Dinoflagellate Cysts as Paleoproductivity Indicators: State of the Art, Potential, and Limits

Dinoflagellate cysts are useful marine paleoenvironmental indicators of: sea surface temperatures, salinity, and coastal/oceanic water mass boundaries. Most are coastal/neritic; very few oceanic cysts are produced, and deep sea assemblages probably often include many that are transported long distances from coastal environments. This factor must be considered in attempts to apply standard transfer functions in paleoceanographic interpretations from deep sea sediments. Cysts are potentially useful for productivity studies as indicators of upwelling and eutrophication (especially where mineralized microfossils are absent through dissolution).