Cenozoic calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy on the Exmouth Plateau, eastern Indian Ocean

Six sites (759-764) were drilled during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 122. Nannofossil-rich Cenozoic sediments were recovered at all six sites, reflecting the open-ocean conditions that prevailed over the Exmouth Plateau during the Cenozoic. Calcareous nannofossils are abundant, divers (250 different species identified), and generally were preserved throughout the composite lower Paleocene to Quaternary section. The diversity and preservation of nannofossils permits a high degree of stratigraphic resolution at each site. Site 762 on the central part of the Exmouth Plateau contains an almost unbroken Cenozoic record (only Miocene Zones NN3, NN8 and NN10 are missing). This site may prove to be a useful Cenozoic biostratigraphic and biomagnetochronologic reference section for the eastern Indian Ocean. -Authors