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Time and taphonomy: Actualistic evidence for time-averaging of benthic foraminiferal assemblages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 July 2017

Ronald E. Martin
Ronald E. Martin*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716
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Extract

For more than half a century, microfossils–especially foraminifera–have been widely used as stratigraphic markers and paleoenvironmental indicators. Although increasing emphasis has been placed on their use in high-resolution paleoclimate studies, the time-scales involved in most microfossil-based stratigraphic investigations have remained relatively coarse (hundreds-of-thousands to millions of years). My intent herein is to try to come to grips with the interplay between time-averaging of benthic foraminiferal assemblages and stratigraphic resolution, and the implications for recognition of short-term physical and biological processes. These sorts of considerations deserve much closer scrutiny as the applied Earth sciences continue to move from a base of resource exploration and exploitation to one of paleoclimate modelling and ecosystem management (Martin, 1991; Corliss, 1993). The potential stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental resolution of foraminiferal assemblages is assessed using concepts derived from the age analysis of deep-sea assemblages.

Type
Research Article
Information
Short Courses in Paleontology , Volume 6: Taphonomic Approaches to Time Resolution in Fossil Assemblages , 1993 , pp. 34 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © 1993 Paleontological Society 

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