The diatom succession at Academician Ridge is similar to the one from Continent Ridge and the two records, despite having very different sampling resolution, can be easily compared on the basis of their main floristic changes (Fig. 6). BVAR at Academician Ridge is about half that of Continent Ridge. There are also marked differences in the relative abundance of some taxa. At Academician Ridge, S. grandis and A. baicalensis are more abundant and S. formosus and C. sp. cf. operculata are less abundant than at Continent Ridge. The large peak in vegetative cells of A. skvortzowii found at Continent Ridge (DAZ 2) is absent at Academician Ridge, and is the most striking difference between the two records.