VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION PROFILES OF LIVING (STAINED) BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA FROM SUBMARINE CANYONS OFF SOUTHWEST AUSTRALIA

North-Central Section - 38th Annual Meeting (April 1–2, 2004)
Paper No. 12-1

Presentation Time: 8:00 AM-8:20 AM

VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION PROFILES OF LIVING (STAINED) BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA FROM SUBMARINE CANYONS OFF SOUTHWEST AUSTRALIA
ABRIANI, Michelle A.¹, RATHBURN, Anthony E.¹, PÉREZ, M. Elena¹, BAHLS, Amanda¹, and DE DECKKER, Patrick², (1) Geography, Geology, and Anthropology, Indiana State Univ, Science Building 159, Terre Haute, IN 47809, mabriani@att.net, (2) Department of Geology, Australian National Univ, Canberra ACT, Australia Vertical distribution patterns of living (rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminifera were studied from four multicores taken at different water depths (363m, 949m, 1634m, and 2476m) from the Murray Submarine Canyons, located off Kangaroo Island, Australia. Comparisons of assemblages from these sites reveal differences that are probably related to variations in food availability. The foraminiferal assemblages (>150 µm) include taxa such as Chilostomella oolina, Globobulimina spp., Discorbinella sp., and Bolivinita quadrilatera. Vertical distribution profiles of paleoceanographically-important taxa remain consistent with those observed in other regions, though subsurface availability of organic material brought in by turbidites appears to influence the infaunal distributions of some taxa. Results from this study provide information about highly-productive, turbidity-influenced benthic ecosystems.
North-Central Section - 38th Annual Meeting (April 1–2, 2004)

Session No. 12--Booth# 0 Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology Millennium Hotel St. Louis: Laclede Room 8:00 AM-12:00 PM, Friday, 2 April 2004 Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 36, No. 3, p. 37
© Copyright 2004 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.