Foraminiferal depth palaeoecology of Late Pliocene shelf sequences and systems tracts, Wanganui Basin, New Zealand

Abstract

High-resolution foraminiferal census of benthic taxa was undertaken on 113 closely spaced samples drawn from the Late Pliocene (ca. 2.6−1.7 Ma) cyclothemic marine strata of the Rangitikei Group, eastern Wanganui Basin, New Zealand. These strata comprise a ca. 1 km thick progradational stack of twenty, sixth-order, depositional sequences that accumulated in shelf and shoreline palaeoenvironments. The sequences are correlated with δ 18O Stages 100−58, and each 41 ka glaciallinterglacial stage couplet is represented by an individual sequence comprising transgressive (TST), highstand (HST), and regressive (RST) systems tracts. Statistical analysis of the census data identifies thirteen foraminiferal associations within the cyclothemic strata, that are grouped into seven depth- and lithology-related biofacies spanning the entire range of marginal marine to outer shelf palaeoenvironments. Foraminiferal palaeobathymetric analysis of the Rangitikei Group sequences reveals cyclical changes in water-depth of ca. 100–200 m amplitude with frequencies corresponding to the 41 ka obliquity orbital rhythm. Water-depth changes of this magnitude are consistent with a glacio-eustatic origin for the cyclothems, which correspond to an interval of Earth's history when successive continental glaciations of the Northern Hemisphere are known to have occurred. Furthermore the derived water-depth changes are also consistent with lithofacies and sequence stratigraphic inferences regarding palaeodepth of the sequences. Individual sequences display a clear deepening-upward trend from shoreline to mid-shelf water-depths within TSTs. The level of resolution provided by the microfaunal analysis was insufficient to resolve the precise position of the maximum flooding surface (MFS) and its relationship to the downlap surface (DLS). However, the turn around from rising to falling relative sea level (maximum water-depth) corresponds to a < 5 m interval of section spanning the top of TSTs and lower portions of HST's. A progressive shoaling trend to shoreline and marginal marine environments is indicated for the overlying RSTs. The amplitudes of water-depth changes for asymmetrical sequences, Rangitikei nt motif (nondepositional transgression) (100–200 m), are somewhat greater than glacio-eustatic sea-level changes derived from the deep-sea δ 18O record (50–100 m). This implies a significant subsidence contribution to relative sea-level changes. Notwithstanding the effect of subsidence and sedimentation on relative sea level, fluctuations in glacio-eustatic sea level are regarded as the primary factor controlling relative sea-level changes recorded in the Late Pliocene Wanganui Basin succession. Foraminifer-derived palaeobathymetric cycles within sequences display the same frequency, relative magnitude and symmetry as their correlative cycles on the δ 18O sea-level curve.