| Popis: |
Conceived as a continuation of the previous multidisciplinary event stratigraphy studies of the Late Cretaceous to Neogene of the Scotian Margin in the 2000s, the "Mesozoic eventstratigraphy of the Scotian Margin" project proposes a similar study for the Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous interval. The first stage of this project comprises a detailed multidisciplinary study of the composite Lower Cretaceous section from Panuke B-90 and Cohasset A-52 conventional cores. The present work reports initial palynologic data from the formal Upper Member of the Missisauga Formation in Panuke B-90. These data, combined with preliminary insights from sedimentary facies, macrofossil, and trace fossil analyses, suggest that from the base of the studied section upwards involves a transition from a neritic/shelfal to a mainly estuarine-brackish setting. This was followed by a transgressive cycle through the Upper Member of the Missisauga Formation, which culminated in a return of more fully marine environments near the base of the overlying Naskapi Member of the Logan Canyon Formation. It is apparent that this transgression is not continuous, but intercalated with smaller cycles, well documented by the fluctuations in dominance between terrestrial (pollen and spore abundance) versus marine (mainly dinoflagellate-cyst abundance and richness) palynomorph trends through this succession, presented here in three main intervals. The dinoflagellate-cyst assemblages and key bioevents recorded in this initial study indicate a Barremian age for the Upper Member of the Missisauga Formation in Panuke B-90. The overlying Naskapi Member is expected to be of early Aptian age based on previous reports of the presence of the age-diagnostic ammonite Deshayesites sp. Ongoing work on the conventional cores from Panuke B-90, and subsequently Cohasset A-52 and other wells, will contribute to a comprehensive Mesozoic event-stratigraphic framework for the Scotian Margin. |
