PI and collaborators will conduct a carbon isotopic study to locate the Paleocene/Eocene boundary, by its postulated carbon isotope excursion, in the classic marine and non-marine sections in northwestern Europe. This boundary marks an important paleoceanographic and paleobiologic shift, currently the focus of interest for a large group. This study will also facilitate attempts to reconstruct depositional history of the European basins in a sequence stratigraphic framework. Detailed sampling of sections in Paris and Belgian basins will be followed by isotopic analyses of soil carbonates, marine micro- and macrofossils. Microfossil correlation will use DSDP Site 550 on Goban Spur, which also provides a carbon isotope-reference section.
