Benthic foraminifera and Neogene sea level changes in the Pelotas Basin, offshore south Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/s2675-28242020068333Keywords:
Miocene, Uvigerinidae, Argentine Zoogeographic Province, Pelotas Basin, Florianópolis Platform, Maximum flooding surfaceAbstract
The Neogene benthic foraminiferal ecostratigraphy of offshore Pelotas Basin has not yet been researched. The benthic foraminifera were examined in twenty-nine ditch cuttings samples from Well 1-SCS-3B, present water depth 200 m. These samples ranged from the Lower Miocene Catapsydrax dissimilis planktonic foraminiferal Zone to the Pliocene Globigerinoides trilobus fistulosus Zone. Only ditch cuttings were available, which allowed us to present just broad paleoenvironmental trends within the studied section. Benthic foraminifera indicate deposition mostly between outer neritic to upper bathyal paleodepths. A peak in uvigerinid relative abundance marks a possible flooding surface or condensed section with a high nutrient flux, low diversity (marked by the Shannon Function H), and sluggish circulation within the Globorotalia mayeri Zone. This peak is bracketed by high abundances of Cibicidoides, which indicate stronger current action than within the condensed section. Biostratigraphic hiatuses within these Cibicidoides-rich intervals are concluded not to indicate subaerial exposure, but to reflect current action sufficiently strong to induce either non-deposition or seafloor scouring. A second possible flooding surface occurs at the top of the section, indicated by a decline in Cibicidoides associated with upticks in Sphaeroidina and Bolivina and a dip in H. The top of this younger maximum flood was not encountered, probably occurring above the studied section. That the timing of these floods differs from those recorded elsewhere in the Pelotas Basin implies that they were tectonically induced, perhaps as distal effects associated with the interaction between the South American and Nazca tectonic plates. Future studies with better quality core samples will add detail to this picture; such studies can incorporate eustatic sea-level changes into the model presented.
References
ALTENBACH, A. V., PFLAUMANN, U., SCHIEBEL, R., THIES, A.,
TIMM, S. & TRAUTH, M. 1999. Scaling percentages and distributional
patterns of benthic foraminifera with flux rates
of organic carbon. Journal of Foraminiferal Research, 29,
–185.
ANJOS-ZERFASS, G. S., CHEMALE, F., MOURA, C. A. V., COSTA,
K. B. & KAWASHITA, K. 2014. Strontium isotope stratigraphy
of the Pelotas Basin. Brazilian Journal of Geology, 44,
–38.
ANJOS-ZERFASS, G. S., RUBAN, D. A., CHEMALE, F. & ZERFASS,
H. 2013. Cenozoic synthem stratigraphic architecture of
the SE Brazilian shelf and its global eustatic context: evidence
from the Pelotas Basin (offshore Brazil). Geologos,
, 273–290.
ANJOS, G. S. & CARREÑO , A. L. 2004. Bioestratigraphia (Foraminiferida)
de Sondagem 1-SCS-3B, Plataforma de Florianopolis,
Bacia de Pelotas, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia, 7,
–138.
BARRON, J. A. & KELLER, G. 1982. Widespread Miocene deep-sea
hiatuses: Coincidence with periods of global cooling. Geology,
, 577–581.
BERGGREN, W. A., HILGEN, F. J., LANGEREIS, C. G., KENT, D. V.,
OBRADOVICH, J. D., RAFFI, I., RAYMO, M. E. & SHACKLETON,
N. J. 1995. Late Neogene chronology: New perspectives in
high-resolution stratigraphy. Geological Society of America
Bulletin, 107, 1272–1287.
BOLLI, H. M., BECKMANN, J.-P. & SAUNDERS, J. B. 1994. Benthic
foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the south Caribbean region,
Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
BOLLI, H. M. & SAUNDERS, J. B. 1985. Oligocene to Holocene low
latitude planktic foraminifera. In: BOLLI, H. M., SAUNDERS, J.
B. & PERCH-NIELSEN, K. (eds.) Plankton Stratigraphy. Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University Press.
BOLLI, H. M., SAUNDERS, J. B. & K., P.-N. 1985. Comparison of zonal
schemes for different fossil groups. In: BOLLI, H. M., SAUNDERS,
J. B. & K., P.-N. (eds.) Plankton Stratigraphy. UK: Cambridge
University Press.
BOLTOVSKOY, E. 1959. Foraminifera as biological indicators in the
study of ocean currents. Micropaleontology, 5, 473–481.
BOLTOVSKOY, E., GIUSSANI, G., WATANABE, S. & WRIGHT, R. C.
Atlas of Benthic Shelf Foraminifera of the Southwest
Atlantic, Springer Science & Business Media.
CARREÑO , A. L., COIMBRA, J. C. & APARECIDO DO CARMO, D.
Late Cenozoic sea level changes evidenced by ostracodes
in the Pelotas Basin, southernmost Brazil. Marine Micropaleontology,
, 117–129.
CATUNEANU, O., GALLOWAY, W. E., KENDALL, C. G. S. C., MIALL, A.
D., POSAMENTIER, H. W., STRASSER, A. & TUCKER, M. E. 2011.
Sequence stratigraphy: methodology and nomenclature.
Newsletters on Stratigaphy, 44/3, 173–245.
COIMBRA, J. C., CARREÑO, A. L. & DE SANTANA DOS ANJOSZERFASS,
G. 2009. Biostratigraphy and paleoceanographical
significance of the Neogene planktonic foraminifera
from the Pelotas Basin, southernmost Brazil. Revue de
micropaléontologie 52, 1–14.
CULVER, S. J. & BUZAS, M. A. 1982. Distribution of Recent
benthic foraminifera in the Caribbean region. Smithsonian
Contributions to Marine Science, 14, 1–382.
CUSHMAN, J. A. 1923. The Foraminifera of the Atlantic Ocean,
Part 4: Lagenidae. United States National Museum Bulletin,
, 1–228.
EMERY, K. O. 1968. Relict sediments on continental shelves of the
world. AAPG Bulletin, 52, 445–464.
FINGER, K. L. 2013. Miocene foraminifera from the south-central
coast of Chile. Micropaleontology, 59, 341–492
HAMMER, Ø., HARPER, D. A. T. & RYAN, P. D. 2001. PAST: Paleontological
Statistics Software Package for Education and
Data Analysis. Palaeontologia Electronica [Online], 4.
HAYEK, L. C. & BUZAS, M. A. 2013. On the proper and efficient
use of diversity measures for individual field samples. Journal
of Foraminiferal Research, 43, 305–313.
HOLBOURN, A., HENDERSON, A. S. & MACLEOD, N. 2013. Atlas of
Benthic Foraminifera, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK.
JONES, R. W. 2014. Foraminifera and their Applications, Cambridge,
UK, Cambridge University Press.
LOBOZIAK, S., MELO, J. H. G. & STREEL, M. 2005. Devonian Palynostratigraphy
in Western Gondwana. In: KOUTSOUKOS, E.
A. M. (ed.) Applied Stratigraphy. Netherlands: Springer.
MALUMIÁN, N. 1999. La sedimentación en la Patagonia extraandina.
In: CAMINOS, R. (ed.) La sedimentación y el volcanismo
terciarios en la Patagonia extraandina. Instituto de Geología
y Recursos Minerales.
MALUMIÁN, N. & NÁNEZ, C. 2011. The Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic
transgressions in Patagonia and the Fuegian Andes:
foraminifera, palaeoecology, and palaeogeography. Biological
Journal of the Linnean Society, 103, 269–288.
MARENGO, H. 2015. Neogene Micropaleontology and Stratigraphy
of Argentina: The Chaco-Paranense Basin and the Península
de Valdés, Heidelberg, Germany, Springer.
MARTINS, V., DUBERT, J., JOUANNEAU, J.-M., WEBER, O., DA SILVA,
E. F., PATINHA, C., ALVEIRINHO DIAS, J. M. & ROCHA, F.
A multiproxy approach of the Holocene evolution of
shelf–slope circulation on the NW Iberian Continental Shelf.
Marine Geology, 239, 1–18.
MURRAY, J. W. 1967. Transparent and opaque foraminiferid
tests. Journal of Paleontology, 41, 791–795.
MURRAY, J. W. 2006. Ecology and Applications of Benthic Foraminifera,
Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press.
NOMAKI, H., HEINZ, P. & NAKATSUKA, T. 2006. Different ingestion
patterns of 13C-labeled bacteria and algae by deep-sea benthic
foraminifera. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 310, 95–108.
OLSON, H. C. & THOMPSON, P. R. 2005. Sequence biostratigraphy
with examples from the Plio-Pleistocene and Quaternary.
In: KOUTSOUKOS, E. A. M. (ed.) Applied stratigraphy. The
Nertherlands: Springer.
ORNDORFF, A. L. & CULVER, S. J. 1998. Foraminifera of the early
Miocene upper part of the Anahuac Formation from a well
in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, U.S.A. . Journal of Foraminiferal
Research, 28, 286–305.
PEKAR, S. F., CHRISTIE-BLICK, N., KOMINZ, M. A. & MILLER, K. G.
Evaluating the stratigraphic response to eustasy from
Oligocene strata in New Jersey. Geology, 29, 55–58.
SANGUINETTI, Y. T., 1980. 1980. Biostratigrafia (Ostracodes) do
Miocene da bacia de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul. Pesquisas
em Geociências, 13, 7–34.
SCHOENFELD, J. 2002. Recent benthic foraminiferal assemblages
in deep high-energy environments from the Gulf of Cadiz
(Spain). Marine Micropaleontology, 44, 141–162.
SPRECHMANN, P. 1978. The paleoecology and paleogeography
of the Uruguayan coastal area during the Neogene and
Quaternary. Zitteliana, 4, 3–72.
TETARD, M., LICARI, L. & BEAUFORT, L. 2017. Oxygen history off
Baja California over the last 80 kyr: A new foraminiferal-based
record. Paleoceanography, 32, 1–19.
VAN MORKHOVEN, F. P. C. M., BERGGREN, W. A. & EDWARDS, A.
S. 1986. Cenozoic Cosmopolitan Deep-Water Benthic Foraminifera.
Bulletin Centres Recherches Exploration-Production
Elf-Aquitaine, 11, 1–421.
WILSON, B. 2010. The significance of iron-stained foraminifera
off SE Trinidad, West Indies, Western Central Atlantic Ocean.
Geological Magazine, 147, 728–736.
WILSON, B. & HAYEK, L. C. 2017. Islands, currents, eddies, fronts .
. . and benthic foraminifera: Controls on neritic distributions
off Trinidad. Micropaleontology, 63, 15–26.
WILSON, B. & RAMSOOK, A. 2007. Population densities and diversities
of epiphytal foraminifera on nearshore substrates, Nevis,
West Indies Journal of Foraminiferal Research, 37, 213–222.
WINDHAUSEN, A. 1931. Geología Argentina, Bueno Aries, Argentina
Casa Jacabo Peuser.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Ocean and Coastal Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Ocean and Coastal Research is an open-access journal available through SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online).
Ocean and Coastal Research journal title abbreviation is Ocean Coast. Res. and should be used in footnotes, references, and bibliographic entries.
All Ocean and Coastal Research scientific articles are freely available without charge to the user or institution. In accordance with the BOAI definition of open access, all contents are available to readers free of charge. Users may read, download, copy, and link to the full texts of the articles. They may be used for any lawful purpose without prior authorization from the publisher or the author, as long as proper credit is given to the original publication.
All Ocean and Coastal Research published scientific articles receive an individual Digital Object Identifier (DOI) persistent digital document identification.
All the content of the journal, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons License type BY. Authors retain the copyright and full publishing rights without restrictions.
More information on intellectual property can be found here and on Scielo's Open Acess Statement.
Ocean and Coastal Research is listed in Publons and reviewers and editors can add their verified peer review and editing history to their Publons profile.
Ocean and Coastal Research is indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and complies with principles of transparency and best practice for scholarly publications.
Ocean and Coastal Research is committed to the best standards in open-access publishing by adopting ethical and quality standards throughout the publishing process - from initial manuscript submission to the final article publication. This ensures authors that their work will have visibility, accessibility, reputation, usage, and impact in a sustainable model of scholarly publishing.
