Calcareous nannofossil quantitative biostratigraphy of Holes 969E and 963B (eastern Mediterranean)

Abstract

The distribution patterns of the selected biostratigraphically useful calcareous nannofossils were analyzed in the Pliocene-Pleistocene sequences of Holes 969E and 963B drilled during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 160 (Eastern Mediterranean). Quantitative methods were used to verify the reliability of the sequence of calcareous nannofossil events detected during ODP Leg 107, Site 653 in the Western Mediterranean. In the Mediterranean record, just above the base of the Zanclean, the Reticulofenestra pseudoumbilicus paracme interval can be used to improve biostratigraphic resolution in the basal Pliocene record. At the base of the sequence of Hole 969E only the uppermost part of the Reticulofenestra pseudoumbilicus paracme was identified. It is concluded, therefore, that a short segment is not present at the local base of the Pliocene.