Guilbault, J.-P., Patterson, R.T , Barrie, J.V., and Conway, K.W., Thomson, R.E. 1997. Late Quaternary paleoceanographic changes in Dixon Entrance, British Columbia shelf: evidence from the foraminiferal faunal succession. Journal of Foraminiferal Research. 27:151-174.
Late glacial and Holocene foraminiferal stratigraphy of 7 piston cores from Dixon Entrance on the Pacific coast of Canada yielded 11 biofacies defined in part by cluster analysis and in part by the percentage of temperate species. Temperate species are defined as those that are not reported north of the southern Bering Sea. It is possible to define three phases in the deglaciation based on the percentage of temperate species: the glacial phase with 0 to 5% temperate species, the transitional phase with 5 to 20% and the temperate phase, with more than 20%. Epistominella vitrea and Cassidulina reniforme- dominated assemblages characterize the oldest, “glacial” deposits (14,000-12,900 BP). Younger sediments have substrate-influenced assemblages. Muddy “transitional” deposits (12,900-10,500 BP) are dominated by the same species as the glacial material, but the coarser sediments are dominated by the attached form Lobatula fletcheri. The most abundant species in muddy “temperate” deposits (<10,500 BP) are either Epistominella pacifica or Nonionella stella. Coarse sediments of the same age contain mostly L. fletcheri, but also temperate species of the genus Islandiella. Compared to Queen Charlotte Sound further south, Dixon Entrance enjoyed generally more open marine conditions thanks in part to the greater depth that facilitated upwelling of warmer and more saline deep Californian Undercurrent waters.