The necessity for a micropalaeontological examination of the
lower Senonian chalk of southern England was established during
the site investigation of the Thames Barrier, which Is founded
on chalk of the Micraster zones.
There has been a large amount of detailed stratigraphic
and micropalaeontological research carried out on the Late
Cretaceous deposits of Europe, and this provides a historical
framework onto which the present research is placed.
Samples from three of the Thames Barrier boreholes were
studied initially to provide an Indication of the microfauna and
it's stratigraphic setting. This was followed by the collection and
examination of a further seven sections from the Micraster zones
of Rowe (1900-1 ~08). The localities selected give a geographical
coverage of most of southern England. Single samples from three
other localities have also been included.
The microfauna observed shows a trend of Increasing diversity
from the base of the Coniacian through into the Santonian. One
hundred and twenty seven taxa have been described, the majority
for the first time from the Engl ish succession, and this includes
twenty taxa which have no previous recorded descriptions.
The trend of increasing faunal diversity noted, makes the
establishment of a zonation possible, based on the appearances
and extinctions of twenty-five benthonic foraminiferal taxa. This
zonation, when applied to all the sections studied, allows a
correlation across the whole of southern England.
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Lower Senonian foraminiferal faunas reported from the rest
of Europe have been compared with those recorded in this country.
Not only does this present a large amount of stratigraphic data,
but It also gives an indication of the palaeogeographic setting of
the region during the Late Cretaceous.
Date of Award | 1978 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | |
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A Foraminiferal Biostratigraphy of the Lower Senonian
Bailey, H. W. (Author). 1978
Student thesis: PhD