds to major climate changes. I measured B/Ca ratios in the planktic foraminifera Globigerina bulloides from core MV1014-17JC …

Late Cretaceous Foraminifera As Indicators Of Sequence Boundaries, Book Cliffs, Utah, U.S.A., Kimberly A. Smith

OES Theses and Dissertations

Foraminiferal assemblages were described from three different depositional settings within the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Blackhawk Formation of Utah (known marginal marine environments, known marine environments, and along a suspected sequence boundary). Assemblages from the known marginal marine setting (as defined by sedimentologic-stratigraphic criteria) consisted of entirely agglutinated taxa dominated by Textularia sp. A. Assemblages from the known marine environment consisted of a mix of calcareous and agglutinated species, dominated by calcareous species (e.g., Gavelinella talaria). The foraminiferal assemblages from these known environments provide independent evidence that these sampled areas are characterized by marginal marine and fully marine deposits.

The foraminiferal …

Recent Benthic Foraminifera, Petrology, And Implications For Recent Transport In Wilmington And South Heyes Submarine Canyons, U.S. Atlantic Continental Margin, Jason James Lundquist

OES Theses and Dissertations

Two hundred and forty-six species of benthic foraminifera have been recognized in fourteen short cores (≤ 24cm) taken from within the Wilmington and South Heyes submarine canyons along the slope and rise of the United States Atlantic Continental Margin. Of these one hundred and forty-five species were identified to the species level, thirty were closely related to known species, sixty-six could not be assigned specific names, and five species were of uncertain generic placement. The petrologic character of the sediments was determined for each of the seventy-eight micropaleontogical samples.

Cluster analysis of benthic foraminiferal data identified twelve groups which, together …

Distribution Of Foraminifera And Pollen In Coastal Depositional Environments Of The Southern Delmarva Peninsula, Virginia, U.S.A., Han Jun Woo

OES Theses and Dissertations

The coastal zone of the southern Delmarva Peninsula exhibits a wide variety of barrier island system subenvironments. This study investigates whether 20 a priori subenvironments can be distinguished from each other on the basis of abiotic environmental variables, pollen assemblages, living foraminiferal populations, and total (living plus dead) foraminiferal assemblages.

The physical data collected from the coastal zone were subjected to canonical variate analysis which discriminated 83% of the stations in 19 groups. These groups were clustered into two internally overlapping sets which represented the inside and outside of the inlet.

Twenty-two pollen types were found in low-energy marsh and …

Middle Eocene Foraminifera From The Piney Point Formation Of The Virginia And Maryland Coastal Plain, Megan S. Jones

OES Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the foraminiferal fauna, both benthic and planktonic, of the outcropping (45 samples) and subsurface (31 samples) middle Eocene Piney Point Formation in Virginia and Maryland. The primary objective of this study is to further refine the depositional history of the Salisbury Embayment which is represented by the middle Eocene Piney Point Formation. Ninety-six species of benthic and planktonic foraminifera were identified in this study. Of these, several are characteristic of the middle Eocene: Asterigerina texana, Hanzawaia danvillensis, Ceratobulimina exima, Cibicides westi, Chiloguembelitria columbiana, C. stavensis, Testacarinata inconspicua and Pseudohastigerina wilcoxensislmicra. While these were relatively abundant, diagnostic middle …

Recent Benthic Foraminifera Of Breton And Stake Islands Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Eric S. Collins

OES Theses and Dissertations

Fifty-three species of recent benthic foraminifera and thecamoebians have been documented and described from the Breton and Stake Island area, northern Gulf of Mexico, and from a core from Barataria Basin, Mississippi delta.

Cluster analysis of benthic assemblages using presence/absence and transformed abundance data reveals the presence of a marsh and shallow water marine biofacies. Based on the results of a presence/absence cluster analysis, the shallow water marine biofacies can be subdivided into a miliolid biofacies am an Ammonia beccarii/Elphidium species biofacies. Cluster analysis of transformed abundance data, however, shows that the shallow marine biofacies can be subdivided into four …

Foraminiferal Biostratigraphy And Paleoenvironmental Analysis Of The Anahuac Formation (Late Oligocene-Early Miocene) From A Deep Well In Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, Audrey Lynne Orndorff

OES Theses and Dissertations

In the subsurface of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, sediments from the Anahuac Formation in the #1 J. W. Steen well are assigned an Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene age based on planktonic foraminifera. Previous age determinations for sediments from this formation elsewhere range from Middle to Late Oligocene based on the presence of larger foraminifera contained within these strata. Planktonic foraminifera in Anahuac formation sediments in the #1 J. W. Steen well permit their assignment to an established worldwide zonation scheme and indicate that the age ranges from the Globorotalia kugleri Interval Zone (Upper Oligocene) to the Catapsydrax dissimilis Zone (Lower Miocene). Benthic …

Benthic Foraminifera And Paleoenvironments Of The Arcola Limestone Member Mooreville Formation (Campanian) In Eastern Mississippi And Western Alabama, Julia K. Palmer

OES Theses and Dissertations

Eighty-one species of benthic foraminifera have been recovered from chalky marls of the upper Mooreville Formation including the Arcola Limestone Member, and the basal Demopolis Formation located in five sections in east-central Mississippi and west-central Alabama. These species have been described and seventy-nine illustrated. Analysis of the environmental or depth preferences of abundant species together with planktonic percentages and benthic species diversity, indicates that the chalky marls were deposited in a broad shallow shelf sea (subtidal conditions less than 100m) greatly influenced by open ocean conditions. The benthic assemblage is composed of a mixture of typically neritic and bathyal species …

Foraminiferal Paleoenvironments Of The Eastover Formation (Upper Miocene Virginia), Joann H. Goshorn

OES Theses and Dissertations

Sixty-two taxa representing 29 genera from 39 foraminiferal sample pairs have been documented and analyzed in a paleoenvironmental study of the Eastover Formation in southeastern Virginia. The Eastover Formation consists of a lower Claremont Manor Member, a silt fine-grained sand and an upper Cobham Bay Member, a shelly fine grained sand. Planktonic specimens were rare and indicated a late Miocene to early Pliocene age for the Eastover Formation. Benthics were used to interpret paleoenvironments by comparison with data from the distribution of Recent foraminifera, species diversity, planktonic to benthic ratios, and sediment analyses. The foraminifera indicate that the Eastover Formation …