Calibration of Early Cretaceous dinoflagellate zones from the NWS of Australia to the global time scale through calcareous nannofossils

Palynomorphs and nannofossils were examined from the Lower Cretaceous interval of the well North Scarborough-1, drilled on the Exmouth Plateau, North West Shelf of Australia. Integration of the chronostratigraphic information from both fossil groups revealed discrepancies in the age information with the nannofossils suggesting a younger age than dinoflagellate cysts. The nannofossil events have a stronger tie to the global time scale than the dinoflagellate zones which are mainly local. The direct comparison of nannofossil and dinoflagellate events in the same section allows for improved stratigraphic precision and a revised correlation of Australian dinoflagellate zonal ages to the global time scale, GTS12. Global nannofossil ages confirm a Barremian–late Hauterivian age for the Muderongia australis Zone, but the Systematophora areolata to Dissimulidinium lobispinosum Zones appear to be 1–2 my younger than previously estimated.