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Figure 3. Schematic depositional history for the MP2 (early to middle Miocene) and MP3 (late Miocene to Pliocene) phases of carbonate platform development on the Marion Plateau. A. During the Eocene to Oligocene, the Marion Plateau crystalline metasedimentary basement was exposed to erosion. B. The basement was flooded in the early Miocene at which time the MP2 platform began to develop. C. In the early late Miocene the MP2 platform was exposed during a major sea level fall and the MP3 platform initiated on the basinal facies of MP2. D. In the late Miocene and early Pliocene, sea level rose enabling the development of the MP3 platform and eventually reflooding the surface of MP2. E. Both MP2 and MP3 were "drowned" in the Pliocene resulting in the cessation of most carbonate production in this interval. Proposed Leg 194 sites are marked on diagram E.

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