High-resolution stratigraphy and turbidite processes in the Seine Abyssal Plain, northwest Africa

Abstract

 Seine Abyssal Plain sediments consist of turbidites interbedded with pelagic oozes, marls, and clays. The pelagics produce a high-resolution integrated stratigraphy combining oxygen isotope, carbonate curves, palaeotemperature analyses, and nannofossil acme zone stratigraphy. Individual turbidites could then be correlated. Isogram and isopach maps of the turbidites maximum median grain size and thickness, respectively, were used to identify turbidity current pathways and study their depositional processes. Nannofossil fingerprints were used to study possible sedimentary links between the Seine and Madeira abyssal plains.