JM Journal of Micropalaeontology JM J. Micropalaeontol. 2041-4978 GSL Publishing Göttingen, Germany 10.1144/jm.11.2.167 Calcareous Nannofossils in Surface Sediments of the Central and Northern Parts of the South China Sea Xinrong Cheng Department of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China 01 12 1992 11 2 167 176 Copyright: © 1992 Cheng Xinrong 1992 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This article is available from https://jm.copernicus.org/articles/11/167/1992/jm-11-167-1992.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://jm.copernicus.org/articles/11/167/1992/jm-11-167-1992.pdf

Taxonomic composition and quantitative distribution of calcareous nannofossils in the nothern and central parts of the South China Sea were studied in 146 samples of surface sediments taken from estuary, continental shelf, continental slope and deep-water basin. This paper reports distribution patterns of nannofossils in the area, including nannofossil abundance, species, assemblages and specimen size. Abundance increases from shelf to slope, with a decrease from the lower part of the slope towards the abyssal plain. The assemblages are dominated by <i>Emiliania huxleyi, Gephyrocapsa oceanica</i> and <i>Florisphaera profunda.</i> Ecologically the effects of water temperature, and nutrient inputs can be detected in the distribution of nannofossils, while dilution by terrigenous materials and deep sea carbonate dissolution influence the sedimentological aspect of the samples. The composition of the South China Sea nannofossil assemblage enables it to be grouped with the central zone of the North Pacific in biogeographic zonations of nannoplankton.

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