By regulating the supply of carbon, nutrients, and heat, ocean circulation at high latitudes plays a critical role in global climate. During the last ice age, the Atlantic’s overturning circulation was repeatedly perturbed, associated with major changes in climate, but little is known of the response of biogeochemistry and circulation in the Pacific. Here we present new high-resolution data that illuminate the coupled changes in circulation, CO2 and nutrient supply, and biological productivity associated with rapid climate change events at northern high latitudes. We show that abrupt stadial cold events are consistently associated with pulses of enhanced nutrient supply and diatom productivity at mid latitudes in the North Atlantic. Abrupt changes are also seen in the North Pacific, but are anti-phased, with peaks of productivity and nutrient supply occurring during abrupt interstadial warming. Using model simulations, we show that these productivity changes can be explained by abrupt switches in the mode of overturning circulation, with weakened overturning associated with accumulation of nutrients in the subsurface waters that supply the surface via winter mixing and upwelling, alongside a southward shift of nutrient-rich subpolar waters. Our results demonstrate the persistent operation of an Atlantic-Pacific seesaw in overturning circulation and biogeochemistry on centennial to millennial timescales and provide a valuable test for simulation of interlinked changes in circulation, biogeochemistry, and climate.

The Krems Embayment contains the westernmost fully marine depositional environments of the Karpatian and Bade-nian transgressions in the Central Paratethys. Four drill cores were investigated to analyse the bio- and lithostratigraphic, and tectonic relations. The investigated core sections cover the Karpatian Laa Formation (bio-zones M4, NN4) and the Badenian Gaindorf Formation (M5b-M6, NN4-NN5). Important biostratigraphic indicators identified are Praeorbulina glomerosa glomerosa, Praeorbulina glomerosa circularis and Orbulina suturalis for the Gaindorf Formation. The Laa Formation is indicated by the absence of Praeorbulina, Orbulina and Globigerina falconensis, low numbers of Globorotalia bykovae, and a prominent peak in Helicosphaera ampliaperta abundance at the end of the Karpatian. Cibicidoides lopjanicus and Cassigerinella spp. occur with high percentages in Badenian samples and show much longer stratigraphic ranges than known from literature data. The depositional gap at the Karpatian-Badenian boundary has a minimum duration of 0.41 My in the Krems Embayment. The combination of bio- and lithostratigraphic data allows the correlation across major faults. The Diendorf-Boskovice Fault System played an important role during basin formation and was identified as very active during the early to middle Badenian Stage. The results of this study show the complex interaction of sedimentation, tectonic activity and paleobiological developments in this peripheral part of a marginal sea.

In the 1960s and 1970s Werner Fuchs of the Austrian Geological Survey (Vienna) described a significant number of new foraminiferal taxa that he considered ancestral to the planktonic foraminifera. All these taxa are well-curated in the collections of the Austrian Geological Survey and have been studied by one of us (Malcolm B. Hart). Some of these taxa, from the Triassic and lowermost Jurassic strata of Austria and northern Italy, are poorly preserved, possibly the result of having an original aragonitic wall structure. None of these taxa possess characters which give the appearance of a planktonic mode of life, although some of them (e.g. Oberhauserella, Praegubkinella) may well have been ancestral to the holoplanktonic foraminifera that appeared in the Toarcian and younger strata. Other taxa in the collections of the Austrian Geological Survey (part of GeoSphere Austria), from the Jurassic of Poland, are preserved as glauconitic steinkerns and are either unidentifiable as foraminifera or suspect in terms of their stratigraphical and evolutionary significance.

The Waschberg–Ždánice Unit links the Alpine and Carpathian orogens. Its complex structural and sedimentary structures lack a modern interpretation, particularly in the Austrian part. In recent years, the southern end of the Waschberg–Ždánice Unit has been geologically mapped in detail. Nine large occurrences (km-size) of the Waschberg Limestone, particularly at Waschberg, Michelberg, Praunsberg, and at some unnamed places continue into and strike in line with the widespread olistostromes. They are consequently interpreted as giant-olistoliths and represent products of submarine mass transport processes contemporaneous with the adjacent olistostromes. Signs for large-scale imbricate structures (repetitive sequences) or interpretation as tectonic klippen were not found. Based on the detailed geological mapping, some previously unknown structural elements are introduced, such as Haselbach Wedge and ”crunch-zone”. The Waschberg Limestone itself is an allochthonous mixed sediment (high density debrites and turbidites) that contains shallow water benthic (e.g., Nummulites) and deep-water planktic foraminifera of different age. Formation and final deposition of the Waschberg Limestone included sedimentation of Ypresian larger foraminifera and other biogenic grains in an Ypresian/basal Lutetian basin, detachment and transport towards the north-west, mixture with crystalline basement fragments and Flysch components in an Egerian or basal Eggenburgian foredeep, exposure on unstable slopes of the thrust front, and finally mobilization and basinward transport of olistostromes and Waschberg Limestone giant olistoliths during the Eggenburgian. The formation of olistostromes and giant-olistoliths may be indicative for the increased velocity or higher intensity of the thrusting processes during the early Miocene.

The North Pacific has been thought of as a sleeping giant in Earth’s climate system. Despite being a major reservoir of heat, nutrients, and carbon, the lack of deep water formation in this region today limits the exchange of these properties. Here, using a variety of new and published sediment core data, alongside Earth system modeling, we provide evidence that the North Pacific giant is in fact a dynamic player in Earth’s climate system, with active PMOC during the LGM and deep water formation during HS1. We also demonstrate a persistent Atlantic-Pacific seesaw in deep water formation during rapid climate change events, and discuss the impact of these changes on regional climate and global CO2.

Foraminiferal assemblages from Upper Jurassic Klentnice beds in Lower Austria are described and analysed. The early late Tithonian assemblages comprise 75 foraminiferal taxa and simple diversities reach up to 31 taxa per sample, pointing to comparatively high diversity in general. The assemblages are dominated by lenticulinid forms (Genera Astacolus, Lenticulina, Saracenaria, Vaginulinopsis). Trocholina is the most common genus and present in all samples. Other frequent genera are Marssonella and Neobulimina. Co-occurrence of epifaunal (grazing) herbivores and epi-to deep infaunal active deposit feeders points to mixed assemblages from different sources and supports the concept of turbiditic systems as prevailing sedimentary regimes in the basinal setting.

The Benue Trough formed in close relation to the opening of the South Atlantic and experienced sea-level fluctuations of different magnitudes during the Cenomanian to Coniacian interval. We identify depositional environments from outcrop sections and a drilling as control record. Lines of evidence for the interpretation include facies analyses, foraminiferal assemblage composition (P/B-ratio) and the presence of planktonic deep-water indicators. While the analysis of the well data from the Dahomey Basin indicates a continuous deep-water (bathyal) environment, the succession in the Nkalagu area of the Lower Benue Trough evolved in a different and more complex way. Beginning with latest Cenomanian shoreface to shelf deposits, a long period of subsidence lasted until the middle Turonian when pelagic shales and calcareous turbidites were deposited at upper to middle bathyal depths. These conditions continued during late Turonian and Coniacian times. The general deepening trend of the Lower Benue Trough was mainly controlled by tectonic subsidence and was superimposed by eustatic sea-level changes, resulting in periodically changing palaeowater depths. We were able to identify eight sea-level rises and falls that can be attributed to 405 kyr eccentricity cycles. The amplitudes of the sea-level changes were most likely in the range of several tens to a few hundred metres. The deposition of carbonate turbidites at Nkalagu was probably triggered by eustatic sea-level lowstands.

Shales of the Abeokuta Group in the Dahomey Basin yielded abundant foraminiferal tests. The study investigated sediments from three wells that were drilled for petroleum exploration: Well - X located in the offshore deep water, Orimedu-1 and Ise-2 in the coastline region to establish their Cretaceous biostratigraphic units through planktonic foraminiferal zonation. Calcareous benthonic foraminifers occur abundantly and consistently throughout the sequences in the three wells while planktonic foraminifera are more abundant in the Well X than those in the Orimedu-1 and Ise-2. The identified planktonic foraminiferal species are: Rotalipora greenhornesis, Rotalipora cushmani, Dicarinella primitiva, Praeglobotruncana helvetica, Marginotruncana sp. Heldbergella delrionensis, Helbergella planispira, Hedbergella simplex, Whitenella inonata, Whitenella baltica, Globotruncana aegytiaca, Globotruncana sp., Heterohelix reymenti, Heterohelix moremani, Heterohelix globulosa, Abathomphalus mayaroensis and occurrence of Orthokarstenina oyea, Ammobaculites corprolithiformis, Ammobaculities sp and Bolivina sp. Calcareous benthonic foraminiferal species were more abundant than the planktonic species in Orimedu-1 and Ise-2 wells. The benthonic species decrease drastically in the well-X offshore deep water where the planktonic species were most abundant. This trend may suggest an increasing water depth from near coastline to offshore regions in the Cretaceous times. Six planktonic foraminiferal zones were recognised across the three exploratory wells. These include Rotalipora greenhornesis (middle - late Cenomanian), Helvetoglobotruncana helvetica (early - late Turonian), Marginotruncana pseudolinneiana (late Turonian), Marginotruncana renzi (Coniacian - Santonian), Globotruncana calcarata (late Santonian - early Campanian) and Globotruncana aegytiaca (Maastrichtian) Zones. The Rotalipora greenhornesis and Praeglobotruncanae helvetica Zones (Cenomanian - Turonian) were correlated with the standard zones in the Tethyan regions. The Well-X indeed penetrated older Cenomanian to Turonian intervals in the investigated wells, thereby confirming the presence of older marine sequences in the Eastern Dahomey Basin contrary to previous suppositions.

(1) Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands (j.frieling1@uu.nl), (2) Geologische Bundesanstalt, Wien, Austria, (3) Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA, (4) Department of Geology and Mineral Sciences, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria, (8) NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, Texel, the Netherlands, (5) Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK, (6) School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom, (7) MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Zusammenfassung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Material, methods, and concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Biostratigraphy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Magdalenaberg area, Campanian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Bramberger Bach near Hochhub, Maastrichtian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Paleoecology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Discussion and interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Palaeonvironmental interpretations and biostratigraphic zonations in northwest Borneo are still a matter of debate but are important for petroleum related applications. The outcrop of Ambug Hill, a late Miocene marine siliciclastic sequence in Brunei Darussalam, has been investigated for its foraminifera assemblage. From a 9.5 m clay-rich interval 50 taxa have been recognized and classified, whenever possible to species level. The studied fauna is characterized by mostly hyaline foraminifera, dominated by two rotaliid species: Cavarotalia annectens and Heterolepa dutemplei. Additionally, a number of miliolids, lageniids, bolivinids and also planktonic foraminifera are present but in much lower abundance. The dominance of the rotaliids points to a sea floor rich in organic carbon characterized by muddy substrates with very low light penetration and the possible growth of patchy sea grass or macroalgae in the system, as indicated by epiphytic foraminifera in the samples. The results obtained give additional insights on how the environmental conditions might have been during the deposition of the deltaic sequences very widespread in the region, and how the fauna coped with such settings. Throughout the investigated samples, the dominance of the assemblages clearly shows alternating stress conditions, typical of pro- deltaic environments. The large abundance of rotaliid foraminifera, points toward possible biostratigraphic applications as several taxa within this group have short biozones in the region even though have strong facies dependency. If their role as biostratigraphic indicators could be finally proven, they might be used to date the large depositional sequences occurring in the region, since planktonic index fossils are scarce due to the very proximal settings of the sediments.

The late Burdigalian (Karpatian) Korneuburg Basin gives an excellent insight into the continuous modification of its paleo-environments and paleo-ecology and therefore into its dynamics over geological time scales. The investigated outcrops provided a unique opportunity to study the change of foraminiferal assemblages in an Early Miocene estuarine-marine system as a response to climate (precipitation) oscillations. To this end, we studied foraminiferal assemblages. Ostracods provided additional information. Paleo-salinities were estimated by applying a transfer equation using modern frequency distributions of indicative foraminiferal taxa. This technique is used here for the first time to reconstruct salinity in the past, and may facilitate further studies in shallow water paleo-environments elsewhere. On the basis of the recorded benthic foraminiferal assemblages, their modern distribution, and several diversity indices (Fisher α, Shannon, Dominance, Evenness), we were able to discriminate between five paleo-environments. Paleo-salinity was the most important environmental factor that governed the distribution of taxa in the Korneuburg Basin. Low diverse brackish environments yielded Ammonia and Aubignyna. Slightly reduced salinity conditions are dominated by Ammonia with additional taxa and are more diverse. Normal marine salinities are indicated by the dominance of Heterolepa, Gyroidinoides, or Bulimina and go along with a more balanced assemblage composition. Hypersaline conditions are characterized by Cycloforina and Ammonia and an intermediate diversity distribution. Freshwater samples are free of benthic foraminifera. Environmental changes and consequent ecological stress resulted in an overall low-diverse paleo-ecosystem. Salinity variations are interpreted as being caused by freshwater influx into the system. Seventeen combined increases and decreases of paleo-salinity indicate a coupling with obliquity cycles and a linkage to regional climate changes. The estuarine system of the Korneuburg Basin, that lasted over 700,000years shows distinct effects of the regional climate regimes on the local micro-fauna.

During rapid global warming 56 million years ago, tropical sea surface temperatures exceeded 36°C and stressed eukaryotic plankton.

The Korneuburg Basin in Lower Austria, about 18 km north of Vienna, is a ca 20 km long and at most 7 km wide asymmetric pull-apart basin formed within the Alpine-Carpathian thrustbelt during last Alpine movements in the Karpatian (late Early Miocene). During the construction of the S1 motorway south of Stetten a ca 1.8 km long section between the Tradenberg tunnel and the city of Korneuburg was geologically documented in detail (fig. 1). A flysch-elevation in the area of profile E (fig. 1) divides the section in an eastern (profiles A, F) and a western part (profiles G, D, D1, B, C1, C) causing an increasing number of faults in the Miocene sediments towards the vicinity of the flysch. In the western part constantly 20° to 30° westward dipping marl, marly silts and fine to medium sands, in some parts with intercalations of lignite and coaly clay were cropping out, whereas in the eastern part the westward dipping of similar sediments is changing to an eastward nearby the flysch high. Rich fossil content documents sedimentation in mudflats, coastal swamps and shallow sublittoral settings within an estuary. Autochthonous Lower Miocene nannofossils represented by stratigraphical important forms like Helicosphaera ampliaperta Bramlette et Wilcoxon, 1967, H. carteri (Wallich 1877) Kamptner 1954, Reticulofenestra excavata Lehotayova, 1975, Sphenolithus cf. heteromorphus Deflandre 1953, indicating nannoplankton Zone NN4 (Martini 1971). The mollusc fauna documents changing environmental conditions along the sampled transect. Nearby terrestrial habitats and freshwater influence are indicated by planorbids, hydrobiids and Melanopsis impressa. An enormous biodiversity with more than 650 taxa was documented from these paleoenvironments, allowing also precise climatic reconstruction from palynologic data: within subtropical climatic conditions intertidal to very shallow subtidal marine environments and brackish water with Agapilia pachii, Granulolabium plicatum, Terebralia bidentata, Crassostrea gryphoides, and Perna aquitanica; whereas deeper subtidal and fully marine conditions are documented by Turritella, Nassarius, Anadara, muricid gastropods, or venerids. Foraminiferal assemblages are dominated by benthic foraminifera and document brackish to shallow marine paleoenvironments. Most frequent genera are Ammonia, Aubignyna and elphidiids. Quiet water assemblages are indicated by higher portions of Caucasina and Nonion. The found assemblages enable us to trace sea level changes within the sections. They correspond largely to those described earlier by Rogl (1998). A complete measurement by hand-held gammalog spectral analysis detected throughout the succession prominent, highly significant periodicities with stratigraphic distance ranging from 12 m to 25 m, which have been interpreted as 21-kyr-precession signal. This indication for astronomical forcing allows further discussion of a reliable age-model for this section of the Korneuburg Basin.

Planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphical and paleoecological studies were carried out on the Paleocene-Eocene successions exposed at the Sagamu quarry of the West African Portland Cement Company (WAPCO) southwestern Nigeria. The exposed section from the base to the top includes the Ewekoro Formation (Paleocene) which is essentially limestones and the Oshosun Formation (Late Paleocene – Early Eocene) mainly of shales. Biostratigraphy and paleoecology of foraminifera species was carried out. Twenty species of planktic and sixteen species of benthic forms were identified from the Oshosun shale interval of the section. In general, benthic species of infaunal and epifaunal habitat dominate the population. Based on the abundance and stratigraphical distribution of the planktonic foraminiferal species, two planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphic zones were recognized, within the Oshosun Formation: a Globanomalina pseudomenardii Zone of Late Paleocene and Morosovella subbotinae Zone of Early Eocene age. Benthonic foraminifers are generally shallow marine (mostly muddy bottom dwellers). The estimated paleo-depth ranges between 50m and 150m. The environment of deposition was relatively stable during the Late Paleocene – Early Eocene times.

The northern Tethyan margin is a key region for determining environmental changes associated with the collision of continental and oceanic tectonic plates and Alpine orogeny. Herein we investigated Middle to Late Eocene neritic to bathyal sediments deposited during an interval of unstable climatic conditions. In order to quantify paleoenvironmental changes, we developed a detailed age model based on biozonations of planktic foraminifera, calcareous nannoplankton, and larger benthic foraminifera. The section at Adelholzen covers the almost complete Lutetian Stage (calcareous nannoplankton zones NP15a-16, planktic foraminifera zones E8-11, shallow benthic (foraminifera) zones SBZ13-15) and large parts of the Priabonian Stage (NP18-20, E14/15), while the intermediate Bartonian Stage (NP17) is completely missing. Foraminiferal, calcareous nannoplankton, and macrofossil assemblages were analyzed for changes in paleo-water depth, mixing and stratification, paleo-primary productivity (pPP), food supply, and bottom water oxygenation. Paleo-water depth estimates range from 50 m (middle neritic, early Lutetian) to nearly 500 m (upper bathyal, late Priabonian). The combination of assemblage composition, planktic and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates, and derived parameters (carbon-flux to sea floor, pPP) enabled us to identify a series of distinct paleoceanographic events of at least regional significance. Such events are characterized by considerable changes in primary productivity or reduced bottom water ventilation. Calculated pPP-values indicate oligotrophic conditions throughout.

Global, glacio-eustatic sea-level changes massively influenced the depositional history of the Central Paratethyan region. Here, we correlate Middle Miocene global δ18O-shifts with ice volume changes on Antarctica and sea-level changes with corresponding phases of erosion (valley incision) and deposition in the Lower Austrian part of the Alpine–Carpathian Foredeep. This allows the exact dating of the valley formation. Two periods of positive δ18O-shifts resulted in sea-level drops of about 60 and 40 m, respectively. The first drop in the late Langhian (middle Badenian) at c. 13.9 Ma (Mi3b) was fast and caused severe erosion on the emerged foredeep. In a second, less pronounced step around 13.0 Ma (Mi4) in the middle Serravallian (late Badenian), the base level was further deepened after a period of alternating erosion and deposition. The combined sea-level change (80–120 m) fits well with the maximum thickness of Sarmatian sediments drilled within incised valley (110 m). The global sea-level falls affected not only the geological history of the foredeep. The intensive erosion (valley incision) is combined with delta progradation in the adjacent Vienna Basin. Due to this massive sea-level drop, the interruption of marine connections resulted in vast salt deposits and faunal crises within the Central Paratethys during this time.

Topic: Paleocene/Eocene-boundary in a deep-water turbidite setting Tectonic unit: Northern Calcareous Alps Lithostratigraphic unit: Gosau Group, Zwieselalm Formation Chronostratigraphic units: Upper Paleocene to Lower Eocene Biostratigraphic units: Calcareous Nannoplankton Zones NP9 and NP10 Location: Southern tributary of the Gamsbach (Krautgraben) to the west of Haid (Gams, Styria) Coordinates: 014° 50′ 26′′ E, 47° 39′ 49′′ N References: Egger et al., 2009; Wagreich et al., 2011.

Foraminiferal holotypes, lectotypes, and syntypes stored in the paleontological collection of the Geological Survey of Austria have been listed and figured and the corresponding publications briefly described. The historical growth of holotypes, lectotypes, and syntypes in the collection has been discussed. Due to both the proposal that the GSSP marking the base of the Jurassic System be sited in the Kuhjoch section in Tyrol and a revision of the early evolution of planktic foraminifera, interest in the collection has increased markedly in recent years. *) Holger gebHardt: Geologische Bundesanstalt, Neulinggasse 38, A-1030 Wien, Austria. holger.gebhardt@geologie.ac.at