Foraminiferal study and Depositional Environment of an outcropping unit of Awgu Formation, South Eastern Nigeria

Foraminifera analysis were carried out for the purpose of evaluating the microfauna present in outcropping units of the Awgu Formation in South Eastern Nigeria. In the course of the research, secondary sources of data in form of past literature on the study area and its microfaunal assemblages, were reviewed. The methodology applied in the study involved microscopic assessment of the microfossil groups present in samples which were collected from the outcrops. These samples were taken on the field, and served as representative specimens of the three main outcropping units that were visited. The preparation of the samples involved procedures of maceration and mounting on microscopic slides. On analysis, it was revealed that forms such as Textularia, Ammobaculites, and Haplophragmoides are present in the Awgu Formation. These were utilized in the prediction of paleoenvironmental conditions and age of the formation and it was deduced that the sediments were deposited in a range of shallow marine environments, in the Early to Mid-Cretaceous Period. Through field studies, lithostratigraphic description was also derived for the outcrops, which are dominated by shaley materials and other clastic sediments.