The Marion Plateau is a carbonate-platform complex on the passive northeast Australian margin. During ODP Leg 194, a series of eight sites, on two transects, were drilled through Oligocene to Holocene mixed carbonate and siliciclastic sediments that record the depositional history of the Marion Plateau. Major sediment constituents, including benthic foraminifers, were counted from thin sections made from samples taken from three drilling sites: bryozoan-dominated northern highstand platform site 1193 and northern lowstand ramp site 1194, and coralline red algae-dominated southern platform site 1196. Quantitative multivariate analysis of benthic foraminiferal assemblages revealed three paleoenvironmentally relevant groups of taxa. The first group, dominated by Amphistegina and Lepidocyclina, was found at all three sites and is interpreted to be representative of euphotic open-shelf deposition in less than 50 m water depth. The second group was dominated by Cycloclypeus, Operculina and planktonic foraminifers. This group was found at all three sites, but was more common from sites on the northern platform and is interpreted to represent deposition in deep, oligophotic water, in greater than 50 m water depth. The third group, consisting of soritids, alveolinids, Austrotrillina and Flosculinella, was found only in sediments from the southern platform and is interpreted to represent deposition in a restricted, shallow-marine environment, in less than 20 m water depth, consistent with a sea-grass meadow. These three groups of taxa record changing paleoenvironments on the Marion Plateau, and reveal the depositional histories of the Marion Plateau's carbonate platforms.

The aim of this study is to investigate the Upper Visean substages, delineate the Visean - Serpukhovian boundary with calcareous foraminifera and interpret the foraminiferal evolution and sequence stratigraphical framework by using sedimentary cyclicity across the boundary section. For this purpose a 59,61 m thick stratigraphic section consisting of mainly limestone and partly sandstone and shale is measured in the Aziziye Gedigi and Oru&ccedil / oglu Formations in the Pinarbasi Region of Eastern Taurides. A detailed micropaleontological study has revealed presence of important foraminiferal groups namely, parathuramminids, earlandiids, endothyroids, archaediscids, biseriamminids, fusulinids, loeblichids, tournayellids and paleotextularids and 145 species and three biozones. The biozones are, in ascending order, Eostaffella ikensis &ndash / Vissarionovella tujmasensis Zone (Mikhailovsky / Late Visean), Endothyranopsis cf. sphaerica &ndash / Biseriella parva Zone (Venevsky / Late Visean) and Eostaffella pseudostruvei &ndash / Archaediscids @ tenuis stage Zone (Taurssk / Early Serpukhovian). A detailed microfacies analysis was carried out in order to understand the depositional history and sedimentary cyclicity and construct the sequence stratigraphic framework of the studied area. Three main depositional environments consisting of open marine, shoal or bank and tidal flat environments were interpreted based on the analysis of 12 major microfacies and 11 sub-microfacies types. Based on the vertical association of microfacies twenty-six cycles, two sequence boundaries and three sequences were recognized in the studied section and these two sequence boundaries, which correspond to the Mikhailovsky and Venevsky horizons, are the records of the global sea level changes during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age. Within this context Visean &ndash / Serpukhovian boundary falls in the transgressive system tract of the third sequence. The duration of cycles are calculated as 117 ky and interpreted as orbitally induced glacioeustatic cycles.

An integrated micropaleontological, mineralogical and sequence stratigraphical investigation was carried out across the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/P) boundary in the Haymana basin, Turkey. A 29.41 m thick boundary section consisting of limestones and marls was measured and 90 samples were analyzed. Biostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic works are based on the planktonic foraminifera. 64 planktonic species were identified and 5 biozones were established. The biozones are, in ascending order, Planoglobulina acervulinoides zone, Racemiguembelina fructicosa zone, Pseudoguembelina hariaensis zone for the Late Maastrichtian / Guembelitria cretacea (P0) zone and Parvulorugoglobigerina eugubina (P1a) zone for the Early Danian. In order to detect the mineralogical changes across the boundary bulk and clay minerals were analyzed using X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Calcite, quartz,feldspar and the clay minerals composed of smectite (montmorillonite) and chlorite are the main components of the rocks. A decrease in calcite and an increase in the detrital minerals (quartz, feldspar) and the clay minerals were detected in the boundary beds. In order to find out the depositional history of the area a detailed microfacies study was performed and 10 microfacies type were determined. The microfacies types defined correspond to slope to basin environment. Based on microfacies analyses, the sequence stratigraphic framework of the boundary beds was constructed. K/P boundary beds were recorded in the transition of transgressive systems tract to highstand systems tract, coinciding with a maximum flooding surface. These beds show a similar pattern with many other K/P boundary beds in different locations of the world indicating eustatic sealevel variations overprint the tectonic control in the basin.