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PR O C EED IN G S IN D O N ES IA N PETR O LEU M A S S O C IA TIO NFirst Annual Convention, June 1972

43

CALCAREOUS NANNOPLANKTON

A NEW BIOSTRATIGRAPHIC TOOL IN TH E OIL INDUSTRY(WITH EMPHASIS ON INDONESIA)

P. PRIJOSOESILO ’)

Abstract Calcareous nannoplankton. a group ofmicrofossils that evolved rapidly during the lateMesozoic and the Cenozoic eras, is a new and veryreliable biostratigraphical tool. It s usefulness has beentested successfully during the drilling of the JOIDES*Deep Sea Drillim Project and by some of the oilcompanies operating in the Gulf Coast Area, USA.

Standard Calcareous Nannonplankton -Zonations for the Paleogene and for the Neogene areno w available. These zonations have been proposed byMartini (1970) and Martini & Worsley (1970),respectively.

The study of calcareous nannoplanktonin Indonesia as a new biostratigraphic tool has onlybeen started recently, however, some very en-couraging results have been obtained in Central Sunia-

tra. If similar results can be obtained from other partsof the country, the prospect of this study in Indonesiawill certainly be very bright. The role of the oilindustry in developing this field of study is veryimportant, since the oil companies have direct accessto the basic data.

It is believed that establishing a standardzonation for Indonesia is not impossible. Once this isestablished, it will be beneficial t o both the oil industryand the academic institutions, and more imuortantit will be a major contribution to the study on thestratigraphy of Indonesia.

* Joint Oceanographic Institutions fo r Deep EarthSampling.

I N TRO D U CTI O N

Unti l the la te f i f t ies l i t t le was known aboutca lca r eous nanno plankto n . H ow ever, son iepaleontologis ts have envis ioned that “whenbetter unders tood, these coinparat ively un-known organisms may show promise of be-coming im por tan t in b ios t r a t ig r auhic s tud ies”( H of f meis te r , 1958, p.207)

S ince then a number of publ ica t ions havestressed the usefulness of fossil calcareousnannoplankton as b ios t r a t ig r aphica l ind ica tor sand several useful zon ations have bee n esta-bl ished. At present the calcareous nannoplankto n zon a t ions a r e a s good as the s tandar dplanktonic foraminifera1 zonations .

The ca lca r eous nanno plankto n occur

abundant ly in marine pelagic and shelf envi-ronments . According to H ay and Mohle r (1967)oceanic oozes may conta in 10,000,000,000,000specimens per cc . , and shal lower mar ine sedi-

ments conta in 10,000,OOQOOQ specime ns per cc.F ine sand y inner she lf s ed imen r s wi ll com mon-ly have thousands or t ens of thousands speci-mens per cc

In add it ion , these ul tra-microfoss i ls* of fersame o the r advantages compar ed to the p lank-tonic foraminifera :

1 . sho r t ver t ical range2 . wide geographical dis tr ibutio n3 . ease of pr epar a t ion4 . ease of identif icat io n

These las t two advantages are of pr imein te r es t to the o i l indus t r y s ince one of th emost im por t ant responsibi l it ies confron ting theoil company paleontologis t is the rapid identi-f i ca t ion of f os s i l s encounte r ed in r ou t ine -exam ination of well samples .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T h e a u t h o r t h a n k s P.T. Caltex Pacif ic Indo-nesia for permit t ing this presentat ion and hiscolleagues in the Explorat ion Divis ion in Rum-bai for the construct ive review of the manus -cript.

CA LCA REO U S N A N N O PLA N K TO N

Calca rous nannop lankton consi s t p r edomi-nant ly of co ccol i thcphor ids . O ther f os si l f o r msof unknown af f ini t ies such as discoasters , nan-noconids , e tc . are also included. All theseorganisms belong to the algal ph ylu m (or divi-s ion) Ct i r ysophyta , because of i t s go lden br ow nplastid s ,

The cel l is usually bif lagel la te , bu t in an ycases i t includes a haptomena (coiled organelleresembling f lagel la used for temporary at tach-ment ) .

Reference 1s m a d e to Text F igur e No, 1 .Usually it consists of two large plastids, withp igments ch lor ophyl a anu c , co lor f r om

f ucoxanth in ( a xanthophyl l ) and is uninuc lea te .

1) P.T. Caltex Pacific Indonesia, Rumbai*$Usually less than 30 microns

© IPA, 2006 - 1st Annual Convention Proceedings, 1972sc Contents

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44

INTERNA

f

( A f t e r : P I E N A A R ,1969)



45

The ce l l may be covered with coccol i ths ,d iscoids or modif ied ca lc i te p la te le ts of charac-t e r is t ic fo rm a nd mic ros t ruc tu re . Fos s il r e ma insare represented most of ten by isola ted cocco-l i ths , less frequent ly by ent i re coccospheres .Thos e s tud ie d thus fa r ha ve a c om ple x li f ecycle , wi th on e s tage non-moti le , e i th er a pe lagicc yst o f a be n th ic f i l a me n t , o r pa c ke t of cells,or pa lmel la .

C a lc a re ous na nnop la nk ton is a n i m p o r t a n tpa r t o f t he food c ha in in oceans, especially inwarm waters . I t has been playing an im por tantrole in form at io n of ca lcareous oceanic oozess ince the Jurass ic ,

Because of complica t ions of m o r e t h a n o n et y p e of coccol i ths on a s ingle ce l l , or a t d i ff eren ts tages in the l i fe cyc le , e tc , c lass i f ica t ion is ina s ta te of f lux. Some workers have a verycomplex c lass i f ica t ion, one for the isola tedc oc c o l i th s a nd a no the r fo r thos e in wh ic h theent i re ce l l is known.

B IOSTR ATIGR APHY

As s ta ted by Hay & Mohler (1967 ) c a l c a re ousnannofossils have several peculiarities which

ma k e the m un ique ly s u i t a b le fo r use as bios tra-t igraphic indica tors . These inc lud e :1 . t h e y a r e e x t r e m e l y a b u n d a n t in m a n y

2 . a la rge num ber of spec ies hai ie wor ldwid esamples ;

d i st nb u ion ;3. man y grou ps have evolved very rapidly since

the Lower Jurass ic .

Thus fa r s tud ie d na nnofos s il s ha ve no t b e e nfound in t he Tr i as s ic o r Pa le oz o ic s e d ime n t s ,a l though the o lde s t one s a re found a bunda n t lyin the L owe r Jurass ic . The oldes t nannofoss ils

tha t have ever been fou nd were recovered fro mLower Liass ic (Jurass ic) s t ra ta of Wurt temberg,G e r m a n y .From the n on th i s g roup o f o rga n i s m ha s be e nflourishing throu gh a l1,geologic period s un t i l the

present t ime.Evidence of a grea t change in ca lcareous

n a n n o p l a n k t o n c o m m u n i t i e s ha s b e e n r e c o r d e dbe twe e n M a e s t ri c h ti a n a nd D a n ia n (B ra mlet t e,& Mart ini , 1964). Thi s change represenf pr i-ma r i ly a re m a rka b le e x t inc t ion o f a l a rge num-ber of d is t inc tive Cr e taceo us genera and spec ies .Suppor t ing e v ide nc e on t h is h a s b e e n f o u n d i nEurope . Nor th Ame r ic a a nd Nor th Af r i c a .

The a pp l i c a t ion o f na nnofos s i ls t o s o lve

bios tra t igraphica l prob lems has bee n emphas izedby B ra mle t t e a nd R ie de l (1954). S u b s e q u e n t

s tud ie s by s e ve ra l a u tho rs ha ve de mons t ra t e dtha t nannofoss i ls can be used success ful ly for

de l imit ing bios t ra t igraphic zones , making agedeterminat ions and es tabl ishing regional dS wellas in tercont inenta l corre la t ions .

In o r d e r t o b e m o s t u s e fu l f o r t h e z o n a t io n ,i t i s ne c e s s a ry to de f ine e xa c t ly the na tu re o fthe z one p ropos e d . In th i s re s pe ct mo s t a u tho rsfo l low the de f in i t ion p rov ided by t h e Ame r ic anC ommis s ion on S t ra t ig ra ph ic Nom e nc la tu re( 1 9 6 1 ) . As h a s b e e n p o i n t e d o u t b y S h a w(19641, essent ial ly there a re thre e k inds of

bios tra t igraphic zones :

1 . The Ka nge Zone , de f ined a s the body o f

s t ra t a c ompr i s ing the to t a l ho r i z on ta l a nd vert ica l range of o ccurre nce of a spec if iedt a x o n ;

2 . The C o nc ur re n t R a nge Zone , de f ine d by the -overlapping ranges of spec if ied taxa ;

3. The As s embla ge Zone , de f ine d a s the bod y o fs t ra ta charac ter ized by a cer ta in assemblageof fossi ls w i thou t regard to the ir ranges .

A f o u r t h t y p e of z one , wh ic h i s a c om bina -t ion be tween range and assemblage zones kre c ogniz e d by Ha y ( in p re ss , 197 1>. h i s z one isdesignated as “partial range zont:.”. Reference ism a d e t o T e x t F i g u re N o . 2 .

MESOZOIC N A N N O F O S S I L S

The oldes t nannofoss i ls were revealed andreported from the Lower Lias (Jurass ic) bfGe rma n y (S t ra dne r , 1963 ) . Th e y c ons is t of tw ospecies , namely Schizosphaera punctula ta De -f landr e and Parh abdo l i thus l ias icus Deflandre .

fu r the r r e cogn iz e d fou r nannofoss i ls associa t ions ,e.g. :

1. Lias icus associa t ion. Charac ter ized b y S.punc-

tu l a t a a nd P. iasicus.2 . Opa cus associa t ion. Charac ter ized by the f i rs$

appea rance of D iscol i thus crassus Deflandrea nd C oc c o li thus opa c us S t ra dn e r ( f i r s t COCCO-

l i t h w i th a doub le r im) .3 . Deco rus associa t ion. Charac ter ized by t he de-

ve lopme n t o f s ome ne w fo rms , inc lud ingR ha bdo l i thus a ff dekorus De f la ndre ( a d o u -b le r imme d c oc c o l i th w i th t rum pe t - l ike ap ic als t e m a nd c e n t ra l c ros sba rs ), C oc c o l i thus b r i -t a nn ic us S t ra dn e r (w i th a typ ic a l t r a ns ve rs a lbridge) , and Discol i thus rugosas Noe l (w i thnume rous po re s) .

4. B igo t i a s s oc ia t ion . Domina te d by doub ler imm ed coccol i ths , inc luding guide fossi l

S te p ha nd i th io n b igo t i De f l a ndre wh ic h I ta sde l ica te hol low s tarshaped e lem ents tha t eas i -ly b re a k in t o pa r t s r e se mbl ing c e r t a in l e t t e r so f t h e a l p h a b e t , E‘s and U’s.

Within the Jurass ic s t ra ta Stra dne r has



46

BIOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES

m

iANGE

t-

I

CONCURRENT

RANGE

I *4

Note: Ver t i ca l l ines - ind icate the ran ge of a species

Horizontal l ines - demark zone l im i t s

TEXT FIGURE No.2



41

D u e to poor p re s e rva t ion o f na nnop la nk tonre ma ins du r ing the M idd le a nd Uppe r M a lm(Middle Jurass ic) , no associa t ion have as ye tbe e n re ve a le d . Howe ve r , t he topmos t z one o fthe J u ra ss i c is c ha ra cte r iz e d by “ na n noc o n id~ ” ,th e so-ca l led N anno conu s s te inm anni -or s implySte in man ni associa t ion.

In Europe the re is a miss ing l ink be tw een

the ”Bigot?’ - a nd t he ” S te inma nn i” a ss oc ia -tions. This z on e i s p roba b ly , a t l ea s t i npart , corre la t ive with Wors ley’s Parhabdol i thusembergeri Zone of the Caribbean Sea . Thisz one i s de f ine d a s the in t e rva l be twe e n thelowe s t oc c u r re nc e of P.e mberge ri N oe l a nd th el ow e st o c c u r r e n c e o f t h e N s t e i n m a n n i K a m p t n e r .

Wi th in the C re ta ce ous Sys te m in Europeseven ca lcareous nannofoss i l assoc ia t ions werere c ogniz e d by S t ra dne r (1963) . In N or th Ame -rica, Hay & CFpek (1969) have recognizedtwe lve z one s, r ang ing f rom th e C e nom a n ia n tothe Maes tr icht ian.

In ascending order th e seven associa tionsof St ra dne r a re a s fo l lows:

1 .

2.

3 .

4.

5 .

6 .

I .

Ste inm anni associa t ion. Charac ter ized bythe g re a t a bunda nc e of C oc c o l i thus pe la -gicus-Schi l le r and N.s ta inmanni Kamptner .G lobu lus a s soc ia t ion . Dom ina te d b y na n -noconid spec ies having ”glo bate cones’:such as N.bucheri .Dauvi l l ie r i assoc ia t ion. Charac ter ized bythe a bunda nc e of highly developedna nnoc on ids , e .g . N. dauvillieri Deflandre.Turr ise i ffe l i assoc ia t ion. Marked by thefi rst occ urren ce of Rh abdo l i thus turr ise i f-fe l i Deflandre .S ta u rophorus a s s oc ia t ion . Domina te d byZugrhabl i thus in terc isus Def landre andthe re la ted spec ies Micula s taurophoraVeks hina .Cot hicu s associa t ion. Charac ter ized bythe first c’lccurrence of Te t ra l i thus go-

th icus Defiandre .Cym bif or mis associa tion . Chara cterizedby the except ional ly la rge Arkhangels -kiel la cym biform is Vekshina .The twelve zones es tabl ished by Hay andCepek (1969) in N. America were f i rs t

recognized in th e Gulf Coast Area. This zona-t ion is cssent ia l ly a re f inement of Stradner’slas t four associa t ions , f rom the Cenomanian’s”Turrise i ffe l i assoc ia t ion” to the Maes tr icht ian’s

” C ymb i fo rmis a s s oc ia tion ”. Reference is madeto C ha r t No . 1 .

I t i s no te wor thy tha t t he numbe r of ge-

nera and species of c a lc a re ous na nnop la nk tonincreased abrupt ly in the Upper Cre taceouq.At t h e e n d of Maestr icht ian the highly developedna nnop la nk ton g roup s udde n ly d i s a ppe a re d

and eventua l ly was replaced by a qui te d i ffe-re n t g rou p in the Da n ia n . In t e rms o f c a lc a re ousna nnop la nk ton the M e s oz o ic -C e noz o ic bounda -r y is very dis t inc t ive worldwide .

CENOZOIC A N N O P L A N K T O N Z O N A T IO N

Th e s t ra t igraphic va lue of Cen ozoic cal-careous nannofoss i ls a re as good a s tha t i nMesozoic. Of majar significance is t he e vo lu -t iona ry t r e nd o f the d i s c oas t e rs wh ic h evol-

ve d ve ry ra p id ly du r ing the C e noz o ic e ra .

B ukr y (197 1) re por t e d th re e m a jo r e vo lu t iona -ry changes of the discoas ters , ranging frommass ive and compact mult i -rayed spec ies inthe e a r ly Te r t i a ry (Pa leoc e ne - Eo cene) ,through fewer but re la t ive ly broad-rayed in

the Mid-Tert ia ry (Oligocene-Miocene) to

f ina l ly very narrow-rayed spec ies which oc-

c ur red ju s t be fo re e x t inc t io n in La te P l ioc e netime.

The us e h lne s s o f c a l c a re ous na nnofos -

s i ls for solving bios t ra t igraphic problems ofthe Te r t i a ry s t ra t a ha ve be e n t e s t e d succes-

ful ly during the dri l l ing of t h e J O l D E S D e e pSea Dri ll ing Projec t a nd a lso by ma ny oi lc ompa n ies o pe ra t ing in t h e Gulf C oa s t Are a ,USA.

In re ce n t ye a rs s a mples f rom c on t inuoussec t ions inc luding mater ia l f rom type luca l i -:ies of s ome Te r t i a ry s t a ge s a nd de e p s e am re s have b e m m e avdikabie. The rekdtive lyeasy accessibility of basic data has made manyworkers to be more ac t ive ly engaged in thes t u d y of c a lc a re ous n a nnop la nk ton , p r ima r i lyin a n a t t e m pt to t ry t o e s t ab l i sh z ona tions .Among the ma jo r c on t r ibu t ions t o t h eC e noz oic Ca 1careo us N a nno p la nk to n Zona t ion

a re thos e of Bramlet tc and Sul l ivan (1961 ),

Bramlet te and Wilcoxon ( 1 9 6 7 1 , Brainle t tea n d B u k r y ( 1 9 6 9 ) , B u k r y ( 1 9 7 1 ) . H a y , M o hl erR o t h ? S c h m id t a n d B o u d r e a u x ( 1 9 6 7 ) , B r a m -lette and Riedel (1954). Roth (1970),Mart ini(1955, !964, 1970), MarSini 3116 Worsley( 1 9 7 0 ) . e t c .

Martini and Worsley (1 9 7 0 ) proposed aS ta nda rd N roge ne C a lc are ous Na nn op la nk tonZonat ion cons is t ing of 21 z one s . The z one sa re numbe re d “-1 t h fough NN --2 1, inwhic h the “ N N ” de no te s ” Ne uge ne Nanno-

plank ton Zonat ion” Later Mart in i ( 197 0) a l soproposed a Standrl rd Paleogene Calcareous Nan-nop la nk ton Zoc a t ion . c ons i s t ing o f 75 z one s

a n d n u m b e r e d N P - 1 1 rough NP - 25 . T h e” N P ” d e n o t e s ’P a l e o g e n e N ~ ~ n ~ : i i p l a n k t o no-nat ion” . References are ma& t t , Ch:ir:s Nos.2 a nd 3.



48

ZONATION\

CHART No.1

DISTRIBUTION OF SOME IMPORTANT SPECIES OFCALCAREOUS NANNOPLA NKTON IN THE U P P E R

CRETACEOUS (GULF C O A S T A R E A , U.S.A. )(Modi f ied af ter : CEPEK 8 H A Y 1969)

w(3

I-v)

a



49

A G E-zw00

-I0

12-W

z

w

0

0

W-w2

w0

Q

t l 1

.J

ca-

*_ .

c

CHART No.2

STANUUHL ~ ~ ~ E ~ ~ ~ALCAREOUS NANNOPLANKTON ZONATION

I “-$Per : M A Q T l N l 1970 1



50

J

FORAM' CALCAREOUS NANNOPLA NKTON ZONESA GE ZONES D A T U MN D ~ c A T O R SI

FIRST E.HUXL EY123 NN 211EMILIANIA HUXLEYI ZONEw">-

5j%

3=

W EQw 3

'

LA ST P LACUNOSAN 2d GEPHYROCAPSA OCEANICA ZONE5 AS T D.BROUWER1

N 22 6-d SEUDOEMILIA LACUNOSAT-21 NN 18 DISCOAS TER BROUWERI ZONE

LAST D.PENTARADlATUS

LA S T D S U R C U LU SNI~-DISCOASTER____ - PENTARADIAT-.

w w

2 3

w w

0 0

O X

-

= ;

. DQUINQUERAMUS_I_FIRST D QUINQUERAMUS

LAST D.HAMATUS

Q NN I I DISCOASTER QUINQUERAMUS ZONEa

N N 10 D l S C O A s T T -_ _--N- L!

~ FIRST D HAMA TUS

- - - - _ jIRST C COALITUS

N 9 DISCOASTER HAMATUS ZONE

-J NN~CAT~NASTEROALITUS ZONE--1IRST D.KUGLERI

NN 7 DISCOASTER KUGLERI ZONE

NN 6 DISCOASTER EXlLlS ZONEc3 ---AST S.HETEROMORPHUS

LA; H,AMPLIAPERTA .

-N 9 NN 5 SPHENOLITHUS HETEROMORPHUS ZONE

N 8 NN 4 HELICOPONTOSPHAERA AMPLIAPERTA ZONE L A S T S.BELEMNOS-AST T.CARINATUSNN 3 SPHENOLITHUS BELEMNOS ZONE

NN 2 DISCOASTER DRUGGI ZONE

N- j -NN I T j A ST H TRUNCATA

[L -FIRST D. DRUGGI

0

J

N 3 '



5 1

UPPERz&I

I A G E (EUROPEAN STAGES^COCCOLITH ZONE I s u B z o N E I

Dt SC O A ST E R B A RB A D I E N S I SRIABONIAN, ---IB~RT ONIAN

IMILlANlA HUXLEYII RECENT _---_-_--------

ASTIAN, ---- I A C E N Z I A N

0

(3 IMlDD4 R U P E L I A N SPHE NOL THUS D S TE NTUS-------- -------I SPHENOLITHUS PREDISTENTUS

I M I ~ E ~ L U T E T I A N I RET ICULOFE NESTRA UMB lL ICA

CHART No.4

APPROXIMATE CORRELATION OF COCCOLITH ZONESRECOGNIZED IN SEDIMENTS RECOVERED ON LEG 7

IN THE TROPICAL PACIFIC (GUAM-HAWAII )(After :B U K RY ,1971)



52

The zonal boundaries in these standardzonations are defined by nannoplankton datumplanes, that is, first and/or last occurrence of acertain species. The Paleogene N eogene boun-dary is by definition between the Chattian ( U pper Oligocene) and th e A quitanian (LowermostMiocene). This corresponds to the Globigeri.noides datum in terms of the Standard Plankto-nic Foraminifera1 Zonation. In this regard th eN-4 of Banner and Blow (1965) is correlativewith NN- 1 of Martini (1970).

It is advantageous that these standardnannoplankton zonations are based only onspecies that can be identified by transmittedlight (polarized) with a normal petrographicmicroscope. It would be extremely expensivefor the oil industry if the Transmission and/orScanning Electron Microscope (s) had to beused for this purpose.

Recent studies have indicated that somespecies show preference for nearshore environ-ments (e.g. Zygrhablithus bijugatus), are con-trolled by water temperature (e.g. Isthmolithusrecurvus which is rare or completely absentin the tropical region), or show influence of

both (temperature and facies), e.g. Scyphosphaera and some of the Sphenolithus andHelicopontosphaera species.

At any rate, it can be said that theproposed zonation will certainly cover most, ifnot all, the marine environments in the Ter-tiary strata. Since all the nann oplan ktonspecies chosen as zonal marker can be ”easily”recognized by a normal petrographic mi-croscope with adequate magnification, about1000 X, very useful biostratigraphical too l foraccurate age determination is available.

N A N N O P L A N K T O N O L O G YN D T H E OILI N D U S T R Y

In less than two decades the calcareousSnannoplankton has been widely used as stra-tigraphical indicators and gained worldwidereputation due to its high reliability. At presehtthe nannoplankton zonation of the Tertiary is

as good as the Standard Planktonic Foraminife-rai Zonation.

The study of calcareous nannoplankton,live or fossil, or simply called nannoplankto-nology has entered the oil industry in the lastfew ears. ?he first recognition of the usefulnessof calcareous nannofossils as new biostratigra-phic tool by the oil industry has come from

the oil companies operating in the Gulf CoastArea. Since hen(ca.1965) they have been usingthese fossils extensively in addition and com-plementary to the foraminifera.

Another extensive use of the nannofos-sils has been contemplated by the JOIDESDeep Sea Drilling Project. In this regardnannofossils have bee n used fo r age determ i-nations, biostratigraphic zonation, as well asinterco ntinenta l correlations. In the attach edChart No. 4, an example of Calcareous Nan-

nopla nkton Zonation used by the JOIDESLeg 7,,from Hawaii to Guam (which is closestto Indonesia) is fhown.

D u e t o its simple forms, usually largeand easily recognizable, the discpaster groupis the one that has been used extensively forthe zonation. As has been mentioned earlier,this group of nannofossils has evolved ra-pidly during the Cenozoic (Bukry, 197 1).As a mattel of f ac t, most of th e Mid-and LateTertiary zones are based on the discoasters.

The success of calcareous nannofossilsas ”new” biostratigraphical too l in theJOIDES Project and the Gulf Coast Area, ,

aroused the interest of th e oil industry. Atpresent, most o f the major oil companies ,research consultants, and academ ic institutionshave provided themselves with up-to-date labo-ratory equipment and personnel to conductthe nannoplankton study. Many of themhave even purchased more sophisticatedinstrumen ts, such as Scanning and TransmissionElectron Microscopes.

A question may arise, why in such arhtively short time have the nannofossilsgained such an interna tional repu tation,biostratigraphically? The answer is short andsimple: because they deserve it. Why?

1 .

2.

Firstly, calcareous nannoplankton, likethe planktonic foraminifera, have allthe ”ingredients” of being excellentbiostratigraphic indicators. In additionto their biostratigraphic importance, thisgroup of fossils offers the following ad-vantages:

a. many species have very shor t ranges;b. most of them have wide geographic

c. usually they are extremely abundant

d. ease of preparation for microscopic

e. ease of generic and specific identifi-

distributions;

in many samples;

examination;

cation.

Secondly, the shidy of calcareous nan-noplankton is not as expensive complica-ted, and sophisticated as that of sporeand pollen, Althongh it is not as simple



5 3

3.

t h a t

and inexpens ive as the for man ifera e ither .The s e tw o f a c to r s a re mos t in t e re st inge c onom ic pa le on to logy . Howe ver , on ac-

c oun t o f the i r u l t r a -mic ro s i zes , i t is

necessary a t leas t t o have high qual i t yop t i c a l e qu ipm e n t (po la r iz e d pe t rog ra -ph ic mic ros c ope p re fe ra b ly w i th c a me raa t tachment) to s tudy these foss i ls .The c a p i t a l i nve s tme n t is reasonably in-

e xpe nsive f o r the o i l i ndus t ry ; ma inte -nance an d op era t ing cos ts a re s imilart o t h o s e r eq u ir e d f o r t h e s t u d y of f o r a m inifera.

T h i r d l y , a n d p r o b a b ly t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n treason is tha t occas ional ly the econom i-c a l ly im por ta n t s t r a t a c on ta in fe w , poo ro r a re c om ple te ly ba r re n of foraminiferaor oth er foss ils. In such cases the bes ta l t e rna t ive a ppe a rs to be us ing na nno-p la nk ton . Expe r i e nc e ha s ind ic a te d tha teven in samples vir tua l ly bar ren of fora -min i fera , t he c ha nc e o f f ind ing na nno-

fossils is good, prov ide d tha t t he s t ra t a areof marine origin .

Based on the above discuss ion i t is believedthe usefulness of ca lcareous nannofoss i ls as

bios t ra phic indica tors has been well proven.The re fo re , t he ir p ra c t i c al a pp l i c a t ion in the oil

indus try wil l be undoubtedly very promis ingand encouraging.

N A N N O P L A N K T O N I N INDONESIA

Stra t igraphica l ly , t he Indones ian A rchipe-l a go i s fo r th e g re a ter pa r t bu i l t u p of sedimen-

tary rocks of th e Cenozoic age . Th e dis tr ibut i -on of P a leozoic and Mesozoic s t ra ta is l imitedt o a n u m b e r o f l o c a t io n s s c at t e r ed t h r o u g h o u tth e c oun t ry . M os t of th e C e noz o ic s e d ime n t sa re o f m a r ine o rig in a nd a re p re dom ina n t ly ,sha le , c layshale and f ine gra ined sands tone . Al lthe s e typ e s o f l i tho logy a re fa vorab le fo r theoc c ur re nc e o f c a l ca re ous na nno p la nk to n .

Prior to World War 11 , t h e m o s t c o m m o n -ly used s t ra t igraphic method of c or re l a t ionand age de term inat ion was Van der Vlerk‘s“Le t te r Class if ica tion” based on larger fora-min i fera . In re c e n t ye a rs th e e mpha si s o ffo ra min i fe ra l s tudy in the f i e ld o f e c onomicpa le on to logy ha s c ha nge d f rom “ La rge r” t o

“small” (4 - l 5 0 / 5 0 0 m i cr o n s) a n d “ m i c r o ”(@ 50 /150 mic rons ) fo ra min i fe ra .

By th e la te f if t ies the f i rst pr ior i ty onforaminifera l s tudy was put on p la nk ton ic

fo ra min i fe ra . B e ca use the y a re foun d in o p e nsea envir onm ents , p lanktoni c foraminiferahave very wide lateral distribution. This is veryus efu l fo r z ona t ions a nd in t e rc on t ine n ta lcorre la t ions . In 19 57 Bol li publ ished hisfamo us an d c lass ica l p lank tonic foraminifera lz ona t ion of the Mid-Tert ia ry s t ra ta of Tri -nidad, West Indies. Many work ers have made

e la bora te s tud ic s f rom ma ny pa r t s o f theworld th a t a re In essence supp ort ing thezonat ion prgposed by Bol l i . Eventua l ly , in1968 Banner and Blow es tabl ished a StandardPla nk ton ic Fora min i fe ra 1 Zona t ion , u s ingnumerica l c lass i f ica t ion. Th e Paleo gene zoneswe re numbe re d P - 1 t h r u P - 2 2 i n w h i c h t h e“P” de no te s the Pa le oge ne P la nk ton ic Fora -min ife ra l Zone , a nd th e Ne oge ne numbe re dN - 1 th ru N - 23, in which “ N ” i nd ic a te s theNeogene Planktonic Foraminifera1 Zone .

Th e p ra c t i c al a pp l i c a t ion o f the p l a nk ton icfo ra mini fe ra l z ona t ion fo r th e C e nozo ic isacademical ly not very well known. in Indone -s ia . Only very f ew papers dea l ing with th issubjec t have been publ ished. Severa l o i l com-panies have been ac t ive ly engaged in th is s tu dyand are us ing loca l zonat ion for the ir respect iveope ra t ions , bu t r e s u lt s a re unpub l i s he d .

In recent years nannoplanktonology ha5emerged conspicuous ly a ll over th e world asnew and very re l iable bios t ra t igraphic indica-tors . For Indones ia th is s tudy is a lso cons ider-ed as “ n e w ” if t he p ione er ing s tud ie s by Ta nSin Hok in the l a t e twe n t i e s we re ove r looke d ,Ta n in 1927 -- 1 9 3 1 publ ished several paperson the “discoas ters” . In fac t he is cons ideredas the f i rs t worker who ever rea l ly made at a x o n o m i c s t u d y of the discoasters. Un-fo r tuna te ly , he wa s too e a r ly fo r h i s t ime .Nobody e ve r pa id e nough a t t e n t ion to wha the d id , un t i l 195 4 whe n B ra mle t t e a nd R iede lpubl ished the ir c lassical paper ent i t led “St r i -t igraphic va lue of Discoas ters and som eothe r microfossi ls re la ted t o R ecent Cocc ,o-l i t hophor ids ” . On ly the n the wor ld woke upand t h e s t u d y of w h a t is now ca l led ca lcareousna nno p la nk to n ha s be e n re juve nate d .

Severa l years ago in Centra l Sum atra thec a lc a re ous na nnop la nk ton s tudy wa s “ re s um-ed” , cons idering tha t i t had been s ta r ted byTa n S in Ho k i n 1927 . The p rob le m wa s tha tthe e c onomic a l ly impor ta n t Lowe r M ioc e nes t ra t a we re p rove n to be po or in fo ramin i fera l

content and occas ional ly devoid of a n y o t h e rfoss ils. Calcareous nan nop lank tcn s tudies haveind ic a te d th a t s ome na nnofos s i ls we re foundin those vir tual ly barren samples rhis gave



54

spark of optimism to further use the calcareous

nannoplankton as a new biostratigraphical

tool, in terms that it is used in addition and

complementary to the foraminifera. Reference

is made to the attached Idealized Stratigraphic

Column, Central Sumatra (Modified afte r

Hamilton and Holliss, 197 ), Text Figure No. 3.

Hopefully, the study of calcareous nanno-plankton will be canied out by many others,

bo th in the industrial as well as in academic

circles, so that eventually a “standard” cal-

careous nannoplankton zonation for the

Tertiary of Indonesia can be established. Ifthis can be realized it will certainly be a sub-

stantial contribution to the stratigraphic

studies in Indonesia.

CONCLUSIONS

1.

2.

3 .

4.

5.

Calcareous nannoplankton is a very

useful new stratigraphical tool, which

will be of substantial importance for

the oil industry in addition and com-plementary to the planktonic foramini-

fera.

If studied thoroughly the prospective

results are very bright and most en-

couraging for both the industrial and

academic world.

Establishing a standard calcareous nanno-

plankton zonation for the Cenezoic inIndonesia is quite possible, provided

that enough studies by both the industri-

al and academic institutions can be done.

The results obtained thus far in Central

Sumatra should be an incentive to

conduct nannoplankton studies else-

where in Indonesia.

The calcareous nannoplankton zonation

may be in the future become one of the

most important stratigraphic classificati-

on methods for Indonesia.

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(N W Caucasus).Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae, vol. 59, No.1,

HAY, W.W., MOHLER, H.P., R O T I i , P.H.,SCHMEDT, R.R. &BOUDREAUX, J .E. ,1967, Calcareous Nannoplankton Zonation

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pp. 379 - 39 9



I D E AL I ZE D ST R AT I G R AP H I C C O L U M N

C E N T R A L S U M A T R AM o d i f i e d a f t e r : N.W. H a m i l t o n & D. I. H o l l i s s (1971)

A G E ILITH.( DESCRIPTK

Red 8. aricolo

. . . . .

Blue to groclay,clay sbat

Some thin s s

Middle Miocene - -I-=I

FORAM. RANG

R

I

C

I---

I

JANNO.RANC

R

I

R E M A R K S

? e l a t h e o b u nd a nc e:

R - RareC - Common

A - Abundant

@ Ga s show

orom.8. nonno.ronges con-Iurrent B comdementarv

Jonno.ranges,solely timena rke r .

0 Oi l s h o w l o i l

Sca le ; i ogrammot ic

T E X T FIGURE N o . 3



56

Caribbean-Antillean Area and Transoceanic

Correlation.

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edited by AD.Haun and L.W. LeRoy, pp.

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Latdorf (locus typicus) und weltweite Paralle-

lisierunge im oberen Eo zh und unteren

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&as. 2 - 3, pp. 117 - 159.

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leur application systematique et practique

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TA N

I ,

Mesozoic Stratigraphy by means of Nanno-

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Calcareous

Nannofossil Zonation of Upper Cretaceous

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WO RSLEY , T .R. (in press, 19711,

* * *

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