9304831 Fisher PI will calibrate estimated density of later middle through early late Cenomanian waters at a mid-Cretaceous ocean front in the Western Interior Seaway to paleotemperature estimates from stable oxygen isotope analyses measured on planktic foraminifera. Test porosity of planktic foraminifera, and possibly of calcareous nannoplankton, will be used to estimate water density. Specimens will be compared from Montana, Wyoming, and different paleolatitudes from DSDP/ODP sites. This is a research planning grant; planned future research would extend the methods toward the proposed hypersaline "Supertethys" sea of this time period. ***
