Palynology of the Late Tertiary Sequence at Site 365, Leg 40, Deep Sea Drilling Project

Abstract

Palynological examination of cores from Site 365 situated in the Angola Basin off the west coast of Africa give a late Tertiary age for Cores 4 to 7 but a Late Cretaceous age for the shallower Core 3. In an attempt to reach the salt at the base of the Cretaceous sequence in the Angola Basin, Site 365 was located over a submarine canyon to take advantage of a thinner Cretaceous section. The abandonment of the hole while still in Tertiary sediments as indicated by Core 7 suggests that the younger sediments filling the canyon were not entirely penetrated.The Late Cretaceous fossils from Core 3 can be interpreted to indicate the presence within the canyon fill of either slumped or faulted blocks from the canyon walls.