DINOFLAGELLATE CYSTS FROM THE LOWER AND MIDDLE JURASSIC OF THE TETHYAN DOMAIMORPHOLOGY, BIOSTRATIGRAPHY, PROVINCIALISM AND PALEOECOLOGY

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Project objective

Dinoflagellates, algal unicells, are an important constituent of marine phytoplankton and their fossil remains are made up of sporopollenin cysts. The research project consists of the study and description of dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from the Lower and Middle Jurassic strata located in the Tethyan domain, previously dated by ammonites and calcareous nannofossils, with particular attention to the characterization of the Toarcian-Aalenian boundary. The study will regard the taxonomic description of the taxa and the definition of the most significant bioevents. A comparison with coeval North European assemblages will carried out. Moreover, as during the Lower Jurassic cyst-producing dinoflagellates emerged and rapidly diversified, is an undoubted potential for studies pertaining to phylogeny, dinoflagellate evolution, diversification, related to major palaeogeographic and tectonic event. The dinoflagellate cyst study will be united with the quantitative analyses of organic constituents, in order to characterize the relative fluctuation of the sea-level. The organic sedimentology will be used to recognize cycles of different order within lithologically monotonous sections, using sequence stratigraphic interpretation. This is the first study on Lower and Middle Jurassic dinoflagellate cysts from Tethyan domain and will give new input to the taxonomic and stratigraphic knowledges, establishing the regional limits of dinoflagellate cyst zonations defined in the Boreal domain, and providing information on the dinoflagellate cyst provincialism. This study is very important in the hydrocarbon exploration activity, where the micropaleontological analyses are used for dating sediments from outcrops and subsurface section, but often the traditional fossils are unuseful. Also the study of palynofacies is strictly related to the oil industry, because it is very important to define the optical characteristics of the source rocks.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL · SWINDONCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
• Not availableCity levelItaly

Links

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