Eocene chalks were recovered from four holes drilled on the slope of the New Jersey continental margin. Calcareous nannofossils provide the main biostratigraphic control, supported by planktonic foraminifers. The chalks are very weakly magnetized, so no magnetostratigraphy could be derived for these sections. Two main unconformities are recognized; one near the lower/middle Eocene boundary and the other within the middle Eocene. It is not possible to determine the age of the surfaces associated with these unconformities because of the lack of magnetostratigraphy and because planktonic foraminiferal biozonal boundaries could not be firmly delineated (due to poor preservation and pervasive reworking). The only datable surface is the youngest Eocene surface at the upper Eocene/Oligocene unconformable contact, which is estimated to be ~34.25 Ma.

Date of initial receipt: 18 September 1995
Date of acceptance: 23 February 1996

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