Nannoplankton biostratigraphy and age of Van formation

In this thesis study, the calcareous nanoplankton community and biostratigraphy of Van Formation which is located on the South east of Van Province and generally composed of sandstone, marl and limestone litologies. For this purpose, 118 samples were examined from the 4 stratigraphic sections which were taken from Akın village, Akpınar hill, Berol hill and Kurubaş locations in the investigation area. 64 species belongig to 20 calcareous nanoplakton genera have been described from the samples of these sections. Calcareous nanoplakton biozone descriptions could not be figured out due to some samples being sterilized, some including very few fossiles and not all the zone fossiles being identified. Considering the stratigraphic distributions of the calcareous nanoplakton community, the age of Van Formation in the study area has been defined as Serravallian – Tortonian.