Annual Report 2009 of the Paleogene Deep-Water Benthic Foraminifera Working Group.

The Paleogene Deep-Water Benthic Foraminiferal Working Group has continued its researches this year, investigating the benthic foraminiferal turnover and distribution across the Paleogene. Special attention has been paid to the following intervals: 1.- The Cretaceous/Paleogene transition: Investigations have been concentrated on the Pacific Ocean, where a new species (Adercotryma kuhnti) has been described, and the evolution of the food supply to the seafloor after the K/Pg boundary has been studied. 2.- The Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum: The extinction event of deep-water benthic foraminifera has been identified at the base of the Eocene in two Spanish sections, and its potential causes have been analyzed in detail. Environmental instability during the latest Paleocene, and the recovery of the assemblages during the early Eocene have been investigated. 3.- The Ypresian/Lutetian boundary: The group has been looking for benthic foraminiferal events and potential sections to locate the GSSP of the base of the Lutetian Stage. Finally, after a successful meeting in Getxo (Spain), during the Workshop on the Ypresian/Lutetian boundary stratotype, the Gorrodatxe section was selected as the GSSP of the base of the Lutetian. 4.- Oligocene: A Ph.D thesis on Oligocene benthic foraminifera will be presented by the end of this year by R. Fenero (University of Zaragoza).

References:
-Alegret, L. and Thomas, E. (2009). Food supply to the seafloor in the Pacific Ocean after the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary event. Marine Micropaleontology, 73: 105-116.
-Alegret, L. and Thomas, E. (2009). Cretaceous evolution of the genus Adercotryma (Foraminifera) in the deep Pacific. Micropaleontology, 55 (1): 49-60.
-Alegret, L., Ortiz, S., Orue-Etxebarria, X., Bernaola, G., Baceta, J.I., Monechi, S., Apellaniz, E. and Pujalte, V. (2009). The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: new data from the microfossil turnover at the Zumaia section, Spain. Palaios, 24: 318-328.
-Alegret, L., Ortiz, S. and Molina, E. (2009). Extinction and recovery of benthic foraminifera across the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum at the Alamedilla section (Southern Spain). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 279: 186-200.
-Alegret, L., Ortiz, S., Arenillas, I. and Molina, E. (2009). What happens when the ocean is overheated? The foraminiferal response across the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum at the Alamedilla section (Spain). Geological Society of America Bulletin, in press.
-Fenero, R. (2009). Los microforaminíferos bentónicos del Eoceno terminal hasta el Mioceno inicial: taxonomía, inferencias paleoecológicas y paleoambientales. Ph.D Thesis, University of Zaragoza.
-Ortiz, S., Alegret, L., Payros A., Orue-Etxebarria X., Apellaniz E., Molina, E. (2009). Benthic foraminiferal turnover across the Ypresian/Lutetian transition at the Gorrondatxe section (N Spain): response to sedimentary disturbance. In: Orue-Etxebarria et al., eds., The Ypresian/Lutetian transition in the Gorrondatxe Beach (Getxo, W Pyrenees): Review, recent advances and future prospects. Bilbao, p. 173-176. ISBN: 978-84-692-44876.

Report by Secretary: Laia Alegret, Spain.