Evidence for vertical motility in Campanian deep-water agglutinated foraminifera: The Furlo volcanic ash layer

Evidence for vertical motility has been observed among six Campanian deep-water agglutinated foraminiferal species from the Furlo Bentonite in the Umbria-Marche Basin, Ital

Praesphaerammina, a new genus of Cenozoic deep-water agglutinated foraminifera from the Carpathian flysch deposits

The genus Praesphaerammina Kaminski and Filipcscu is newly described based on a revision of the type species Cystammina subgaleata Vasicek 1947. The genus differs from the Holocene genus Sphaerammina Cushman 1910 emend. Loeblich and Tappan 1964, in possessing a less embracing final chamber and in its interio-areal to areal aperture that lacks any tooth. The definition of the subfamily Sphaeramminae is accordingly emended as well. The genus is common in the Eocene of the Carpathian flysch deposits, but the type species Praesphaerammina subgaleata (Vasicek 1947) is also observed in the Caribbean region and West Africa, where it ranges into the Miocene

An emendation of some Cretaceous species of "Reophax" (Foraminiferida) from northwest Europe and Poland

The classification of some deep-water agglutinated foraminifera identified as Reophax minuta Tappan, 1940 is revised based upon examination of type material. Lower Cretaceous specimens formerly placed in Reophax minuta from northwest Europe and the Polish Carpathians in actuality belong in Pseudonodosinella troyeri (Tappan, 1960). Upper Cretaceous forms formerly referred to R. minuta are now placed in Pseudonodosinella parvula (Huss, 1966). A neotype for Pseudonodosinella parvula is designated herein

Miocene deep-water agglutinated Foraminifera from ODP Hole 909c: Implications for the paleoceanography of the Fram Strait Area, Greenland Sea

Deep-water agglutinated Foraminifera (DWAF) are investigated from Miocene sediments recovered from ODP Hole 909C in the Fram Strait, Norwegian-Green land Sea. We studied 125 samples from Cores 909C-50R to -103R. and recovered over 60 species of DWAF. The faunal succession in Hole 909C is subdivided into three assemblages based on the stratigraphic ranges of characteristic cosmopolitan taxa. These are: (1) a diverse Reticulophraginium amplectens - Reophanus berggreni Assemblage in Cores 909C-100R-2 to -91R-1 (1040.71-952.78mbsf); (2) a Reticulophragmium amplectens Assemblage in Cores 909C-87R-2, to -71R-3 (915.7-762.68mbsf); and (3) a low-diversity Reticulophraginium rotundidorsatum Assemblage in Cores 909C-71R-1 to -55R-1 (759.68-605.52mbsf). The DWAF assemblages are correlated to the standard chronostratigraphy using dinoflagellate cysts and magnetostratigraphy. The stratigraphic ranges of some well-known Palcogene DWAF species extend far into the Miocene at this locality, confirming tire hypothesis that the Arctic and northern Norwegian Sea basins served as a refuge for these species long after they disappeared from the North Atlantic stratigraphic record. The taxonomic affinities of the Miocene assemblages from Hole 909C supports the idea that an estuarine Circulation pattern has been in place between the Arctic Ocean and Greenland Sea basins since at least the early Miocene. Changes in the benthic foraminiferal morphogroups within the R. rotundidorsatum Assemblage correlate with an increase in total organic carbon, indicating an increase in oceanic productivity in the Fram Strait region during the late Miocene

Miocene deep-water agglutinated foraminifera from the Lomonosov Ridge and the opening of the Fram Strait

Deep-water agglutinated Foraminifera (DWAF) were recovered from Miocene to Pliocene sediments in 103 samples from IODP Hole M0002A on the Lomonosov Ridge. The First Occurrence of DWAF in Hole M0002A is observed just above the color change corresponding to the boundary between Lithological Subunits 1/4 and 1/5 in Core section –44X-1. The foraminiferal record of Hole M0002A consists entirely of agglutinated benthic species, largely sparse assemblages containing Cyclammina pusilla and Alveolophragmium polarensis. The faunal succession in Hole M0002A is subdivided into three assemblages based on the stratigraphic ranges of characteristic taxa: (1) a relatively diverse assemblage at the base of Lithological Subunit 1/4 (Cores 44X-1 to –38X), with abundant agglutinated foraminifera including Reticulophragmium pusillum and Ammolagena clavata, indicating connections with the North Atlantic. This assemblage displays the best preservation, which is here attributed to higher concentrations of dissolved silica in pore waters (2) A less diverse assemblage characterized by Alveolophragmium polarensis with Adercotryma agterbergi, in the lower part of Lithological Subunit 1/3 (Cores –38X to –35X); (3) a sparse residual assemblage within Lithological Subunit 1/3 with Rhabdammina spp., A. polarensis and R. pusillum indicating poor preservation of organically-cemented DWAF in Cores –34X to –10X. A comparison of the DWAF assemblages from the Lomonosov Ridge with previously studied Miocene assemblages from ODP Hole 909C in the Fram Strait, Norwegian-Greenland Sea (Kaminski et al. 2005), suggests that the inflow of Atlantic intermediate water into the Arctic Ocean began prior to 17.5 Ma

Four new species of deep water agglutinated foraminifera from the Oligocene-Miocene of the Congo Fan (offshore Angola)

Four new species of deep-water agglutinated benthic foraminifera are described from the Oligocene and Miocene of the Congo Fan, offshore Angola. Scherochorella congoensis n.sp., Paratrochamminoides goroyskiformis n.sp., Haplophragmoides nauticus n.sp. and Portatrochammina profunda n.sp. all occur in deep-sea turbiditic shales and sands from the distal section of the Congo Fan

Uppermost Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous benthic foraminiferal biostratigraphy at ODP Site 765 on the Argo Abyssal Plain.

Benthic foraminifers were studied in 99 samples collected from the lower 200 m of Hole 765C. The studied section ranges from the Tithonian to Aptian, and benthic foraminifers can be subdivided into five assemblages on the basis of faunal diversity and stratigraphic ranges of distinctive species. Compared with deep-water assemblages from Atlantic DSDP sites and Poland, assemblages from the Argo Abyssal Plain display a higher diversity of agglutinated forms, which comprise the autochthonous assemblages. Assemblages at the base of Hole 765C are wholly composed of agglutinated forms, reflecting deposition beneath the carbonate compensation depth (CCD). Most calcareous benthic species are found in turbidite layers, and the presence of an upper Valanginian Praedorothia praehauteriviana Assemblage may indicate deposition at or just below the CCD. The P. praehauteriviana Assemblage from Hole 765C is the temporal equivalent of similar assemblages from DSDP Holes 534A, 416A, 370, 105, and 101 in the Atlantic Ocean and Hole 306 in the Pacific Ocean. Stratigraphic ranges of cosmopolitan agglutinated species at Site 765 generally overlap with their reported ranges in the Atlantic and in the bathyal flysch sequences of the Carpathians; however, several species from Hole 765C have not been previously reported from Uppermost Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous abyssal sediments

Early to middle Miocene foraminifera from the deep-sea Congo Fan, offshore Angola

Analysis of a 630m section of an exploration well penetrating the distal part of the Congo Fan (~2000m water depth) yielded high abundance and diversity assemblages of agglutinated and calcareous benthic foraminifera. Planktonic foraminifera constrain the age to Early – Middle Miocene, and \delta 18O records reveal the Mi1 (~16.3 Ma) isotopic shift. Relatively few taxonomic studies of deep-water calcareous and agglutinated benthic foraminifera exist from this time period in this locality. All species encountered are therefore taxonomically described and documented using SEM photography (over 170 species), along with 27 species of planktonic foraminifera. Faunas show close affinities to those of the eastern Venezuela Basin, Gulf of Mexico and Central Paratethys. Seven assemblages are defined and analysed using morphogroup analysis and Correspondence Analysis, documenting the response of benthic foraminifera to three primary environmental-forcing factors; energy levels in the benthic boundary layer, oxygen levels relating to changing surface water productivity, and fluctuations in the level of the CCD. Near the top and bottom of the studied section both foraminiferal abundance and diversity decrease, corresponding with increased sand content implying greater energy levels and environmental disturbance. The majority of the section consists of shales with very low percentage sand, high foraminiferal abundance and diversity, and high sedimentation rates of ~10cm/kyr. Morphogroup analysis reveals a major switch in the fauna at around oxygen isotope event Mi1, with the transition from an epifaunal-dominated Cibicidoides assemblage to shallow infaunal-dominated Bulimina assemblage. We regard this as likely due to expansion of the oxygen minimum zone (paleobathymetric estimates are ~1000m) related to increased surface-water productivity and global cooling. Shifts in calcareous foraminiferal percentage over the studied interval overprint these signals and are believed to be related to a shoaling CCD, linked to reduced oceanic acidity and global atmospheric CO2 levels during the early Middle Miocene Monterey Carbon Isotope Excursion

The EU Factor and Slovak International Integration: the Role of Foreign Direct Investment

While the impact of EU conditionalities associated with recent EU-accession negotiations has been widely discussed, little attention has been given to the effect of post-1998 EU reforms on Slovakia's greater integration with the global economy. The convergence of Slovakia's institutions and policies with the EU's acquis communautaire has led to a dramatic increase in inflows of foreign direct investment into Slovakia in 2000/02. The available information suggests that the entry of foreign firms has been beneficial in inserting the Slovak economy firmly into the pan-European division of labor and raising the productivity of domestic firms.Europeanization; regional integration; foreign direct investment; spillovers