A record of Miocene carbon excursions in the South China Sea

High-resolution δ13C records are presented for the Miocene benthic foraminifers Cibici doides wuellerstorfi and C. kullenbergi (24-5 Ma) and the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides sacculifer (18-5 Ma) from ODP Site 1148A (18° 50.17′N, 116° 33.93′E, water depth 3308.3 m),northern South China Sea. The general pattern of parallel benthic and planktonic δ13C shows a decrease trend of δ13C values from the early-middle Miocene to the middle-late Miocene. Two dis tinct δ13C positive excursions at 23.1-22.2 and 17.3-13.6 Ma, and two negative excursions at 10.2-9.4 and 6.9-6.2 Ma have been recognized. All these events are cosmopolitan, providing the good data for the stratigraphic correlation of the South China Sea with the global oceans as well as for studying the changes of the global carbon reservoir and its corresponding climate.