16. NEOGENE CALCAREOUS NANNOFOSSILS FROM ODP LEG 105: IMPLICATIONS FOR PLEISTOCENE PALEOCEANOGRAPHIC TRENDS 1

Neogene calcareous nannofossils were examined from 10 holes at three sites cored during ODP Leg 105. Sediment recovered in Baffin Bay at Site 645 is virtually barren of calcareous nannofossils, with the exception of a sparse lower Miocene assemblage. Sites 646 and 647 in the Labrador Sea contain upper Miocene to Holocene sediments having nu­ merous barren intervals. Upper Pleistocene fossil coccolithophorid floras in the Labrador Sea indicate alternations of cold subpolar with transitional (subpolar/subtropical) assemblages. Extreme variations in the abundance of Coccolithus pelagicus were observed at Sites 646 and 647. These variations are correlated with stable isotopic data to interpret oceanographic re­ sponses to warming and cooling trends. The climatic history indicated by the changes of these assemblages closely ap­ proximates the past climatic fluctuations recorded in other North Atlantic cores. One new taxon, Discoaster bergenii, is described.