A review of calcareous nannofossil astrobiochronology encompassing the past 25 million years

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.07.007Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper presents a review of (astrobiochronological) calibration of Recent to late Oligocene calcareous nannofossil datum events. Biohorizons included in the paper are those of the widely used “standard” nannofossil zonations of Martini, E. [1971. Standard Tertiary and Quaternary calcareous nannoplankton zonation. In: Farinacci, A. (Ed.), Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Planktonic Microfossils Roma. Rome, Ed. Tecnosci. vol. 2, pp. 739–785], and Okada, H., and Bukry, D. [1980. Supplementary Modification and Introduction of Code Numbers to the Low-Latitude Coccolith Biostratigraphy Zonation (Bukry, 1973, 1975). Marine Micropaleontology 51, 321–325], as well as supplementary biohorizons proposed in the literature. The biohorizons have been selected on the basis of the unambiguous taxonomy of the index taxa and their biostratigraphic usefulness. We emphasise the application of rigorous methodology in nannofossil studies which permits an evaluation of biohorizons in terms of reliability, and calibrates their potential correlatability. Astrochronological age estimates rely on the Geologic timescale developed by the ICS in 2004, with some new calibrations included. We provide an overview of the relative position of biohorizons versus the astronomically calibrated ages of magnetic reversals and reference isotope stratigraphies. Surprisingly, there are still few high-resolution quantitative biostratigraphic studies of astrochronologically tuned sections in spite of the central role of such studies in addressing fundamental problems such as the tempo and mode of plankton evolution.

Introduction

The age control in marine sediments has come a long way since the first biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic records were combined to achieve a better understanding of age/depth relationships in deep-sea cores (Harrison and Funnell, 1964; Harrison, 1966; Opdyke et al., 1966). In the three decades following the middle 1960s, magnetobiochronology was at the centre in the series of marine Cenozoic timescales developed by Berggren et al. (1995), culminating in the 1995 scale. In that scale, Cenozoic chrons/subchrons vary in duration from 0.01 to 3.(01) million years, with an average time distance between two successive chron/subchron boundaries of 0.38 million years. This number thus represents an average of the chronologic resolution that can be reached with the Cenozoic geomagnetic timescale.

A major advance in marine stratigraphy occurred when Shackleton and Opdyke (1973) placed the “established oxygen isotope stratigraphy within the palaeomagnetic framework”, which enabled them to date boundaries of 22 stages, using Emiliani, 1955, Emiliani, 1966 stage nomenclature, in core V28–238 from the Ontong-Java Plateau. Oxygen isotope stratigraphy was thus used to subdivide time within the Brunhes and late Matuyama chrons, although the age calibration of this subdivision still relied on linear interpolation between the core top (Holocene) and the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary. A truly revolutionary move forward with respect to dating of marine sediments occurred with the landmark publication of Hays et al. (1976). They demonstrated, for the first time, that different properties in deep-sea sediments unambiguously preserved a record of Milankovitch cyclicity. This was not only a breakthrough per se, but also opened the possibility of using orbital cycles as an independent means of (absolute) geological dating of sediments and sedimentary rocks. This paper thus laid the foundation for the development of astrochronology and for subdividing geologic time within single geomagnetic polarity zones. The resolution offered by astrochronology is roughly one order of magnitude better than the Cenozoic geomagnetic polarity timescale, on the 104 rather than the 105 year scale.

In the middle 1970s, when the Hays, Imbrie and Shackleton paper was published, deep-sea cores being relatively undisturbed by the coring process were still restricted to piston cores, implying that studies of orbital-induced variability in deep-sea sediments by-and-large were limited to Pleistocene records, such as that of Thierstein et al. (1977). They employed Oxygen Isotope Stages to date a series of Pleistocene calcareous nannofossil events, thereby taking an important first step towards astrobiochronology. A new tool was at hand to improve biochronologic resolution within magnetochrons having single polarity directions. Thierstein and others were innovative also in presenting abundance plots together with isotope data and in using an unconventional biohorizon based on census data, the cross-over in dominance between two species.

In the middle 1970s, the coring techniques employed by the Deep-Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) did not yet provide core material of sufficiently good quality to permit orbital studies of longer time intervals because such studies require undisturbed core material and complete recovery. DSDP sediment cores were often severely disturbed by the coring process and recovery was generally closer to 50% than 100%. When DSDP developed the Hydraulic Piston Corer (see cover photo of JOIDES Journal, vol. V, no. 2, 1979), both core quality and core recovery were fundamentally improved. Still, a new drilling strategy was adopted in order to generate complete and undisturbed deep-sea sediment sequences. This strategy involved multiple penetration of the sediment column at a given drilling site location. The different holes were located a few tens of meters from each other. Similarly, core boundaries in the different holes were vertically offset by a few meters. From such multiply penetrated sediment sections, a composite complete sediment sequence was generated that permitted continuous high-resolution sampling (Ruddiman et al., 1987). Once this deep-sea coring strategy was formulated, the critical prerequisites were in place to permit the extension of the astro(bio)chronologic timescale beyond the Pleistocene realm.

In the years following the Hays et al. (1976) paper, much effort was invested in demonstrating the influence of orbital forcing in marine as well as in non-marine records (e.g., Berger et al., 1982). But there was yet no strong push within the marine biostratigraphy community to take advantage of the resolution offered by astrochronology to improve age estimates of biostratigraphic datums. Biostratigraphy still relied chiefly on the range-chart method, presenting qualitative information using sample spacing intervals of meters rather than centimeters. But when Raymo et al. (1989) refined the age estimates of two Pliocene calcareous nannofossil and two planktic foraminiferal biohorizons using the tuned δ18O record of DSDP Site 607 in the mid-latitude North Atlantic, another important step was taken towards astrobiochronology.

Concomitantly, Shackleton and Hall (1989) and Shackleton et al. (1990) established a Pleistocene and late Pliocene oxygen isotope stratigraphy at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 677 from the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, in which a handful of nannofossil, foraminiferal and radiolarian biohorizons were calibrated to astrochronologically dated Oxygen Isotope Stages. The 1990 paper presented the first revision of age estimates of (Pleistocene) geomagnetic polarity boundaries using astronomically tuned δ18O data, thereby firmly establishing astronomical tuning as an independent, and important additional dating tool.

The first comprehensive attempt to directly calibrate a larger suite of Plio-Pleistocene calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphic events to the astrochronologic timescale, via oxygen isotope stratigraphy, was made in two papers published 4 months apart in Paleoceanography. Wei (1993) presented data in range-chart format from several DSDP and ODP sites including Sites 607 and 677. Shortly afterwards, Raffi et al. (1993) also focussed on these two sites. The two studies differed in approach, qualitative (Wei) versus quantitative (Raffi), and sample intervals. Wei's samples in Site 677 were spaced an average 144 cm apart. Raffi et al. consistently used a sample spacing interval that was (about) ten times shorter in Sites 607 and 677, which yielded more precise determinations of the depth, and thus age, uncertainties of the biohorizons.

In the early 1990s, a group of Dutch scientists began their series of papers on astronomical calibration of Neogene cyclical lithologic variations in the Mediterranean area. In the early publications (e.g., Hilgen, 1991a, Hilgen, 1991b; Langereis and Hilgen, 1991; Lourens et al., 1992), they only calibrated planktic foraminiferal datums, but subsequently also calcareous nannofossils were included. This group of scientists has continued to use cyclic variations in sediment lithology to establish an astrochronologic timescale from a middle latitude setting in Mediterranean sections. Their Mediterranean reference records are anchored in the present and extend deep into the Miocene (Hilgen et al., 2003). In the low latitudes, astrobiochronologic estimates have been pushed back into the Miocene (ODP Leg 138) and subsequently into the Oligocene (ODP Leg 154) (Shackleton et al., 1995a, Shackleton et al., 1995b, Shackleton et al., 1999).

But despite these efforts, there are still relatively few astrochronologically tuned sections available that are suitable for calibration of evolutionary appearances, extinctions, or other useful biohorizons. And among these sections, even fewer have been employed to establish biostratigraphies that combine census data with the use of the smallest meaningful sample interval for determination of the biohorizons.

Astrobiochronologic data represent a key component in age model reconstructions, one of the corner-stones of paleoceanography, and has huge potential to aid determinations of the degree of synchrony of biohorizons over paleogeographic distance. In this review paper, we aim to provide an overview of calcareous nannofossil astrobiochronology encompassing the past 25 million years, with particular emphasis on the relative position of biostratigraphic markers with respect to the astronomically calibrated ages of magnetic reversals and isotope stratigraphies, which allow the extrapolation of these datum events to other localities.

Section snippets

Astronomical timescale

After Hays et al. (1976) demonstrated statistically that orbitally driven climatic variations are indeed recorded in undisturbed sedimentary deep-sea sequences, it became clear that a key to the success of this technique lies in finding continuous sediment records of high-enough sample resolution. If astronomical calculations could be constructed to a high-enough degree of accuracy, the medium-term dream could be one of an astronomically age-calibrated geological timescales that covers the

Biohorizons: which, where and some revised calibrations

The biohorizons considered here are employed in numerous biostratigraphic studies on calcareous nannofossils (Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, Table 4), and many occur in the zonations established from low-latitude deep-sea sediments (Bukry, 1973, Bukry, 1975, Bukry, 1978; Okada and Bukry, 1980) or in middle to low-latitude hemipelagic sediments (Martini, 1971). A fair number of auxiliary biohorizons, which are not used in the above “standard” zonations, are included as well because of their

Aknowledgments

Our research and most of the results reported here are based on samples provided by the Deep-Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) and the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP), sponsored by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and participating countries under management of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI). Funding for I.R., E.F. and D.R. was from the Italian Murst-PRIN (national coordinator I. Premoli Silva). J.B. was supported by the Swedish Research Council. Many thanks to Stefano Castelli

References (119)

  • F.J. Hilgen et al.

    Integrated stratigraphy and astronomical tuning of the Serravallian and lower Tortonian at Monte dei Corvi (middle-upper Miocene, northern Italy)

    Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

    (2003)
  • W. Krijgsman et al.

    The Monte del Casino section (Northern Apennines, Italy): a potential Tortonian/Messinian boundary stratotype

    Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

    (1997)
  • C.G. Langereis et al.

    The Rosello composite: a Mediterranean and global reference section for the early to early late Pliocene

    Earth and Planetary Science Letters

    (1991)
  • L.J. Lourens et al.

    Late Pliocene to early Pleistocene astronomically forced sea surface productivity and temperature variations in the Mediterranean

    Marine Micropaleontology

    (1992)
  • P. Maiorano et al.

    Calcareous nannofossil bioevents and environmental control on temporal and spatial patterns at the early-middle Pleistocene

    Marine Micropaleontology

    (2004)
  • H. Matsuoka et al.

    Quantitative analysis of Quaternary nannoplankton in the subtropical northwestern Pacific Ocean

    Marine Microplaeontology

    (1989)
  • A. Negri et al.

    Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy, biochronology and paleoecology at the Tortonian/Messinian boundary of the Faneromeni section (Crete)

    Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

    (2000)
  • A. Negri et al.

    Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of the Monte del Casino section (northern Apennines, Italy) and paleoceanographic conditions at time of late Miocene sapropel formation

    Marine Micropaleontology

    (1999)
  • H. Okada et al.

    Supplementary modification and introduction of code numbers to the Low Latitude Coccolith Biostratigraphy Zonation (Bukry, 1973, 1975)

    Marine Micropaleontology

    (1980)
  • H. Pälike et al.

    Constraints on astronomical parameters from the geological record for the last 25 Myr

    Earth and Planetary Science Letters

    (2000)
  • I. Raffi

    Revision of the early-middle Pleistocene calcareous nannofossil biochronology (1.75–0.85 Ma)

    Marine Micropaleontology

    (2002)
  • I. Raffi et al.

    Evolutionary trends of calcareous nannofossils in the Late Neogene

    Marine Micropaleontology

    (1998)
  • J. Remane

    Chronostratigraphic correlations: their importance for the definition of geochronologic units

    Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

    (2003)
  • N.J. Shackleton et al.

    Oxygen isotope and palaeomagnetic stratigraphy of equatorial Pacific Core V28-238: oxygen isotope temperatures and ice volumes on a 105 year and 106 year scale

    Quaternary Research

    (1973)
  • H.A. Abels et al.

    Long-period orbital control on middle Miocene global cooling: integrated stratigraphy and astronomical tuning of the Blue Clay Formation on Malta

    Paleoceanography

    (2005)
  • M.P. Aubry

    Handbook of Cenozoic Calcareous Nannoplankton. Book1: ortholithae (Discoasters)

    (1984)
  • M.P. Aubry

    Handbook of Cenozoic Calcareous Nannoplankton. Book 2: Ortholithae (Holococcoliths, Ceratoliths and others)

    (1988)
  • M.P. Aubry

    Handbook of Cenozoic Calcareous Nannoplankton. Book 3: Ortholithae (Pentaliths, and others), Heliolithae (Fasciculiths, Sphenoliths and others)

    (1989)
  • M.P. Aubry

    Handbook of Cenozoic Calcareous Nannoplankton. Book 4: Heliolithae (Helicoliths, Cribriliths, Lapadoliths and others)

    (1990)
  • J. Backman

    Quantitative calcareous nannofossil biochronology of Middle Eocene through Early Oligocene sediment from DSDP Sites 522 and 523. Abhandlungen der

    Geologischen Bundesanstalt A

    (1987)
  • J. Backman

    High-resolution biostratigraphy

  • J. Backman et al.

    Pliocene Discoaster abundance variations, Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 606: biochronology and paleoenvironmental implications

  • J. Backman et al.

    Calibration of Miocene nannofossil events to orbitally tuned cyclostratigraphies from Ceara Rise

  • J. Backman et al.
    (1988)
  • J. Backman et al.

    Neogene low-latitude magnetostratigraphy from Site 710 and revised age estimates of Neogene nannofossil datum events

  • M. Bassett

    Towards a “common language” in stratigraphy

    Episodes

    (1985)
  • A. Berger

    Long term variations of daily insolations and quaternary climatic changes

    Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

    (1978)
  • W.A. Berggren et al.

    A revised Cenozoic geochronology and chronostratigraphy

  • T. Bickert et al.

    Late Pliocene to Holocene (2.6–0 m.y.) western equatorial Atlantic deep water circulation: inferences from benthic stable isotopes

  • D. Bukry

    Low Latitude Coccolith Biostratigraphic Zonation

  • D. Bukry

    New Miocene to Holocene stages in the ocean basins based on calcareous nannoplankton zones

  • D. Bukry

    Biostratigraphy of Cenozoic marine sediments by calcareous nannofossils

    Micropaleontology

    (1978)
  • D. Castradori

    Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and biochronology in the eastern Mediterranean deep-sea cores

    Rivasta Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia

    (1993)
  • W.B. Curry et al.
    (1995)
  • E. De Kaenel et al.

    Pleistocene calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and the western Mediterranean sapropels, Sites 974 to 977 and 979

  • B.W.M. Driever

    Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Mediterranean Pliocene

    Utrecht Micropaleontological Bulletin

    (1988)
  • C. Emiliani

    Pleistocene temperatures

    Journal of Geology

    (1955)
  • C. Emiliani

    Paleotemperature analysis of Caribbean cores P6304-8 and P6304-9 and a generalized termperature curve for the past 425,000 years

    Journal of Geology

    (1966)
  • Fornaciari, E., 1996. Biocronologia a nannofossili calcarei e stratigrafia ad eventi nel Miocene italiano. Unpublished...
  • Cited by (0)

    This paper is dedicated to Professor Sir Nicholas J. Shackleton for his pioneering and seminal work in developing the Astronomical Time Scale, and for his continuous enthusiastic support to our work. Nick had an immense influence for our current views on marine micropaleontology and paleoceanography.

    View full text