Abstract The stratigraphical position of the Cambridge Greensand is confirmed as lowermost Cenomanian and the hiatus at the Albian/Cenomanian boundary described from a number of localities in SE England and East Anglia. The various sedimentary packages in the uppermost Albian and lowermost Cenomanian record a series of sea-level changes, confirmed by the changes in the foraminiferal assemblages (and other microfossils). The historical disagreements between the stratigraphical interpretations of the microfossils and macrofossils are discussed and resolved.

Abstract The chalk facies dominates Upper Cretaceous strata in the Anglo-Paris Basin, northern Germany, Poland, southern Sweden, Denmark and the North Sea Basin. The very name of the Cretaceous is derived from ‘creta’, the Latin word for chalk. It is unsurprising, therefore, that some of the earliest uses of micropalaeontology in France and the United Kingdom was to determine the biostratigraphy of the chalk: by Alcide d’Orbigny in France and by staff of the (British) Geological Survey in the UK. This approach was extended, in the 1940s, to the analysis of on-shore, and then offshore, hydrocarbon exploration wells. The continuing interest in the foraminifera of the chalk can be linked to the site investigation for the Channel Tunnel, construction of the Thames Barrier and the development of chalk oilfields in the North Sea Basin. Supporting these interests is a body of research aimed at the understanding of both the overall biostratigraphy of the chalk and some of the key bio-events of the Late Cretaceous: most notably the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary event (OAE ll) and the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.

Abstract The academic study of foraminifera began as the pursuit of the ‘gentleman naturalist’ in the nineteenth century, only becoming a professional occupation with the employment of micropalaeontologists by the (British) Geological Survey. The formal training of micropalaeontologists in British universities (and polytechnics) really began in the 1940s (post-World War ll) and much of this history can be traced back to Alan Wood and the employment predictions of F. R. S. Henson. Wood, either directly or indirectly, began the teaching of micropalaeontology at Imperial College (London), Aberystwyth and University College (London), and these three centres went on to develop and nurture the expertise we see in a wide range of schools and departments today. The rise, and fall, of MSc and MRes courses in UK geoscience departments is described, as well as the wide range of locations at which PhD training and research is undertaken. Much of this history can be related to the development of oil exploration, in the North Sea Basin and worldwide, and the need for suitably qualified personnel.

Abstract The benthic foraminifera have been studied from a large number of samples collected from successions both in, and close to, the Brazos River (Falls County, Texas, U.S.A.) and from the cliffs of Stevns Klint (south of Copenhagen, Denmark). The sections from the Brazos River contain extensive and nearly continuous outcrops, recording the so-called “event” deposits and the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary. Micropaleontological analysis of samples taken from the Mullinax-1 core, and some of the exposures in the Brazos River (and tributaries), have been investigated for benthic and planktic foraminifera, all of which are indicative of relatively shallow shelf conditions. The benthic foraminifera suffer a significant loss of diversity at the level of the “event” deposits, which appear to predate the micropaleontological Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, but no mass extinction is recorded. The agglutinated taxa almost disappear at this level, and the faunal changes indicate that there may have been a shallowing at that time. The benthic foraminifera from Stevns Klint are very different from those recorded in Texas, being typical of assemblages in the chalk facies of northwestern Europe. At the base of the Højerup Member (previously known as the Grey Chalk) there are significant changes in the benthic assemblage, again suggestive of a shallowing event at the level of two closely spaced hardgrounds, which often merge into a single horizon. The “event” deposits of the Brazos River successions may, therefore, be related to events associated with the hardground horizon at Stevns Klint, and the evidence for this interpretation is presented. This, and other, correlations provide data for the construction of a sequence stratigraphy for the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary interval.

Abstract Dennis Curry was a most successful businessman and a generous philanthropist. He also led a double life as a geologist and palaeontologist. This appreciation of the man and the scientist is supported by recollections of two of his former colleagues at University College London, where he was Visiting Professor of Marine Geology. This is followed by a bibliography of approximately 130 geological papers on a range of topics - mirroring his wide interests - that he published either singly or co-authored over a 62-year period.

Abstract Dennis Curry was both a businessman and a geologist. He was Chairman of Currys for many years, a job that still allowed him to spend significant time on scientific research and fossil collecting. His achievements as a scientist were impressive, with more than 120 publications and various awards from the scientific community. His collection, containing in excess of 90000 molluscs, 700 micropalaeontological slides and other material, was donated to the Natural History Museum, London. The collection contains material from all over the world, but mostly from southern England and France. His family have made funds available to ensure proper curation of the collection. The material has been sorted, reboxed and organized, and is available to researchers.

Abstract A diverse and abundant Late Pleistocene pteropod (pelagic gastropod) fauna is described from marine cores near the island of Montserrat, Lesser Antilles. In several of the cores, there are ‘floods’ of pteropods at particular levels, usually associated with glacial periods within the Late Pleistocene. These levels of abundant pteropods appear to be of regional significance, having been reported from other locations in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf Coast of Florida and other ocean basins. The concentrations appear to reflect the enhanced preservation of aragonite during cooler periods within the Pleistocene.

Abstract Fifteen nummulitid species are described from the Late Paleocene and Early Eocene of northern Oman. These comprise Operculina (five species), Assilina (one), Planocamerinoides (two), Ranikothalia (one), Nummulitoides (three), Palaeonummulites (one) and Chordoperculi-noides (two). The taxa Nummulitoides margaretae, Chordoperculinoides bermudezi, Palaeonum-mulites thalicus gwynae, Assilina ranikoti and Operculina libyca are recorded from the Middle East for the first time. Operculina canalifera and O. inaequilateralis are reassigned to Nummuli-toides; Operculina jiwani and Assilina dandotica are transferred to Planocamerinoides , and Rani-kothalia sahnii is placed in Chordoperculinoides . Some revisions to the generic classification are proposed, with these simple forms being removed to the Palaeonumulitinae, new subfamily herein, genera with lateral chamberlets being confined to the Nummulitinae, and genera with subdivided equatorial chambers being assigned to the Heterostegininae. Enrollment of the lamina and height of the coil (opening rate) is taken into account, as well as the presence or absence of vertical canals and the thickness of the marginal cord. On these grounds, a new genus, Caudrina (type species C. soldadensis) , is formally described to include sub-evolute descendants of involute Chordoperculinoides . Trabeculae and trabecular canals are redefined and the problem of their mis-identification in terms of presence/absence as a criterion in the systematics of the Nummulitidae is discussed. The biostratigraphical and palaeobiogeographical implications of this early nummulitid fauna are significant. The presence of Chordoperculinoides bermudezi in Oman is considered to be of particular importance, since it has previously been considered to be restricted to the Caribbean faunal province. The occurrence also of Ranikothalia nuttalli kohatica extends the geographical distribution of this taxon, which hitherto was only known from NW Pakistan, while Nummulitoides was previously only recorded with certainty from West Africa, Libya, Pakistan, the Pyrenees and from off western Ireland. Other taxa such as Assilina ranikoti and Palaeonummulites thalicus gwynae , and Operculina libyca , were previously only known from Pakistan and Libya, respectively. The fauna therefore shows a marked mixing of taxa from the Indian Subcontinent, the Mediterranean/North Atlantic and West African regions, as well as including a taxon previously considered endemic to the Caribbean. Forms with a massive marginal cord such as Chordoperculinoides, Ranikothalia and Nummuli-toides indicate an age close to the Paleocene-Eocene boundary (nannoplankton zones NP8– NP10) with Nummulitoides possibly ranging as high as top NP11. Assilina, Palaeonummulites and Planocamerinoides have a first occurrence in the latest Paleocene (within NP9/P5a). Most of the genera studied first appear in the Late Thanetian (NP8/P4b-c) and were probably derived from a tightly coiled ancestor of Palaeonummulites earlier in the Paleocene. Possible lines of descent between these genera are also discussed.

Abstract Résumé: Les grands Foraminifères se rencontrent actuellement dans les environnements marins infralittoraux dont la température moyenne annuelle (TAM) est au moins égale à +22/23 °C, et situés dans la ceinture équatoriale circumterrestre comprise entre les latitudes 30° nord et 30° sud. Au cours de l'Éocène moyen (vers 40 Ma), la plate-forme carbonatée qui s'étend le long de la façade atlantique de l'Europe héberge de grands Foraminifères formant des associations diversifiées jusque dans les Bassins de Paris et du Hampshire, situés à l'époque à la latitude 42° nord. Plus au nord, les grands Foraminiféres se font rares et disparaissent vers le parallèle 45°. Pendant la même période, dans la plate-forme carbonatée qui borde les littoraux africain et malgache, les grands Foraminifères sont bien diversifiés jusque vers la paléolatitude 35° sud. Ils diminuent ensuite pour disparaître vers le parallèle 45°. Ainsi, à l'Eocène moyen, la ceinture équatoriale d'eaux superficielles chaudes, comprise entre les parallèles 45° nord et 45° sud, est dilatée par rapport à l'actuelle. Elle déborde de quelques 1.500 km à la fois en direction du nord et en direction du sud. Le gradient thermique global latitudinal très réduit (de l'ordre de 15 à 20 °C) n'autorise que trois zones climatiques majeures: une ceinture équatoriale (TAM > +22/23 °C) dilatée et flanquée de deux calottes circumpolaires au climat tempéré. Abstract Larger foraminifera occur today in marine infra-littoral environments whose mean annual temperature (TAM) is at least 22-23 °C, and are situated in a circum-equatorial belt between latitudes 30° North and 30° South. Throughout the Middle Eocene (around 40 Ma), the carbonate platform, which lay along the whole length of the Atlantic front of Europe, supported diverse populations of larger foraminifera as far north as the Paris and Hampshire basins, which at that time were situated at latitude 42° North. Larger foraminifera only disappear around 45° North. During the same period, in the carbonate platform which borders the African and Madagascan shores, larger foraminifera were well diversified as far south as palaeolatitude 35° South, before diminishing and finally disappearing near 45° South. Thus in the Middle Eocene, the equatorial belt of near-surface warm waters lay between parallels 45° North and 45° South, and was therefore somewhat extended compared to the present day. In fact, it covered a distance of 1500 km, North to South. The global latitudinal thermal gradient, as a consequence, was very much reduced (in the order of 15-20 °C), and only contained three main climatic zones: an expanded equatorial belt (TAM > +22/23 °C), flanked by two circumpolar caps with a temperate climate.

Abstract The English Channel is a shallow epicontinental sea, linking the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. It is an excellent example of a tidally dominated shallow marine system, with limited sediment sources and extensive reworking of a relatively thin sediment cover. It is bordered and floored by a range of rock types, ranging from Palaeozoic to Tertiary in age. It has a variety of coastlines, including cliffs, rias, estuaries and coastal sediment accumulations, ranging from gravel and sand beaches with aeolian dunes to broad intertidal flats. The sediment is supplied by (i) rivers, with the French side of the system dominating the fluviatile sediment supply; (ii) erosion of cliffs and wave-cut platforms, which again is more important along the French coast; (iii) reworking of the sea floor; (iv) the breakdown ofbenthonic skeletal-debris, which is particularly important in the WSW towards the open ocean; and (v) some input (mainly of biogenic planktonic origin) from the Atlantic Ocean. The system loses fine-grained sediment to the Atlantic Ocean in the WSW and the North Sea to the ENE and as a result of estuarine infilling. Anthropogenic changes are caused mainly by large-scale dredging of coarser-grained material for the construction industry, and within some of the estuaries (e.g. in the west of England) are the dumping sites of mining waste. The area is dominated by strong tidal currents and by waves that originate mainly from the WSW and which only affect the shallow water areas during storms. The central area of the Channel is covered by coarse-grained material, since the finer fractions have been scoured away by the tidal action; this has been identified as a 'bedload parting zone'. Wide areas are covered by sand-sized sediments, fashioned into a variety of bedforms: ripples, sandwaves, longitudinal bed-forms and sandbanks. Fine-grained sediments are confined to coastal embayments, rias, estuaries and open-coast intertidal flats. A thin superficial blanket of Holocene sediment covers an important unconformity whose final development occurred during and succeeding the Flandrian Transgression. If this is preserved, it will form an interesting sequence of deposits where the facies distribution is dominated by oceanographic processes and not merely by water depth and proximity to the coastline.