The application of palynology to oceanology with reference to the northwestern Atlantic

Abstract

Investigation of over 250 samples from 16 cores collected chiefly off the eastern coast of the United States indicates that palynology can supplement micropaleontological and stratigraphical studies of marine sediments. Plant microfossils recovered from ocean bottom cores may provide information when other geological methods fail to yield results.High percentages of reworked pollen and spores in offshore cores are found at horizons where large numbers of cold-water Foraminifera have been recovered. The increase in the percentage of reworked plant microfossils at these levels is believed to be correlative with the lowering of base level associated with Pleistocene glaciation. In some of the cores collected from the northern portion of the study area the occurrence of non-reworked spruce and fir pollen together with high percentages of reworked plant microfossils lends additional support to the existence of a relationship between reworked grains and base level.Sediments collected on the continental shelf yield the largest variety of non-reworked pollen and spore types and the plant microfossil assemblages in these samples are believed to be the most reliable offshore indicator of onshore climatic conditions. In the ocean basin off the continental shelf smaller numbers of non-reworked plant microfossil forms are encountered because of apparently selective transportation, destruction, or both. The percentages of reworked pollen and spores in ocean basin cores may be used to separate sediments deposited under glacial conditions from those formed during inter- and postglacial periods.More detailed sampling and refinement of techniques in the study of continental shelf cores may yield detailed information on climate, as reflected by the vegetation on the land, position of ancient shore lines, current patterns and delimit areas of river deltas in the Quaternary and theoretically pre-Quaternary marine sediments. The relationship of base level to the percentage of reworked pollen and spores has application to the correlation of ocean bottom sediments and perhaps can even be applied to the correlation of pre-Quanternary continental sediments resulting from changes in base level due to orogeny.