The Pliocene–Pleistocene transition in the subsurface of the Dutch-Belgian border region: insights from borehole Huijbergen

Cross-border correlations of the Pliocene–Pleistocene successions in the southern Netherlands and northernmost Belgium are problematic, because biostratigraphic markers are often lacking. Correlation is further hampered by the poor age constraints of the Belgian Merksplas Formation. To address these issues, sedimentary, mollusc and...

A late Miocene balaenopterid petrotympanic from Liessel (The Netherlands)

In 2020 a new fossil species of rorqual (Balaenopteridae) was described as Archaeobalaenoptera liesselensis Bisconti, Munsterman, Fraaije, Bosselaers & Post, 2020 from a sandpit in Liessel (Province of Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands) based on a skull stored in the Oertijdmuseum in Boxtel. The collection of Museum Klok & Peel in Asten (The...

Better molecular preservation of organic matter in an oxic than in a sulfidic depositional environment: Evidence from Thalassiphora pelagica (Dinoflagellata, Eocene) cysts

Anoxic sediments, as compared to oxic settings, encompass a much higher proportion of relatively labile and thus more reactive organic matter, naturally giving rise to structural changes of the organic molecules themselves, as well as cross-linking between them (e.g., through reactive sulfur species). Both processes transform the original...

The Oligocene/Miocene boundary in the ON-Mol-1 and Weelde boreholes along the southern margin of the North Sea Basin, Belgium

Based on palynologic interpretations, the Oligocene/Miocene boundary was identified in the cored samples of the ON-Mol-1 and Weelde boreholes in the southern North Sea Basin. In both boreholes, the presumed location of the Oligocene/Miocene boundary is marked by a thin gravel bed, which testifies of a hiatus, within a continuation of shelly,...

Stratigraphy and palaeontology of the lower Miocene Kiel Sand Member (Berchem Formation) in temporary exposures in Antwerp (northern Belgium)

The stratigraphic position of the lower Miocene Kiel Sand Member of the Berchem Formation in the Antwerp area (northern Belgium) is not well constrained and its depositional environments are poorly known. Due to a spatial limited decalcification front, the Kiel Sand Member is completely decalcified in southern Antwerp and gradually becomes...

Enhanced Arctic-Tethys connectivity ended the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event in NW Europe

The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, c. 182 Ma) represents a major perturbation of the carbon cycle marked by widespread black shale deposition. Consequently, the onset of the T-OAE has been linked to the combined effects of global warming, high productivity, basin restriction and salinity stratification. However, the processes that led to...

Quantitative organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst stratigraphy across the eocene-oligocene transition in the Gulf of Mexico: A record of climateand sea level change during the onset of antarctic glaciation

The Eocene – Oligocene Transition (EOT, 34–33.5 Ma) marks a major transition in Cenozoic climate evolution through the relatively rapid establishment of a continental-scale ice sheet on Antarctica. The EOT is characterized by two 200 kyr spaced shifts (termed EOT-1 and Oi-1) in the oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) of benthic foraminifera,...

Dinoflagellate cyst biostratigraphy of Miocene strata in the Adana Basin, Eastern Mediterreanean, Turkey

The Adana Basin is one of the major Neogene basins situated in SW Turkey with sedimentary successions providing good records of the paleoenvironmental changes that affected the Mediterranean area. Since a detailed biochronostratigraphic framework has not been properly established in the Adana Basin yet, this study will be the first...

Stratigraphic calibration of Oligocene-Miocene organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts from offshore Wilkes Land, East Antarctica, and a zonation proposal

There is growing interest in the scientific community in reconstructing the paleoceanography of the Southern Ocean during the Oligocene-Miocene because these time intervals experienced atmospheric CO2 concentrations with relevance to our future. However, it has remained notoriously difficult to put the sedimentary archives used in these efforts...

Comment on 'Wetzeliella and its allies - the 'hole' story: a taxonomic revision of the Paleogene dinoflagellate subfamily Wetzelielloidae' by Williams et al. (2015)

The taxonomic revision of the dinoflagellate cyst subfamily Wetzelielloideae by Williams et al. (2015) places primary emphasis on the type of archaeopyle, and secondarily on wall ornamentation. Williams et al. (2015) argues that this provides more clarity for taxonomic differentiation within the subfamily of Wetzelielloideae, and adds to the...

Early cretaceous (Valanginian and Hauterivian) belemnites and organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts from a marine hydrothermal vent site and adjacent facies of the Mecsek Mts., Hungary

The first record of belemnites from fossil hydrothermal vent sites in the Mecsek Mountains of Hungary emphasizes the occurrences of belemnites in Mesozoic chemosynthetic-microbial based ecosystems reported only from cold seep carbonates to date. From the outer shelf-upper bathyal (<300 m) hydrothermal vent site latest Valanginian - Early...

A brachiopod-dominated sea-floor assemblage from the Late Pliocene of the eastern Netherlands'

A sea-floor assemblage from hardened sandstone boulders in which lingulid brachiopods predominate is recorded from the Oosterhout Formation near Balgoy (province of Gelderland, the Netherlands). Dinoflagellate cysts indicate a late Early-Late Pliocene (late Zanclean-Piacenzian) age of these boulders; the entire assemblage is indicative of clear...

Neogene stratigraphy of the Langenboom locality (Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands)

The locality of Langenboom (eastern Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands), also known as Mill, is famous for its Neogene molluscs, shark teeth, teleost remains, birds and marine mammals. The stratigraphic context of the fossils, which have been collected from sand suppletions, was hitherto poorly understood. Here we report on a section which has been...

Eustatic variations during the Paleocene-Eocene greenhouse world

We reconstruct eustatic variations during the latest Paleocene and earliest Eocene (∼58-52 Ma). Dinoflagellate cysts, grain size fractions, and organic biomarkers in marine sections at four sites from three continents indicate an increased distance to the coast during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). The same trend is recognized in...

Diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) and dinoflagellate cysts (dinophyceae) from Rookery Bay, Florida, U.S.A

This paper is a report, on the diatoms and dinoflagellate cysts identified in a sediment core and a water sample recovered from Rookery Bay, a subtropical estuarine system located on the west coast of Florida. Eighty-eight diatom taxa representing 48 genera, many of which have been rarely observed, and 14 dinoflagellate cyst genera with 20 taxa...

Chronostratigraphy of Late Neogene sediments in the southern North Sea Basin and paleoenvironmental interpretations

A chronostratigraphic framework has been established for Upper Neogene sediments from the northern Netherlands offshore sector, southern North Sea. Data of dinoflagellate cysts, pollen and foraminifers from eight boreholes are integrated and the resulting biostratigraphic events are connected to an additionally retrieved paleomagnetic record....

Integrated chronostratigraphy of the Pliocene-Pleistocene interval and its relation to the regional stratigraphical stages in the southern North Sea region

Time-stratigraphic interpretations of Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene sediments from onshore locations and from marginal marine settings of the North Sea Basin often refer to the subdivision of the Dutch and British 'Quaternary' regional stratigraphic stages. Since age control for these stages and their stage boundaries are based on relative...

A southern North Sea Miocene dinoflagellate cyst zonation

An integrated stratigraphical analysis emphasizing organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) distribution has been carried out on multiple boreholes penetrating the Miocene in the subsurface of the Netherlands (southern North Sea Basin). The bulk of the investigated successions is attributed to the Breda Formation, a regional...