Biostratigraphy of planktonic foraminifera from the South Atlantic Transect (International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 390C)

浮游有孔虫是一种微观的单细胞生物，大量分布于世界各大洋，是微型浮游生物区系的重要组成部分。它们从周围的海水中获取碳酸钙，并以此来组成自己的外壳。深海有孔虫化石的演化和灭绝事件被广泛用于评估深海沉积物的年龄，并在建立石油和天然气勘探的储层模型时对比沉积岩单元。浮游有孔虫外壳的化学成分分析还为科学家提供了古环境信息，这些信息告诉我们过去的环境，并帮助我们了解地球古代气候条件的本质。然而，这项特殊研究主要集中在沉积岩芯的年龄测定上，这些岩芯是在国际海洋发现计划探险队390 C的初步钻探作业中发现的。我们将使用这些化石来确定每个样本的年代，并为计划于2022年进行的IODP联合勘探390和393期间进一步钻探作业的目标地点制作年龄模型。对浮游有孔虫丰度、组合组成和保存情况的进一步观察将使我们能够评估所收集样品材料的研究潜力。这将有助于参与未来考察的科学家根据预期的样品质量更有效地规划他们的研究项目。

Planktonic foraminifera are microscopic, single celled organisms which live in great abundance throughout the world oceans, being important part of the microplankton fauna. They make up their shells from calcium carbonate, which they obtain from the surrounding seawater. Evolution and extinction events of fossil planktonic foraminifera are extensively used to assess the age of the deep-sea sediments and to correlate sedimentary rock units when building reservoir models for oil and gas exploration. Analysis of chemical composition of planktonic foraminifera shells, also provide scientists with palaeoenvironmental information, which tells us about the past environments and help us to understand the nature of ancient climatic conditions on our planet.This particular study however, focuses predominantly on the age dating of sedimentary cores, which were recovered during preliminary drilling operations by the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 390C. We will use the fossils to date each sample and produce age models for the sites targeted for further drilling operations during joint IODP Expeditions 390 and 393, which are planned to go ahead in 2022. Additional observations of planktonic foraminifera abundances, assemblage composition and preservation, will allow us to assess research potential of the collected sample material. This will aid scientists participating in these future expeditions, to plan their research projects more effectively, in accordance with the expected sample material quality.