The samples from the Cape May Zoo corehole are reasonably fossiliferous but largely lacking in age-diagnostic dinocysts. The samples are very hard to process.
The sample from 75 ft (22.86 m) is rich in pollen and contains several dinocysts. The upland flora is typical of the modern oak-pine-hickory forest farther south of modern New Jersey. The age is interpreted to be middle–late Pleistocene. A quantitative analysis of the pollen in the sample reveals the following:
• 60% Pinus;Fourteen cysts were seen at 75 ft (22.86 m), which include Bitectatodinium tepikiense (six), Spiniferites mirabilis (two), Operculodinium centrocarpum (two), Operculodinium israelianum (one), Spiniferites ramosus (one), Brigantedinium simplex (one), and Selenopemphix quanta (one).
The sample at 190 ft (57.91 m) contains sparse but well-preserved palynomorphs revealing an oak-dominated assemblage. A few long-ranging dinocysts (e.g., B. simplex and S. ramosus) are also found. There is abundant highly oxidized "charcoal"-like material in the sample. Age diagnostic material is lacking.
A sample at 205 ft (62.48 m) contains abundant and well-preserved terrestrial palynomorphs. No marine specimens were noted. The terrestrial flora is strongly dominated by oak but is clearly pre-Quaternary based on the presence of Pterocarya. It is very similar to upper Miocene samples from the Scotian shelf.
The sample at 261 ft (79.55 m) is Zone DN9 or older of de Verteuil (1997) (i.e., late Tortonian or older), based on a single specimen of Batiacasphera sphaerica. The sample contains almost no marine palynomorphs but does contain significant amounts of oak and other temperate deciduous tree pollen (including Pterocarya) and pine. These species and the other dinocysts suggest a marginal marine environment (e.g., Lejeunecysta and Brigantedinium).
The sample at 281 ft (85.65 m) has a typical marine shelf assemblage (e.g., Spiniferites spp., Brigantedinium sp., Tectatodinium pellitum, Lingulodinium machaerophorum, and Habibacysta tectata) but does not contain age-diagnostic forms. By comparison with the Ocean View corehole (Miller et al., this volume), however, the assemblage resembles the one found between 450 and 362 ft (137.16 and 110.34 m) at that site (i.e., early middle Miocene).
Seventeen samples were examined for diatom biostratigraphy (Table T2). Diatoms were generally common to abundant and moderately to well preserved in the Cape May Zoo corehole. Samples were assigned to zones using the ECDZ biostratigraphy of Andrews (1988).
Samples above the sequence boundary at 293.3 ft (89.40 m) could not be zoned. Samples at 194.5 and 231.15 ft (598.28 and 70.45 m) were barren of diatoms. A sample at 282.1 ft (85.98 m) contained rare, poorly preserved diatoms that were not age diagnostic (Table T2).
Middle Miocene ECDZ 6 and ECDZ 7 are well represented in the Cape May Zoo corehole (Table T2). A sample at 313.1 ft (95.43 m) is assigned to ECDZ 7 (middle middle Miocene) in agreement with the age assigned using Sr isotopes. ECDZ 6 is found from 340 to 399.1 ft (103.63 to 121.65 m). This encompasses all of Sequence Kw3 in the corehole. These samples include assemblages estimated by Barron (2003) to be ~13–12 Ma. This is younger than previous estimates of the age of Sequence Kw3 (13.8–13.4 Ma) (Miller et al., 1997) and is not in agreement with Sr isotope estimates in the corehole that also indicate an age of 13.8–13.0 Ma.
ECDZ 3–4 of Andrews (1988) is identified in two samples in the Cape May Zoo corehole (Table T2). The samples at 453.9 and 487.2 ft (138.35 and 148.50 m) contain an assemblage equivalent to the lower part of ECDZ 3–4 from the lower middle Miocene. The sample at 453.9 ft (138.35 m) is found in sediments assigned to Sequence Kw2b in agreement with the lower middle Miocene assignment. The sample at 487.2 ft (148.50 m) is in sediments with Sr ages equivalent to Sequence Kw2a from the lower Miocene. This difference cannot be reconciled at this time.
ECDZ 2 is found in samples from 521.1 to 611.7 ft (158.83 to 186.45 m) in sediments assigned to Sequence Kw2a (Table T2). This agrees with the Sr isotope stratigraphy that places these sediments in the uppermost lower Miocene. Sediments from Sequence Kw1 are generally medium to coarse sand and were not sampled for diatoms.