ABSTRACT The name Stainforthia (or Fursenkoina ) schreibersiana (Czjzek) has been used for specimens found in Recent and Pleistocene deposits from arctic and subarctic environments as well as Tertiary deposits from Europe. An examination of specimens assigned to Stainforthia schreibersiana has revealed that the specimens belong to two different species: the fossil species from European sites of Tertiary age belongs to Fursenkoina acuta (d’Orbigny) (senior synonym to Fursenkoina schreibersiana (Czjzek)), while the Recent and Pleistocene cold water specimens are here assigned to the new species Stainforthia feylingi. The species is named in honour of Rolf Wilhelm Feyling-Hanssen who has been a pioneer of Quaternary foraminiferal studies in Scandinavia.

ABSTRACT Rolfina arnei gen. nov. et sp. nov. is a common benthic species in the Upper Oligocene/Lower Miocene of the North Sea region. The species has a regional biostratigraphical significance, but has hitherto been designated by open nomenclature as “ Rotalia ” sp. 1 or Glabratella? sp. A by authors working in the North Sea basin. The genus Rolfina is hereby erected and the species Rolfina arnei is described and illustrated. The species seems to be restricted to the North Sea basin between latitudes of 55°N and 59°N in an outer neritic to upper bathyal paleoenvironment, probably at restricted oxygen levels.

ABSTRACT A new species, Elphidium karenae, has been recorded from pre-Weichselian interglacial (probably Eemian) sediments of southwest Iceland and from interglacial marine deposits belonging to the Breidavik Group (Early Pleistocene) of north Iceland. The new species resembles Elphidium advenum, Elphidium gerthi and Elphidium excavatum but is not conspecific with these species.

ABSTRACT The occurrence of exclusively agglutinated assemblages in the fossil record has remained an enigma in terms of the environmental significance because the modern examples are confined either to the deep ocean or intertidal marshes. Two questions can be asked: are the fossil examples primary (and therefore not represented by modern analogues), or are they the dissolution residues of originally calcareous assemblages? In this paper we address the second question by making a comparison between original, mainly calcareous, modern assemblages and agglutinated assemblages experimentally produced from them. The samples studied were from the outer shelf, continental slope and abyssal plain. All were dominated by calcareous taxa. Following dissolution by acetic acid, each yielded a diverse assemblage of agglutinated forms. The agglutinated taxa show distribution patterns that can be broadly correlated with water mass and substrate tranquility or disturbance. We conclude that many fossil agglutinated assemblages are the result of partial or total loss of the calcareous element through dissolution. However, differential loss or preservation of organically-cemented taxa during early diagenesis may further alter the taxonomic composition of recent assemblages, leading to a further difference between the modern fauna and the “flysch-type” fauna of the Palaeogene North Atlantic.

ABSTRACT This paper presents data on the distribution of recent benthic foraminifera (total faunas) in the Kattegat-Skagerrak area (Scandinavia) based on a compilation and interpretation of new and previously published data. A Q-mode factor analysis based on the 22 most important species in 177 samples identified five major assemblages. These were the Elphidium excavatum, Eggerelloides scabrus, Bulimina marginata, Cassidulina laevigata and Bolivina skagerrakensis assemblages. The first three assemblages were found within areas of significant hydrographic variability whereas the last two assemblages inhabited areas of stable hydrography in the deeper parts of the Skagerrak. A number of other species were common in the area. Among these, the distributional patterns of Cibicides lobatulus, Stainforthia fusiformis and Nonionellina labradorica are described.

ABSTRACT The occurrence of exclusively agglutinated assemblages in the fossil record has remained an enigma in terms of the environmental significance because the modern examples are confined either to the deep ocean or intertidal marshes. Two questions can be asked: are the fossil examples primary (and therefore not represented by modern analogues), or are they the dissolution residues of originally calcareous assemblages? In this paper we address the second question by making a comparison between original, mainly calcareous, modern assemblages and agglutinated assemblages experimentally produced from them. The samples studied were from the outer shelf, continental slope and abyssal plain. All were dominated by calcareous taxa. Following dissolution by acetic acid, each yielded a diverse assemblage of agglutinated forms. The agglutinated taxa show distribution patterns that can be broadly correlated with water mass and substrate tranquility or disturbance. We conclude that many fossil agglutinated assemblages are the result of partial or total loss of the calcareous element through dissolution. However, differential loss or preservation of organically-cemented taxa during early diagenesis may further alter the taxonomic composition of recent assemblages, leading to a further difference between the modern fauna and the “flysch-type” fauna of the Palaeogene North Atlantic.

ABSTRACT Summer and winter distribution of foraminifera are similar in Tomales Bay, a long narrow embayment, 64 km north of San Francisco, California. Using three different numerical techniques (cluster analysis, multiple discriminant analysis, and multidimensional scaling), three groups of foraminifera were distinguished. One group including Glabratella ornatissima, Rotorbinella campanulata, and Cribrononion lene characterizes the nearshore turbulent zone near the mouth of the bay, an area of direct marine influence in which wind-driven waves impinge upon the shoreline. Two estuarine groups occupy the bay proper: a middle bay group is composed of Bulimina denudata, Fursenkoina pontoni, Hopkinsina pacifica, Nonionella basispinatus, N. stella, Quinqueloculina ackneriana, and several species of Brizalina; and a group at each end of the bay is composed of Buliminella elegantissima, Buccella tenerrima, Elphidiella hannai, and other less common species. Nearshore turbulent conditions at the northern mouth of the bay grade to estuarine conditions towards the south. Several of the species present in the middle bay group are more characteristic of warmer waters found in southern California and Baja California; these may represent a relict fauna from a time of warmer coastal waters or incursions of species brought by El Nino conditions. In contrast, most species found in the rest of the bay are typical of the colder-water Oregonian Province that reaches from Point Conception in the south to Vancouver Island in the north. The only apparent environmental factor that distinguishes the middle bay from the bay ends is the fine-grained sediment size of the middle bay region. Summer and winter samples showed similar foraminiferal composition and abundance, except in some stations where certain species dominate at one season or the other. The winter middle bay is dominated by Hopkinsina pacifica and Bulimina denudata. Glabratella ornatissima dominated the summer samples in the northernmost turbulent zone at the mouth of the bay.

ABSTRACT The benthic foraminiferal assemblages from two shallow (<40 m), but oceanographically distinct, fjord settings from western Norway are discussed in terms of faunal changes along depth transects. At Syslakvåg, a restricted marine influence is reflected in the strong seasonal stratification of the water column and a threefold subdivision of the faunas is apparent, with the most marked faunal transition corresponding to the zone of steepest temperature-depth and salinity-depth gradients. Below 15 m the dominant taxa are Adercotryma glomerata, Buccella frigida and Elphidium albiumbilicatum, while the shallower stations are dominated by Eggerelloides scabrum, Elphidium williamsoni and Ammonia batavus. At Håvarden, an increasing “open” marine influence is observed, particularly below the surface waters, and a two-fold subdivision of the faunas is interpreted in response to these factors. The shallower stations are dominated by A. batavus, E. scabrum, E. williamsoni and Trochamminella bullata ; these give way, at depths greater than 10 m, to assemblages dominated by Bulimina marginata, Cibicides lobatulus and Cassidulina laevigata. The presence of taxa with Arctic affinities are discussed in the context of reworking of older Quaternary sediments and the dissolution of calcareous tests. It is suggested that the shallow, seasonally variable waters of Norwegian fjords may provide southern refugia for these taxa. Equally, species’ northern limits are discussed, particularly in the context of palaeoenvironmental reconstructions from documented last interglacial sites at Bø and Fjøsanger, both from western Norway.

ABSTRACT Foraminifera are common in the glaciomarine Yakataga Formation of the eastern Gulf of Alaska and can provide key insights into the depositional history of Late Cenozoic glaciomarine paleoenvironments in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Lithologic evidence of tidewater glaciation consists of two main intervals of diamictites and sediments containing ice-rafted debris. The first is in the basal Yakataga Formation and is of latest Miocene age, while the second consists of 2-4 km of late Pliocene-early Pleistocene glaciomarine sediment in the upper Yakataga Formation. A distinctive feature of this latter interval is megachannels up to 400 meters deep and several kilometers wide. Megachannels cut into, and are filled with, a variety of lithofacies, including massive and stratified diamictites, thinly interbedded turbidite sandstones and mudstones, massive to laminated mudstones and crudely stratified conglomerates. These megachannels have been identified as possible paleofjords by some investigators but may also represent glacially influenced sea valleys, similar to the modern Yakutat Sea Valley or Bering Trough. A study of foraminiferal biofacies and sediments provide a paleoenvironmental framework for evaluation of the origin of the megachannels. Channel-fill successions begin with conglomerates overlain by fine-grained turbidites and mudstones. The turbidites pass upwards into massive and stratified diamictites deposited predominantly by sediment gravity flow processes. The turbidites and mudstones contain faunas characterized by Epistominella pacifica, agglutinated taxa and contain planktic foraminifera. These faunas represent upper bathyal water depths (150-500 m). Some diamictites contain sparse faunas dominated by Elphidium excavatum clavatum and represent neritic water depths. Near the margins of megachannels, vigorous downslope gravity processes are reflected by gravel beds and upper bathyal biofacies containing greater numbers of displaced shallow water taxa (particularly Elphidium excavatum clavatum ), including rare innermost shelf taxa (e.g., Elphidiella oregonense). The distribution of foraminiferal biofacies suggests water depths for channel-fills consistent with the amount of channel incision (100’s of m) and does not suggest restricted or silled conditions as seen in many modern fjords. Thus, the megachannels most closely resemble the glacially-influenced sea valleys found on the modern Gulf of Alaska continental margin.

ABSTRACT The distribution of living and total (dead + living) specimens of Elphidium excavatum f. clavatum was mapped in arctic seas, including the Barents Sea, Kara Sea and Svalbard fjords. Its distribution pattern is related to cold waters (< 1°C), turbid waters close to the terminus of glaciers, and shallow settings and low saline waters in high sediment accumulation areas. Consequently, E. excavatum f. clavatum is a sensitive indicator of a marked melt water event between 13,000 and 14,000 years B.P. which occurred on the Svalbard-Barents Sea margin. With an increase of temperature (10,000 years B.P.), E. excavatum f. clavatum migrated both northwards and eastward and into the fjords of Svalbard. Reworking of E. excavatum f. clavatum from glaciomarine shelf sediments most probably explain its scattered distribution in the surface sediments from the shelf underlying temperature normal saline waters, high flux on the slope during the Holocene, and high percent frequencies on the continental slope during the last deglaciation.

ABSTRACT Three mechanisms which act to disturb foraminiferal biostratigraphy are discussed. These are downcore sediment smearing during the coring process, sediment reworking and associated redeposition, and bioturbation. All three mechanisms, when viewed in cores which span the Lateglacial-early Holocene unconformity of the Hebridean Shelf, N.W. Scotland, make otherwise sharp faunal boundaries appear gradational. Associated with the disturbances, so-called species group “tails” are recognized. Careful sub-sampling of sediment cores is recommended and the merits of combined percent frequency and concentration data discussed.