Palynological content of surface sediments offshore Myanmar: a modern dataset for paleoreconstructions

Palynology is the study of microscopic organic-walled organism remains, called palynomorphs and consisting of different groups of planktonic and benthic microorganisms. They can be preserved in the sediments and applied as proxies to reconstruct paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic conditions. Among marine palynomorphs, dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts) are regarded as one of the most useful (paleo-)environmental indicators, occurring in all aquatic environments. The main aim of this study is to improve the knowledge on palynomorphs spatial distribution patterns offshore Myanmar in relationship to the organic matter composition (C/N), concentration (TOC) and to the relative position to riverine and coastal systems. In this uninvestigated area, 29 surface sediment samples were analyzed for their palynofacies composition, focusing on dinocysts content and distribution also to investigate the significance of specific palynological ratios (e.g., Protoperidinioid vs. Gonyaulacoid dinocysts and pollen and spores vs. dinocysts) as proxies for paleoreconstructions.