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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
AAPG Bulletin
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Sediment samples from a 280-m core taken in the Wilkinson basin, Gulf of Maine, have been studied for foraminiferal content. The sediments are dusky yellowish-brown silty clay and presumably represent particles carried by glacial meltwater into the Atlantic Ocean during the latest period of continental deglaciation.
Several features set the foraminiferal fauna apart from the normal open-shelf fauna. There is a distinct lack of arenaceous species in these sediments. Eggerella advena, customarily abundant, is lacking, and only Hyperammina elongata and Trochammina inflata are present in trace quantities.
Bolivina fragilis and B. pseudoplicata dominate the calcareous fauna, with fewer Glandulina laevigata, Guttulina glacialis, and Nonionella labradorica present. The species abundance and diversity are large and compare favorably with other northern areas.
The faunal list from the basin does not compare with species found at comparable depths on normal shelves. The fauna appears mixed with shallow-water elements derived from relict sediments on the shelf and bordering the basin. By far the majority of species found are from depths of 60-75 m. A few ubiquitous species, Bulimina marginata and Cassidulina norcrossi are found at greater depths.
Planktonic/benthonic ratios increase upward attesting to an influx of planktonic forms associated with rising sea level.
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