Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction in the Breydon Formation, Holocene of East Anglia

Abstract. The foraminiferal and ostracod faunas from two East Anglian, Holocene cores are described. Together they add further environmental evidence to the lithological alternation between peat and alluvial mud sedimentation observed in these sections resulting from local changes in sea-level. Sedimentological and micro-faunal differences between the two sections reflect their relative positions in the estuary with respect to the local palaeogeography. Foraminifera are abundant, the Ostracoda less so, nevertheless a comprehensive environmental interpretation is given and a foraminiferal ecological zonation proposed. Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions are based upon both microfossil groups which complement each other.