Applied Biostratigraphy

PALEOENVIRONMENTS

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Palaeoenvironment Determination

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Why are Paleobathymetry and Paleoenvironments
Important?

• Depositional regimes depth-linked (e.g. fluvial vs.

turbidite)
• Necessary to estimate accommodation space and input
into basin modelling
• Map and predict reservoir, seal and source distribution
• Define reservoir architecture & connectivity
• Correlation

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Interpreting Paleoenvironments

• Lithology
• Sedimentary Structures
• Seismic Character
• Wireline Log Character
• Chemical / Isotopic Signatures
• Trace Fossils
• Mega (Macro) fossils
• Microfossils
– mainly benthonic foraminifera
– with planktonic foraminifera, palynomorphs and other benthonic
microfossils

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Interpreting Paleoenvironments: Well Samples

• Lithology
• Sedimentary Structures
• Seismic Character
• Wireline Log Character
• Chemical / Isotopic Signatures
• Trace Fossils
• Mega (Macro) fossils
• Microfossils
– mainly benthonic foraminifera
– with planktonic foraminifera, palynomorphs and other benthonic
microfossils

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Depositional Environments: Basin Scale

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Depositional Environments: Depositional System Scale

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Approaches to the Palaeoenvironmental Interpretation
of Microfossil Assemblages
• Direct comparison with Recent forms
– However:
• modern ocean is currently at “highstand”
• modern oceanic circulation dates from Mid Miocene
• loss of info through fossilisation process & diagenesis
• some fossils have no modern analogues
• Morpho-functional analysis
• Association with known sedimentary facies and
associated fossils (incl. ichnofacies)
• Comparison with ancient facies models
• Statistical methods

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 Diagram courtesy of Dr. Jonathan Bujak

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GSS Geoscience Ltd.
Major Subdivisions of the Hydrosphere

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What controls the modern distribution of any
benthonic organism?

after Emery & Myers (1996)

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Distribution of Forams in the Hydrosphere -
living and fossil
MARGINAL MARINE/MARSH

100m

NERITIC / SHELF

Maximum diversity of
calcareous benthonics

Maximum diversity of
AGGLUTINATED agglutinated forams CCCD
CALCAREOUS
PLANKTONIC

100%

0%
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 Planktonic Forams
% Planktonic forams Likely Palaeoenvironment
in assemblage

0-5% inner shelf

5-30% middle shelf
30-50% outer shelf
50-75% upper bathyal
75%+ middle bathyal down to CCCD

Shallow Deep

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Detailed study of “larger” foraminifera
can provide especially useful
paleoenvironmental data in carbonate
facies.

Variations within a single species can

also provide information on changing
paleodepth. Larger, flatter forms tend
to live at deeper depths than smaller,
more lenticular forms.

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Courtesy of Katrin Ruckwied (Shell)

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Applied Biostratigraphy

THE FOSSILS

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Brief History – the early years

Early Micropaleontologists were somewhat unsuccessful

and realised they would first have to invent a microscope…
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Brief History – the gathering storm

… which was a spectacular failure.

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Brief History –
2 - 10 mm

Nummulites – a larger foraminifera

Nummulites spp.
Strabo – a Greek explorer (“tourist”) from
the 4th century - thought that Nummulites
found as fossils in pyramid building stones
(Eocene age limestones) were the
petrified remains of lentils, fed to the
slaves that constructed the famous
pyramids at Giza, Egypt.

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 Three basic “flavours” of fossil groupings depending on biological
origins, size, wall type, and main processing methods.

Micropaleontology Nannopaleontology
Mineralised fossils

(“Microfossils”)
The study of mineralised microfossils of
various types all within a size range of
0.1mm – 10cms.
Processed by disaggregation of rock or by
thin-section.
Organic-walled fossils
(“Nannofossils”)
The study of mineralised microfossils of
calcareous nannoplankton less than
0.1mm in size.
Processed by smearing crushed rock residue
or concentrate onto slide.

Palynology
(“Palynomorphs”)
The study of organic-walled microfossils of
various types all less than 0.1mm in size.
Processed by dissolving away surrounding
rock by acid and oxidising remaining organic
residue for examination on slide.
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 Micropaleontology
(“Microfossils”)
The study of mineralised microfossils of
various types most* within a size range of
0.1mm – 1.0mm.
Processed by disaggregation of rock or by Foraminifera
thin-section.

Ostracods

Single-celled plant
Calpionellids Radiolaria Diatoms Conodonts
Single-celled animal
?
Multi-celled animal
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 Nannopaleontology
(“Nannofossils”)
The study of mineralised microfossils of
calcareous nannoplankton less than
0.1mm in size.
Processed by smearing crushed rock residue
or concentrate onto slide.

Calcareous Nannoplankton
(“Coccoliths”)

Single-celled plant
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 Palynology
(“Palynomorphs”)
The study of organic-walled microfossils of
various types all less than 0.1mm in size.
Processed by dissolving away surrounding
rock by acid and oxidising remaining organic Dinoflagellate Cysts
residue for examination on slide. /

Acritarchs
Single-celled plant

Multi-celled plant
Chitinozoa Spores & Pollen
? Single-celled animal

Multi-celled animal
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Small fossils with a mineralised wall of various materials

“MICROPALAEONTOLOGY”

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GSS Geoscience Ltd.
 Micropaleontology
(“Microfossils”)
The study of mineralised microfossils of
various types most* within a size range of
0.1mm – 1.0mm.
Processed by disaggregation of rock or by Foraminifera
thin-section.

Benthonic Planktonic
Habitats (marsh to abyssal) on or Oceanic habitats at various levels
within the substrate, which includes (commonly near the surface) within
living on plants the water column

Calcareous Agglutinated Calcareous

Secretes shell wall with Builds shell wall with Secretes shell wall with
calcium carbonate available detrital grains calcium carbonate

“Larger”
Presence of symbiotic algae
allows increased growth in
some species
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Huge variety of shell forms, aperture position, surface ornament etc.

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Foraminifera: Calcareous Benthonics

OMZ

CCCD

• Brackish – Fully Marine – Hypersaline

• 40,000+ species
• 0m – 3/4000m water depths (limited by CCCD)
• Cambrian – Recent
• Excellent local biostratigraphic markers
• Inhabit substrate surface or are burrowing-infaunal (several cm below surface)
• Some are epiphytic (live on plants)
• Symbiotic algae allows very large size in some species
• Excellent paleoenvironmental indicators in marg. marine to marine settings

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Foraminifera: Agglutinated Benthonics

OMZ

CCCD

• Marsh/Estuarine/Brackish – Fully Marine

• 5,000+ species
• 0m – unlimited water depths
• Cambrian – Recent
• Excellent local biostratigraphic markers
• Inhabit substrate surface or are burrowing-infaunal several cm below surface
• Can tolerate low O2 levels (maximum diversity in OMZ)
• Symbiotic algae allows large size in some species
• Excellent paleoenvironmental indicators in marg. marine to marine settings

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 The Smithsonian

Foraminifera: Planktonics

OMZ

CCCD

• Fully Marine Oceanic – rare at depths shallower than middle shelf

• c.1,000 species
• 0m – 3/4000m water depths
• Middle Jurassic - Recent
• Life cycle may span entire depth range – some forms deeper than others
• Excellent regional/global marine biostratigraphic markers
• Excellent marine paleodepth indicators, especially when combined with benthonics

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Other
Microfossil
Types

Calpionellids? Diatoms Radiolaria

OMZ

CCCD

Ostracods
Conodonts

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Very small microfossils with a mineralised (CaCO3) wall

“NANNOPALAEONTOLOGY”

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Calcareous Nannoplankton
(“Coccoliths”) GSS Geoscience Ltd.
Calcareous Nannoplankton

OMZ

CCCD

• Fully Marine Oceanic – rare at depths shallower than middle shelf

• Inhabits the Photic Zone
• Virtually cosmopolitan, up to 70 degrees of latitude
• Late Triassic to Recent
• Limited paleoenvironmental use
• 0m – 50m (up to 200m) water depths (photic zone)
• Phenomenal abundances in carbonate-rich rocks (70% chalk by volume)
– very small sample sizes needed
• Excellent regional marine biostratigraphic markers
– CARE! small size prone to reworking GSS Geoscience Ltd.
 Nannofossils can make up to
70% of chalk sediments by
volume.

Given the volume of the

world’s chalk – how
many nannofossils are
there in the world???

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Microfossils with an organic wall structure

“PALYNOLOGY”

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 Palynology
(“Palynomorphs”)
The study of organic-walled microfossils of
various types all less than 0.1mm in size.
Processed by dissolving away surrounding
rock by acid and oxidising remaining organic Dinoflagellate Cysts
residue for examination on slide. /

Acritarchs
Single-celled plant

Multi-celled plant
Chitinozoa Spores & Pollen
? Single-celled animal

Multi-celled animal
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Dinoflagellates & Acritarchs

OMZ

CCCD

Dinoflagellates Acritarchs
• Single-celled organisms. About 50% of living species are • Single-celled algae
autotrophs (photosynthetic like plants) others are • May have formed cysts similar to dinoflagellates
heterotrophic and feed like animals (?ancestors)
• At a particular point in their life cycle they form resistant cysts • Middle Precambrian – Recent, much more
which are fossilised. Only 10-15% of living dinoflagellates do diverse during Paleozoic times
this. • Most are mainly marine shelf, rarer in the open
• Middle Triassic – Recent, much more diverse during Early ocean
Cretaceous times • 0m – 50m (up to 100m) water depths (photic
• Some are found in fresh & brackish waters, but most are zone)
mainly marine shelf, rarer in the open ocean • Excellent regional marine biostratigraphic
• 0m – 50m (up to 100m) water depths (photic zone) markers
• Excellent regional marine biostratigraphic markers • Moderate paleoenvironmental use
• Moderate paleoenvironmental use
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Chitinozoa

???
OMZ

CCCD

• Organic-walled microfossils produced by an animal "of uncertain origin“ i.e. they cannot
be assigned to a natural group
• Therefore classified into workable groups based on their morphology – mainly body
shape and processes
• c. 500+ species
• Probably eggs, or juvenile stage of a marine animal(s) – probably mostly nektonic
• Almost exclusively marine – most abundant on the outer shelf, slope and ocean basin
• Paleoproterozoic (1.9-1.6Ga) to Devonian. Common in the Ordivician – Devonian
• Rapid growth and wide distribution make this group a key Middle Paleozoic fossil group
• Good regional marine biostratigraphic markers
• Limited paleoenvironmental use

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Pollen

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Spores & Pollen

OMZ

CCCD

• Terrestrial origins
– fungal spores (Precambrian – Recent)
– plant spores (Late Silurian – Recent)
– Gymnosperm (non-flowering plants) pollen (Late Devonian –
Recent)
– Angiosperm (flowering plants) pollen (Cretaceous – Recent)
• Part of plant’s reproductive process
• Potential for great offshore transport, especially by wind but also by river
outflow
– extremely resistant
• Excellent paleoenvironmental indicators in fresh water / transitional –
shallow marine
• Used in thermal maturation studies (Spore Colour)
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GSS Geoscience Ltd.
Applied Biostratigraphy

PROCESSING METHODS &

SAMPLE SELECTION

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Three General Processing Methods

• “Micropaleontology”
– Disaggregation of rock yielding whole specimens of microfossils
viewed under binocular reflected-light microscope or
– Viewing microfossils in thin-section
• “Nannopaleontology”
– Smearing and/or evaporating a sample slurry on a slide and
viewing specimens through transmitted light
• “Palynology”
– Extraction and concentration of organic-walled microfossils by
chemical destruction of rock matter and viewing specimens
through transmitted light

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Micropalaeontology processing

1. Prepare samples

2. Wash samples over 60-90 µm

sieve to remove clay-size
particles and drill mud

3. Dry residue in oven

4. Extract microfossils
from residue placing • Can be time consuming but
specimens on slide
ready for analysis process is simple & cheap
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 Nannopaleontology processing

• Very quick, simple & cheap

– “smear” moist residue on slide with a
clean stick and distilled water
– dry at low (50-60oC) temp
– cover with slide cover slip & optical
adhesive
– “cure” adhesive under UV light

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 Palynology processing
• Complicated, expensive, time consuming &
dangerous
– dissolve away surrounding rock (HCl &
HF acids)
– oxidise palynomorphs (H2SO4 / HNO3)
– sieve residue with very fine non re-
useable sieve
– mount residue on slide, dry and cover
• VERY TOXIC / CORROSIVE CHEMICALS
– needs specialist lab facility
– skilled technician

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Lithological Factors

• Microfossils are more commonly found in mudstone,

clays or calcareous marls
• Siltstones, fine sands and chalks can also be good for
most fossil groups
• Medium – coarse sands unlikely to yield microfossils but
may yield palynomorphs
• Hard limestones can be thin-sectioned for foraminifera

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Lithological Factors

• In outcrop and core studies careful selection of lithology

for biostratigraphic sampling is very important
• In outcrop studies it is vital that the obtained sample is
clean and free from any contamination, especially from
weathered materal
• Samples barren of microfossils are not necessarily “non
marine” – they may just be unsuitable lithologies for fossil
preservation
• A general guide is – the larger the grain size, the fewer
microfossils can be expected

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