SUMMARY

Site 1006 provides a middle to late Miocene record of bathyal benthic foraminiferal abundance changes in the Straits of Florida. Benthic foraminifers indicate that sedimentation was primarily in situ at Site 1006, with periods of increased downslope transport of shallow-water material. Changes in the in situ faunas may have resulted from circulation changes. Dissolution indices identify a dissolution interval in the upper Miocene section at Site 1006 that may correspond to isotope event Mi5. The data presented here are intended to support a subsequent study (M.E. Katz, J.D. Wright, and K.G. Miller, unpubl. data) that integrates the benthic foraminiferal faunal record with the stable isotopic record, all within a sequence stratigraphic framework. The ultimate goal is to demonstrate that the Miocene faunal and isotopic changes at Site 1006 reflect global, regional, and local influences, and provide constraints on paleobathymetry, sediment provenance, and circulation changes that may reflect changing source regions and glacioeustatic changes.

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