Quantitative palynologic correlation of three Campanian and Maestrichtian sections (upper cretaceous) from the Atlantic coastal plain

Abstract

Abstract Attempts were made to correlate lithostratigraphic units of Campanian and Maestrichtian Age from the Raritan, Salisbury, and Okefenokee embayments of the Atlantic Coastal Plain by using cluster analysis and principal coordinates analysis of selected species of angiosperm pollen. These attempts resulted in the recognition of major biostratigraphic subdivisions but failed to provide the degree of biostratigraphic resolution sought. The lack of resolution is attributed primarily to undetected rates of micro‐floral change throughout the sections and secondarily to distortion of the data matrix in the multivariate analyses. A new technique, referred to as Similarity Coefficient Matrix Contouring (SCMC), was applied to data in order to minimize matrix distortion. A comparison of the correlations suggested by SCMC with those arrived at by cluster and principal coordinates analyses indicates that, in this study, SCMC provided a graphic representation that led to detailed correlations. The detailed correl...