North Atlantic Oligocene-Pleistocene planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil abundances

Tirza M. Weitkamp

The dataset includes total counts and relative abundances of planktonic foraminifera (>125µm size fraction) and semi-quantitative estimates of calcareous nannofossils from DSDP (Deep Sea Drilling Project) Site 407 near Reykjanes Ridge, a submarine section of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge southwest of Iceland.

This dataset is valuable for planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy in the high-latitude North Atlantic, allowing researchers to study changes in planktonic foraminifera diversity from the Oligocene to Pleistocene epochs.

Samples were obtained from the IODP (International Ocean Discovery Program) Core Repository in Bremen and processed at the Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University.

Citation

Tirza M. Weitkamp (2024) North Atlantic Oligocene-Pleistocene planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil abundances. Dataset version 1. Bolin Centre Database. https://doi.org/10.17043/weitkamp-2024-foraminifera-nannofossils-1

References

Weitkamp TM, Razmjooei MJ, Pearson PN, Coxall HK (2024) Upper Oligocene to Pleistocene planktonic foraminifera stratigraphy at North Atlantic DSDP Site 407, Reykjanes Ridge: diversity trends and biozonation using modern Neogene taxonomic concepts. Manuscript submitted to Journal of Micropalaeontology.

Data description

The dataset consists of structured data that document total counts and relative abundances of planktonic foraminifera and semi-quantitative estimates of calcareous nannofossils from DSDP Site 407 off the Reykjanes Ridge. Sample IDs follow the standard International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) format, with sample names including site, core number, section number, and sample interval in centimetres within a section.

The dataset is provided in one xlsx spreadsheet file with 4 tabs:

1. ReadMe Text describing the following 3 data sheets:

2. foram_counts Raw total counts of planktonic foraminifera from each sample in the >125µm size fraction. Rare species identified outside the counting area are indicated with semi-quantitative estimates; P = present, R = rare. Each row represents a sample, with columns detailing the sample depth in meters below seafloor (mbsf), taxonomic identification, total counts, fragment counts, Preservation (G = good; M = moderate; B = bad), ice rafted debris (D = dominant; A = abundant; F = few), biosilica (P = present, H = high, D = dominant)

3. foram_% Relative abundance in percentages of planktonic foraminifera from each sample in the >125µm size fraction. Each row represents a sample, with columns detailing the sample depth in meters below seafloor (mbsf), taxonomic identification, and the relative abundance in percentages based on the raw total counts from sheet foram_counts.

4. nannos Semi-quantitative estimates of calcareous nannofossils. Each row corresponds to a sample, with columns for sample ID, taxonomic identification, estimate type (e.g., rare, common, abundant).

Comments

DSDP Site 407 coordinates: 63° 56.32' N, 30° 34.56' W.