Globigerina Ooze

(foraminiferal ooze), oceanic or sea calcareous sediment of biogenic origin, consisting predominantly of the shells of plankton foraminifera and their detritus. The name “globigerina ooze,” derived from one of the genera of Foraminifera— Globigerina, was coined by the English oceanographer Sir John Murray in 1891. The term “globigerina ooze” usually refers to sediments containing more than 30 percent (sometimes up to 99 percent) CaC0₃. The sediments may range from sands to fine oozes, according to the size of the grains. Unsorted sand-aleurite oozes predominate. The color of globigerina ooze is light, often almost white. It covers more than one-third of the area of the world ocean. It is especially widespread in tropical and subtropical latitudes and in open parts of oceans and large seas, such as the Mediterranean and Tasman, mainly on the surface of submarine elevations and ridges at depths ranging from several hundred meters to 4,000-5,000 m.