Revised Miocene splice, astronomical tuning and calcareous plankton biochronology

Abstract

The distinctly cyclic sediments recovered during ODP Leg 154 played an important role in constructing the astronomical time scale and associated astro(bio)chronology for the Miocene, and in deciphering ocean–climate history. The accuracy of the timescale critically depends on the reliability of the shipboard splice used for the tuning and on the tuning itself. New high-resolution colour- and magnetic susceptibility core scanning data supplemented with limited XRF-data allow improvement of the stratigraphy. The revised composite record results in an improved astronomical agemodel for ODP Site 926 between 5 and 14.4 Ma. The newagemodel is confirmed by results of complex amplitude demodulation of the precession and obliquity related cycle patterns. Different values for tidal dissipation are applied to improve the fit between the sedimentary cycle patterns and the astronomical solution. Due to the improved stratigraphy and tuning, supported by the results of amplitude demodulation, the revised time scale yields more reliable age estimates for planktic foraminiferal and calcareous nannofossil events. The results of this study highlight the importance of stratigraphy for timescale construction.