Palynostratigraphic analysis of cores from site 493, Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 66 ( DSDP).

Abstract

The continuous analysis of 623.5 m of samples recovered from the three holes at Site 493 resulted in a palynostratigraphic zonation of the site. Eight distinctive zones were established and three unconformities recognized. The succession of assemblages described, from the early Miocene to the Holocene, documents vegetation changes that have taken place on the mainland in the last 20 m.y. These vegetational shifts are in part manifestations of climatic fluctuations. Correlation with the nannoplankton zonation and magnetostratigraphy is fair; magnetostratigraphic correlation is good for the early Miocene. Considerable amounts of data, including the recognition of 531 types of palynomorphs and their frequency distribution in the section, were acquired. -Author