Calcareous nannofossil assemblages from the samples in Holes 910A, 910C, and
911A were studied in order to estimate the age of the sediments drilled at the Yermak Plateau in
the Arctic Ocean. Although the abundance and species diversity of calcareous nannofossil flora
were poor, eight of twelve Quaternary calcareous nannofossil events were detected in Hole 911A.
This indicates that the Quaternary datum planes defined by Takayama and Sato (1987) are
applicable to the Arctic Ocean.
The late Pliocene new datum plane A, defined by the floral change from
Reticulofenestra ssp. (small) assemblage to Coccolithus pelagicus assemblage, is
placed in the late Gauss Normal Epoch in the successions at both the Japan Sea side of Japan and
the Arctic Ocean. This horizon is also assigned to that of increased dropstones in Holes 910C and
911A. These facts indicate that the datum plane A in the late Gauss Normal Epoch is strongly
related to heavy glaciation in the high northern latitudes.
Date of initial receipt: 6 July 1995
Date of acceptance: 11 December 1995
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