Quaternary stable oxygen isotope record of planktonic foraminifera from ODP Site 806 on the Ontong Java Plateau@en

We present an oxygen isotope record that can serve as a new standard for Quaternary chronology in the western Pacific. The record is not entirely without problems. A coring gap misses Isotope Stage 19, which contains the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary. We bridged the gap by importing the corresponding portion of the record from adjacent Hole 805C. By counting the cycles related to obliquity, within the completed delta18O record, we date the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary at 792 ka (+/-10 k.y.), in excellent agreement with previous estimates based on tuning to astronomical signals and with recent radiometric determinations. Thus, the conventional age of 730 ka for this boundary should be abandoned. […]