Quantitative calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments from the Eratosthenes Seamount region in the eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

Quantitative methods were used to document the abundance patterns of selected Pleistocene and Pliocene calcareous nannofossil species from four Ocean Drilling Program sites in the Eratosthenes Seamount region of the Eastern Mediterranean. Results show that many similarities exist between the species abundance patterns reported in this study and the abundance patterns from other geologic sequences in the Western and Central Mediterranean. Unconformities, likely associated with Pleistocene tectonic movement of the subducting Eratosthenes Seamount, limit the correlation of some biostratigraphic events. Despite the limitations caused by local tectonic erosion at Sites 965, 966, and 968, the geologic section recovered from Site 967 appears minimally affected and presents a high-resolution reference section for the Eastern Mediterranean. Three biostratigraphic events are proposed to refine correlation of the Pliocene geologic sections in the Eastern Mediterranean.