Abstract The Antrim Lava Group of NE Ireland comprises a volcanic sequence dominated by basaltic lava flows. Including subsidiary sedimentary interlayers and some evolved lavas and intrusions, the overall sequence reaches a cumulative thickness of ∼800 m. The tempo of eruption of the Antrim Lava Group is poorly constrained but can be evaluated via weathering patterns and environmental reconstructions derived from lava-flow interbeds. In this contribution, we present palynology from a newly identified and well-developed 2.0–2.5 m thick sedimentary sequence (interbed) at Ross's Quarry, Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, that helps elucidate the contemporary development of environments in a setting subject to periodic basaltic volcanism. The interbed is subdivided into geologically distinct subunits of cross-bedded and parallel-bedded sandstones and sandy siltstones, all rich in visible organic remains such as rootlets and fragments of wood and bark. A total of 19 samples was collected from the sequence and subsequently analysed for palynological content. The palynomorph data point toward a diversity of inputs ranging from estuaries, chalky soils, dry soils, swamps, lakes, floodplains, sand bars, wet soils, established bogs and fenlands. In contrast to current understanding, the palynological data and their inferred environments collectively reveal the presence of flora that favour a temperate climate rather than the subtropical climate that has previously been inferred from the lateritic interbeds of the Antrim Lava Group. By combining the Ross's Quarry observations with palynological data from other quarry sites and boreholes in Antrim, we provide new insights into the climate, weathering systems and eruptive history of the Antrim Lava Group.

Abstract Ordovician strata in Greenland are extensively exposed in North Greenland and northern East Greenland; additional small traces (loose blocks) are recorded from the craton of West Greenland. The western North Greenland succession is nearly identical to that of the Franklinian Basin exposed on Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada; the eastern North Greenland represents the (present) northeastern corner of Laurentia and provides the connection to the East Greenland Caledonian platform. The northern East Greenland succession is the natural northern extension of the Caledonian platform of northern Europe and the Appalachian platform of eastern North America. During the Ordovician Greenland occupied a palaeogeographical subtropical to tropical position with a faunal assemblage typical of Laurentia. A prominent faunal peak of diversification occurred in the Late Ordovician. The stratigraphical succession of Greenland is summarized and age relationships are discussed with reference to the fossil faunas and breaks in the successions and correlation between the locations and regions are provided.

Abstract Nine non-pollen palynomorph (NPP) groups occur in Quaternary marine and brackish-water sediments; these groups represent various planktonic or micro- to macrobenthic organisms. Some extant NPP were previously classified as fossil Acritarcha, Chitinozoa or scolecodonts. We refer to reviews of these fossils and their applications for Paleozoic–Mesozoic biostratigraphy and palaeoecology but focus on extant marine NPP that can be studied by laboratory culture, genetics or micro-geochemical methods. Marine NPP include resting cysts of planktonic dinoflagellates and prasinophytes, tintinnids and other cilates, copepod eggs and skeletal remains, and various microzoobenthos: microforaminiferal organic linings, ostracod mandibles and carapace linings, various worm egg capsules and mouthparts. New micro-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy spectra suggest the probable affinities of the tintinnid cyst type P and Beringiella . Our applications in marine biodiversity and provincialism studies emphasize under-studied polar regions and neglected ice-algae nano-plankton and compare climate-based NPP distributions to Ocean Biogeographic Information System realms. Trophic relationships are outlined using sediment-trap studies. Seasonal to annual-scale investigations of palaeoproduction provide new perspectives on ocean carbon budgets during times of rapid climate change and atmospheric carbon increase. More taxonomic and source-linkage studies of non-dinocyst marine NPP are needed but we outline potentials for studies of hemispheric or global-scale shifts in marine food webs as driven by ocean warming.