Late Oligocene Sedimentary Hiatus in Deep Sea Area of South China Sea, Result of Calcareous Nannofossils from ODP Site 1148

In order to determine the age of the sedimentary hiatus and its geological significance, a study of the calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy was carried out. Detailed stratigraphical data of the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene diagnostic species thus obtained. The nannofossil zonation of this interval was subdivided and the Oligocene-Miocene boundary was further determined. Several last Late Oligocene events were recognized, indicating a long-term sedimentary hiatus in the uppermost Upper Oligocene. The time span of the hiatus was estimated for about 2.2 Ma, at least from 23.9 to 26.1 Ma. The lithological and geophysical data from Site 1148 indicate some abrupt sedimentary changes that occurred below and above the hiatus. This hiatus at Site 1148 was probably related to the tectonic change, a major ridge jump during the seafloor spreading in the Late Oligocene South China Sea.