Paleoceanography and Paleobiogeography Patterns of the Turonian-Campanian Foraminifers from the Abderaz Formation, North Eastern Iran

Meysam Shafiee Ardestani, Mohammad Vahidinia, Abbas Sadeghi

Department of geology, Faculty of science, Ferdowsi university of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Department of geology, Faculty of science, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: 10.4236/ojg.2013.31003                

Abstract

In this research, the Turonian-early Campanian sedimentary succession of the Abderaz Formation with 510 mthick (comprising: light grey shale and marls) was studied in the type section in eastern Kopeh-Dagh basin. The statistical analysis of the morphotype groups of the identified planktonic foraminifers shows that most of them are shallow water forms (SWF) and deep water forms (DWF). The high planktonic to benthic ratio indicates particular oligotrophic conditions and sedimentation in relatively deeper zones of a marine environment. The salinity of sea water during Coniacian was in the minimum level, whereas it reached maximum in Coniacian-Santonian boundary. Comparing Planktonic assemblages from the study formation with those from the Cretaceous biogeographical provinces reflects a close relationship between the identified species and the planktonic forms of the Tethyan provinces.

Keywords

Kopeh-Dagh Basin; Abderaz Formation; Planktonic Foraminifer; Morphotype; Sea Level Change; Palaeosalinity

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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