Data report: calcareous nannofossils and lithologic constraints on the age model of IODP Site U1450, Expedition 354, Bengal Fan

Abstract

International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 354 Site U1450 was drilled at the center of a transect of 7 sites across the Bengal Fan at 8°N where long-term accumulation rates are highest. Site U1450 primarily consists of sandy and silty-sandy turbidites deposited at a rate higher than 20 cm/ky. During periods when the depocenter shifted away from Site U1450, calcareous clay hemipelagic sediment was deposited at lower accumulation rates around 1–2 cm/ky. Dating of the lower Pleistocene and Pliocene sequences is hindered by the scarcity of microfossils in turbidites and the restriction of paleomagnetic data to the upper 190 m. This report presents the identification of new calcareous nannofossils collected from hemipelagic and turbiditic intervals between 218 and 687 m core depth below seafloor, Method A (CSF-A). These data are consolidated in a statistical age model that is constrained with ranges of plausible accumulation rates for the distinct lithologies. The age probability model ranges from 1.2 to 7.3 Ma for depths from 175.8 to 812.0 m CSF-A. Depending on constraints, 2σ uncertainties are around ±0.2 and 0.4 Ma.