Benthic foraminifera relative abundance and enhanced benthic foraminifera oxygen index from IODP Site U1488

Relative abundance of benthic foraminifera genera from IODP Site U1488, western equatorial Pacific Ocean. The dataset spans the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene interval, from 8.7 to 3.1 Ma. We recognized a total of 51 genera, which were grouped into infaunal and epifaunal morphogroups. Moreover, all identified genera were assigned to Oxic, Suboxic, and Dysoxic groups in order to calculate the enhanced benthic foraminifera oxygen index (EBFOI). We provide preliminary paleoenvironmental changes across the Late Miocene - Early Pliocene Biogenic Bloom at Site U1488 and we tested the reliability of the EBFOI in the investigation of bottom-water oxygenation during this phenomenon. We differentiated two intervals with paleoenvironmental significance across the study record, Interval 1 (8.7 to 4.3 Ma) and Interval 2 (4.3 to 3.1 Ma).