Ak. Rai et Ms. Srinivasan, Deep sea benthic foraminiferal response to the pliocene palaeoenvironmentsof the northen Indian Ocean, GEOBIOS, 33(3), 2000, pp. 301-308
The benthic foraminiferal contents of two DSDP sites 219 (Arabian Sea) and
237 (Mascarene Plateau) have been analysed in order to understand paleocean
ographic changes in the northern Indian Ocean during Pliocene. Uvigerina pr
oboscidea is the most dominant taxon with intervals of marked fluctuations
in its abundance at both the sites reflecting relatively higher surface wat
er productivity with changing magnitudes during Pliocene. Earliest Pliocene
(c. 5.6 to 5.0 Ma) is the interval of distinct increase in the surface wat
er productivity in response to more SW Indian Ocean monsoonal upwelling. Th
e faunal assemblage during c. 5.0 to 4.0 Ma suggests relatively warm, oxyge
nated and more saline bottom waters and moderately low surface water produc
tivity in the Arabian Sea region. This was also broadly the period of globa
l warmth and higher eustatic sea Level. The surface water productivity duri
ng c. 4.0 to 3.4 Ma at site 219 was moderately higher. However, site 237 is
characterised by strong bottom currents and relatively lower surface produ
ctivity. Further, the latest Pliocene (c. 2.5 Ma onwards) is characterised
by significantly higher surface water productivity induced by higher rates
of SW Indian Ocean monsoonal upwelling which corresponds with the onset of
major Northern Hemisphere glaciation. These paleoenvironmental changes are
suggested to be mainly responsible for several last occurrences of benthic
foraminiferal taxa near the Pliocene/Pleistocene transition.