Upper Campanian(?)-lower Danian planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy and quantitative paleobathymetry and paleoecology of the Dababiya Quarry Corehole, Upper Nile Valley, Egypt

The 140 m Dababaiya Corehole (DBQ), drilled in the Dababiya Quarry about 35 km south of Luxor, Upper Nile Valley, Egypt, spans the stratigraphic interval from upper Campanian/lower Maastrichtian (the Globotruncana aegyptiaca Zone) to the lower Eocene. This study is devoted to an investigation of the planktonic and benthic foraminifera of the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) and basal Paleocene (lowermost Danian) and complements previously published biostratigraphic studies on the core (Berggren and Ouda, eds., 2012). The investigation is divided into three parts: 1) new/innovative chemical techniques applicable to the preparation/treatment of indurated claystones and limestones which led to the extraction of generally well preserved foraminifera; 2) planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy and temporal continuity of the stratigraphic succession which led to the identification of a probable, brief hiatus(?) within the lower part of basal Danian Zone P0; 3) quantitative paleobathymetric of benthic and planktonic (P/B ratios) foraminifera suggesting outer neritic to upper bathyal Maastrichtian depositional depths consistent with previous estimates for the Paleocene.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Firat Gocmenogl