| Title | Dinoflagellate gems from the GEM project: aspects of Mesozoic-Cenozoic biostratigraphy from Canada's North |
| Author | Fensome, R; Williams, G; Brittain, J |
| Source | The Atlantic Geoscience Society (AGS) / La Société Géoscientifique de l'Atlantique, 42nd Colloquium and Annual Meeting, program with abstracts; 2016 p. 23 |
| Year | 2016 |
| Alt Series | Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 20160007 |
| Publisher | Atlantic Geoscience Society / La Société Géoscientifique de l'Atlantique |
| Meeting | Atlantic Geoscience Society 42nd Colloquium and Annual Meeting; Truro, NS; CA; February 5-6, 2016 |
| Document | book |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Northwest Territories; Nunavut; Yukon |
| NTS | 38B/13; 38B/14; 38B/15; 38B/16; 38C/01; 38C/02; 38C/03; 38C/04; 38C/05; 38C/06; 38C/07; 38C/08; 38C/10; 38C/11; 38C/12; 48D/01; 48D/08; 48D/09; 48D/16; 106I/03; 106I/04 |
| Area | Baffin Bay; Bylot Island; Maud Bight; Two Snout Creek; South Coast; Mackenzie region; Hume River; Norman Wells |
| Lat/Long WENS | -129.7167 -129.1333 66.0833 66.0000 |
| Lat/Long WENS | -81.0000 -76.0000 73.8333 72.7500 |
| Subjects | paleontology; stratigraphy; marine geology; biostratigraphy; microfossils; palynomorphs; paleoenvironment; marine environments; Paleogene; Paleocene; fossil assemblages; stratigraphic correlations;
stratigraphic analyses; systematic paleontology; taxonomy; Dinoflagellates; Algae; Cyclonephelium; Phanerozoic; Cenozoic; Tertiary; Mesozoic; Cretaceous |
| |
| Program | Baffin Petroleum Systems, GEM2: Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals |
| Links | Online - En ligne (full volume / volume complet, PDF 897
KB)
|
| Abstract | The latest phase of Geological Survey of Canada's Geoscience for Energy and Minerals (GEM) project involves six regions of interest spread across northern Canada, from Baffin Bay to the Cordillera.
Rocks of these regions include marine Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks, which are important in evaluating the geology and petroleum systems of several GEM regions. Dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts) are a key tool in establishing the ages of Jurassic
through Neogene marine strata, and together with other palynomorphs (notably spores and pollen) they are an important source of paleoenvironmental information. Our work is currently focussed on using dinocysts and other palynomorphs to elucidate the
Cretaceous-Paleogene stratigraphy within two GEM regions of interest: the Baffin Bay area and the Mackenzie region of western Northwest Territories and eastern Yukon. In the Baffin region, the sections studied are from three areas on Bylot Island:
Maud Bight, Two Snout Creek, and the South Coast. Collectively, the sections encompass Albian-Cenomanian to middle Paleocene (Selandian) rocks, previously dated using only spores and pollen. The dinocyst assemblages are refining the age control and
highlighting previously unsuspected fluctuations in the marine paleoenvironments. Mesozoic rocks in the Mackenzie region form a key link between the better-dated strata of the Western Interior Seaway further south and coeval strata of the Western
Arctic. The Hume River section northwest of Norman Wells has been examined previously using foraminiferal assemblages, but some stratigraphic problems still remain, such as the position of the Albian-Cenomanian transition and the dating of an
important unconformity between the Arctic Red and Slater River formations. Dinocysts are being applied to address these problems. Analyses of assemblages in the Hume River section will also provide a benchmark for expanding to other sections in the
region and for establishing biostratigraphic events to correlate to other GEM regions. The Hume River section has yielded a rich variety of areoligeracean dinocysts of the genus Cyclonephelium and related forms, and these are providing core material
for a taxonomic revision of that complex in anticipation of their improved utility for biostratigraphy. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts) are a key tool in establishing the ages of Jurassic through Neogene marine strata, and together with other palynomorphs
(notably spores and pollen) they are an important source of paleoenvironmental information. We are using dinocysts in several northern regions of interest for the GEM project to improve our understanding of the history of the sedimentary basins in
those regions - in this case for the Mackenzie and Baffin regions of interest. We are also constantly refining the taxonomy of the dinoscysts, which in turn helps refine the accuracy of these fossils in determining ages and past
environments. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 297899 |
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