Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8913785 | Journal of African Earth Sciences | 2017 | 16 Pages |
Abstract
Benthic foraminifera species commonly outnumber planktic species in the type area of the Lower Miocene Qom Formation, in north central Iran, where it records the Tethyan link between the eastern Mediterranean and Indo- Pacific provinces. Because measured sections preserve very different sequences of first and last occurrences of these species, no single section provides a completely suitable baseline for correlation. To resolve this problem, we combined bioevents from three stratigraphic sections into a single composite sequence by constrained optimization (CONOP). The composite section arranges the first and last appearance events (FAD and LAD) of 242 foraminifera in an optimal order that minimizes the implied diachronism between sections. The composite stratigraphic ranges of the planktic foraminifera support a practical biozonation which reveals substantial local changes of accumulation rate during Aquitanian to Burdigalian times. Traditional biozone boundaries emerge little changed but an order of magnitude more correlations can be interpolated. The top of the section at Dobaradar is younger than previously thought and younger than sections at Dochah and Tigheh Reza-Abad. The latter two sections probably extend older into the Aquitanian than the Dobaradar section, but likely include a hiatus near the base of the Burdigalian. The bounding contacts with the Upper Red and Lower Red Formations are shown to be diachronous.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Geology
Authors
Jahanbakhsh Daneshian, Leila Ramezani Dana, Peter Sadler,