Palynology and biostratigraphy of the Lower Cretaceous sediments in the South Barrow test well No. 1, Point Barrow, Alaska

Twenty-two species of dinoflagellates and acritarchs, and thirty species of spores and pollen are reported from twenty Lower Cretaceous core samples of shale and siltstone from the South Barrow Test Well No.1 in Point Barrow, Alaska. The stratigraphic distribution of the fifty-two species is summarized, and four stratigraphic intervals are established. Based on diagnostic dinoflagellate cysts, the geologic age for the Torok Formation is suggested to be Aptian-Albian, and the age of the "Pebble Shale" unit is suggested to be Barremian-Aptian. The depositional environment is considered to be marine.