1983 Articles

High resolution magnetostratigraphy of Caribbean Plio-Pleistocene deep-sea sediments

Kent, Dennis V.; Spariosu, Dann J.

The ability of the hydraulic piston corer (HPC) to recover virtually undisturbed sections of semi-consolidated deep-sea sediments suitable for paleomagnetic study was first demonstrated on Leg 64 and Leg 68 of the Glomar Challenger. Reported here is a complete magnetostratigraphy for a 150 m section of Plio-Pleistocene pelagic deposits recovered at Site 502 in the Caribbean. Correlation of the magnetic polarity zones to the well-dated standard sequence of geomagnetic polarity reversals provides a precise geochronological framework for age-calibration of calcareous plankton fossil datums and which, combined with the moderate to high sedimentation rates (24–38 m/m.y.), present an opportunity to study paleoenvironmental variations in the Early Pleistocene and the Pliocene with a time control and resolution heretofore possible only in Late Pleistocene deep-sea sediment cores.