Neogene Diatom Biostratigraphy of the Iceland Sea Site 907

Sediments recovered during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 151 at Site 907 from the Iceland Plateau have good recovery and a pristine paleomagnetic record. Well-preserved diatoms are present throughout the middle Miocene to upper Pliocene interval and in the Holocene of Site 907. The stratigraphic occurrence of diatom species are studied to constrain their ranges. Thirty-two diatom events are observed and given absolute age estimates through direct correlation to the established paleomagnetic stratigraphy of Site 907. Many of these species are either endemic to the Norwegian-Greenland Sea or have diachronous occurrences as compared with other high-latitude areas. However, the first occurrence of Denticulopsis praedimorpha and the last occurrence of Proboscia praebarboi appear to be roughly isochronous between the North Pacific and the Iceland Sea. The 32 diatom events are used to establish 11 biostratigraphic intervals for the Iceland Plateau area.